On the Market.

I’m hoping there will be no more frost this spring, and my hopes are high that there won’t be. A somewhat sluggish honey bee took some time to rest on my White Zinfandel Soap today. Though where it was expecting to grab a taste I’m not sure. My soaps aren’t too tasty to begin with, regardless of how tasty they may smell.

If you’re looking for a good lunch on Saturday (April 28th), Gary Crowder of Wertz’s restaurant - located at 215 Market St. - will be selling Italian Sausages along with fresh squeezed lemonade and limeade at the Farmer’s tables across from his restaurant. His food is always good, so if you like Italian Sausage, you may not want to pass this opportunity up. He’s been cooking up lots of new ideas for his restaurant lately - and those ideas are not just limited to his new menu that’s now available. He also has a new cook on board who’s been busy in the kitchen coming up with fresh donut recipes that you may just soon find available on the Farmer’s Market as well as a fabulous bread pudding dessert - which I hear has gotten rave reviews from those who’ve given it a go. Of course, if you’re looking for a meal, my husband drooled over Wertz’s Surfin’ Nebraska when we ate dinner there last weekend. And, should you ever get something from Wertz’s you’re not fond of, Gary assures me it’s a fluke and that they’re always happy to replace it with anything else you’d like to have. So, good food and good service mingled with a few fresh ideas. How can you resist?

For those of you who like to follow on the heels of gossip, it’s come to my attention that city council was presented with a new matter to vote on that directly affects the market area. Apparently, in an effort to finagle some extra cash to finish the yet unfinished Market Parking Garage at the corner of Church St. and Market St., someone proposed the city charge a $2 parking fee at both the Market Garage and the Center in the Square Garage on weekends and evenings after 5pm. Currently parking is free during these times, and I’d like to see it remain that way lest the downtown businesses suffer losses from those rightly not having a desire to pay for after hours and weekend parking. I hear this proposal has already received numerous complaints. However, should you wish to throw your vote into the mix, you’ll find the emails and phone numbers for every member on city council at the RoanokeVA.gov website. Personally, I think they could come up with the funds if they’d just stop requesting six figure studies that that tell them what they already knew to begin with, but I’ve tried not to sway too far into politics here because it just gets messy.

In other news, Karl J. Phillips, who publishes City Magazine, was seen driving his jaguar with an orange traffic cone on his hood today. Apparently some mischievous business owners conspired to place the cone on Karl’s car in an effort to curb his habit of moving from parking space to parking space throughout the day, and it didn’t gain his notice even as drove off with this cone protruding like a unicorn’s horn from his car’s hood. I, of course, do not mean any disrespect by this tidbit of information - I just thought it was amusing. And hopefully, Karl - who in his bio claims to be an artist at heart - will understand the creativity of his fellow man. You can find City Magazine all over downtown Roanoke for the price of nothing. Grab a copy for the ins and outs on regional art, entertainment, and events.

Also, if you’re a fan of cheese, my ten year old son of all people introduced me to a new shop via a special request for mozzarella cheese and Fizzy Lizzies yesterday afternoon. While not located on the Farmer’s Market, the shop Say Cheese is located at 102 Salem Ave. just behind the City Market Building - which houses the International Food Court - and beside Billy’s Ritz. Fizzy Lizzy is an all-natural sparkling juice that contains no added sugar, corn syrup, or preservatives. And apparently it’s good. I mean, my ten year old asked for it by name and what a fun name it is. Say Cheese offers Fizzy Lizzy for $1.59 a bottle or 4 for $5. So give them a try. I also grabbed 4 oz. of fresh mozzarella, and while I was in a rush to get home today after a long day on the market, I did notice that in addition to Fizzy Lizzy and lots of cheese, they also carry wine, gourmet chocolates and a handful of handmade soaps. They’ll be seeing me again when I’m not so tired.