Atlanta Underground Market

Our neighbors recently told us about the Atlanta Underground Market. Their description sounded intriguing, so last month, Pete and I decided to try it out. We had so much fun! Here is the website's description of what it is:

While living in San Francisco I had so much fun going to the San Francisco and Oakland Underground Markets and sampling all the delicious foods prepared by people in their private kitchens, that I felt I had no choice but to start one in Atlanta 

There are a lot of home cooks and food artisans in Atlanta,  who have awesome dishes to share, but who don't have the platform to do so outside of their circle of friends. And we're not talking your average fried chicken or hot dogs, but real gourmet slow food, that you may not be able to get anywhere else, whether meat centric dishes, vegetarian or vegan food. 

This being a private club gives the vendors the opportunity to share their dishes, and it gives members the chance to taste concoctions that they may otherwise never have had the opportunity to do. It's an incubator for new food talent.

In order to go, you have to sign up on the website and sign a waiver saying you know that the food may have been prepared in a place not inspected by the health department (Pete was a bit nervous about that...luckily, we're still alive to tell our tale!). The market is held once a month in a location which is made known by e-mail the night before the event. Last month it was in a parking lot at Atlantic Station. 

If you're super bored, up at obscene hours with a baby, or otherwise need free entertainment, you can play "Where's Waldo" with this YouTube video---see if you can spot me and/or Pete :)

The cost to get in was $3, and then each food item was priced $1-$5. Sounds cheap, right? We quickly found that the portion sizes were tiny and it was easy to spend tons of money, because there's so much stuff and we wanted to try everything. Even as I watch the video, I see food that I didn't even come across while we were there. Next time, we will pace ourselves---maybe even eat a light dinner before we go so that we're just sampling things and not spending a ton. 

I was feeling adventurous, so we tried the alligator gyro! As I took my first bite, I thought "hmm, this tastes like chicken." Then I continued to chew, and thought "hmm...now I'm getting an almost seafood flavor." Then "Eeew, I'm eating alligator!" And Pete ate the rest :) At least I tried it, right?

These people were so nice---they made one of my favorites, "Ethiopian Masala," and let me take their picture.

View of the city from where we were

Pete and Emery waiting in line for a Venezuelan Arepa (kind of like a Pita with yummy sauce and roasted butternut squash, eggplant, and other yummy veggies).

All in all, we had a great experience and will definitely be going back next month. It was so fun to get our tastebuds out of their comfort zone and experience new foods in a fun atmosphere. If any friends want to come with us in November, sign up and let us know! We learned some important lessons that we can pass on (like the later it gets, the more crowded it is. And don't wait to try the cake pops---the best flavors will be gone).