Mayfair Fall Festival and Farmers' Market Preview

Are you hungry for more? Are you dying to know what other goodies are coming to Mayfair this Sunday? Can you handle it?? Alright, enough teasing...here you go!

For the Farmers' Market my co-coordinators, Joe, Sue, and I had to do a lot of "research". I put research in quotes because usually that word is equated heavily with someone sitting in a room with a clipboard and pencil, asking boring questions. Our research involved going to different farmers' markets in the area and buying food to sample, talking with local farmers, and buying more food to sample. I would literally be sitting in my car stuffing my face with scones drizzled with local honey while texting them with sticky fingers about how good whatever I was currently eating at the time was. And OOOH! You're at Headhouse? Get me a croissant from Wild Flour...no WAIT get me 4!!! It was really tough work. 

Bagels

One of the things that we felt was noticeably absent was bagels. I don't know about you but I've often wondered "How does Mayfair NOT have a bagel shop?" For that matter, how does MOST of the Northeast not have a bagel shop? There's only one that I know of. I mean seriously, I'd rather go without instead of drive 20 minute but then again, I'm admittedly lazy.  And don't even try to convince me about Dunkin Donuts bagels. I'm just not a fan. So when we were thinking about ways to get the local MBA members involved, Sue had mentioned Shop N Bag's bagels and how good they were. I had never tried them and I'm never one to pass up a good bagel (Oh, it's a carb? Sign me up.) So I went, bought a dozen and was subsequently impressed. Impressed enough to convince Mark Gilbert, owner of Shop N Bag to offer them at the Mayfair Fall Festival/Farmer's Market Preview. What's better than a bagel on a Sunday morning? Buy a dozen and eat them or freeze them for later--that's what I'm doing!

Local Honey

Honey on a bagel? Yes! Sore throat? Honey in your tea! Cold season will soon be upon us and now is the time to stock up! I give a teaspoon of honey to my little guys when they have a sore throat and a cough since they really aren't supposed to have any kind of cough or cold medicine and it usually works! Plus, they love the taste of it so I wonder how many sore throats and faked coughs have happened just to get a spoonful of honey. Greedy clever little buggers! Although there isn't any solid scientific evidence to back this up apparently ingesting local honey is great for seasonal allergy sufferers. The theory is this;  your local bees are more likely to collect pollen from the local flowers in your area. That pollen will end up in small amounts in the honey produced. By ingesting that honey on a regular basis, the person eating the honey will build up immunity to the pollens from the flowers in their local region. Makes sense to me! It's also a good way of supporting the local honey producers who are working to help save the decreasing bee populations. Stephen & Nancy Alexeichik of Mill Creek Apiary in Medford Lakes, NJ will be at the Fall Festival selling all kinds of honey and beeswax products. They also have some bath and beauty products; lip balm, hand creams and honey soaps that they make. I'll have to make sure my kids don't try to eat the soap. Visit their website here to find out more! Mill Creek Apiary

Gourmet Dog Treats

Burger

and Bander, two of TPDBC very satisfied customers.

 So now that you've stuffed yourself, you have to trudge home, laden with bags to face your dog. Silly, we're a puppy friendly event, if your dog is in fact "friendly", and leashed! If you don't bring them along, they will most definitely give you a thorough once over with their nose and probably run up and pee on your bed out of jealousy. Whoa there, Loafy!! I got you something, pal!! Local boy, Jim Toughhill and his Philly Dog Biscuit Company will be there with all kinds of gourmet, homemade treats for your 4-legged pals. Jim's specializes in organic and all natural biscuits without any chemicals or preservatives and he and his dogs taste test every new flavor they make. Yup! If they don't taste good to Jim or his pets he will not sell them to you!! Jim also has vegan treats available so make sure you bring your doggies by and show them how much you love them. Visit Jim's website here,  The Philly Dog Biscuit Company.

Who else is coming? Come back tomorrow and Saturday for more about:

Sinful Cupcake & Cafe

Stan's Health Foods

Art by HQ

The Grey Lodge Pub's Beer Garden (Yup! You read that right!)

Yo! Philly Ice 
and
Lil' Dan's Gourmet Lunch Truck from Philly Mobile Food Association 

Stay Hungry My Friends! (At least until Sunday and then you can pig out!)