Joslyn Taylor writes the blogs Simple Lovely and Raising Foodies. Look for her musings on local food each Friday on RenegadeBus.

My first order of business when I visit any new city is to seek out the local Farmer’s Market.

I find that a good farmer’s market is like a little anthropological study; it’s the best way to get a quick bead on a place, to observe firsthand how its denizens live and interact. Plus, you can bring home a tasty local souvenir. (We’ve scored groovy hand printed t-shirts for our daughters at the farmer’s market in Austin and a lovely jar of delicious local honey made by area unemployed at the Oak Park Illinois’ Saturday morning market.)

My all time favorite farmer’s market (and I’ve visited quite a few) is the aforementioned one in Oak Park. Not only is there an abundance of offerings (as is expected in the peak of a Midwestern summer), but the community spirit is amazing. The highlight of the market is a stand selling homemade donuts and mugs of strong, intensely good coffee that boasts a line snaking through the other (more virtuous, as sugar always trumps kale) produce stands. The drill pretty much goes down like this: procure your donut and mug of coffee first thing, then stop to chat with a few neighbors about what produce looks especially good that week before heading over to the “pickin circle” to take in the 20 or so musicians aged 7-70 playing bluegrass tunes. My oldest daughter, then two, assimilated perfectly as she munched her warm sugar coated donut while dancing wildly with several other equally blessed-out kids.

It may have been one of our best Saturday mornings ever.

The bee guy exudes farmer’s market street cred Photo: Joslyn Taylor

I’ve always lamented that Dallas doesn’t seem to have something more like the farmer’s markets I’ve come across in Austin, Northern California, Boulder or Oak Park. Sure we have a huge farmer’s market outside of downtown, and the array of good tasting produce is impressive, but it lacks the soul and charm of the others I’ve visited. The Dallas market is mostly produce merchants (although, happily, the local shed seems to be slowly growing), and there’s not a lot of conversation or pride about what’s being sold. There are a few exceptions — the “Bee Guy”, a local beekeeper who dresses in a bee outfit and is an encyclopedia of information on all things honey — gets it right. Rather, it generally feels commercial and somewhat assertively “salesy.” I usually leave a little frazzled, often times toting a package of Driscol strawberries and wondering if what I purchased was any better than the offerings at our neighborhood Kroger.

Dude, Sweet Chocolate Photo: Joslyn Taylor

So I was pretty excited when a friend told me about the new monthly White Rock Local Market which kicked-off the second weekend of June. I spread the word to my buddies, and my hubby and I packed up our two daughters to visit the market with much anticipation. I had high hopes (maybe too high) that this would feel like those markets I loved. So I was pretty thrilled to find excellent turnout when we arrived around 10 am that morning despite the blistering heat. The offerings included insanely good hand-made chocolates created by Steven Pyles’ pastry chef Katharine Clapner (her company ever so cleverly named, Dude! Sweet! Chocolates), spot-on little girl’s frocks made from vintage fabrics from Baby Bean Vintage Daywear and loads of pasta and preserves from Lucido Produce. Plus, the aforementioned “Bee Guy” was there, which provided instant cred. They were low on local produce vendors, so it felt a bit more like a craft market than a farmer’s market, and I was hoping for some sort of live music, but all-in-all the vibe was right, the community was incredibly enthusiastic and supportive, and I left feeling like we were on our way to something good.

This month’s market is tomorrow, Saturday, July 11th and will feature last month’s vendors plus four local produce stands, including Oak Ridge Valley Organic Farm. Plus the students from Zounds-Sounds School of Rock will be performing from 10-11:30 (so my wish for live music has been granted).

So go, support, buy, chat.

And watch out Oak Park.