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My Central Market addiction has become something of a family joke. Whenever we visit Seattle, usually to see family at Christmas, I’ve got to go to Central Market. You have to understand, this market isn’t in Seattle proper – it’s in Poulsbo – a town of about 7500 that’s a car and ferry ride about an hour from Seattle. And there isn’t a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s for miles — and I mean like 50 miles.
Central Market is amazing. Carrying organic produce, natural care products, sustainable and free range poultry and meats, it holds its own with any Whole Foods and even eclipses it in some ways by actually carrying some of the regular supermarket fare that we all find ourselves needing, and driving to multiple stores to get. It has an extensive Asian aisle that goes well beyond the bottles of Kikkoman sauces that have become the norm at most supermarkets, offering frozen coconut milk, ti leaves, banana sauces, rice crackers, ume (pickled plums) and more.
Central Market also has a full service deli, coffee bar (not an in-store Starbucks (!!) that will start serving fair trade coffee after the first of the year) and a separate pizza and hot dog take away in the store — which actually serves pretty good thinner crust ‘za. The combo has become a regular order for us when we’re in Poulsbo and can’t think of anything else we’d rather have.
And – Central Market has been the source for local northwest products and other things I can’t seem to find in the Bay Area… Wheat Nuts, Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa, Lawry’s Hot Taco packet…why can’t they all be Central Markets?