Trendy Monday: Covered Markets

I'm not surprised to read that there's an effort in Oregan to redevelop a central location, creating a high-end covered market. Easy access to great seasonal ingredients, alongside foodie-ish restaurants seems right up Portland's alley.

What did surprise me, though, (but maybe I read to quickly?) is that Portland's not already home to a bunch of covered markets.

I guess because I live in Baltimore, where the markets range from fancy-pants Belvedere to cheap beer-soaked Lexington, I assumed that every city was full of similar destinations. (As an aside, I have a very clear memory of going to Lexington Market as a kid, with my mom, to buy a pheasant for Christmas dinner. The next time I went back, years later to go to the Greek stand to get lunch when I worked downtown, I was sort of shocked to find that the market's not exactly full of uber-foodie providers of game and high-end pastries or whatever, but that the walk up to the doors is lined with pirated DVDs for sale and the floor inside is sticker than a fraternity party room on Sunday morning. The Greek food is pretty awesome, though. So are the Berger cookies and cakes.)

Anyway, this article just came as a bit of a surprise to me, and a revelation. Especially since Portland is a revered foodie hub, while Baltimore gets no respect...