Hyperlocal Eats Meet International at Market

The way Sharon Crow's soft as a feather pound cake melts in your mouth might make you believe it's manna from heaven. And judging from the sign on her Ballston Farmer's Market cake stand, it really could be.

It reads James 1:17. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the heavenly light," Crow translated. "And it's just sort of inspiring to me just being able to bake well. ... It's not really me, it's the big guy."

Crow's "Two Belles Southern Pound Cakes" stand may be one of the newest at the Ballston market, which gathers every Thursday 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. through October, but it's also the most popular. A sizable line of customers greeted the perky North Arlington baker mom and gobbled up $2 slices at a steady clip throughout the afternoon.

A wide variety of vendors selling everything from fresh meat to decadent mud pies lined Welburn Square on what was one of the slower days this summer. But a healthy stream of commuters still made B-lines straight to the market from the metro, as a gray-bearded gentleman belted out Jethro Tull hits on an acoustic guitar.Just across the walkway, Francisco Tschen peddled coffee straight from the source: his home country of Guatemala. With his farmers' compensations better than the going fair-trade rate, Tschen sells a distinctive, aromatic bean that makes for great espresso.

"The coffee here comes from a bunch of small producers. It's 150 small farmers mostly of indigenous descent in Guatemala. It's very remote so the government hasn't paid too much attention to them, but they do make a living through selling coffee," Tschen said.

Of course, the gold standards of fresh local fruits and veggies made a solid showing as well. Small Virginia and Maryland farms drive delicious-looking produce from the near countryside straight to the condo towers and bungalows of Ballston.

George Bras, 21, makes his living helping out on his family's King George County farm then bringing the fruits of his labor to area markets a few days a week. His only coworkers are his mother, father, sister and brother. How's business? Good, but not as good as '09.

"So I just have to stay a little bit longer to make about the same amount of money as I did last year," Bras said. "It was a bigger crowd last year. ... But it's pretty good. I mean everybody's happy. Nothing crazy."

Catch the Ballston Farmer's Market in Welburn Square every Thursday from 3-7 p.m. through Oct. 14.