Granville Island Public Market

I had thought I would be updating this week from Moncton, New Brunswick but MrD and I have postponed our eastern excursion until September. So, it’s Vancouver this week. I think it’s time for a tourist report from my favourite local market.
Having a bountiful market is a true gift I value, having lived and traveled in so many lands where food is not only scarce but definitely not of the best quality. We Canadians are blessed and fortunate. No one actually needs twenty eight varieties of organic wild game salami and twelve varieties of potatoes, but I ain’t complaining.
Granville Island Market, Vancouver’s perfect place for fresh local ingredients, is a source of many of my Trophy H dinners. Here is where I go to find wild mushrooms, game meats and spectacular sea food. Once a week I take a water taxi across to the island and do my shopping to stock up the pantry. I usually also buy an armload of flowers and a gooey cinnamon bun for MrD who stays home to run the empire while I do the marketing.
My Trophy H tips for visiting Granville Island Public Market is to go in the morning so you can be there when it opens at 9 am. I go on Thursdays. All the produce coming in for the weekend has arrived so you are getting first choice of the finest wares. The market just gets too crowded for actual shopping later when the tourists flock in to ogle our super salmon, salivate at our fat sausages and try to sneak photos of me in one of my stunning, get out of my road, outfits. Avoid the weekends and the inevitable crowds. If its not the food you are shopping for, but all that other artsy stuff, then you need to know that most galleries open at 11am.
Granville Island Public Market is a must for both the serious cook and tourists with their digital cameras and all that holiday vacationer cash to spend. It is the place for me to meet other chefs from around town. We compare notes on what is fresh and in season. We share tips and ideas. The dealers often grill us on what we plan to make with their ingredients. Sometimes we bring them tastes and recipes with our thanks.
The market has ample place to sit and relax with a cup of java and a new found pastry friend. You can eat well in the noisy packed food court or brown bag it with your finds and go outside, sit down and enjoy one of the best views of Vancouver. Mind not to feed those pesky birds.
Have a great week, my silent reader, of shopping, cooking and sharing food with friends.