MarketWatch: Sap for Sipping, Baby Garlic, and Eggs of All Kinds

After a two-year hiatus, The Food Section's MarketWatch returns for its Spring 2008 edition. The new version, launching today, will be published monthly, with reports on what's fresh and new at the farmers markets in New York, San Francisco, and other cities (soon). If you've visited a farmers market recently in your own community, tell us what's new in the comments. And, if you have photos, be sure to post them to our new MarketWatch flickr pool.

NEW YORK: UNION SQUARE GREENMARKET

News & Notes
If you came to the Greenmarket this past Saturday, you might have noticed that the layout has been temporarily rearranged. Producers normally found on the north end of Union Square have moved south to make way for a construction project to restore the pavilion and beautify the North Plaza.

While we have technically entered spring, based on what's on display at the Greenmarket, it might as well still be winter. Apples, potatoes, and root vegetables are plentiful, but anything fresh and green is still scarce. While the temperature has risen just enough to tempt us out of winter, we're not there yet.

Greenmarket Manager Gabrielle Langholtz turned to poetry to describe the state we're in: "T.S. Eliot said it best: 'April is the cruelest month' Hats and scarves come off and customers come out, but farmers are just now putting seeds in the ground. The first harvests haven't really begun yet."

Nevertheless, a few spring specialties have arrived, and more are on the way.

Agenda: Sensual Dinners, Food on Film, and Japanese Essentials

FEATURED EVENT

The Five Senses Dinner Series
Blue Hill at Stone Barns (630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, New York) is presenting a unique series of dinners, each of which focuses on one of the five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. The events will be hosted by Executive Chef Dan Barber, along with special guests. Proceeds from the dinner series will benefit the non-profit The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. The first dinner will focus on the sense of smell and feature a "virtual meal" comprised entirely of scents, aromatic cocktails, and more. Special guests for the evening will be Rachel Herz, a leading expert on the psychology of smell, and Christopher Brosius, an award-winning designer of innovative perfumes. "Smell" will take place on Sunday, April 6th, 6:00 p.m. Seating is extremely limited; to RSVP, call 914.366.6200 ext. 110. $200/person.

Alter Ego

CB2's Beaker Glasses may look just like plastic cups, but they are actually made of handblown lab glass. They are so light and thin that you might even mistake them for their disposable doppelgängers. And, they're even stackable. The glasses come in two sizes: the cooler glass (10.5 oz.) is $3.95 and the juice glass (6.5 oz.) is $1.95 at CB2.