Today begins a new segment where I spew my thoughts on farmers markets that I explore in New York City. I'm stationed here for two months so I thought I'd seek out the local fresh grub offered in this fine city. The segment is cleverly titled "Market Research" and I plan on hammering out a post every time I go to a new one. I plan to keep the markets local to my Chelsea location so don't expect any Brooklyn or Upper East Side reviews here. But, you never know if I'll find myself in that neck of the woods and craving some carrots fresh from the soil.

On a side note, all of mine and your farmer's market needs for NYC are conveniently compiled by Greenmarket, the folks that organize the whole ordeal, at www.grownnyc.org. There you can find maps and dates and times of operation for each market and etc. It's comprehensive, to an extent, but deceptive in it's depiction of each market. I'm here to expose the truth about each location and if it lives up to the popular view or if it's even worth the shlep.

For now, lets begin this venture with the famed Union Square Market.

It's nestled right above the NYU crowd and fairly touristy, but boasts the best selection the farmers markets have to offer. Well, on a sunny afternoon, my roommate and I trekked down there to see for ourselves.

First off, the span of the white tents was impressive and dotted the entire west side of the park. There were massive apple tents and a nice tent packed with greens of all varieties and everything from goat's cheese to meat chilling right in the freezers. Upon further sampling, scouting, and spending, I came to the following conclusions.

RIPE PICKIN'S

- The carrots were fantastic. Large, juicy, and sweet. I'm still eating them nearly a week after and at $3 a bunch it's a shameless buy.

- The apples were a) samples, b) well represented, and c) chin-dribblingly juicy. I prefer the Gala, and Fuji at the massive apple stand, but the mini apples, whose name escapes me, were worth a munch.

- there was a lovely expanse of greens available, silently encouraging a diet with more salads at the sight of their lush and vibrant leaves. I'll be sure to stop back and pick up some bokchoy for my dad's salad recipe.

- The patrons were generally pleasant. As for the vendors, I'm not sure if "I'll give it to you for 3.50, just for you." was as generous as it seemed, but I can't really say anything for or against them. That's New York for you.

ROTTEN APPLES

- The first and major disappointment was that nearly every stand (save the apple and mega-green stand) featured the exact same produce. I understand that strawberries are in season now, but isn't there any other fruit or vegetable that you can offer? It was a whole lot of identical tents making the size of this market vastly less impressive than the initial impression.

- Speaking on those repetitive strawberries, they were TINY. I bought some out of my passionate affair with the little red berries, and I'll say it was a less than stellar purchase. I hoped that the sweetness would make up for the size, but nope. Small presentation and small flavor. Skip them and pick up some from Whole Foods instead.