town topics

Love in a Box and the Greenmarket of Georgetown

By Joseph Frye

July 2008

There’s a lot to buy at the Greenmarket of Georgetown: fruits and vegetables, meats, deserts like pound cakes and other baked goods and honey and preserves in all kinds of flavors. You can also pick up fresh cut flowers to decorate a table or brighten a room. Plants for outside decoration can also be bought at reasonable prices.

The vendors at the Farmers Market represent a multitude of places, ranging from Pennsylvania to Eastern Shore, MD. “It is a nice cross section of people,” said Will Morrow, who along with Leslie Wheelock  co-manages the Georgetown Farmers Market. The market continues to grow this year with the addition of two new vendors, bringing the total to five, and the addition of live entertainment.

“Buying local is most environmental and healthy not to mention it supports the local economy,” said Morrow, of Whitmore Farm (Northern Fredrick County, MD), who sells organic meats and poultry as well as vegetables. Other vendors sell specialized items as well. Quaker Valley Orchards, from Pennsylvania, sells different flavors of honey, jam and apple butter, as well as apples and peaches. In the booth next to her is Anchor Nursery, from Eastern Shore, who sells tomatoes and other vegetables as well as flowers. Bonaparte Bakery has fresh bread and other pastries for sale and Karen Kay’s Cakes are available too.

“You can See, Smell, and Taste the Love in our cakes,” is the simple and reassuring motto for Karen Kay’s Cakes. Karen bakes  pound cakes and carrot cakes. She started cooking at an early age. Later she moved to DC and started making her sister’s pound cakes. Karen took her sisters’ cakes to another level by making them with all natural and organic ingredients.

Her pound cakes appeal to everyone: “It was really good, it was filling, it was a huge piece of cake and I savored every bite,” Sarah Thiboutot, from Maine, said after trying the Strawberry Lemon Cake. Karen’s best seller, according to her website, is her Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

I first encountered Karen Kay’s Cakes at the Farmers Market at Rose Park and decided to see for myself how good they really were. I was not the least bit disappointed. A lot of food looks good but the taste does not compare. Karen’s pound cakes are as good if not better than they look, and they look pretty good.

Her new endeavor is cupcakes. They are, as her website boasts, “true to the pound cake make up [...] it’s bigger than a regular cup cake, but still cupcakiest.” You can buy Karen Kay’s Cakes from her website, KarenKaysCakes.com. Or call 202-832-CAKE (2253). The cakes are able to be shipped anywhere in the United States and Canada. She is also at the Rose Park Farmers Market every Wednesday.

The Farmers Market at Rose Park on the corner of 26th and O Street takes place on Wednesdays from 4-7 pm. It was made possible by the Friends of Rose Park and in cooperation with DPR (Department of Parks and Recreation).

The Rose Park Greenmarket allows people in the area to purchase organically grown foods and other fresh goods in a fun and relaxing atmosphere. “The market has become a weekly meeting place for Georgetown neighbors who might not otherwise see each other,” said Wheelock, the market co-manager. “We hope to continue the market as long as the neighborhood supports it.”