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[kirin]

Hey guys. So, my Aussie expat family and I are looking at moving to KC (parents need to be in St Jo every day for work, so probably northside somewhere) in a couple of weeks from Portland, Oregon. Thus, I have a couple of questions

Comments

[miischelle]

ooOOooooo! Good questions.

There are two local organic farmers markets that I know of. The first is in Brookside, at the Border Star Montessori school parking lot on Saturdays. It's not year round though. The other is the Bad Seed market, which is open every Friday evening.

There are several Asian groceries in the River Market you can explore, mostly within walking distance of each other. There's a weekend farmers market there too, but it's not organic strictly.

No joy on stylists though, as I cut and color my own hair.
There is tons of good food OMG! The local places are all excellent. If you're looking for anything in particular just ask.

And....what's Vegemite?

[kirin]

Wow, quick response! Haha.

Oh, those links are fantastic. River Market sounds like a blast to explore so I'm sure I'll be spending some time there.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear about the food! I have to admit that for all the good produce, Portland's restaurants are not so hot. Is there any particular district where there's loads of them?

Vegemite is like a salty, yeasty spread that we Aussies adore. It's also known as Marmite. Deeeefinitely an acquired taste, but I always say you should try it before you knock it. ;)

Thanks a lot for your reply!

[miischelle]

The clumpy majority are probably in Westport, and there are a few gem's on 39th street. This is all in Midtown. Lot's in the River Market too.

There's a Brit Shop in Lawrence - it'd probably be a 30-60 minute drive for you, and I think it's called Brit. Right on Massachusetts Ave somewhere around 10th maybe? They might have the vege mite....I might check the next time I'm up there and let you know.

[meowed]

I haven't had much luck finding vegemite although I hear there is a world store maybe...around Brookside? Or over in KS (you'll find the metro area crosses state line so it's always a good idea to find out if people are talking about MO or KS). There is one somewhere that a Brit coworker of mine used to go to

[kirin]

Sounds promising! I'll see what I can sniff out with that lead. I'm sure somebody would know.

Mission is on the KS side, right? I'll add that to my list, too.
Hey, it sounds like it's not too bad! I think most places are starting to pick up on the slow food movement now, bit by bit. The fact that there's options at all is definitely great.

Huh, I can't seem to get to that website. I'll bookmark it and try again later. Thank you!

[toastiest]

You're moving into an agricultural hotbed. You can find local, organically grown produce at the Hen House grocery chain - there's one north of the river if you're moving there. They also carry Shatto Milk, a local dairy that uses no growth hormones. There are plenty of local meat options if you're a meat eater (which it sounds like you are) at Hen House (and maybe other regular grocery chains) as well as health stores like Green Acres up north, as well as the Whole Foods in Johnson County, Nature's Own in Midtown, and the Brookside Market in... Brookside. A lot of those stores also carry a tofu that's made from soybeans grown within the area

[kirin]

Super informative! I don't know why your comment was marked as suspicious. Ugh, LJ. Is Hen House a grocery store?

I'll check out what Bon Bon Atelier have to offer. It's possible that they may know a resource for ordering, at least. Thanks!

[miischelle]

Shatto is organic. And they buy back the glass bottles!

[sans_patrie]

Actually I'm pretty sure Shatto is not certified organic (I've been on their farm tour twice). They use mostly organic practices, and are family-owned and local though. Not to mention delicious.

[kirin]

Organic isn't necessarily the big push, it's just that generally, organic leads to local and humane practices. So if they have two out of three, those two are definitely good enough for me. This brand sounds great, though! What's the farm tour like?

[need_anoutlet]

There is a huge farmer's market each weekend with local ethnic shops from several different countries (including a huge "oriental" market which may carry some of your Japansese products) at City Market, downtown.

[marsgirl_73]

Check out Fresh Connect KC. They are a company that does home delivery of local produce, meats, dairy, and lots of other stuff. They also contract with small organic citrus farmers in TX and deliver that along with the local goodies. The owners (Kevin and Brookie-Lee) are great, and they have a huge delivery area.

[kirin]

If I can't find store-based options, I'll definitely keep this in mind. :)