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Sweet Auburn Curb Market/Photo by Atlanta Culinary Tours |
Dear readers, this is a re-post of a story from last summer about Sweet Auburn Curb Market, a fantastic farmer's market in downtown Atlanta. The re-post is for #LetsLunch, a monthly Twitter party on a given topic. This month, the global #LetsLunch blogger network takes on farmers markets. Look to the end of the post for links to other #LetsLunch stories. Thanks for reading!
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by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour
Atlanta's oldest farmer's market, the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, which
has been feeding Atlantans since 1918. My new friends at
Atlanta Culinary Tours,
Beth and David, guided a group of about a dozen culinary tourists
through the market, admiring produce and sampling goodies along the way.
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Collards at Sweet Auburn Curb Market/Photo by Atlanta Culinary Tours |
One of my favorite reasons to shop the curb market is
collard greens. You can buy them whole and process them yourself, a
labor and sink full of love, or buy them bagged and chopped, ready for
the pot.
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Produce like these turnips is fresh from the farm at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
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Ciao Boca meatball sandwich by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
One of the first bites of the day was this delicious meatball sandwich made by Deborah, owner of
Ciao Boca, an Italian eatery inside the market.
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One of my favorite signs at the market. by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
In
these days of nose to tail cooking, the market is the place to get
every porcine part, possibly even the oink. Other critter parts are
available at the market, signs that I just don't see at my neighborhood
Kroger. Not to be missed: a product new to me, rank meat, which
is aged salted pork fatback, used for seasoning with Southern
vegetables. That's right, a meat product marketed as "rank."
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Signs at Sweet Auburn Curb Market by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
The Curb Market is a great place for ingredients
and a meal. The market is set up food court style, with restaurants including
Tilapia Express Seafood, home of outstanding fried fish.
Metro Deli & Soul Food
is home to exactly that - soul food specialties such as spicy, tender
greens, the mac and cheese my kids wish I knew how to make; and crispy,
juicy fried chicken. If you're near downtown Atlanta, pull into the
parking lot adjacent to the market and be sure to get your parking
ticket validated by a vendor. The first 90 minutes are free - probably
the best parking deal in downtown.
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Tilapia Express Seafood at Sweet Auburn Curb Market by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
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Get a plate of Southern goodness at Metro Deli and Soul Food. By Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
Barbecue fans take note: Sweet Auburn Barbecue just opened in the market.
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Sweet Auburn Barbecue by Lucy MercerA A Cook and Her Books |
After
your soul food cravings are satisfied, check out some of the quirkier
items at the market, folk remedies such as this Georgia specialty: white dirt.
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White dirt, a.k.a. kaolin, available at Sweet Auburn Curb Market. By Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
White
dirt is kaolin, a clay mined in South Georgia that has commercial
applications in the paper, paint and rubber industries. It's also
consumed as kind of an earthy antacid. If you've ever heard the
expression "clay-eater," this is where it comes from. And if you're
wearing your smarty pants, you already know that clay-eating is a form
of geophagy ("earth eating") and pica (eating of non-food items).
Which
brings us to another popular folk remedy, the golden elixir known as
Wild Bill's Yellow Root Tea, a tonic used to lower blood pressure and
treat diabetes.
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Wild Bill's Yellow Root Tea by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
Wild
Bill's is a convenience product, you may prefer to make your own, using
freshly harvested yellow root, also available at the market. I love the
homemade signs!
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Yellow root at Sweet Auburn Curb Market by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
There's plenty more at the market, including the best pralines I ever ate, made by Louisianan Dionne Gant at
Miss D's New Orleans Pralines.
I didn't realize how grainy my homemade pralines were until I tasted
hers - smooth, creamy, sweet-but-not-too, featuring Georgia grown
pecans. (I'll return there during Christmastime for sweet stocking
stuffers.)
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Miss D's New Orleans Pralines/Sweet Auburn Curb Market |
Start your day at
Cafe Campesino,
just inside Sweet Auburn Curb Market. We sampled hummingbird scones, a
novel take on the Southern banana cake with pineapple and pecans, and
some bracing brews from the selection of fair trade beans.
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Cafe Campesino/Sweet Auburn Curb Market |
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Sweet Auburn Bakery by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books |
The sweet stuff is abundant at the Curb Market.
Sweet Auburn Bakery is justifiably famous for its sweet potato cheesecake.
It's time to disclose that Atlanta Culinary Tours allowed me (and my mom!) to
take the tour gratis. If you're looking for a weekend activity, check
out their list of tours.
For $32 a person, you fill your brain and belly with Sweet Auburn lore
and love. An excellent date, with a special someone, or your mom (we had
a blast!).
Sweet Auburn Curb Market is located at 209 Edgewood Ave. SE near
downtown Atlanta and is easily reached from the connector. Pull into the
parking lot and get your parking ticket validated - the first 90
minutes are free.
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9 comments:
Cool! This is the first 'tomato gravy' I have seen...sounds so interesting. And I've been wanting to make biscuits for a while now...so here's my chance! Thanks Lucy!!
That's a first for me too; I'll have to try it! I've been on a biscuit making bender lately, so that will go along perfectly...
This is a really neat post, love seeing your Farmer's Market! I never heard of tomato gravy before, but I'm in the south right now, so I will look for it!
What a lovely and fascinating tour. Loved looking over your shoulder as you meandered. I would take that tour so I could eat along with the group and take things home, but Atlanta's too far for right now. Looking forward to making your tomato gravy: old school! The tomato photo is particularly fabulous.
Hi Lucy, I so want to visit this market with you! The tomato gravy is something I need to add to my repertoire.
How cool. I am so hungry I could eat a whole hog! But seriously, that sandwich next to the meatball one looks really interesting. As do the home remedies. Thanks for sharing!
My husband is not a tomato fan, but I think I could get him to eat some if I made this gravy. He is Definitely a gravy fan! :)
I lived in Wilkinson County for about 7 years where they mine kaolin. I cannot believe that they sell it in the farmer's market!!!
I wish they sold that White Dirt here in the UK, it looks delish!
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