Culinary Utopia?

This culinary utopia we speak of is much simpler than it sounds and consists of things we see everyday. My first experience with said utopia happened in Paris of 06 on my second trip to France. A friend and I rented a little apartment in the Jewish qtr above a few cafes which opened early and closed late into the night. Across from our apartment was an open air market that had handmade jewelry, clothing, bags, fresh bread, cheese, vegetables, fruits, pastas, wine, coffee, etc. This market didn't open up just on Sunday's, it set up and shut down everyday and was prepared for rain as well. I couldn't help but wonder where these people came from. Here we were, in the middle of the city and who seemed to be farmers of sorts showed up everyday with fresh produce and sundries! People came and went through the market all day to get breakfast, do grocery shopping, picking up lunch and dinner, until almost everything was gone. I smile just thinking about it.

All this brings me to the present time, where my daytime dining options( if I haven't packed a lunch) consist of Chipotle(texmex), Five Guys(greasy burger joint), Noodles( processed and packaged everything) or and old school burger and ice cream shop. Lunch is a discussion no one wants to have. Recently though an all raw food restaurant has opened in the area and it is worth dodging the cars to cross the busy street to get to.

We live in a city which claims to pride itself on promoting your local businesses and expanding culture... why have we not invited our farmers to come in with fresh meats, veggies and fruits? Why is it better to throw up(literally)another fast food chain instead of building an open market to support our locals all while providing a much needed service?

This is not a rant, but a simple idea.