Alachua Together

One of my tenants applied for a free garden this year and had it installed in the back yard. It’s part of a county program called GIFT Gardens. If you meet the income requirement and have a place to put it, you can have one installed for free. Volunteers will come put it together for you and give you the initial supplies. After that, you just keep it watered and follow other instructions for tending it.

After this recent week of sub-freezing temps, I expected to see a lot of dead plants. As you can see, the thing is actually flourishing! I took this photo of one of the 3 box gardens, and they are all equally healthy looking. Anywy, for more information about this program, click on this link.

Yes, it has been forever since I have posted here, but it’s free for everyone who cares to, so I don’t want to hear about it.

But what I do want to hear about, in the comments section if you like, is how much you like your favorite local barbecue restaurant.

Personally, I love the barbecue at Pearl Country Store in Micanopy. Yes, it’s a gas station and convenience store on South 441, but the meat there is the best I have had in Alachua County. And you get plenty of it. I usually get the pork sandwich, and I have to pick up a fork and keep eating until what’s left fits on the bun. It is delicious! No pig ever died for as good a cause!

Warning: the hot BBQ sauce is HOT. If you like that kind of thing, get it. If you are just curious, get it on the side.

Note: you can buy a canned or bottled beer and have it with your lunch or dinner. It’s way cheaper than the beer you buy at a regular restaurant.

I also like the barbecue at Adam’s Ribs. They don’t seem to have their own web site, but this is the link to their menu at GatorFood.

Adam’s is at the other end of 441, near the corner of NW 13 St. and 23rd Av. If it looks like a donut shop to you, it’s because it’s located at the old Mister Donut. It’s not quite as good as Pearl’s, in my experience, but we did takeout BBQ ribs from there once, and they were just about the best we’d ever had. So, since I live just a couple of traffic lights from it, I will likely eat there more often than I would at Pearl’s.

Weigh in, people!

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.

This past Saturday I was coming back from the waste collection center on Hwy 121 when I decided to get a few pictures for you.

I don’t usually shop for fresh fruits and vegetables here. I live across the street from a Publix, so it just never dawns on me. But I thought this was one way to find out if it was worth the trip. Granted, I got there just before noon, so some people may have sold out and left already.

I didn’t stop to interview anyone, but I have found this particular market’s website, 441market.com, and it has all sorts of pertinent information about what is available from month to month, what is required of local growers, and what it costs for them to participate.

The fee structure is a bit confusing, but as far as I can tell there is an initial $30 inspection fee and a $10 per day fee for each Saturday that they set up to sell. There is also a $125 per year membership dues. Food vendors have to have a Certified Kitchen that has been inspected by the State of Florida.

I highlight this market to make the point that any one of the growers could use thsi blog to give people advance notice, with pictures, of what they will be bringing to market. They could also tell more about them, and give readers a reason to come out and buy. After all, there are no membership fees here, and no inspections.

If you go to this market, tell the folks there that you read about it at AlachuaTogether.com!