Market Report: London(?)

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

We’ve been in London for the past two weeks as my wife takes a graduate class.  Last Saturday being her first day off since we arrived, we decided to take advantage of a brilliant, sunny day and visit Borough Market in Southwark. To grasp it, imagine a cross between the Reading Terminal and the Headhouse Square Farmer’s Market. 

Inside a pavilion a fishmonger displayed an incredible selection of local fish, suspending bags of ice-cold water over the fish to cool them; butchers posted pictures of their pigs, explained the curing process for their bacon, and listed their efforts to revive an extinct breed of flat-eared pig; a stand sold dried porcini and honey from Italian monks, a shop hand-carved Spanish jamon as customers ordered; bakers proudly displayed heirloom breads with names like “EastEnd;” an organic juice bar’s chalkboard sign stated how much “veg” was in a shot of wheatgrass; and a chocolatier hung pictures of herself with the farmers of her fair-trade sugar and chocolate.  Outside, abutting Southwark Cathedral, were more stalls selling local and imported produce, homemade chutneys, and large, pungent wheels of local cheese. 

Obviously, several excellent restaurants have sprouted around the market: Roast, housed in the pavilion but seated, glass-encased, above the market; the self-referential Fish! and its adjacent fish-and-chips stand, and Wright Brothers Oyster and Porter House, where your sidewalk table may just be an old barrel.  There are even some celebrity chef sightings as well.  (Although, Nicole, I’m sorry to report no glimpses of Jamie Oliver.) 

Naturally, we sampled some of the more irresistible local products.  First were gooseberries, which resemble green grapes in appearance and texture but taste like kiwi.  In fact, the skin of gooseberries have “faint” hairs, like a kiwi as well.  Next, we tried black currants, which, the balance between tart and sweet, came down on the side of tart. For me, though the true standout came next, when I purchased a couple of raw oysters.  The oysters were fresh, local, and cracked for me as I waited.  The mineral freshness of the sea, the slight chewiness of the oyster meat, spiked with lemon, bested any oyster bar. 

Borough Market is swarming with tourists, and when in London, we normally avoid the heavily-touristed areas when we can.  Moreover, it was terribly disappointing not to be able to buy some of the incredible offerings and go home and cook. So why bother?  Because, despite its appeal as a tourist attraction and the disappointment at being unable to cook, Borough Market captures London’s duality as the capital of Britain and as a global city where immigrants, merchants, and invaders have come for more than two thousand years.  It may not be the British Museum or even the Museum of London, but this facet of London will not be better illustrated anywhere else.