Peter C.
Yelp
Make the rounds to a few of Sydney's farmer's markets and you'll soon realize that each has a distinctive vibe, apart from the obvious "I like buying local." Marrickville's got serious eco-hipster funk, a far-left embrace of recycling center ethos and alternative lifestyles (seriously, I might just randomly ask any vendor there one day to give me a hug and they would probably do so in a heart beat). Leichhardt / Orange Grove's got multi-ethnic street creds, with a kitschy Guatemalan coffee vendor (non-colonialistic!), Middle Eastern kitchen and French pastries galore. And Eveleigh? It's the farmer's market version of the Dubai oasis.
First off, you're in a desert. Redfern's the closest train stop, a 7 minute walk (there's also a free shuttle, I think), so right off the bat, you already know the neighborhood's got "character" (but not much else). The market's in a renovated railway workshop, covered and sectioned off from the rest of the world, which helps keep out the Friday night drunken riff raff (somehow, I managed to sneak through...).
As with the Middle East, the offerings are brought in from all over and are spectacular. Beautiful, mostly organic produce from maybe 10 vendors. Then add unwaxed, unsprayed seasonal fruit from another 5 vendors, with one that offers some truly distinctive varieties like guava and achacha. There are gourmet meat purveyors -- duck sausages and meat, pork, lamb, beef, for the carnivore in all of us -- and organic cheese, rice, and bread (La Tartine, Sonoma) providers, too. I haven't spotted a lot of seafood on offer, other than the Brilliant Food folks, but a number of the vendors change from week to week, so it's hard to tell.
Then comes the fun part -- the food vendors, like Billy Kwong and Bird Cow Fish. Kylie Kwong's there almost every week, cooking up a storm of $10 egg pancakes with organic veggies sourced from vendors at the market itself. Blini Bar, at the edge of the workshop, sells sweet and savory crepes for $5 or $6. You can get your bacon and egg roll fix, but no Turkish gozleme here.
To top it off, there is an eclectic collection of rotating prepared food vendors, selling jams (Blue M and Princess Pantry), marshmellows (Sweetness), muesli (Farmer Jo), yogurt (Halla at you, Yalla! and Country Valley), cupcakes (Cupcake Princess), falafel, flats, and more. All offer generous samples before you buy -- and if you aren't shy, you can probably make an entire meal out of just the samples.
It's Dubai for a reason, though. Prices are not cheap as a general rule, unless you shop carefully and stick mostly to the produce (though even that can lead to sticker-shock -- check out the tomato stand for a $14 punnet of heirloom tomatoes, which is wild). Come with a budget, or be of the view that life's better without one. This market's great, but not for those on a financial diet.
P.S. - I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure Kylie approves this message.