Belly Up Farmers' market madness

The Dane County Farmers’ Market On the Square is a wonderful part of summer in Madison, but it also suffers from acute media overexposure: It's hard to enjoy produce, fresh air, and sunlight while struggling through a spittle-flecked mob. If the thought of battling hordes of doublewide stroller-wielding looky-loos and touristy types dampens all cravings for kale and kohlrabi, the more subdued Hilldale Farmers’ Market opens for the season on May 1 at the Hilldale Shopping Center (702 North Midvale Blvd., 608-238-1931). “I’m looking to create a more accessible alternative to the square,” says Laurel Wantuch, the new market manager. The market is in the west parking lot at the Segoe Road and Heathercrest entrance, runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday and Wednesday through Nov. 6, and provides a direct-to-consumer outlet for dozens of local organic farmers. Don Uselman of Don's Produce supplies L’Etoile (25 N. Pinckney St., 608-251-0500) and will sell tomatoes and greens; Nehmer's Produce of Columbus has organic broccoli, kohlrabi, peppers, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage; Prairie Farm Produce of Hill Point grows more than 40 veggies and will likely have spinach, chard, bok choi, and tatsoi on hand; and Earthy Edibles will sell its famed shiitake mushrooms.

FATSOMETER: 1. Though fresh produce may produce garden-variety gas, fatty tissues will cry out in starvation.