Organic, Local, and Fun
St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
The local market is a staple with human society. It has been around since the earliest villages sprung up five thousand years ago. As time progressed they got larger like the agora’s in Greece, and as Empires like Rome expanded, they grew even larger to not only include local foods and arts, but foreign treasures to buy and trade. Before there were restaurants and wineries to do tastings at, there was the market. Besides buying and trading you could eat a meal at the markets, or drink some wine. The market led to the creation of the modern restaurants, wineries, and other speciality type stores that are common everywhere today. Every city large or small has some kind of market. Around the Tampa Bay in Central Florida there are more than can be counted. My fiancé and I had recently moved to St. Petersburg, and my daughter was visiting for a weekend. So after having some lunch, we took a visit to the St. Petersburg Saturday Market to see what they had.
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****
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That I visited and reviewed on this site…
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From the home page:
In a state dominated by large agri-businesses, small farms in Florida are relatively rare. As a result, farmers markets in Florida have remarkably few participating farms. Little Pond Farm is exactly the type of farm that market-goers can get excited about.
Main review:
The market opens at 9am and closes down at 2pm, though some vendors do stay a little longer. There are over 130 vendors, ranging from those who sell with farm produce, ready-to-eat food, specialty foods, and crafts. There is always live music from a local talent or band along with some seating space to listen.
The market is located in the parking lot of the Progress Energy Park, the old baseball stadium where the Tampa Bay Rays played before they built that monstrosity of a domed stadium that no one goes to anymore called Tropicana Field. But that is another story, as there is constant talk about moving the team over to the far side of Tampa near Brandon, and the fairgrounds near the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino.
But as far as the market goes, it has been a consistent winner of best Farmers Market in the Tampa Bay area for 4 years running according to the Creative Loafing magazine. It is also a dog friendly market, here is the Dog Guidelines to be followed if you bring your four legged friend.
My fiancé, daughter, and I enjoyed a nice brunch at Parkshore Grill just up the street from the market. Parking is limited, and Parkshore offered free valet for three hours as long as you dine with them. So we were hungry for breakfast anyway, so this killed two birds with one stone. There are many fine restaurants along the boulevard, and a few do offer valet. Be careful when park and pay at the meter, because if your five minutes late, you get a nice fine from the city.
Some of the highlights of the vendors besides the organic farmers, to which made up nearly 40% of the booths, and boy did the fresh fruits and vegetables they have look fantastic. There were eateries such as Habana Cafe whose main restaurant location is based out of Gulfport selling authentic Cuban cuisine. Gulfport also has a nice little market every Tuesday as well. I will have to try out that restaurant next time I’m in Gulfport, which when I’m actually home is at least two times a week. There were bakers like Sammy selling gluten free products and Rudy who had Mediterranean hummus, tabouleh, and falafels.
You could also get fresh organic eggs and milk from a vendor called The Dancing Goat, and they have a large variety as well. Plus a stand for fresh truffles, I was in heaven. Outside of the food and produce was the arts and crafts sections ranging from homemade trinkets to artworks, all depending on what you might be interested in.
The best and most memorable experience for me was The Brooklyn Knish, to which I did indulge in, and purchase several more to take home and eat later on. They had selections such as loaded baked potato, The Thai, the Corned Beef Reuben, The Italian, and last but not least the Beef Brisket and Potato knish.
There are a total of 15 markets open throughout the week in the Tampa Bay area from Wesley Chapel running down to Sarasota. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture there are over 170 Farmers Markets in the entire state, so happy hunting everyone. Other Bay Area Markets
Parking:
• South Core Garage - Over 1100 spaces are just across the street from the market.
◦ The entry is on 1st Avenue S, between 2nd and 1st Street.
◦ The cost is $3 (on entry) on weekends.
◦ The payment machine takes credit cards as well as cash.
◦ Use the elevator in the NE corner of the building.
◦ Higher prices ($5 and occasionally $10) are charged when large downtown events occur.
• Baywalk Parking Garage - Over 1300 spaces are just 2 blocks north of the Market.
◦ Enter the garage on 2nd Street N between 1st and 2nd Avenue.
◦ It costs just $1 for the first 4 hours (on weekends).
◦ A higher price ($5 and occasionally $10) is charged on the rare occasions that there is a large special event in the downtown area (e.g. Ribfest / November, Mainsail / April)
• Al Lang parking - 50 spaces ($5) are available on the eastern portion of the Al Lang parking lot.
• Street Parking - There is metered street parking in a several block radius.
◦ The meters cost 25¢ for 20 minutes, or 75¢ per hour. The meters are enforced on Saturdays in some locations.
◦ Metered parking is free on weekends in spaces located south of Central and north of 5th Ave S (1st St, west to 4th St.).
• Beach Drive – We encourage our visitors to not park on Beach Drive, in order to leave spaces for patrons of the Beach Drive merchants.
• Handicapped Spaces - There are a small # of designated handicapped spaces just south of the Market next to the Stadium. Enter from 1st Street south.
• Downtown Looper Trolley
◦ The Looper is a Trolley service that completes a 12 stop circuit of the downtown area. It's painted to look like a trolley used decades ago.
◦ The Trolley operates from 10am to 5pm.
◦ The Trolley (heading north) stops at the Hilton hotel, which is ½ a block south on 1st Street.
