History Corner
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | March 20th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Image via Yesterday's Atlanta
While digging around for info on something “nerdy” (her word) having to do with downtown, Christa T., whose endlessly entertaining blog you should check out, found that “there was great controversy over the cooking of sausage and onions in the streets by vendors in the late 1800s.”
“Personally,” she writes, “I think there’s nothing more delicious than the fragrance of onions being sauteed, but perhaps it could be offensive when mingling with other turn-of-the-century street smells in a city where they desperately want to appear as sophisticated as New York City.”
Unfortunately, Christa wasn’t able to find any photos of the renegade lunch stands on Marietta Street, but she sent us the following article:
From the Atlanta Constitution, March 26, 1898:
Fight on Lunches, Bells, Whistles
Effort To Be Made To Stop Marietta Street Lunch Stands
A general reform measure will be presented to city council in the near future as the result of active crusades against the ham-egg-sausage-doughnut stands now decorating Marietta street, the alleged useless ringing of engine bells in the center of the city and the earning morning blasts of factory fog horns.
Between Pryor and Forsyth, on Marietta and Decatur streets, numerous lunch stands are located under authority of the city council. Several months ago, before the chefs had fully tested the public voracity, the menus consisted only of wienerwursts and hot tamales, but now these establishments have broadened out until anything from a dish of ham and eggs to a welsh rarebit, with all sorts of sausages and delicacies, may be had five minutes after ordering. The prices are reasonable and these up-to-date caterers are coining money. Every night after 6 o’clock their stands are surrounded by a group of hungry customers.
Out of this domestic mixture comes a composite odor which permeates every nook and corner of the Electric building, corner Broad and Marietta streets, to say nothing of the establishments between corners on this block. The odor of onions, eggs and sausages has caused citizens much annoyance and the are raising a protest against council granting license to these establishments, which the neighbors say are public nuisances. A petition signed by a large number of citizens will be presented to council asking that the licenses not be renewed.
A Logo Is Born
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | March 19th, 2010 | Filed under News
Daymia Kelley, a freelance graphic artist who specializes in logo concept and design, relocated from New Orleans in 2004 and now considers Atlanta home. While attending Georgia State University, where she is working on an MBA in Organizational Management, she has found a niche designing for local political campaigns, non-profit organizations, and fundraising events.
Kindly enough, she volunteered her time and talents to help branding the Atlanta Street Food Coalition with this hopeful image of a hand cradling a food truck like a baby bird ready to fly for the first time.
A resident of Reynoldstown, Daymia enjoys her close proximity to many of Atlanta’s dining treasures and live music venues and she would definitely enjoy eating street food.
Rolling with the Stars
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | March 18th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Linton Hopkins, the widely celebrated chef owner of Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch Public House, and H&F Bread Co. in Buckhead, sees no reason why brick-and-mortar restaurants and food trucks shouldn’t be on the same page. “I think from scratch food trucks will add to our reputation as a city with a dynamic food culture, plus I want to have one. I think they are very cool,” he told us recently.
Hopkins, a graduate of Emory University and the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY, a two-time James Beard Award Nominee for Best Chef–Southeast, and a recent Best New Chefs pick by Food and Wine Magazine, isn’t afraid to stand behind a griddle and flip some inspired burgers. He is committed to celebrating the rich bounty of Georgia farms through his “meticulous and loving house-made preparations of natural meats and fresh, local produce,” and as a founder of the Peachtree Road Farmers’ Market, he is no stranger to open-air vending.
As a chef with a large number of menu items, he likes the simplicity of cooking a few things at a time. “I would really enjoy a food truck with a simple offering of delicious food. As for my ideas about types of foods to cook, it is endless. One idea is a fried chicken truck with coleslaw and sweet tea or maybe a Southern tea room, truck style? What about a po’ boy truck with Zapp’s potato chips and root beer? It is really endless. Once we get the go ahead that we can do it, I will have to narrow my focus a little. As an entrepreneur who loves dreaming about and executing small distinctive food businesses, I can see operating many trucks around the area, all with different offerings.”
Hopkins also wants to experience a street food scene here as a consumer. “I see that it would elevate our outdoor events and gatherings with a distinctive food culture providing much more than the current large indifferent catering options which are there for our people. “
Vendor Gallery: Dianne Reinhardt
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | March 17th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
Former ER nurse Dianne Reinhardt built her own brick oven and started Magnolia Bread Company in the basement of her rural home in Cherokee County. “I started the bakery because I wanted to bake bread like I was not able to buy here–”real” bread, made with slow fermentation, like it’s made in Europe,” she told us. As her business grew, she became a familiar presence at the Morningside Organic Market, where she has been dispensing extraordinary organic loaves and pearls of wisdom.
“I thought about opening a retail location in Atlanta, but it seemed financially irresponsible to put my assets at risk,” Dianne says, “so I stuck to what I could afford and decided to launch The Green Van and sell lunch in Atlanta. I bought the van (an ugly-gray prisoner-transport vehicle) and had it converted to run on recycled vegetable oil.”
Dianne will soon serve the food she wants to eat: “food that tastes delicious and that is made with quality ingredients” that are as local and fresh as she can get. Her menu will center around sandwiches prepared on her own organic specialty breads, seasonal local salads and plenty of goat cheese snacks and spreads. She’ll also serve drinks, afternoon snack foods and some desserts. She wants the bakery to grow “in a way that creates jobs that are as nourishing as the food.” To her, “selling healthy street food is a fun job!”
The Green Van will take its maiden voyage next week in Woodstock and we wish it best of luck! Follow Dianne’s adventures on her site and give her all the support she needs.
Live from New York
Posted by Christiane Lauterbach | March 15th, 2010 | Filed under Carts
The hot dogs and the halal carts were doing brisk business last weekend, but the upscale vendors were hiding from the gale inside.
Brooklyn Flea
We caught up with the underground scene at the famous Brooklyn Flea. Normally held in Fort Greene on Saturdays and DUMBO on Sundays, the Flea features more than vintage furniture, clothing, collectibles and antiques, new jewelry, and art and crafts by local artisans, plus delicious food.
In winter, the Flea moves indoor to the landmark former Williamsburgh Savings Bank, at the corner of Flatbush Ave in downtown Brooklyn. Check out the ad hoc dining space in the vault and two of our favorite vendors.
The Good Fork
The Good Fork on Van Brunt Avenue in Red Hook is the brain child of carpenter-actor Ben Schneider and his wife, Sohui Kim, who’s cooked at Annisa and Blue Hill, in Manhattan, and their signature dumplings are the Flea’s most upscale/homespun treat.
The Milk Truck
The Milk Truck and its operator, Keith Klein, are getting ready to hit the road with grilled cheese sandwiches such as Wisconsin Gruyere on rye with champagne-pickled onions and mustard and a ham and cheese made with Vermont aged cheddar on rosemary pullman bread.
