{"id":6761,"date":"2017-06-15T11:42:52","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T15:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gastronomyatbu.com\/?p=6761"},"modified":"2018-03-28T17:49:12","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:49:12","slug":"for-a-experience-in-the-boston-public-market-look-outside-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/2017\/06\/15\/for-a-experience-in-the-boston-public-market-look-outside-of-it\/","title":{"rendered":"For a local experience in the Boston Public Market, look outside of it."},"content":{"rendered":"

Our summer blog series \u201cPerspectives from Anthropology of Food\u201d presents work written by the students in the summer Anthropology of Food class (ML 641) in which they reflect on current issues, discuss assignments they have worked on, or address topics of particular interest to them. Today\u2019s post is from Gastronomy student Marina Starkey.<\/em><\/p>\n

When the Boston Public Market (BPM) finally opened in the summer of 2015, locals rejoiced. Touting a roster of popular New England vendors like Union Square Donuts, Crescent Ridge Dairy, and Stillmans Farm, foodies everywhere anticipated new, easy access to highly sought-after products.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubting that BPM is a marvel. I have spent a fair number of hours roaming the aisles admiring the colorful, brightly-lit, organized displays full of expertly-branded products and produce. I\u2019ve wondered which vendor was more worthy of the small amount of money I had to spend on lunch or a sweet treat. It always came down to who treated me with the most kindness and where I felt most comfortable, or how badly I was craving the macaroni and cheese at Jasper Hill (an absolutely gooey must).<\/p>\n

Despite how much I love the place, I still can barely afford anything within it. It\u2019s nice to browse, but I often find myself gawking at the prices: $6 for a bunch of small asparagus, $4 for a doughnut, $12 for an 8 ounce bottle of designer vinegar. BPM is popular among tourists for this very reason; when you\u2019re traveling you\u2019re more likely to splurge and purchase specialty items, because it isn\u2019t everyday you\u2019re in Boston. While the weekend turns tourists and families out in droves, during the week you\u2019re more likely to see a lunch crowd of locals looking for a quick bite. Despite these few midday hours, you would be hard pressed to find Boston regulars at BPM religiously, every Sunday, purchasing what they need to feed their families.<\/p>\n

This is where I think BPM fails to meet its lofty goals of making local, sustainable food & products more accessible. While these types of vendors all value these initiatives, their accessibility rests within the wealthiest people in Boston, despite many locals being students, people just starting their careers, and young families. While it\u2019s nice to have these local products around, I find BPM functions more as a symbol of the elite.<\/p>\n

An authentically local experience actually exists right around the corner from the BPM at Haymarket. Nestled between tourist centers the North End and Faneuil Hall, Haymarket hosts dozens of produce and seafood vendors in an open-air setting. And the character is colorfully local.<\/p>\n

\"Haymarket_4231\"
Early morning at Haymarket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll hear it first. If it\u2019s not the Frank Sinatra blaring from the central fish vendor, it\u2019s the almost constant yelling and bartering that goes on between the rows and rows of produce from all over the world. Here you\u2019ll find demographics as diverse as the fruits and vegetables: vendors from Italian, Hispanic and Asian descent, and consumers from every part of Boston and beyond. While it\u2019s a bit more difficult to find out exactly from where your apples and oranges traveled, they\u2019re cheaper than you\u2019ll find in any supermarket. That same bunch of asparagus that I saw in the BPM? $2 for a bunch.<\/p>\n

While you won\u2019t find brown butter doughnuts or homemade vinegars, the character of Haymarket is lively and everyone feels welcome. Well, that is if you can deal with a few vendors yelling at you to get out of the way and make room for people actually making purchases. The atmosphere isn\u2019t conducive to browsing or admiration. People are here to purchase produce to feed their families for the week at the lowest price possible. Regulars exist almost exclusively, and it\u2019s not any place that would be of particular appeal to any tourist runoff.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re looking for an authentic local experience, it might not exist in the places that are immediately obvious. Sometimes you have to look in between the cracks of the city to find its liveliest, most authentic character.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our summer blog series \u201cPerspectives from Anthropology of Food\u201d presents work written by the students in the summer Anthropology of Food class (ML 641) in which they reflect on current issues, discuss assignments they have worked on, or address topics of particular interest to them. Today\u2019s post is from Gastronomy student Marina Starkey. When the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,10,22,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6761"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14625"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8204,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6761\/revisions\/8204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}