◦ It also stops by the Hampton Inn – which is 1½ blocks north on 1st Street.
◦ It costs just 50¢, and its free in a core downtown zone.
◦ Click here to see the exact route, the specific schedule and more.
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5 stars
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is Extraordinary
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4 Stars
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is Outstanding
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3 Stars
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Exceeded Expectations
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2 Stars
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is Above the Average
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1 Star
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is an Average Dining Experience
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No Star Rating
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The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling
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Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
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4 of 5
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Ambiance:
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not rated
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Quality of the Food:
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7 of 10
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Plate Presentation:
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not rated
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Customer Service:
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not rated
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Wow Factor:
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5 of 10
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Rating Breakdown And Analysis of the market:
Professional Restaurant reviewers like the New York Times, Zagat, Chowhound, Gayot, or others base their reviews on either a single experience, and give in their opinion a specific rating to the business. While some return a few times to get a better scope, and provide a fare well rounded review. These reviews and accolades tell the whole story and inform the consumer of what to expect. Now social media from Facebook, Yelp and Trip Advisor have started to replace the traditional media, and a large majority of people will look at these social ratings and write-ups and judge the businesses on them versus the use of review sites like this one or the others I mentioned above. Social media is now the new make or brake to a business. Instead of being skeptical to the social review, people will see that others have given low ratings, and they will likely bypass and go to a competitor. Whether it is here on Wine, Dine, and Play, or Zomato, the one thing we do is give an unbiased opinion and base our write-ups on what we experienced, giving you the most information we can. The ratings I give on Wine, Dine, and Play are based on the overall experience, so use this review as another source of information to help make your decision.
Sometimes I visit a place once, or many times, and I base it on the facts, versus a user on social media who writes a bad review because he had a bad day, or has a personnel dislike to an employee. I am one of many thousands of reviewers on this Earth, and my main job is to inform you the consumer. I do this for fun as it is something I truly enjoy. You may end up having a completely opposite experience then the ones I write about, but in the end it is all in the eye of the beholder. I’m just giving you more information then what you see or here on social media.
Here on Wine, Dine, and Play, I have an overall star rating scale of six levels with the lowest being a poor or appalling experience with zero stars, up to an extraordinary experience rated at five stars. From there I brake down the individual experiences such as wow factor, and food quality on a scale from zero to ten, with ten being the best. The overall zero to five star rating takes all the individual experiences into account, and combines them to give my final rating score. In the next paragraph, I brake down how and why I come to the conclusion of the rating numbers listed in the review chart above.
I have been to The Saturday Morning Market two times, but can tell you that I do intend on returning again.
The quality rating I base by an essential or distinctive characteristics that the food offers, or if I see that it is of a high grade, superiority, or excellence. Also important is the taste. Did the chef pair or match distinctive ingredients together, and did he send my palette on an adventure? From the tastings I did of the vendors at the market, The Brooklyn Knish was by far my favorite, and I rate the quality at a seven out of ten possible points.
The “wow” factor as I like to call it is a quality or feature that is extremely impressive, or it can be something that is seen or done that is funky, surprising, or pleasing. It is something that just makes me go “wow”. This rating is also the hardest to get high marks for. There were several wow moments not just with food but with the kindness and customer service of the vendors, the music, and the variety of items available. So I gave the Market a wow rating mid way at five out of ten points.
Finally the overall star rating from Wine, Dine, and Play that I give The Market is a four, meaning that it not only exceeded my expectations, and my expectations are set at a high standard compared to others, but they bumped up to the levels of outstanding. I came to this conclusion based on all the other factors and how they rated.
I have been to several markets all over the world, all being unique in their own way, but it is great to have some many nice ones locally to where I live. I would compare the Saturday Market to two others I have been two, though in a larger scale, they both had the same vibe and experiences that the St. Petersburg Market has. Those locations are the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington which by far is still the best market I have ever been to, especially watching the famous fish toss, and the Queen Victoria’s Market in Melbourne, Australia which by far was the largest market I have ever been to with nearly 1000 vendors, with its own separate meat, cheese, and wine markets dotted around the many fresh fruit and vegetable vendors and the art and craft sellers.
Other St. Petersburg reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Fresco’s waterfront Bistro in St. Petersburg, Florida
The Tap Room at the Hollander Hotel
Z Grill
Brick and Mortar
Bonefish Grill
Cassis American Brasserie
St. Pete Saturday Market
Jack London’s Grill
Parkshore Grill
The Avenue
Review basics:
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Trendy, Hot spot, Scenic views, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood gem.
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Payments:
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Street Parking
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Smoking:
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nonsmoking
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Restaurant address:
Progress Energy Park
101 1St Street South
St. Petersburg, Florida
33701
GPS Coordinates:
27.770342
-82.634024
Contact Information:
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Inquires:
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727-455-4921
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Market Website:
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Serving Hours:
Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)
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Saturday: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm |
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Email:
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Social Media
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Accolades:
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Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Picture below was taken in Basrah, Iraq in 2015
About Sean:
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, Dubai, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for the Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, plus the wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra, and the culture. Since that time, over 200 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide; exotic world locations such as Dubai, Petra, Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; country cuisines such as Afghan and Peruvian; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia
Who is John Galt?
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
TTFN
