I went to Lansdowne Farmers' Market with no list and left with an unusual discovery

Reporter Abyssinia Abebe visits the Ottawa Farmers' Market at Lansdowne on Sunday, July 26, 2026. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Article content

I was nervous to pick them up. They looked so thin and delicate, and were covered in random dark brown speckles on their cream base.

Article content

Mostly, I was just fascinated. The grass-fed quail eggs I was eyeing looked exactly how I’d always imagined moon craters would look like.

Article content

Article content

By no means would I identify as an adventurous eater, but I’m not a picky one, either. So, I wasn’t really sure why I came to a complete stop when I first saw Ryan Dekker’s stall at the Lansdowne Farmers’ Market.

Article content

Article content

Dekker and his family were selling the delicacy, along with regular eggs and pet treats. I was impressed to learn that the quails were raised at their Osgoode farm where they run their Sun Dynasty Farm.

Article content

Reporter Abyssinia Abebe visits the Ottawa Farmers’ Market at Lansdowne on Sunday, July 26, 2026. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Article content

Article content

Though the eggs were roughly one-third (or maybe even a quarter) the size of a standard chicken egg, they were tough little fellas. So much so that I’d need to get the special scissors to crack them open without completely crushing their inner membrane.

Article content

The quail eggs shattered a false assumption I had made. They may have a thin outer shell, but their inner lining is actually tough and tricky to peel. (Hence the funny-looking scissors.)

Article content

In many ways, the Lansdowne Farmers’ Market shares a similar characteristic. Like quail eggs, the market is rich and beautifully unique. Like the eggs, the market also shattered assumptions I had made about it.

Article content

Reporter Abyssinia Abebe visits the Ottawa Farmers’ Market at Lansdowne on Sunday, July 26, 2026. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Article content

Despite living 500 metres away from it for three years, I’d always assumed that the market was all about paying for overpriced organic eggs that taste the same as the regular ones you can get for half the price, on the principle of healthy eating.

Article content

Article content

But going on a spontaneous Sunday trip to the market showed me that there was more to it than concerningly giant tomatoes.

Article content

Article content

Article content

I’ll admit that I initially immediately regretted the decision five minutes into browsing the market. The experience was nothing like the air-conditioned interior of my behemoth of a grocery store.

Article content

It was hot, it was sticky, and droplets of sweat were forming on my upper lip, which I hated.

Article content

However, as the discomfort settled, I began to explore the market more and noticed a soup station.

Article content

Andy Tout of All About the Soup talked to reporter Abyssinia Abebe about his homemade vegetarian soup and how business is on a steamy hot day in Ottawa. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Article content

“Really?” I thought. “Who buys soup when it’s this hot out?” So, naturally, I approached the stall to speak with chef Andy Tout. I was curious to know whether people actually bought soup when it was this hot out. (Spoiler: they did!)

Article content

Tout and I ended up having a 20-minute conversation about anything and everything. Something that never happens at my regular grocery store, which shall remain unnamed.

Article content

Tout runs a local business selling low-sodium, all-natural vegetarian and vegan soups.

Article content

“If you’re looking for watery soup, I’m not your guy,” he said with a laugh. I believed him. He sold this amazing variety of fancy soups that I’d frankly never heard of, like chai butternut squash and Mumbai mango soup.