Fred and I sorely miss many things about Atlanta, but aside from friends and family, what inspires the greatest sadness and deepest sense of loss is the Dekalb Farmers Market. I mentioned it briefly in a post last year on this blog, but then I did not fully appreciate its splendor. We failed to understand that finding whole bean Ethiopian Yrgicheff (how DO you spell that?), Columbian, Sumatran, and Kenyan coffee at under $6 a pound was not something you found every day. We balked at Hawaiian Kona coffee that cost $13 a pound. We took it for granted that we could buy fresh wild caught Alaskan king salmon, Chilean sea bass, halibut, and sashimi grade tuna for under $15 a pound. And cheese. And grass-fed beef, and quail, and free-range chicken, and goat, and many vegetables I’d never seen in my life.
Now I stand, heart palpitating, at the few places where we can find these things here in Durham, wondering how a 30% salary increase could disappear so quickly. Instead of standing next to immigrants from Ethiopia, Mexico, India, and Russia, poring over inexpensive “speciality” items together, I’m now pointy-toe-to-Birkenstocked-toe with Volvo-driving, self-righteous Chapel Hill liberals who are gushing over $22 a pound Hawaiian Kona and free-range local chickens that cost $23 each. I am not joking–TWENTY-THREE DOLLARS FOR A FOUR POUND CHICKEN. I don’t think there’s a font size, or exclamation points, that will adequately convey my shock and horror.
(Side note: I still won’t vote for a Republican.)
The Newlyfeds 
Call your local Catholic Charities office and ask where they send local immigrants for discounted non-local foods. It’s probably a hole-in-the-wall place that makes their own goat cheese (We have two in Nashville).Chris is probably still thinking about all of us 😉al
The Mexican market on N. Roxboro has shrimp for $3.99 a pound . . .
Do you know about Compare Foods? It used to be the Winn Dixie at the corner of Roxboro and Avondale, back from the road, down the strip mall from where K-Mart used to be and is nothing now. Anyways. It doesn’t have the fancy stuff you were talking about, but what it does have is cheap and ethnic. This might be what Paul is talking about. Also, thanks for the kind comment on my blog!
Being from Atlanta, I can say that I don’t miss the joint at all. I think Durham has more culture/culinary/overall coolness factor than Atlanta. I do miss the Varsity though. Mmm…onion rings.
Allen,We are beginning to miss Atlanta a little less and appreciate Durham more. I do like not having to drive for an hour just to reach some countryside. I should add that we actually lived in Decatur, which has some amazing restaurants a pretty high “coolness” factor. If we’d lived in the burbs and had to commute, it would have been awful.