Chris’ Marketplace

Tasty empanadas and only three bucks a pop at the Farmer’s market! They are on the small side, but these are actually one of the cheaper empanada offerings in the DC area. Cash only.
I got the mushroom empanada. A lot of times, anything mushroom can be on the bland side, but the mushroom filling was flavorful. There’s a good ratio of filling to dough. The dough wasn’t too thick but could’ve been toasted just a little longer (just looking at the picture, it looks a little undercooked).
I’ll definitely come back to try some of their other empanadas!

Ok, so don’t laugh… but we forgot cash. I know, I know. And we didn’t realize it until AFTER we had ordered our delicious empanadas of black beans & rice and one chicken. We handed over our card only to find out that they weren’t accepting. Sigh.
So how did we know the empanadas were so delicious? Because that lovely lady behind the display GAVE them to us on house credit! That’s right! She said, «I don’t want you to miss out on something you want. Enjoy!»
Darn it. I guess we’ll have to go back next week. Food tastes better when it’s context is kindness :)

Really amazing crab cakes! Tried the seafood refresco too, and while it’s very tasty there are only three shrimp. The soup would benefit from some other seafood such as crab. They’re located at the Thursday Farmers Market in Farragut.

Ummmm… this place is amazing. The crab cakes are FANTASTIC! Finally tried their empanads (really good!) and the seafood spreads (OMG I will go broke buying this stuff). This place is an absolute find. Cheap? No. Quality? Definitely.
And I personally think the staff is as sweet as can be. They have been nothing but nice to me and my kids. Not sure where all this beef comes from. Sounds like somebody double dipped in the samples :) If you want really good crab cakes, this is your spot.

We have found no crab cakes anywhere — even in the finest restaurants — that compare with the ones we get from Chris at the Falls Church Farmers Market on Saturday. Have to get there early before they are all gone. Thank you, Chris!

Every time I’m in DC I stop by the DuPont Circle Farmers Market and get some of their salmon spread. It is SO good! And of course the large crab cakes are the best, but everybody seems to know this already.

If I were rating on the crab cakes and food alone, this rating would hands down be 5 stars. However, as someone who rarely writes reviews, I felt compelled to post about Chris’ Marketplace.
The food at Chris’ is impeccable. Chris and his crew, however, are bafflingly rude to their customers. Despite buying the best crab cakes I have ever purchased, I simply refuse to return to a vendor that is so hateful to his customers. I’ll remain content coming to the market weekly to take samples-​and don’t get your panties in a bunch Chris– I’ve seen the movie «Contagion,» and will use the spoon.

Hot dayum! I was skeptical of a $ 5 crabcake. The price was just too good to be true, but I didn’t have any dinner plans and I just happened to have some cash in my wallet at the Penn Quarter farmers market, so I was willing to take a gamble. A little on the small side, but for $ 5 a piece and $ 9 for two, you can always get a second one and still have a great deal on your hands. The crab cake had very little filler and I liked that it wasn’t just a bunch of lump chunks, all the flavors were evenly distributed so that each bite was a perfect balance of all the components. I also enjoy cooking my the crab cakes on my own as I find that restaurants too often over cook them. I purchased some of the gazpacho, which was delicious, but could have been strained of some excess skin. I wanted to get the bluefin (if my memory serves me right?) dip, but I only had enough cash for the crab cakes and the gazpacho. Next time. My only gripe is that there isn’t a regular location for every day pick up like Eastern Market or Union Market. My sister is coming in town tomorrow from California and she would literally DIE over these cakes, but from what I can tell, there is no Friday pop-​up and the website is not very informative :(

Yes, the crab cakes are good and so are the empanadas and soup, but a Unilocal rating not only determines and ranks taste alone.
Chris’ Marketplace hits up a lot of the area farmers markets. As others have commented in the past, the employees, and Chris especially, are not the friendliest bunch of people. I feel being personable is very important when you are selling goods at a farmers market… come on, we know they can’t have the DC edge because they don’t live here.
This place gets bumped down a few notches for customer service and then the price. I do find the crab cakes a overpriced when there is little to none overhead costs. Yes, they use high quality ingredients but their cost is basically the product alone (unlike restaurant’s where they are providing sides, bread, electricity, tables, etc). However, my real gripe is the soup. I bought the seafood refresco, which I found very tasty, but it was basically ALL broth! And it was $ 6 and didn’t even come with a plastic spoon. I dissected this soup and it had a few cilantro leaves, three shrimp and about ¹⁄₃₀ of an avocado (no exaggerating). Thus, I paying $ 6 for tomatoey broth with lots of garlic and onion powder seasoning. Like I said, it was good but so overpriced. Maybe I could get over it if the people who worked there were just a tad but warmer – come on you guys, you can crack a smile, I know you can!!!

I am in love with the empanadas. Personally think that the smoked salmon and tilipia are the best!

My GF can eat crab day and night and Chris has the best. There are none better. I’m not as obsessed with cakes but like them and Chris’s are the best.

