Easton: Easton Public Market (February 2017)

My spouse and I visited the Easton Public Market (EPM) on two consecutive weekends in early February 2017. We first visited on a Saturday afternoon, with our second visit the following Friday night. The market is open on Wednesdays through Sundays from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm (only until 5:00 pm on Sundays). Some vendors stay open as late as 9:00 pm on weekends. Metered parking is available on the surrounding streets, including in the off-street parking area behind the market. 

The Market, which opened in early spring 2016, is located on Northampton Street, between the State Theatre and Center Square in the space previously occupied by Rader’s Dry Goods and HL Green’s Department Store. It offers space for 15 vendors, offering both take-away products and dine-in options. Note that the Easton Public Market (EPM) is not the Easton Farmers Market (EFM). The EFM, which began in 1752, is the oldest open-air market in the country and operates year-round in Center Square (around the Peace Candle) every Saturday in warmer months, and alternate Saturdays in the winter. Complimentary tours of the EFM and EPM are offered at 11:00 am on the second Saturday of every month. On the fourth Saturday of every month, a more extensive, $5 tour is offered that includes product samples and a souvenir shopping bag. The 16,000-square foot indoor market offers restrooms, a children’s area, and a kitchen (for cooking demonstrations and classes). The EPM’s wood floors and exposed brick walls offer a sleeker, more pared down version of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market and the Allentown Farmer’s Market.

Our investigative visit included a stroll through the nicely organized, well-lit, spacious, and spotlessly clean market, taking time to browse in various stalls and display cases including Highmark (Blue Shield) produce, Third and Ferry’s Fresh Fish, Dundore and Heister meats, Klein Farms artisanal cheeses, Olive with a Twist (olive oils), Go Nuts (nuts, fruits, and other dry goods), and the Barred and Broody bakery. On our second visit, we dined at Mr. Lee’s Noodles, but we also purchased wine at Tolino Vineyards to enjoy with our meal. We tried to purchase beer and wood-fired pizza at Scratch, but the vendor was understaffed; after first waiting at the bar itself and then in the take-out line for more than 15 minutes, we gave up! On our first visit, we purchased a slice of delicious Nutella layer cake at Barred and Broody bakery; we tried to make another purchase at the same vendor on our second visit, but the stand closes at 7:00 pm and we arrived at 7:05 when the staff was packing up for the night. Instead, we considered buying a few chocolate confections at Chocodiem, but we didn’t understand the two adjacent tables across from the main stand and next to the rear door – if they were samples, no one manning those tables offered us a taste, even though we paused by each table to feast our eyes. On the other hand, if those auxiliary tables were intended for selling the chocolates, we could not see any containers in which to hold the candies.

We tried two dishes from Mr. Lee: one cold and one hot. Both were delicious and unique, with their nontraditional take on traditional Japanese dishes. It was hard to choose a favorite between the two. Our cold dish of Korean BBQ beef noodles included noodles, beef, kimchee, English cucumbers, chilies, and hardboiled egg. Our hot dish of sticky ramen included beef dashi, sticky BBQ pork belly, collard greens, red eye beans, pickled red beets, 60-minute egg, and hush puppies. We will return to try other menu options, but we also want to sample the food at the TAZA Stop (including the Egyptian national dish called koshari made of rice, macaroni noodles, chickpeas, and fried onions), Full of Crepe, Fieldstone Coffee and Tea, and More Than Q Barbecue.

Obviously, we enjoyed our first visit to the Easton Public Market, or we would not have returned so quickly! The market is attractive, and we look forward to trying all the food vendors.