Today we went by the Naschmarkt for well, some nosh! We just wanted to check it out, so didn’t buy a huge amount of stuff. But we will be back!

I realize that I am spoiled by Virginia farmer’s markets, but I haven’t been super-impressed with the grocery store produce here. Especially considering it’s summer right now. There are certainly some nice things–berries in particular–but also quite a few items that look they’ve been around a little too long. And the peaches are the same rock-hard grocery store peaches I refuse to buy at home.

The Naschmarkt was a major step up. Really nice, fresh produce of all kinds, and lots of specialty items, particularly Middle Eastern food. We bought dolmades, feta-stuffed peppers, olives and pita bread for dinner. I would have bought more, especially meat and cheese, but we didn’t have any way to keep the food cold and we had more errands to run afterwards in the 90-degree heat. So, we just bought a few vegetables.

Before we left, we stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. This was a a big thing for us in NoVA, so we were excited to find one. Unfortunately, though the food was fresh, it was definitely “dumbed down” for the Austrian clientele. No spicy basil at all as far as I can tell. Oh well, it wasn’t bad, and it was a nice change. There are lots of little ethnic restaurants in the market. We’ll just try a different one next time.

I’m definitely going back later in the week and bringing my rolly cart to stock up!