Hardwood Pizza Company fired up a 900 degree Fahrenheit portable oven this year right on Main Street during Saturday editions of the Lexington Farmers Market. These fresh pizzas make good use of fine foods from farms and producers that surround them in the Market. And, of course, the pizzas benefit from the sweet smoke of real wood, or, as the company’s website puts it, “The wood makes it good.”
Here’s the menu for today’s outing at the Lexington Farmer’s Market (in Pizza Red font):
Margherita
Local Tomatoes, Basil, Fresh Mozzarella with a drizzle of Olive Oil
Garlic Scape Pesto
A minimalist’s delight featuring delicious Pesto Sauce from Blue Moon Farm
Eggplant Parm
Local Eggplant with a pinch of Garlic, Salt and drizzle of Olive Oil – blanketed with our signature sauce, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese. YUM!
Vito’s Sausage
A local favorite – sweet, spicy and delicious
Veggie
The portable oven, with its tall chimney, is becoming a fixture of Lexington’s big events, including Central Bank Thursday Night Live and street festivals. I’m hoping more food carts may follow Hardwood Pizza onto Lexington’s streets.
I wonder often why we do not have more food carts, and assume as we continue our transition from large town to small city, the policy or economic barriers will melt away. Given how much our ”community architects” love to point to places like Portland, Oregon as models for our city’s growth, surely food carts like Portland’s — and community enthusiasm for their offerings — are bound to materialize soon. We’re missing out on excellent, affordable food, and we’re also missing out on the fun of events like New York City’s “Vendy” Awards.
On the other hand, Hardwood Pizza reflects the progress we are making toward fresh, local cooking at the Lexington Farmers Market this year. No longer do Saturday and Sunday shoppers have to rely on fruit and the occasional uncooked ear of corn for sustenance as they shop. Now we can choose from among the griddled and grilled foods at Cookin’ Up Kentucky, crepes from the crepe-makers, ice cream, bicycle-powered smoothies, varieties of pulled pork and barbecue, and more.
The new prepared food vendors delight, and surely they help the Market prosper by making it possible for people to stay longer and shop more extensively. After all, it’s possible to eat pizza with one hand and load sweet corn into one’s shopping bag with the other. We shoppers are enjoying the new options.
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The world is coming to visit central Kentucky this year for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. To help our visitors know more about Kentucky’s food and food ways, Savoring Kentucky is rolling out 116 Savory Kentucky Bites, one for each of the 100 days before WEG begins, and 16 for the days during WEG, September 25 – October 10. Today’s Savory Bite is number 80.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey…thanks for the great write-up. For what it’s worth, the current regulations on “food carts” are oppressive and make it financially difficult to keep a business like this. But we too have a vision for more street food in Lexington and are doing what we can to show how delicious and fun it can be. Not something to be afraid of and regulate to death. We really appreciate your support and are totally excited that the people of Lexington “get it!!” You can find us at Spotlight Lexington for two weeks straight serving lunch, dinner and the after hours bar crowd.
We are so ready for good, tasty, diverse food carts!!
had the margherita pizza today……….was fabulous!