. . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of German Butterballs

That hipster hunt for a new farmer from Carnation, a rare heirloom variety, or some unpronounceable wine from Austria may just be the new mechanism by which great tastes get discovered and publicized. Lacinato kale, which I first discovered on restaurant menus back in the early aughts, is on every grocery store shelf now, and it's still the kale I buy for sautéing. The heirloom tomato craze that began 15 years ago weaned me forever from February Flavr Savrs from Safeway—not because Green Zebras and Black Princes are the most interesting thing in the market, but because they made me so disgusted with mealy pink tomatoes that I've sworn off them throughout winter. And I take heart that the wine-geek passion for scheurebes and blaufränkisches means that more restaurants will serve wines that are less jammy, more distinctive, and under $40.

Perhaps if the locavore movement is looking for ways to expand without losing its core audience, they should look to the success of one of the world's largest rock bands. In 2007, Radiohead—a band that could prop up the Alaskan Way Viaduct with its platinum records—pulled off a stunt that savvily maneuvered between independent and corporate tactics to market a great product. The band split from longtime label EMI, produced In Rainbows themselves, and released the album online, charging customers whatever they wanted to pay. In a Wired interview published a couple of months later, Thom Yorke claimed the release made the band more money than all its previous albums together, but acknowledged that that wouldn't have been possible without the decade of corporate marketing that preceded it. Indie? Hardly. Pitchfork gave the album a 9.2 rating anyway.

Matt Bors

Location Info

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Broadway Sunday Farmers Market

Broadway Ave. and Pine St.
Seattle, WA 98102

Category: Retail

Region: Capitol Hill

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• Van Wing
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• Wine
• Food and Cooking

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