Foodie Heaven

The Dekalb Farmers Market is the most wonderful food shopping experience I've ever had. And it's going to provide some of the best eating experiences I've ever had for the next week.

I was impressed when I first saw a Whole Foods but now? Hah! Whole Foods was a little too Yuppie and way overpriced. The Dekalb Farmers Market has something for everyone and it's dirt cheap.

I saw things in that store yesterday that I never saw before: fava beans, lemongrass, varieties of fruits and vegetables for everyone. It not only had exotic stuff but food to make a southerner's taste buds drown. There were Tennessee tomatoes, Carolina half-runner beans, big thick yellow squash for frying, and potatoes so fresh the dirt was still damp. There was fresh produce being restocked all over the section (which takes up half of the warehouse size store). My buggy was half filled before I ever got out of Produce.

Once I had bagged enough produce to keep a vegan happy for a week, Zach and I moved to the other departments. There was a bakery section with organic pastries and breads, a dairy section with growth hormone free milk and free range eggs, a deli with meats and cheeses and salads to go, a meat section with things I could have done without seeing but I'm sure it made somebody happy (Lamb Kidneys?!), and a seafood section that was stunning. There was live fish swimming and you pick your fish and they'll scoop it out and clean it for you to take home. It doesn't get any fresher than that.

And the cost? The live fish cost about the same as frozen stuff at the local market. The produce was four times fresher at half the price. The Deli was reasonable. I haven't priced Lamb Kidneys so I couldn't tell you if they were priced well or not and we never did make it to the staples section (next trip!)

Almost better than the delicious food (ok, nothing comes close to that...) was the people. There were people from every culture that lives in the Atlanta area and everyone was incredibly friendly. Since we didn't all speak the same language we just smiled and nodded a lot.

Now how do I break it to Brick that we're going grocery shopping in Atlanta at least once a month?