I’m ashamed to admit that I have spent almost zero time in the Inman Park area since I’ve been in Atlanta. Equally as surprising is that before last week, I had never visited Parish Foods & Goods, a New South eatery with a New Orleans flair (hence “Parish”…we don’t do counties in Louisiana). I stopped by the market side for lunch (Parish consists of the restaurant upstairs and the market downstairs) and was looking forward to trying a po’boy. They offer shrimp, oyster, and for those of us who can’t make up their minds, combo po’boys. I went for the combo:

I was a little disappointed with Parish’s po’boy. The bread was great, and probably the closest to real NOLA po’boy bread I’ve had. The shrimp and oysters however, were too few and almost tasteless. I did enjoy the spicy mayo sauce (I think, no description) and housemade pickles, but when I started to find pieces of shell fried in with my oysters, I was pretty much done. BIG no-no!!

While chewing through my lackluster po’boy, I did take notice of the space around me. Parish’s decor is really eclectic and cool, everywhere you turn there’s something new on a shelf to browse, buy, or even eat. The communal table in the center of the room was occupied by Inman Park hipsters with their Macs and coffee cups (the market also has a small coffee bar), but there were also tables set off in nooks for more private accommodations.

I have heard raves about the fried green tomato BLT at Parish Foods & Goods, and their dinner menu looks like it could be tasty. Especially since I have a nice half-off coupon, I probably won’t rule them out for another try. Here’s to the quest to find good Louisiana-style food in ATL!

www.parishatl.com