Field Trips: A Whole New World


Field trips. In grade school, it was one thing EVERYONE looked forward to. In college, especially culinary school, it's no different. Last Sunday, one of my chefs, Chef Patrick Wagner, took a group of culinary students on a semi-guided field trip. We went down to Atlanta to visit several food markets. First, we met on campus at 7:15 am to carpool.Chef Pat gave us directions to the three markets and lunch, and off we went!
 Our first stop was Dekalb. A large farmer's market in Decatur, right outside of Atlanta. It had everything from fresh produce to live fish, fresh bread to local meat. Everything you could possibly want inside one farmer's market. As you walked from one end to the other the smells were overwhelming. Produce dirt, fresh fish, and coffee all mixed together made me feel like I belonged. People of all ages and nationalities were milling around, bargaining and buying. I ended up buying some gouda cheese from Holland. I can't wait to make mac and cheese. It was definitely my favorite place to visit!




Next, we went to eat at a dim sum restaurant named East Pearl. Dim sum is an Asian style where food is placed on a lazy susan on a large round table. It is served in small containers, normally two or three bites. I wasn't so sure about this, but it turned out to be really good!


Our third stop was the Assi Lotte food market in Duluth about 20 minutes from the Dekalb. It had a similar feel to Earth Fare, but with international foods. Once again, rows and rows of fish, produce, dry goods, and people. I decided to buy beef tripe. Beef trip is the lining of a cow's stomach. I tried it in Italy last spring, and I can't wait to experiment with it!

Our final stop was a smaller Korean supermarket also in Duluth. Once again, the abundance of fresh produce, fish, and dry goods was crazy! I ended up buying strawberries there.

 Overall, this trip gave me an incredible look at the world, right in my backyard. Far too often, we think exploring new things, seeing the world, or finding different flavors means going over seas, or long trips. However, in two hours, we  were able to see a whole different side of America. And it was awesome!







Comments

  1. EliMarch 16, 2013 at 2:00 PM

    Your trip sounds like it was fabulous. Went to a Asian market the other day and it was the same way. Lots of unique offerings. Good Luck with the tripe. You will have to post on how it turns out!

    ReplyDelete

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