Nature’s Bounty

Gourmet vegetables, produce, and more. No, not there.

mainPhoto: Morgan Ione Yeager

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orget that pricey national chain with the pretty pyramids of produce. It’s well worth going off the beaten track to Russo’s Market, a Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory of fresh fruits and vegetables you didn’t even know existed (nine different types of eggplant, for example), with a veritable United Nations of gourmet meats and cheeses, baked goods, and prepared foods. This Watertown staple, founded by grocer and family patriarch Antonio Russo in the 1920s, has been getting its fruit and produce from local farms since well before that became fashionable again. Only its homemade specialty foods, like handmade ravioli and pastas, rival the produce and charcuterie selections. Russo’s carries everything, from pistachio-studded Italian Mortadella and Spanish Carables cheese to Asian candy and a plethora of dressings, marinades, preservatives, and spices. Stop in (but not on Saturday; it’s mobbed) and sample the goods with a weekly specialty sandwich, fresh-baked pastry, or, for a religious experience, a slice of homemade strawberry rhubarb pie. Keller

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Russo’s sells handmade spaghetti and ravioli and a huge selection of oil & vinegar, sauces, spices, and jams, including as gift baskets. It also has a large selection of plants and flowers.