Union Market, a renovated 47,000-square-foot warehouse and foodie heaven, opened back in September. Its artisan vendors, pop-ups and stores should be enough to drive the crowds to this otherwise kinda sketchy part of North East D.C. any day of the week (well, Wednesday-Sunday at least, it’s not open Mondays and Tuesdays.) Whether you’re already a regular there, or have never been, here are ten reasons why you should go this weekend:
1) “Meat” The Folks at Red Apron Butchery – I grew up going to the boucherie and I love all the different “butcher” options at Union Market (especially Harvey’s Market and Border Springs Farm). I love that newly opened Red Apron is not only a full service butcher with homemade charcuterie but that they also offer homemade mustards, creative sandwiches and craft beers. Chef Nathan Anda will also open shops at Mosaic District (but that’s far) and in Penn Quarter (much more convenient) later on in the year. Until then, you can satisfy all of your meat cravings at his boucherie in Union Market.
2) Canelé pop-up – Just when you were finally pronouncing macaron properly comes another cute and hard-to-pronounce little French pastry: le canelé! It has a melt-in-your-mouth custardy inside wrapped in a dark and rum-y caramelized exterior. Basically, it’s rich and if well done, delicious. Intrigued? Stephane Muszynski of Smack does canelés just the right way, and he is hosting a pop-up at Salt & Sundry this Saturday. He’ll have some canelés for shoppers to taste and purchase, by the piece or by the box (go for the box, trust me…)
3) Meet A Top Chef – Also at Salt & Sundry, but this time on Sunday, meet Chef Isabella of Top Chef, Graffiato, Bandolero (and soon Kapnos and G) fame. He’ll be signing copies of his new cookbook “Crazy Good Italian” from 1-2PM on 2/10.
4) Eat the Best Crab Cake in Town – I’m not much of a crab cake person, but I must admit I am slowly converting to this quintessential American dish, all thanks to the folks at Rappahannock Oysters.
5) See What a Texan Knows About Wine – If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Sommelier Andrew Stover of Vino 50 it’s that every single state in this country produces wine. Some are surprisingly decent (I’m looking at you Idaho) and others are just plain bad (you know what you’ve done pineapple wine!). And there are also wine aficionados all over the country, including Texas where Eric Rohleder is from. He just opened Cordial Wine, a boutique wine and craft beer shop at Union Market and I think that’s worth a little welcome visit 😉
6) You know what goes well with wine? Cheese… Righteous Cheese – Carolyn’s original cheese-beer-wine pairings are always a good reason to visit Union Market. Also, I recently spotted a Mont D’Or there. Even though it’s pasteurized (darn you American laws!) it still pretty much made my month.
7) I ♥ macarons – And speaking of Righteous Cheese, you can now pick up boxes of 6 macarons (raspberry, chocolate & chocolate hazelnut) from DC Patisserie there.
8) Gina Chersevani Makes a Mean Egg Cream – I have no nostalgic childhood memories of classic New York soda shops of yesteryear. But I know a good drink when I taste one…
9) To support Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign – On Sunday (6-8PM) Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation DC is hosting a ‘Taste of the Market’ to officially kick off this year’s culinary charity event. DC-area chefs will utilize local produce and products found at Union Market to whip out some tasty creations, while the market’s vendors will also provide a fun selection of eats and drinks… all for the a very good cause.
10) Support Local Food Artisans – isn’t that always a good reason?
Hopefully, you’ll find at least one (if not all) of these reasons good enough to hop in a car2go and check out Union Market this weekend! I’m sure I could come up with another ten good reasons why you should go the following weekend too 😉
Union Market is located at 1309 5th St NE and open from 8AM-8PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
This place sounds amazing! I can't believe how much DC has grown and changed…too bad there weren't places like this when I lived there!
Union Market is truly one of the “hidden” gems in D.C., along with Eastern Market. Thanks for highlighting it, more locals and visitors really should stop by. Sometimes it's a bit expensive and it can be a trek for others, but always worth the trip and you're guaranteed some good eats.
Yeah, I wish it were a little easier to access… especially now that it's dark so early, I'm not so comfortable walking home from there. But maybe that's a good thing, otherwise I'd be there ALL the time 😉