Alachua Together

This Saturday I went to the Haile Village Farmers market, in Haile Plantation. Haile Village is the commercial section of the sprawling housing development, near the corner of SW 46th Avenue and SW 91 Street. It is open from 8:30am until noon every Saturday, rain or shine. Vendors have a really sweet deal here. They tell me it is only $10 per week to set up a table here, and it’s an extra $5 to rent a canopy. That means I am applying for a space for my business, Marsh Window Cleaning!

Jewelers, candle makers, and various services may also participate, although edible creations are in the majority. All along one of Haile Village’s interior streets, in front of a conveniently placed cafe, you can find fruits, vegetables, plants, biscotti, sea food, prepared food, and other worthwhile subjects to investigate.

Most things I saw, and tasted, were locally grown, with the exception of the fish that cannot be found this far inland. One man was showing off the biggest shrimp I have ever seen. He boasted that he is there every week, and that there are regular customers who travel from across town to get his meaty catches.

Not all of my pictures came out well, so you will have to come out to see everything. Some of the regular participants include:

• Custom Designs and Alterations by Ida Lawrence
• Bee Sweet Apiaries, Inc. Producers of Florida Honey
• The Green Mango, 100% Indian and Vegetarian foods
• Embros Orchestra, Greek American Entertainers
• Mobil Seafood Depot, Fresh Seafood
• In The Beginning Jewelry
• John Brothers, Guitar Lessons
• Verna Groger, RD, Registered Dietitian

With any luck at all, I will get some of these people to write here on the blog, so they can share their expertise with you, and let you know when they are available outside of the Farmers Market.

Until other people figure out what this is all about, I will write about the places I visit here in Gainesville.

Satchel's

My wife and I were on our way back from the launch of the Endeavor and I was in a picture taking mood. We stopped at Satchel’s Pizza, and it was my very first time. I’ve heard all about it, and I’ve seen the bumper stickers everywhere. For an anti-corporate pizza place, it is incredibly well branded.

I had read about the Satchel’s Salad in the Gainesville Sun, and it sounded like my kind of thing: lots of nuts, seeds, apple slices and crumbled cheese. We got that and a slice of pepperoni pizza for each of us. The pizza had an unidentifiable herbal flavor and the crust was thin and very crispy around the edges. The slices were large and satisfying, and were $3.50 each. Plenty of salad for two was about $6.95.

But the draw for me to come back is the funky decor and the attached gift shop, which could almost get it own posting, but they are too much alike. The walls of the dining room are covered with art and framed photos for sale by local talent. The ceiling is festooned (and there is no better place to use this word) with mobiles and wind chimes. The tables all have a number except for two. Mine was one of them, and its name was “Waldo”. All the tables are also lit with unmatched lamps that were liberated from yard sales, as were the dishes, presumably.

The Dining Car

Then it gets weird. The music playing is someone’s eclectic playlist that is made up of obscure tunes by less obscure artists. When we came in, I believe that was Jim Reeves singing, “The Old Rugged Cross”. That was followed by a Van Morrison song which I could not identify.

The gift shop next store is also part junk museum. Some people have lent their personal collections to the store as some sort of public service. I saw two separate collections of antique Thermos bottles, and a stunning collection of Pez candy dispensers.

Satchel’s appears to be Gainsville’s answer to “South of the Border”. It’s got good food, kitchy decorating, unique gifts and an atmosphere that transports you to a time and place you forgot because you were stoned at the time. There are bands in the evening when they can get them, art works in progress, a kiddie playground, and a small bocce ball court. You can find this gem at 1800 NE 23rd Ave., just before Waldo Road.

The sign, seen from the west

The gift shop and band flyers on the left

A feast for the senses

If the owners want to blog here and tell us what bands are playing and when, all they have to do is sign up.