Mueller Farmers Market: Austin's newest gathering of local vendors

By Cali Bock Three miles north of downtown Austin, bulldozers and backhoes rattle the still air in the Mueller Neighborhood, a 700-acre, sustainable community where more than 10,000 people already call home since its establishment in 1999. Although the only sign of progress are the heaving mounds of dark, rich earth- simply the foundation for what will be the Town Center- the developers have already begun to uphold their promise to support at least 30 percent of local businesses in the area with yesterday’s premiere of Mueller’s Farmers Market, a Sunday choc full with more than 40 local vendors, their wares ranging from homemade, jalapeno mint pickles to soap and grass-fed beef.

Above: Patrons mill and meal outside the hangar, where local food trailers like Short Bus Subs, Elixer Coffee and Mmmmmpanadas served up their wares

As the local music group The Inheritance, an Eastern European folk band, picked and played for the surging crowd of people and their pets, chefs performed live cooking demonstrations and parents toe tapped as their kids saddled up on Oreo, a 10-year-old longhorn with a 7-foot, 3 inch span.

Kids and cameras flocked to Oreo, the crowd-loving longhorn

Mueller and TexasFarmersMarket.org collaborated for the event, which will occur every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Inheritance, a European folk band, brought their lively beats to the market

The current list of vendors includes:

Farmers and Ranchers:

Countryside Farm (Cedar Creek, TX) Engel Farms (Fredericksburg, TX) Dos Lunas Artisan Cheese (Austin, TX) Fresh Pastures Farm (Taylor, TX) Green Gate Farms (Austin, TX) Hairston Creek Farm (Burnet, TX) Johnson’s Backyard Garden (Austin, TX) Kitchen Pride Mushroom Farm (Gonzales, TX) McCall Creek Farms / Itz Garden (Blanco, TX) McGreary Ranch (Hood County, TX) Microbial Earth (Austin, TX) Mil-King Market & Creamery (McGregor, TX) OrganiCare Farms (Taylor, TX) Pure Luck Dairy (Dripping Springs, TX) Round Rock Honey (Round Rock, TX) RRR Farm (Bastrop, TX) Smith & Smith Farms (Rogers, TX) Texas Hill Country Olive Company (Dripping Springs, TX) Winters Family Beef (Brady, TX)

Round Rock Honey was a busy booth

Food Artisans:

Buddha’s Brew Kombucha (Austin, TX) Cake and Spoon (Austin, TX) Confituras Dr. Rawsome (Austin, TX) Granola Mama (Cedar Park, TX) Kala’s Kusine (Austin, TX) LaLa’s Lemonade (Austin, TX) Lamba’s Royal Indian Food (Austin, TX) Mom & Pops All Natural Frozen Pops (Austin, TX) Moonshine Sweet Tea (Lago Vista, TX) Pogue Mahone Pickles (Austin, TX) Poochie Trends Pet Boutique & Bakery (Leander, TX) Sweetish Hill Bakery (Austin, TX) Tamale Place (Austin, TX) The Pie Society (Austin, TX) The Yogurt Factory (Austin, TX)

Pogue Mahone Pickles

Above: Pogue Mahone's jalapeño mint pickles.

Specialty Vendors:

East Austin Succulents (Austin, TX) Flat Creek Estate Winery & Vineyard (Marble Falls, TX) K&S Seafood (Austin, TX) Maria Rendez Cotton South Austin People Soap (Austin, TX) Terra Wear (Austin, TX) Texas Sake Company (Austin, TX) Tiger’s Eye Jewelry Soy Delite Candles

 

Vendor Highlights

Winters Family Beef- Amy is a sixth-generation rancher on the Winters' more than 6,700-acre property in Brady, Texas. Their brisket, back ribs and chuck roasts are marbled and dry aged for 21 to 24 days. All of their cuts are antibiotic and hormone free. Texas Hill Country Olive Company- Deep in the heart of a Dripping Springs orchard are olive trees waiting for adoption. For $165 you can purchase a package that entitles you to a personally-branded wooden crate filled with four bottles of 500mL extra virgin olive oil. Your private label can include your family's photo- or any photo- and text of your choice. Also, seven to eight months into adoption you'll also get two 250mL bottles of olive oil from Texas Hill Country Olive Co. themselves. LaLa's Lemonade- Austin businesses proudly tout their locally-sourced counterparts. If you're out and about in Austin, more than 10 businesses carry this treat, made solely from water, fruit and pure cane sugar: -La Boite -Cutie Pies -Torchy's Tacos - The Salt Lick - Barton Creek Farmers Market -J Mueller Barbeque -Patricia's Lunchbox -People's RX -Thundercloud Subs -Austin Pizza -Sunset Valley Farmers Market Moonshine Sweet Tea- The Porter family has been brewing their additive and preservative-free concentrate for 70 years. They're so confident that you'll fall in love that they're now giving away 'a million dollars worth of free samples'. Click here. Note: You pay shipping and handling Flat Creek Estate Winery- If the Austin skyline is closing in and you need a Sunday to escape into the hills, Flat Creek offers the perfect Sunday drive complete with a wood-fired pizza from their on-site bistro (Don't forget the red or white pairings). The vineyard is 40 miles from Austin, and their bistro features cheese plates, cheesesteaks, salads and pizza. They also serve brunch Saturday and Sunday, and you may also build your own 3-course mealfrom Friday through Sunday.

 

The 24-Hour Farmers Market: Vendors that offer online ordering

Some local vendors are wielding the power of the web and have set up online ordering of their products: Confituras Winters Family Beef Dr. Rawsome Poochie Trends Moonshine Sweet Tea Tamale Place The Pie Society Flat Creek Estate and Winery Terra Wear South Austin People Soap Texas Sake Co. Soy Delite Candles Dos Lunas Artisan Cheese