“Considering the quality of the food, it's no wonder St. Pete's market is booming in popularity.

Also available at the market: fresh sandwiches of crisp lettuce and good meat from Holway & Barnes; short order breakfast at Uhuru; miniature sweet potato pies that taste like Thanksgiving from Desserts By Milly; tough but tasty jerky from Grizzly's; that sun-dried tomato pesto rosso that I regularly crave from Primi Urban Café; and, of course, the Granola lady.

….where else can you sit in the sun with a platter of smoked meat, a fresh smoothie and a couple of cookies, waving at passing friends and listening to live music, all while supporting locally owned bootstrap businesses? “

“Ybor's Fresh Market is funky, and Hyde Park's Farmer's Market is picturesque. But the Saturday Morning Market …..works on a completely different level. To compare either of the Tampa markets …. to it would be about as fair as comparing a Catholic church fall carnival to Busch Gardens.“

There aren't a dozen vendors on Central; there are dozens. There isn't one produce stand; there are, like, five. And there aren't 20 or 50 people perusing the stalls; there are hundreds of seniors, couples, pods of tourists and neighborhood kids here, wandering about, wallets and bottles of water in hand.

In Florida, where a lot of us don't even know our neighbor's name, the Saturday Morning Market feels like a family gathering. Vendor and customers call each other by name, share a joke and a laugh. The shoppers greet one another as if this is the city's central meeting place. It certainly feels that way. The streets are full of young families, outdoorsy types and elderly shoppers. Yep, it's my kind of place.

“Though it is shy on vegetable farmers, the market does offer local eggs and black mangrove honey, and there's no shortage of home- cooked treats, biscotti, berry pies, spice mixes, coffees, cheesy corncakes, granola, salsas, everything an ambitious foodie with a spare weekend and space in the garage can make. Come often and bring money.”

Gregory Jones – Gregory has long been famous for his sublime fruit smoothies. Creative Loafing highlighted his burgers which they called “sublime, hot, crusty and creamy in equal measure, tasty enough for the most ardent carnivore”.

Uhuru Breakfast Oasis – The volunteers at the Breakfast Oasis have been serving up delicious breakfasts for years at the Market. Creative Loafing suggested that you “settle down for the finest scrambled eggs, omelets and breakfast wraps anywhere.”

Shirts of Bamboo – Shirts of Bamboo offers a variety of clothing and accessories made from soft breathable bamboo fabric. CL weighed in, saying “they may be the perfect T-shirts …. really, really comfortable — soft as silk but sturdy as cotton and made in a range of colors for both men and women.”

Of all the area public markets, this one offers the most atmosphere, the strongest sense of community coming together.

St. Petersburg’s Saturday Morning Market Opens   In 2002, the local farmers’ market scene was limited, to say the least. Then a little market started on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. Since then, the Saturday Morning Market has boomed, becoming the largest one-day-a-week market in the southeast U.S., with almost 10,000 customers browsing the stalls each week.

Much of that success lies with the make-up of the market. Although it does feature a few actual farmers, and some non-farm produce stands, the sheer breadth of vendors is astounding. Listen to live music, buy veggies, eat breakfast and shop for Christmas, all in the parking lot of Al Lang Field.

9 a.m. Downtown St. Petersburg's north-south dividing line, Central Avenue, is closed to traffic at its bayfront terminus every weekend to accommodate the Saturday Morning Market (Central Avenue between First and Second Streets), a street-food fair where local growers, chefs and bakers offer samples that are hard to resist.