By: Tara Spicer | June 09 2011
Posted in Seattle - Find It - Seattle

Four Seasons Gourmet Foods deliciously tasty vinegar & extracts. Photo by: Tara Spicer

Edmonds, Seattle’s waterfront cousin to the north, is home to many good things. Like the Kingston ferry. And Rick Steves’ travel store. And Rick Steves! But who are we kidding? The Local Dish is all about food, and Edmonds serves up plenty of it. And while you can nosh on Thai, American, or Mexican cuisine to your heart’s content here, it’s worth taking a short detour off Main Street to the Edmonds Museum Garden Market. Just around the corner from the Edmonds Museum, you’ll rub elbows with farmers, bakers, and anyone else who believes in the soul-satisfying goodness of fresh ingredients. Show up on Saturdays between 9am and 2pm, and visit some of these noteworthy vendors while you stroll:

Award-winning olive oil from Far North - perfect for dipping crusty baguettes in!

Far North New Zealand Olive Oil
Retired accountant Charlie Pancerzewski divides his loyalty and labor between the Pacific Northwest and New Zealand. Across the ocean, he, his wife Gayle, and their 1,400 olive trees coexist happily from November through May. They spend the rest of their year in Mukilteo and sell their multi award-winning olive oils in stores across the state. Pick up a bottle of their NZJ5—its fruity flavor and subtle peppery finish earned it the Gold Medal at the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition in 2010. 

Organically-grown radishes from Five Acre Farm will add snap to your salad.

Five Acre Farm
Anna Resier and Damon Gibson boast three plots of farmland along Highway 525 where they’ve been cultivating cucumbers, watermelon, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, and other organic produce since 2009. When they’re not churning out radishes that look too pretty to eat, they still find time to snap Facebook photos of their big red tractor and resident farm dog. Stop by their booth and ask them about signing up for a weekly, pre-paid produce box subscription. The deliveries will keep you eating well now through October 15th.

Four Seasons Gourmet Foods
Pericles Tarsinos isn’t shy when it comes to showing off his cold-pressed vinegars, jellies, and syrups. He believes that good flavors are meant to be shared and doesn’t skip a beat when asked to choose his favorite fruit (the blueberry). Use the vinegars as fruity salad dressing, the syrups as topping for ice cream or oatmeal, or a touch of pure extract in your favorite summer cocktail. And if you want a real shock to your palate, ask Pericles for a sample of the raspberry vinegar—you’ll be surprised how much punch a little taste packs.

Fresh tomatoes & basil make this La Strada Dolce Pizzza margherita pie irresistable.

La Strada Dolce Pizza
Naples, Italy might be the birth place of pizza, but if you don’t have plans on hopping a plane anytime soon, you can still enjoy some delicious pizza in Edmonds. Once you’ve worked up an appetite strolling past breads, jams, and fresh fish, visit La Strada Dolce’s table. Here, you select your slice and watch it crisp in a 900 degree clay wood-burning oven. From the simple (margherita and pepperoni) to the inspired (pear gorgonzola and fresco giardino), these guys dole out all the authenticty, hold the cardboard box. 

Snohomish Bakery
Before the bakers here even begin their spiel, a loyal customer swoons over the cinnamon bread, praising its sweet-but-not-too-sweet flavor. Others have their eye on the flour-dusted kalamata olive loaves. Regardless of what bread you love most, you’ll certainly satisfy your carb cravings here. And if you’re ever in the mood for breakfast pastries (but don’t want to wait for market day), head to historic Snohomish where you’ll find their cozy storefront with a smorgasbord of glass-encased goodies.

Fresh-baked loaves from Snohomish Bakery.

Tara Spicer is a freelance writer who enjoys eating on the job. She lives with her husband and two cats in Edmonds, Washington.

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