12 Vendors to Try at the 2016 West Palm Beach Green Market

Summer is finally over, and that means it's green and farmers' market season. For the 22nd year in a row, West Palm Beach's long-established green market returned to the city's downtown on Saturday, October 1.

Every Saturday through April 22, the West Palm Beach Green Market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (with the exception of Palm Beach International Boat Show and SunFest). The dog-friendly waterside market offers goods from more than 80 local vendors, farmers, and artisan food crafters, free city garage parking, and activities for children.

This year we discovered a few more reasons to hang out at the city green market: In addition to an all-new Farmers in Training Program designed to inspire students to learn about growing their own food, the market expanded its offerings with a shaded patio lounge area serving up endless $10 mimosas (for adults only, of course). The Waterfront Oasis space, complete with live music, will be open throughout market season.

PS: If you need more green closer to you, check out our list of local South Florida green and farmers' markets in Broward and Palm Beach.

Here is a quick list of our favorite items and vendors from the 2016 West Palm Beach Green Market:

12. Bone Broth From Farriss Farm
Farris Farm opened at the 2016 West Palm Beach Green Market with an impressive booth offering everything from pasture-raised heritage chicken and pork to dry-aged, grass-fed beef and handcrafted bacon, hams, and sausage from Napa, California. They also sell raw dairy; soy-free organic eggs; Groff's Content beef, pork, bison, and chicken broths; and shiitake, maitake, oyster, trumpet, white beech, and chanterelle mushrooms.

11. Apple Green Chili Chutney (and Pumpkin Paratha) From Nisha's Flavors of India
Fort Lauderdale-based Nisha's is sold at the Hollywood Yellow Green Farmers Market. That's where we recognized her delicious (and addictive) array of creative, Indian-inspired chutneys, sauces, and breads. If you go, don't leave without a package of pumpkin paratha (a chewy flatbread similar to roti) and a few jars of jalapeño, apple green chili, or mango chutney. 

10. Microgreens From Swank Specialty Produce
Microgreens are ready to eat (or take home) direct from Swank Specialty Produce. The farm is best known for its seasonal farm-to-table dinner series, which have become one of the area's most popular dining events according to Jodi Swank, who founded Loxahatchee Groves-based Swank Speciality Produce with her husband, Darrin, in 1999. Today, the 20-acre farm sells specialty organic produce to area chefs and restaurants.

9. Swizzle and Kombucha From One Kombucha
Get your dose of daily probiotics with Palm Beach Gardens-based One Kombucha. On Saturday, October 1, owner Danny Mancini offered samples of his spiced apple and Swizzle, a lemonade-style kombucha — a lightly effervescent fermented drink made with black or green tea. At the One Kombucha taproom, guests can grab a seat at the bar for a glass of seasonal rotating flavors or flagship brews including hibiscus-rose, available by the bottle or on tap for use with refillable glass growlers.

8. Homemade Jam From Ms. V's Organic Produce
Fort Lauderdale-based Ms. V's Organic Produce is one of the market's largest purveyors of organic produce. They also offer a few added bonus items, including a number of homemade jams with fun names, like the Bad Mamma Jamma (strawberries, blueberries), South Florida Sunshine in a Jar (mango), or West Palm Beach Traffic Jam (strawberry).

7. Ras El Hanout From Hadaya 
Palm Beach County-based Hadaya specializes in hard-to-find, exotic spices and herb blends. At the West Palm Beach Green Market, they offer a diverse array of spices, sea salts, Moroccan tagines, and loose-leaf teas. Ask for the shop's Moroccan ras el hanout, Arabic for "head of the shop" and similar to the English expression "top-shelf," a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer. The ras el hanout blend can be used to flavor any savory dish using meat or fish or stirred into couscous or rice. The mixture usually consists of over a dozen spices including cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, dry ginger, chili peppers, coriander seed, peppercorn, sweet and hot paprika, fenugreek, and dry turmeric.
6. Ceviche From Peruvian Ceviche
Ceviche has become even more popular recently, clearly evidenced by a dedicated booth pedaling plastic containers of fresh white fish ceviche served up alongside (fish-free) guacamole for snacking while you stroll through the West Palm Beach Green Market. Peruvian Ceviche is one of several vendors offering prepared foods that are good on-the-go or packaged to enjoy later.

5. Red Jalapeño Fettuccine From Paulie's Pasta
Find a variety of flavorful, fun pastas at Paulie's Pasta, which exclusively sells the Pappardelle's Fine Art of Pasta brand. If you're feeling adventurous, you can purchase everything from a red jalapeño fettuccine and spicy Thai seasoned linguine to a spicy mango salsa blend of three pastas that includes sun-dried tomato fusilli, mango-peach sea shells, and cilantro-lime ziti. Imagine the pasta-bilities.

4. Maine Lobster Roll From Boston Chowda Co.
Boston Chowda Co. has been serving New England-style comfort foods for over 20 years. They're best known for an award-winning clam chowder made with surf clams, cream, and hand-cut potatoes. At their stand at the West Palm Beach Green Market, the Maine lobster rolls offer a taste of summer right into the fall and winter. You can also buy any of their New England-style pot pies, sandwiches, salads, and soups to bring home.

3. Fruit Jerky From Novae Gourmet Jerky
If you like jerky, this is your vendor. Novae Gourmet Jerky offers a variety of handcrafted, all-natural beef and chicken jerky, each flavored using a variety of specialty marinades made with aged, preservative-free soy sauce or kosher salt. Favorite flavors include penang chili, Korean barbecue, teriyaki, and Thai peanut. Billed as a high-protein, low-carb snack, the meats are also hormone- and antibiotic-free. As the company states: "No chemicals. No bull." Don't eat meat? There's also fruit jerky made from whole dried fruits and fruit purées including "green apple, spinach, and kale" or "carrot, mango, pineapple, and orange."

2. Nitro Dawn Patrol Cold Brew From Pumphouse Coffee Roasters
Pumphouse Coffee Roasters cofounders Christian and Alex le Clainche brew some amazing cups of coffee at the West Palm Beach Farmers Market. Brothers and business partners, the duo launched their Jupiter-based roasting facility in April. Try their hand-bottled cold brew, Dawn Patrol, an incredibly smooth, creamy cold brew available ready to serve for both retailers and consumers in kegs, growlers, and four-packs or by the case.

1. Vegetable Quiche From Le Petit Pain Authentic French Bakery
A newcomer to the West Palm Beach Green Market, Le Petit Pain Authentic French Bakery was nearly sold out of its baked goods by 1 p.m. on opening day. Owner Griffon Jeannine's specialties include giant slices of quiche, croissants, baguettes, egg-stuffed croissant breakfast sandwiches, and a divine poached pear tart (pictured here). The Boynton Beach-based business has been family-owned and family-operated for more than 15 years and offers authentic French pastries including croissants, breads, and quiches made from scratch. In baking these pastries, these folks use only the best ingredients.

West Palm Beach Green Market. 101 S. Flagler Dr., West Palm Beach; 561-822-1521.

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.