The best on Broadway

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Good-looking Hackney locals – the kind who know a Shitake from a Chanterelle – are blessed: while the mighty Borough Market soaks up the glory on its 250th birthday this weekend, rejuvenated Broadway Market now stakes a claim to some of the best food shopping in North London.Broadway Market on a Saturday is that rare mix: a winning combination of shops – trendy new-starts and old-timers – and a thriving street market selling food, clothes, crafts and quirks. You can buy everything, from organic chocolate mousse cakes to five-amp fuses.All the regulars know Spirit, the gentle Rastafarian who runs the Nutritious Food Galley. This is a good bet for fresh and fried fish and Caribbean foods, including exotic custard apples, ripe avocadoes, baked breadfruit, mangoes and plantains.A collection tin on the counter tells the story of this street’s dizzying transformation – his rent has gone through the roof. More than 80 stalls work the market. “The Pickleman”– Chris Smith – is worth tracking down for his award-winning chutneys and sauces. Treat his Scotch Bonnet chutney with respect as this fiery creation will knock your socks off.Butcher Henry Tidiman has worked Hackney Broadway­ for 45 years and sells everything from posh poulet noir chickens to skinned rabbits. In his father’s day there were six butchers’ stalls on the market; now just one rival trades in top-quality West Country beef with a sideline in home-made granola.Stylish French delicatessen La Bouche sells carefully chosen cheeses, breads, wines, salamis and sausages. You can pick up L’artisan du Chocolat’s bars at the till, or head for the Coco and Me stall outside for premium chocolate couverture (pure base chocolate), rich truffles and exquisite fruit tarts.Top quality spices, blends (try the chana masala) and pots of fresh herbs are for sale opposite. Further down La Tua Pasta makes fresh ravioli, linguine, tortellini and ravioli.

Pick of the market

Nutritious Food Galley

71 Broadway Market, E8.

Tel: 020 7923 1035

La Bouche

49 Broadway Market, E8.

Tel: 020 7923 0600

www.labouche.co.uk

La Tua Pasta Stall

Hand-made pastas

Tel: 020 8983 6688

www.latuapasta.com

St John and Dolly Smith’s Stall

Hand made pickles, sauces and chutneys.

Tel: 07973 687376

www.thepickleman.com

H Tidiman Butchers

Quality fresh meat and game.

57 Broadway Market, E8

Tel: 020 7254 0506