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Downtown farmers market a great place to search out brunch

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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that there are few better ways to spend a sunny Saturday in Edmonton than grazing the stalls at the downtown farmers market.

The outdoor City Market Downtown is a bustling hive of activity when the weather is good, drawing throngs of shoppers to more than 150 merchants.

On one recent weekend, a five-piece swing band performed at one intersection and a duo entertained a short distance away outside Michael Phair Park.

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Toddlers holding their parents’ hands stumbled along gazing at adults and balloons with equal fascination, and babies in strollers stared blissfully at their own toes.

And the dogs. Oh, the dogs. Anyone with a free hand seemed to be holding a leash attached to a German shepherd, a friendly husky, a tiny apartment pooch or a working hound wearing a backpack to carry the groceries.

But all that morning wandering worked up an appetite. Fortunately, the market has a wide variety of food options from around the world for anyone who wants brunch on the fly.

The Chilean Corner offers a variety of hand-held savoury and sweet treats produced by a friendly family that ran a bakery before continuing this work in Canada.

The empanadas — cooked half-circles of dough wrapped around such fillings as ham and cheese or mushrooms — looked like a good protein hit, so we tried the chicken ($6).

It was tasty. Unfortunately, it was cold. The operators warned the product should be taken home and heated, which most customers do, and this is advice to follow.

An order from Honeycake booth is seen at the City Market Downtown in Edmonton, on Saturday, June 16, 2018. It’s a traditional recipe commonly made in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine that’s made in Edmonton.
An order from Honeycake booth is seen at the City Market Downtown in Edmonton, on Saturday, June 16, 2018. It’s a traditional recipe commonly made in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine that’s made in Edmonton. Photo by Ian Kucerak Ian Kucerak /Ian Kucerak/Postmedia

Nearby, the Thai Sab Food Company turned out curries, soups and other treats.

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We grabbed shrimp and cilantro salad rolls (other versions feature tofu and vegetarian), a crisp, light nosh (three for $6) with peanut dipping sauce and a good balance of shrimp and fresh vegetables.

Perhaps the outlet with the cheeriest staff was Meat Street Pies, a food truck that seems to sell almost anything that comes inside pastry.

The menu includes Cornish pasties, Quebec tourtière, Jamaican patties, Scottish pie and an English steak and kidney pub pie. Seeing it was before noon we went for the breakfast pie ($7).

The sign says their offerings are baked on board, and it certainly tastes like it. The hand-held pie had such lovely, flaky crust it won raves from my pastry-averse wife, who usually considers such a coating a stodgy waste of calories.

Inside was a moist, plentiful combination of eggs, cheese, pork sausage and cream that balanced the various flavours and went well with a glass of their refreshing ginger beer ($4, or $3 with a pie).

Need a palate cleanser? Nip across the street to Revolution Ice Cream for a sample of their small-batch frozen delights, made with local ingredients — the blueberry basil exploded on my tongue ($6 ice-cream sandwich, $9 for a half-litre).

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Around the corner, Arno’s Fine French Pastry Inc. had a fresh pain au chocolat ($3.50) containing real chocolate rather than the Nutella some patisseries offer.

But save space to wind up your market tour with a slice of the brilliant Honeycake Original ($5), produced by a baker born in Prague and described as the continent’s favourite cake.

The multi-layer confection combines five layers of honey dough and soft, creamy caramel infused with a small amount of coffee liqueur, rich without being too sweet, buttery and altogether a great deal.

City Market Downtown (outdoors)

Hours: Saturdays May to October, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Address: 104 Street and 102 Avenue north of Jasper Avenue

Information: www.city-market.ca

Cost: Two people can eat well with main, sweet and a drink for about $30.

Journal judgment: Wander among the vendors, find something that looks delicious and dive right in.

gkent@postmedia.com

twitter.com/GKentYEG

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