Forum Topic

buying veg

Where do you buy your veg?from the supermarket or market stall?

Mark Yates ● 4782d24 Comments

I know where I am going on Thursday!

Nigel Brooks ● 4777d

Then get thee to George's in Mattock Lane then - boiled beetroot several days a week - including Thursdays if I recall.

Tony Colliver ● 4777d

I'm sure some computer whizz could transfer comments I made on Acton's forum on the 2nd and 3rd July last year to  someone seeking  to buy organic fruit and veg locally. In brief check out w7emporium.co.uk. 

Pamela Kay ● 4778d

I find the farmers' market a bit pricey for meat but do get other stuff there - one stall has delicious pesto sauces  and Barbari bread Gerry is Iranian bread, it has the flavour and texture of French bread but it 's flat  and round. Smells so good that it has strange bite sized bits missing by the time you get home!

Viv Ellis ● 4778d

Tends to be where I am at the time, will use both supermarkets and West Ealing farmers market. If I fancy making an effort like to use the farm shop at Osterley Park and House, take in a walk of the grounds and a coffee while there.

D Downey ● 4779d

I am a huge fan of the farmers' market and shop there every Saturday, not just for fresh seasonal fruit and veg but excellent cheese, butter and eggs, fish and meat (including game), delicious tomato juice and relishes from the tomato stall, a large choice of breads and much more. Do give it a try if you have not already.

Helen Johnson ● 4779d

The Farmers Market in West Ealing is one of the best in London both for quality of meat,chicken,veg and fish. And you are dealing directly with the poor people who are battling our dreadful weather. Support British farmers I say. The prices, by the way, are very reasonable. The fish comes direct from the sea overnight, often together with the fisherman. as for local shops I discovered Chris's excellent fish shop by coming to the farmers market. Chris is doing really well I'd say, and his fish is excellent. There are no other 'local' shops who would suffer! Get down there and try it for yourself. The fresh egg man has a queue every week.

Michael Wale ● 4779d

Re  people travel there to get organic food         xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx not too many I hope as the question of organic food is supposed to be a bit of a con, many chemicals used in the growing of, plus of course, no guarantee that  that on sale is genuine organic anyway. As far as I am aware, the vendors are not themselves necessarily the farmers/ growers and no guarantee  meat has been  correctly stored. I would prefer , and do, buy from local shops, especially the butchers opposite Sainsburys who are local and been there for as long as I can remember.

Tony Price ● 4780d

I am not totaly convinced the farmers market is good for west ealing. Using the farmers market is far from supporting the local shops. The local shops have to pay very high buisness rates and rents with leases. Unlike the stalls, I feel sorry for the fresh fish shop (Chris fishery) and the butcher by sainsburys I think the market place is taking their buisness, I supose its just competition but seems unfair because they dont have the overheads. I wonder how many people travel there to get organic food and then leave without going elsewhere in west ealing? So making no difference/help to west ealing shops.

Marie Shelny ● 4780d

Doesn't anyone go to the Farmers' Market in West Ealing? All grown in UK and very good value. Two conventional stalls and one organic one for vegetables. Specialist stalls for tomatoes and garlic. A chance to support English farmers (I say English because they have to be within 50 miles of the M25). And if you want something that's out of season or grown abroad there's the traditional non-market stand at the corner of Uxbridge Rd. and Leeland Rd. so you can still support a local independent business and not the big corporates.

Christine Gratus ● 4780d

Tell us more about Barberi bread please Viv - we're recently into bread-making. We love Pugliese bread.

Gerry Tan ● 4781d

I get my fruit and veg (and loads of other stuff) from Cudi - their Barberi bread is delicious too

Viv Ellis ● 4781d

The fruit and veg shop run by George and Jackie on Mattock Lane, offer excellent fruit and veg.  They have been there for years, and George goes to the market every morning.  Always a friendly smile, and help  with carrying bags to the car.  A real family business, because their son works with them as well.

Lisa Barbaric ● 4782d

In brown paper bags, You had to as for two (always wise) as the hot beetroot would soak through a single bag while I was carrying them home!

Nigel Brooks ● 4782d

Re  within the curtilage of one of the shops          xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx which presumably would have been Seba, a shop I have patronised almost since it set up, bought my first video recorder there a Panasonic 777 in the late '70's, and which cost over £700 if memory serves me correctly. Most of my electricals still come from there. I well remember another Panasonic  I bought, one which had some special facility ( SHS ? ) which was not available in many places, Harrods circa £1100 but Seba got if for me £850 and when my credit card bill came through it showed up as £750. I went back to Seba to show them, they searched through  a months till rolls and eventually  found they had fed in the wrong amount, and were very pleased that I had drawn their attention to their potential loss of £100 and which extra I subsequently paid them.

Tony Price ● 4782d

It was pennies, they were delicious and the smart part was that he was on/within the curtilage of one of the shops so his 'pitch' cost him whatever he paid the shop.

Nigel Brooks ● 4782d

Re  an old Burco washing machine!          xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx although I never bought any of his b/root, I did notice there was always a gap between  the selling times, due presumably for waiting till the " new " lot had got cooked, which  just showed each batch certainly sold quite quickly.

Tony Price ● 4782d

Havent had boiled beetroot in years! I bet most kids today have never even tried them. How much did he charge for one? and I wonder how much he would have to charge today to make ends meet? I've no idea how much the council would charge for a pitch.

Marie Shelny ● 4782d

'Elf and Safety' would have a field day with him now as he used to do it in an old Burco washing machine!

Nigel Brooks ● 4782d

That greengrocer in Mattock Lane is where we've been buying our veg from. The little veg shop has been there for years - owned by a man called Arthur - I think his son runs it now - excellent fresh fruit and veg shop - and local independant too!

Gerry Tan ● 4782d

Re  but boil beetroot at the top of Green Man Passage?        xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    yep, and  very popular his boiled b/root was.

Tony Price ● 4782d

Actually Pam and her husband were driven out by the new tenants of that corner shop. WHSmith were quite happy to have them there. The fruit and veg stall at the op of Leeland Road still survives.Do you remember the guy who did nothing but boil beetroot at the top of Green Man Passage?

Nigel Brooks ● 4782d

Re  supermarket or market stall?        xxxxxxxxxxxxxx      depends, where is convenient at the time but one has to be careful re  re " German " supermarkets whose veg seem to be on the way out even when  on sale.There are many small independent shops who do not display the prices, thus to be avoided as I feel the price can depend upon " who " you are. But one tries to patronise  the English vendors if poss. When in Southampton and I go to Romsey for example, the produce in the  small shops is  locally grown, and competitively priced. Most of the  stalls in Ealing have gone, sadly. Pam and her husband  used to have as tall alongside W H Smith as then was. Very easy to wind her up. A voice from the middle of the queue used to say " can you hurry up a bit missus, some of us haven't got all day " That used to get her going until she realised who it was. If it was the husband due to serve me I used to say I will wait for your wife, she is not as miserable as you, he would grunt and move to the next customer. But if they saw me when they were driving, he would blow the horn and she would wave, in a friendly manner! All good banter. Nice people, genuine people. Driven out  like so many indigenous traders by changes in the population.

Tony Price ● 4782d

I'm guilty of buying most of mine at tesco,(dont know why that makes me feel guilty) purely because of havin very little spare time. If i was to recomend a fruit veg shop the one on mattock lane is excellent.

Marie Shelny ● 4782d