Crampton's Market

Crampton's has been around for a couple of years but only recently have I discovered the amazing goodness of this place.

I had seen this place at the corner of Waverley and Kenaston before - I always thought it was something affiliated with the driving range that's right behind it. I had seen the signs on the road advertising fresh fruit and the like but I assumed it was another one of those road-side price-gouging markets. One day this summer on the way to St. Norbert Farmer's Market I decided to take a closer look. As soon as you make it to the driveway, the character of the place starts to come through. There's lots of cute hand painted signs, lots of nice potted plants and a gelati window on the deck. And the most amazing fresh bread smell!

I don't have any shots inside the shop, but it's packed full of local produce, dairy, meat, fruit and baked goods. It's the closest thing I've seen in an actual store that can compare to the Farmer's Market in quality and variety of produce. They're serious about sourcing local grub but doesn't shy away from offering other non-local stuff that still tastes yummy. Thus you can still buy avocados and limes and peaches at the same time you buy your New Bothwell and Oak Island cheese, Halbstadt corn, Ste. Anne chips, green tomatoes, and Manitoba Berkshire pork. The prices are a little on the high side for certain things - similar to the farmer's markets but it's worth it when you know there are farmers in our own backyard that get to make a living by growing our food.

Erin is SERIOUS about her produce. She sends out a weekly newsletter to those who subscribe and it makes for really good reading. Her last newsletter was a 2000 word explanation of the corn industry - the variety of species, the marketing, the merits of hand-picked vs. machine picked corn, and lots of cooking ideas.

So yeah, the produce is good, the ambiance is nice, but what really keeps me stopping here on the way to St. Norbert every weekend are these cinnamon buns!

Every time I've visited the shop on a Saturday morning they're still warm and glistening with melted butter and sugar. They're not gooey or syrupy - they're more like a super buttery soft cinnamon bread with lots of sugar. And at 75 cents each I usually get two.

And so should you.