Farm-fresh in the city

He pulls out some white beets and talks about how he uses the tops as well. "It's like free product," he says with a grin.

"Not anymore," replies Paffenroth. "I'm charging for the tops as well."

The give and take is one of the reasons the chefs enjoy the market. They can also find out in advance what's coming out of the ground and adjust their menus.

Not far from the market, the City Bakery has a menu that is dominated by food purchased at the Greenmarket. Chef Ilen Rosen says she has located the popular restaurant in the area just to be near the market. "It's greatly appreciated - it's what I live for," she says.

But, as Patraker is quick to point out, the Greenmarket is for everyone - no matter what his or her economic status or culinary skill. That's one of the reasons it has now expanded to 27 sites in the city.

On a typical summer or fall Saturday, he says there could be 50,000 to 75,000 people walking through the Union Square stalls. That market is now included in tour books, so it's not unusual to see groups watching the way New Yorkers react to farm produce.

"We don't have a village green in New York," Patraker says, "so there is a lack of people coming together. The Greenmarket fills that role. There are more smiles per square foot than anywhere else."

That's the case for Margaret Morth. She grew up in North Dakota, where her family had a garden. Now, she lives in Brooklyn and has a fire escape on which she grows plants. As she buys a pepper plant for her urban version of a garden, she says, "I come here on my lunch hour - it's the way I commune with nature."

Yes, the food is right off the farm. But, can you really tell the difference between a peach that came off a tree in New Jersey and one that came off a grocery-store shelf?

To try to answer that question, my wife and I visited the Union Square Greenmarket located on West 77th Street in Manhattan and the Food Emporium, an upscale grocery store about five blocks away. We bought tomatoes, peaches, plums, and strawberries. Here's our unscientific review:

Visual observations: The fruit and vegetables from the Greenmarket have a brightness that is not apparent in the grocery-store produce. The Food Emporium peach is kind of gray looking. The strawberries, even though they are Driscolls - top of the line California berries - look more orange than red. The two tomatoes look comparable. The plum from the Greenmarket is smaller and less evenly shaped.

The taste test: The tomato from the grocer is an import from Holland. It has a tough skin but good acidity. The farmer's tomato has a mix of sweetness and acidity. It makes the Dutch version seem like an imposter. The skin is nonexistent compared to the Dutch tomato, which is bred to travel.

My wife thinks the grocery plum could be almost any fruit, perhaps a tart apple. The Greenmarket plum is tart enough to bring tears to the eyes.

The peach from Food Emporium is mealy. Kathy says it has a "remote" peach flavor. The Greenmarket peach drips with juice as soon as it is sliced open. Kathy's only comment is "Mmm."

The Driscoll berries have a kind of "white wall" around the stem, but they do taste like strawberries. But, up against the local berries, there is no comparison. I can't stop eating them. "Stop, Ron, stop!"

Prices: Strawberries, plums, and peaches were cheaper at Food Emporium. Tomatoes were less expensive at the Greenmarket.

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