Scootering Through the Farmer’s Market

Day 7: Happy Sunday! Today marks the end of the first week of the road trip and we are holding up great. Chad and I spent a second day in Dallas with our friend Nnamdi exploring the local farmer’s market. This place had booths and food places indoors and outdoors, making the grounds expansive. The sky was foggy, almost as if it would rain any minute, and over 70 degrees. It was perfect walking weather.

It was looking a little rainy and cold, but once outside it was crazy humid. My hair poof-ed up into springy, frizzy curls the moment we walked out the door. That’s the great thing about warm weather, you don’t have to worry about using volumizing hair products! Chad’s hair also has started to curl but has roped it back into the tight bun to control the escaping strands.

I couldn’t believe we only had to walk a few blocks to the market. From Nnamdi’s current living space he can walk to grocery stores, food shops, the farmer’s market, entertainment and has access to public transportation. It’s a really cool set up and there are little areas for green space on many of the corners. So far, the water fountains have been my favorite.

We all wandered the rows of the farmer’s market searching for little yummies. Nnamdi was the first to find a little (and I mean super little) specialty vegan taco drizzled with unique sauces. He said it was good, but it went by wayyyyyy too fast.

I snuck away and found a fried taco. I wasn’t really sure what a fried taco was, but after further observation, it had basic taco fillings and was stuffed into a fried hard shell. With the hot shell, the ingredients were stuffed inside and the flaps folded to encase everything. Huh, well, it was good but also tasted like a taco I could have made at home. Better luck next time!

Chad remained neutral like Switzerland and didn’t hop into the food frenzie right away. He was searching for the ultimate food item that would blow everything out of the water. We soon found these items back inside the indoor market.

We walked up to a vendor who was positioned outside of a little boutique store selling fresh veggies, candles and canned goods. How odd? Why would there be a little station outside of the boutique store? There was an older gentleman standing behind small tables filled with what looked like homemade food dishes. I knew this was the place to be.

An eclectic man wearing a Patagonia t-shirt drew me in right away. Curious about everything in front of him, I asked about the stew pot boiling on a hot surface in front of him. He spoke brokenly, in a thick accent, about the boiling bean stew which lead him to describing the pans of food in front of him.

Hook and sinker. I so needed to try the dish with spinach, leak and spices stuffed inside the filo (the flakey pastry dough found in Mediterranean cooking). Man, oh man was it good! Thank you Patagonia Chef!

So good, that when we made it to the end of the booths, we turned around and headed back to the Patagonia Chef for more yummies. This time, Chad and I tried the eggplant lasagna and one dolmathakia. The gentleman mentioned that he wakes up at 3 a.m. to start making these items and everything he cooks is intentionally made to help cleanse/nourish the body. With a bowl of fresh olives at his side, he painted the dolmathakia with fresh olive oil and a pinch of spices.

When we paid for the food inside the boutique, the bearded man behind the counter mentioned Patagonia Chef used to be a well-off shoe designer and that over the course of his life has owned many restaurants.

Now for fun, he sets up shop outside of their boutique and sells his homemade food every so often. When the Patagonia Chef isn’t in town, he’s out in California making food for well-to-do people who appreciates his talent. What a crazy back story on the very good homemade food we experienced.

After nibbling on some local yummies, we started the walk back to Nnamdi’s apartment and Nnamdi said it’s time to try the electric scooters. Back in Minnesota and North Dakota, we have bikes available for people to use for getting around the city. But, ever since Kansas Chad and I have only seen scooters for people to use. They can be found literally anywhere because they liter the sidewalks, parking lots, alleys, etc.

Paying for the service with an app, it unlocks the scooter and tracks the amount of time it’s used. Nnamdi unlocked one and I was able to go for my first electric scooter ride. No accidents! We all tried and took turns driving it up and down the sidewalk. It would be helpful for getting across the downtown area!

After our afternoon adventure to the market, we walked around outside and found a few more water features tucked away in public green spaces. Once home, Chad and Nnamdi spent the afternoon gaming together while I researched national parks along the east coast to prep for the upcoming cities. Looks like we might be taking part in a lot of battlefield memorials, national seashores, and wildlife reserves along the coast.

Growing up in the country, I always thought it was fun watching Seinfeld when Jerry and his friends would order take out to eat in his New York City apartment. The concept of going downstairs and grabbing a bite to eat from the local shops and retreating to your apartment to chow down has intrigued me.

(To this day, I haven’t really experienced this sort of living.) So today was the day! Chad and I ordered Chinese food and had it delivered to the massive skyscraper apartment (the restaurant was wayyyy to far to walk).

When the delivery person called, we both went downstairs to make sure the other person didn’t get locked out of the building by mistake. Chad went out on the street while I posted inside. As Chad disappeared down the sidewalk, a man came in holding a food bag and was approaching me. I started to tell the man that Chad went outside to look for him, that he has the money for the tip and if the delivery man wouldn’t mind waiting.

The guy, whom I though was the delivery man because of the food bag, actually was a resident in the apartment we were staying at and all he wanted to do was get through the door I was posting at. SUPER AWKWARD. The guy started laughing and Chad walked in with our real food bag.

We all rode the elevator together back up to our apartments and were laughing about how the guy thought he had walked in a on drug deal because I mentioned Chad was outside with the money. Oops.

The Chinese food was pretty good – we wouldn’t order it again, but it was good for the moment.  The rest of the night was spend watching a movie on Netflix and finishing a couple rounds of gaming. We were able to wash our clothes and I took time to do some yoga while waiting for the cycles to be done. Awesome stretchy goodness. Especially now that we are stuck in a car most of the time, a stretching routine needs to be implemented.

In the morning, Chad and I would depart from Dallas and head to Austin to meet up with one of my friends.  So long Dallas!