I had a mango and crayfish empanada, which was unique and delicious. If I lived here, I’d be up on that every weekend trying every available kind! =]

Hot Diggity!
Did I find a FIND or what? Answer: I found a FIND fo sho!
Hello Chris’ Marketplace! Make my wednesdays a better day. Context: I’m a medical student at GW and Wednesdays from mid-​April until Mid-​November (?) there is a Foggy Bottom Farmers Market from 3PM-​7PM.
Have I skipped dissecting to nosh on crab cakes — YES!
Have I skipped pathology lab — OH YES!
Have I scheduled into my study groups a trip out to the market? — OH hellz yeah!
The folks at Chris’ — They are spectacular people. A free sample is a FREE sample. Don’t be bashful guys. They know what they’re doing. They are friendly folks too!
The food — OMG where to begin. OK, the ingredients are upstanding. Chris ain’t no slouch. He gives you a bang for you $ 5. Little filler, great seasoning and phenomenal texture. «$ 5?!» you’re saying.
Let’s do an exercise — My friend, if you go to a supermarket and buy their crabcakes, half that is filler. If you took Chris’ crabcake, halved it and added bread crumbs and flour to it. There ya go. You’ve got yourself $ 2 filler-​filled crabcakes that are STILL better than the supermarket crabcakes. $ 5 is still hella cheaper than the stuff you’ll get at a restaurant (and not necessarily equal quality either!)
Other delicious bites are their Empanadas. Cheap snack and oh so delicious. He makes sure those empanadas are packed and YES, quality ingredients. My favs: tilapia and mushroom.
Lastly, their Gazpacho — I might get in trouble for this. He gets scrumptious tomatoes from his buddies at the farmers markets (he likes to support local). Full of flavour and a slight kick of spice. So why might I get in trouble — well, it’s seasonal and tomatoes are sun-​dependent.
Take home: grab your cash, grab your shopping bag and find Chris and his gang. They’re at a couple of the Farmer’s Markets.
Chris and gang: thanks for keeping me fed and sane through med school stresses. Wednesdays are so much better with you guys.

these are the best crab cakes i have ever tasted in my life. this and the honey crisp apples are the best part of the dupont farmers market.

Alright, I just finished two crab cakes from Chris’ Marketplace. I purchased them at the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market for $ 5 per cake. It was a bit of a spontaneous purchase because I rarely have cash, but yesterday I was luck and celebrated it… a decision I hope to make again.
FOOD:
I didn’t get the jumbo lump, but the run of the mill «lower grade», crab cake to test the seasoning and quality. What an amazing taste, this is one of the best seasoned crab cakes I’ve ever had. Sure, this is the Mid-​Atlantic… we are spoiled with fantastic seafood. However, this was well above average and I had to question how unbelievable the jumbo would taste (I’m going to find out next week) if the cheap crab cake made such an impression.
My purchase did come with instructions, which I followed — perfection, indeed!
«THE PERFECT CRAB CAKE EVERY TIME!
Pre-​heat your oven to broil.
Set your crab cake on a baking sheet on a piece of aluminum foil. Do not add any oil or butter!
Once the oven has heated to broil, place the baking sheet on a middle rack.
Allow crab cakes to brown for 5 – 7 minutes — no turning necessary!
Remove from oven and enjoy with your favorite sides!»
These directions result in a crab cake that has a lovely crisp, brown and seared flavor and texture on the outside and an excellently heated inside that allows you to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven.
LOCATION:
Not much to report here. The Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market is convenient for me, but I believe they do hit-​up several other markets around DC. They can be purchased at
but not as cheap as in-​person.
SERVICE:
Again, this isn’t exactly a detailed transaction.
ME — I’ll take two $ 5 crab cakes.
SALES PERSON — OK, that will be $ 10.
ME — Here ya go.
SALES PERSON — Here’s your crab cakes and cooking instructions.
ME — Thanks.
SALES PERSON — Thanks.
We’re not talking about being personable; however, it was freezing and it had snowed and she was still smiling… that counts.
OVERALL:
I am overwhelming pleased with two perfectly constructed and cooked crab cakes for a ridiculously low price of $ 10. I will be visiting them again this week and looking forward to the Farmer’s Market return in the spring.

Chris’ is a wonderful little vendor at the DC area farmer’s markets. I’ve tried their gazpacho and crab cakes– both of which were terrific.
The gazpacho is AMAZING and possibly the best I’ve ever had, but I’m docking off some stars because my «seafood refresco» soup had a bad shrimp. It made the whole thing inedible and I wasn’t willing to find out if that was the only bad shrimp.
They also sell empanadas, but I think Julia’s Empanada’s makes yummier ones with better dough

I agree that Chris’ wares are delicious. I have been known to walk by several times for samples, but have yet to try the empanadas. The crab cakes are amazing! I was very excited to see him at Penn Quarter on Thursdays — I just wish we could get him to come up to Mt Pleasant!

Chris’ Marketplace is famous for Backfin/​Lump crab cakes and other types of seafood cakes but I always look forward to purchasing their fresh gazpacho on Sunday mornings. Usually I get two pints and they last about the same amount of days (admittedly though, sometimes less). This wonderfully seasoned cold soup is crave-​worthy! I usually don’t bother eating it with a spoon but instead pour the savory liquid into a small bowl and sip it.
You can find Chris’ crab cakes (and hopefully their gazpacho too) at the Montgomery Women’s Market in Bethesda on Wednesdays and Saturdays; at the Penn Quarter FreshFarm market on Thursdays; at the Falls Church farmers market on Saturdays; and at the Dupont Circle FreshFarm market on Sundays.
Hooked on Excellence is their trademarked motto and I gotta say, I believe it!