The International Side of Atlanta

One of the wonderful things about moving to a bigger city is the access to so many cultures from around the world. While browsing the web for places to check out in Atlanta, I came across pictures of the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market (BHFM). Don’t be fooled. This isn’t your typical farmer’s market. This is a ginormous international supermarket. It’s like the Toy ‘R Us of food, except even better than anything you could imagine. I’m barely exaggerating.

BHFM has everything. I mean it. The produce section is gigantic and includes more varieties of eggplants than I knew existed. Same for the bell peppers, squashes and so many other fruits and vegetables. You can even buy a giant sugar cane for goodness’ sake! I also saw for the first time (and bought) fresh garbanzo beans still in their pods!

Once you are passed the produce section (and it will take you a while), you are still only getting started. There are tons of spices in bulk. An international bakery with Latin and Asian baked treats. I tried to stay away as I already had too many sweets at home but I know I’ll be back for that stuff. Then you get to the produce and seafood section. So much good and cheap meat. They have everything from roasts to fresh chorizo. And I don’t even know what to say about the seafood section. More fish than I knew existed, all fresh. You can even buy fish heads if that’s what you’re into! Haha!

Still no where near done, you still need to browse through the dozens of aisles, representing various countries. The ramen noodle aisle, the fresh and colorful sushi, the fresh kimchi dumplings (a real treat! the lady makes them right in front of you), the cheese, the cured meats, the European bakery… How it all fits into one building, I do not know.

To give you an idea of the things I found there, here are the items I bought there on my last trip:

Pink Himalayan Salt
Cambray Onions
Kambocha Squash
Fresh Sage
Purple Carrots
Cheddar Cheese Curds
Fresh Pumpkin Pasta
Fresh Garbanzo Beans
Cucumber
Dominican Eggplant
Seaweed Salad
Nestlé Chocolate (Smarties & Aero)
Purple Bell Pepper
Eye Round Roast
Fresh Chorizo
Korean Spicy Ramen Bowl

And if that’s not enough, there is also a cafeteria with a hot bar. The food is so varied. I got a mixture of Russian dumplings, Korean ribs, Hungarian chicken, Indian samosas and grilled vegetables. Oh and an order of the Kimchi dumplings to take home.