Farmers market warms up Madison

At sunrise on opening day of the Dane County Farmers Market two weekends ago, a few vendors unloaded trucks in the shadow of the State Capitol. I was first in line at the Johnson Bros. Coffee Roasters, one of dozens of popular vendors that set up shop across from the Capitol Square (the grounds of the square itself are reserved for farmers hawking their goods).

Soon, early birds joined me.

"It's been a while," the barista said to a woman with a canvas bag -- good for carrying produce -- slung over her shoulder. She smiled and nodded. "You're off your crutches," he said. "Next?"

It was another regular from last year.

Down the sidewalk, Natalie Ortega of Oregon, Wis., struggled to unload a truck full of bedding plants, bringing a metal rack to the sidewalk with a clatter.

"We're out of practice," she said to a man who was looking for white alyssum.

It probably won't take long to get into practice again. The open-air market, which turns the otherwise suited-and-skirted square around the State Capitol into a lovefest of food every Saturday through fall, draws overflow crowds of locals and regional foodies. Organizers tout it as the nation's largest all-local market; everything sold there must be from the area, which means that produce can go from farm to table in a matter of hours, but also that you won't find pineapple or avocado -- or even summer squash at the moment.

Until we get there -- summer, I mean -- Madison's market is the best harbinger of warmer and more productive days to come.

The sun rose higher in the sky, turning the chalk-white dome of the Capitol pink, as sidewalks filled with shoppers and more street vendors. Scarves and gloves came off; shorts and T-shirts appeared. All the hugging and high-fiving made the scene seem more like a family reunion than a market.

I was thinking about giving a hug, too, because by 8 a.m., I couldn't resist buying a cinnamon roll from a woman at the stand next to the coffee hut. My teeth stung as I bit through the roll and hit the gooey, sugary bottom; it was worth a filling.

Flowers put on a show

Bill Zimmerman was man of the hour. Shoppers stood three and four deep around his stand picking through buckets of tulips, hyacinth and daffodils. He had what everyone wanted: fresh-cut beauties in a growing zone not quite ready for spring flowers. Zimmerman gets a jump on the season with a heated greenhouse at the Lewiston Perennial Farm.

"He uses lots of propane," said market manager Larry Johnson.

Not many farmers trick plants as Zimmerman does, so there were few vegetables for sale at the market.

I did find some green in the way of tender basil and emerald green spinach. And there was plenty of green, too, passing between customers and vendors selling decadent cheese bread, plump organic chickens, gloriously marbled cuts of beef and jars of amber-colored maple syrup.

At the end of the day, Johnson said that it had been one of the best openings, with about 12,000 people. By the time farmers are hauling in their fruits and vegetables, that number could more than double, he said.

Despite the crowds, the coffee pots never ran dry at Johnson Bros. They sold on average about two coffee drinks per minute, said Alex Butler. "It was ridiculously busy," he said. Despite the pace, it didn't take him long to remember what his favorite customers like to drink.

"It's great to have that continuity," he said. "It all comes back to me quickly."

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376