A couple weeks ago I went with a group to visit the
West Side Market in Downtown Cleveland. This was a place, like
Eggshelland in Lyndhurst, that I had only read about in travel articles and tourist guides. After walking through this place, I learned quickly why this melting pot of foods, opened in 1912, is one of the most treasured assets of the city.
Before you read any further, this blog post is filled with gratuitous amounts of food porn. You have been warned. But if you like that kind of stuff, please click to continue. Trust me, it's safe (and very tasty) for work...depending on how you read it.
The market itself is divided into two sections - fresh produce and meats/specialties/prepared food. When I first walked in, I was surrounded by rows of fresh fruits, veggies, and multiple vendors trying to win my business. It was hard to choose between all the of the wonderfully fresh selections. Lots of samples to be eaten here.
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| That's a lot of fresh meat. You'll need both hands for that. |
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| Freshly made sausages for your enjoyment... |
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| Nuts, nuts...get your roasted nuts! |
Saturdays are packed here. If you plan to come down here on a weekend, be prepared to sift through the ocean of people who are trying to get the same food you are. There's enough for everyone, but you'll be standing in line quite a bit.
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| I think I'm just gaining weight by staring at this food. |
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| If you can imagine eating it, someone's probably selling it here. |
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| If it used to be alive, it's probably sold here. |
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| Don't forget dessert! |
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| One of the stands even served made-to-order crepes! Sooooo tasty. |
The West Side Market packs all this food into this gorgeous, historical building. It wasn't always this clean;
a fire earlier this year forced the market to close down for a week for the first time in many years (it's open every day), so all the walls were power washed and the ceiling cleaned of decades of dirt. It definitely lent to a beautiful shot from the balcony.
For more information about this place, visit
www.westsidemarket.org.
