There is a special energy at the Lexington Farmers’ Market in the fall; unlike the spring when farm vendors are often laying out their harvest in two dimensions and struggling to cover the full whitespace of their table, fall displays become architectural with stacks and towers of colorful fruits and vegetables harvested in abundance.
Trinidadian American bartender Will Caines has found a way to bottle up summer with his line of Wicked Bess shrubs – also known as drinking vinegars. Invented before modern refrigeration, shrubs were fashioned from vinegar poured over fruit; the resulting concoction was commonly used in Colonial America as a base for mixed drinks with or without alcohol. Each of Wicked Bess’s five flavors – blackberry orange mango ginger, grapefruit cinnamon lime ginger, pear lime ginger jalapeño, pineapple lime mandarin habañero, and strawberry kiwi lime – is crafted to balance fruit, acidity, and heat as the shrub is added to one of two basic recipes. For a cocktail, mix 1 ounce shrub, 2 ounces spirit (vodka, tequila, or rum), 2 ounces soda water; for a mocktail, double the soda water and omit the spirit. Bess is Trinidadian slang for sexy and awesome; wicked is a nod to the company’s Boston roots. Adorn your bar with a bottle of each flavor and the colorful display of apothecary-like glasses will indeed be wicked bess.
Wicked Bess Bar Prep + Shrubs, $12 for a 4-ounce bottle, $20 for an 8 ounce bottle. Available online at wickedbess.com/shop/ and at the Lexington Farmers’ Market October 29th.
If you’ve ordered seafood at a restaurant in the Greater Boston area, there’s a decent chance you’ve already been an indirect customer of Captain Marden’s Seafoods; at the least, you’ve likely seen their trucks making deliveries around town. Captain Marden’s began as a retail shop in West Newton in 1945; since 1960 they have had a presence in Wellesley – today that includes a fish market open seven days a week and a restaurant that serves breakfast five mornings a week and dinner six nights a week. This year, Lexingtonians have two opportunities to pick up pre-orders from Captain Marden’s in town: Tuesday afternoons at the farmers market and Wednesday mornings at the Follen Church parking lot – a welcome vestige from Covid.
In addition to its pre-orders, Captain Marden’s also brings a wide selection of prepared foods to the Lexington Farmers’ Market each week. Smoked whitefish salad is $13.99 a pound and made with local halibut – a white fish but not whitefish, the typical variety used in this dish; just enough mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and sour cream to bind the fish without turning it into a spread, garnished with red onions, celery, and gherkins. Squid salad is $16.99 a pound and a contrast in textures: chewy rings and tentacles mix with fresh, crisp bell pepper pieces in a lightly seasoned and herbed dressing. Tuna poke bowls seem like a steal at $12.95 but push the limits of prepared seafood; while the fish and garnish are thoughtfully prepared, the chilled rice suffers from retrogradation – the scientific explanation for why cooked rice hardens in the refrigerator and why poke bowl restaurants with always-warm rice endure. Do not sleep on the mini lobster rolls; at $9.99 each, you’d be forgiven for assuming these are one bite amuse-bouche, but in fact each roll includes three ounces of lobster salad. It’s been a while since anything made with lobster retailed for so little; grab a couple extra and feast like an influencer… but finish what you get, it’s worth it.
Captain Marden’s Seafood, www.captainmardens.com. At the Lexington Farmers’ Market weekly. Pickup pre-orders (only) at Follen Church Parking Lot, 755 Mass Ave, on Wednesday, 10-11:30am. Retail store at 279 Linden Street in Wellesley is open M-F 8am-6pm, Sa 8am-5:30pm, Su 10am-5pm.
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