During the warmer months in Rochester, you're more likely to find me meandering down the sidewalk with sunglasses on and a tote bag slung over my shoulder. If today is Saturday, it's even more likely that he's on his way to one of my favorite places: the Rochester Public Market. I love this market not only because it offers local products at great prices, but also because it's a great place to eat.
In a city with so many walkable neighborhoods, there's not a lot of walkable street food. So aside from a few hot dog carts dotting downtown and the occasional sighting of food trucks, Public His Market remains a popular spot. Most offer snacks that you can enjoy on the go, such as arancini, donuts, or two pierogies.
Ahead of peak market season, we've curated a list of some of our favorite handheld snacks to enjoy on the go.
Empanadas | Juan and Maria's
Juan and Maria's is a Public Market staple, and for good reason. I was able to eat the entire menu of different empanadas and sauces. It's a choose-your-own-adventure setting with nine types of empanadas, a variety of sides, and five signature sauces, with no wrong path. The combinations are almost endless, but my personal favorite is breakfast empanadas. Generously stuffed with a trio of eggs, cheese, ham, bacon and sausage, carefully sealed and fried, it's the perfect morning snack. (The combination with the smoky red gold sauce is a must.)
Arancini | Mama Napoli
Originally, arancini is a fairly simple, reimagined “leftover” dish. Rice balls, typically arborio rice, are fried with a combination of cheese, meat, and vegetable variations, often drizzled with red sauce. You can find great arancini all over Rochester. Mama Napoli's authentic arancini in the market is no exception. At a booth in Hut B, Mama Napoli's serves arancini with red sauce on a small boat. There is both a vegetarian version with spinach and mozzarella and a classic version with minced meat, peas and cheese.
Pierogi | Cherries European
When you enter the market from Railroad Street, the first vendor shed you will see is Cherry's European. Serving Polish, Ukrainian and American cuisine, Cherry's offers a combination of breakfast and lunch options with Eastern European influences. I grew up making frozen pierogies on the way home from school, and I love the warm, fluffy dumplings filled with cheesy potatoes. Cherries remind me of my childhood after-school snacks in the best way. Packed with caramelized onions and served with a healthy dollop of sour cream, these snack-sized pierogies are a great snack any time of the market day.
Waffle bite | Gourmet waffler
When we happened to come across The Gourmet Waffles, we couldn't resist the walkable envelopes filled with bite-sized waffles. It's fluffy, crispy on the edges, and has a slight citrus flavor, making it a sweet treat. The Shed B booth is run by Prosper Rochester, a nonprofit organization that supports young people to create and run small social enterprises. The Prosper Rochester booth at the market has several different products on display for you to shop. All of this is managed by a young man from Rochester alongside Prosper CEO Jill Stolt.
Cake Donut | Duke's Donut
There's a kind of nostalgic magic to watching a donut come out of the fryer, go onto a conveyor, and then be immediately rolled into a giant bowl of sugar. Duke's Donuts is located in the heart of Shed B and serves fresh, piping hot donuts all day long. Duke's apple cider fry cake has garnered a lot of love and fans, but its contrasting cake, his donuts, rises to the top of my list. Fluffy and fried, topped with crunchy sugar, it comes in a small pocket bag, perfect for carrying around when wandering through crowded markets.
Joe Morrell is a CITY contributor.
