Took a break this morning and hit the Downtown Windsor Farmers' Market

Lately I've been really busy preparing for The Great Canadian Board Game Blitz which I'm hosting next weekend on the 17th. That would be why you haven't been seeing the usual weekly updates and #FoodPorn Friday posts. I took a break from prep work this morning to take the family down to the Downtown Windsor Farmers' Market.

This open air market is put on by the Windsor Downtown Residents Association. The market opens every year on June 1 and runs every Saturday from 9am until 1pm, until Thanksgiving weekend in October.

This year the market moved from it's location at the old Greyhound Bus terminal, to Charles Clark Square. Most locals know the Square as a great place to ice skate during the winter. The new venue is about three times as large, has more access to power and is in a more scenic part of town.

There's a  huge variety of vendors at the market each week. Interestingly it's not always the same people either. There are a few staples but other booths change week to week.

There's plenty of fresh grown local produce, as expected. Grown Right Here is a big sponsor for these weekly events. Today saw lots and lots of different types of tomatoes and peppers. We were hoping zucchini was ready but it seem that will be next week or the week after.

Besides everything being farm fresh most of the prices are better than what you see at the local super market. Along with the produce there are usually a couple vendors there selling fresh fish and meats. This week there was a vendor selling some amazing sausage, Robbie's Gourmet Sausage Company, they handed out a couple samples that has us buying some of their Canadian breakfast sausage and Chorizo to bring home.

In addition to a variety of meats and produce you will find a variety of vendors selling various treats. There's candied nuts, pies, fresh bread and fruit loaves, smoothies, cookies and more. What's cool to see is the number of gluten free and diabetic safe options.

For people buying these treats there's a few different seating areas set up around the square so you can enjoy the food you bought or just take a load off for a bit.

There's also a wide variety of non-food items for sale. Local artists are always there showing off their wares. This week I saw soaps, henna tattoos, earrings, a couple different painters and even one person doing geeky and sporty stained glass. A small stage area is also set up and musical guests provide entertainment throughout the day.

In typical Windsor fashion everyone is extremely friendly and more than willing to chat. All of the vendors love talking about their products and it's always great to get cooking tips right from the source.

If you are ever looking for something to do on a Saturday morning this summer or early fall, I do suggest you check out the Downtown Windsor Farmers' market. You never know exactly what you will find but I can pretty much guarantee you will find something you will like.

Koroke for this Friday's #FoodPornFriday

This week's Food Porn Friday pic comes from The Sushi California. which we first tried during our birthday staycation. I wrote about this place a while ago as my first ever guest post over at Eyes on Windsor. This trip to this downtown Sushi Bar was even better than our last. Here is a shot of our appetizer; an order of Koroke a potato based, deep fried bundle of goodness. At The Sushi California it's served with this coleslaw that I love. I have no clue what's on it, but it's one of the best sauces ever.

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Why did it take me so long to try Terra Cotta?

This weekend my wife and I had a rare treat. Four hours without the kids to do anything we wanted. After a bit of discussion we decided we wanted a nice meal and then to head to a favorite downtown spot, The Coffee Exchange, for some desert and coffee and a few rounds of Race for the Galaxy. This post isn't about the coffee and card games though, it's about where we ended up for dinner: Terra Cotta Pizza.

Terra Cotta has been around for a long time. As long as I can remember at least. I'm sad to say up until last Saturday night we have never tried it. I know they are known for stone oven pizza but that was about it. I also knew they had a two for one Tuesday deal but we never managed to make it out for it. I've even been told by friends to try it. For whatever reason I always thought of Terra Cotta as high end. A classy, don't bring the kids, wear a collared shirt, cloth napkin, kind of place. I'm my head it was La Guardia with a guy cooking pizza up front. Man was I wrong. 

Check out the awesome glass pitcher.

The first thing you will notice walking up to Terra Cotta will most likely be someone cooking pizza, right there in the front window. Anyone can stand there and watch traditional, dough tossed in the air, pizza making, right there from the street. How cool is that? Going inside I was amazed to see not only how small but also how comfortable the place was. This place is really small. There's the pizza prep area up front, a long bar in the middle, some two seater tables across from that and maybe 8 more tables in the back for larger groups. Okay I guess it's probably a bit bigger than say Sam's Pizza but smaller than it looks from the outside. The place is also very casual. I have no idea where my idea that this was a fancy shmancy place came from, but I was wrong. Not to say the place is a dump or anything like that, it's very casual and homey with no pretensions. They also had high chairs and there was a family in there with kids, so I guess it's a good family place as well. It's nice to be proven wrong sometimes.

Our Crustino

I was pleased to see a good beer menu that included a ton of Sleeman Products including draft. Was was even happier when they noted they had Okanagan Spring on draft and ordered a pitcher for the two of us to split. Check the pictures on this page to see the awesome solid glass pitcher this came in.

Looking at the menu, we found a full page spread about some stuff they call Crostino. This is home made, double toasted croutons topped with Pizza ingredients, baked in the wood fire Pizza oven. At about $8 and with enough food to share we decided we had to try it. We grabbed the Crostino Alla Bolognese which had mozzarella, ham and Swiss. It was very good. A really unique taste with the crunchy croutons, zesty sauce and lots of herbs and spices. I think I would try a different set of toppings next time but I do suggest you try one of these unique offerings.

For main courses my wife and I both ordered Pizzas. The menu has a wide variety of pre-made options that range in price from $8 to $14. Toppings range from the traditional bacon, pepperoni and green peppers to eggplant, turkey and calamari. They also offer white or whole wheat crust, gluten free options and even non-dairy cheese. The menu didn't stop at pizza either; there was a selection of appetizers, salads, Italian wraps and sandwiches, salads and calzones. I went with a make your own pizza, with sausage, pepperoni and my favorite pizza topping: prosciutto. My wife grabbed one of the pre-set pizzas, the Prosciutto e Funghi and ordered it with non-dairy cheese. 

Looks awesome doesn't it?

Okay look at that picture right there. Just look at it. Doesn't that alone make you want to go to Terra Cotta? I know it makes me want to go back. Not only did the food look good, it tasted amazing. By far some of the best wood fire flat crust pizza I have ever had. Why the heck did I just try this place this weekend?  It's been here for years, I could have been eating this like once a month, maybe once a week, maybe twice a week!

The food was great. The atmosphere wasn't at all what I expected but that was a good thing and it meant that this should be a great place to bring the kids. It also seems like the kind of joint my parents would both dig. What this means over all, is that I will be going back to Terra Cotta, probably multiple times and bringing along the entire family. I'm still a bit frustrated that it took us so long to try somewhere so good, but I'm very happy that we finally did and have found a new regular stop for great pizza in Windsor.