Last weekend my brother decided to cash in on letting me sneak into his dorm for Mardi Gras and crash at my place during his spring break. I was worried we wouldn’t have anything to do around the city because, well, I’m pretty boring, but some food-centric events had us out and about and made for a pretty decent weekend. For lunch Friday, we stopped by the Sweet Auburn Curb Market for “Atlanta’s Urban Picnic” (which I’m just calling “street food fest”). Saturday, the 10th annual (but my first time attending) BaconFest was hosted by theatre/improv group Dad’s Garage in Inman Park.

I was a little disappointed with both festivals. At Street Food Fest, organized to raise awareness on legalizing street food in Atlanta, I felt it was a case of over-promise and under-deliver. Press releases promised a myriad of street foods, including “handmade biscuit sandwiches, Korean BBQ tacos, locally sourced sandwiches and baked goods, fresh smoothies, Caribbean specialties, Greek gyros, vegetarian samosas, locally made hot dogs, wood-fired pizza, and Grindhouse Killer Burgers.” At our arrival, there were 4 food carts with pizza, salads, hot dogs (Good Food), and soup (Souper Jenny), along with a few tables selling sandwiches, meats and cheeses, and a few other knick-knacks. I suppose the foods mentioned may have encompassed both what was available outside the Market and what’s typically available inside, but I was expecting a larger showing. We did, however, taste a “Poodle Dog” (French toast bun and apple/cabbage slaw) from the Good Food cart, and a lovely prosciutto, swiss, rosemary mayo, and artichoke sandwich from Artichoke Bliss.

Poodle Dog

Sandwich from Artichoke Bliss

I loved the sandwich from Artichoke Bliss. Everything was yummy and fresh, and it was definitely something I would have put together for myself at home. The poodle dog was quite juicy and fresh as well. We were stymied on what condiments to use, as they had both spicy mustard for your typical hot dog, and syrup to pair with the french toast bun. We ended up doing half-and-half.

As for Baconfest, again, I was a little disappointed due to lack of food variety. This is Dad’s Garage’s annual fundraising event as they are a non-profit theatre/improve group. The event sold out the day before, so the turnout was good. The sunny but breezy weather was really nice for gorging on bacon and beer. We bought the $15 “little pig” tickets, which included “one pork-tion” of bacon and a beer. I was wondering beforehand what the pork-tion of bacon would entail, and specifically remember saying “I don’t think I want just a plateful of bacon.” But that’s exactly what it was. Instead, Spencer and I went for the BLT’s they were slapping together and bought a few extra tickets for beers. They were decent BLT’s, and they didn’t skimp on the bacon, so we were happy with our decision. However, I was hoping/expecting more bacon variety than what was available (There was a special “jalapeno bacon” being served, but it also required the purchase of the unlimited bacon/beer ticket). We enjoyed watching “Hunt an Improviser” and listening to the bands. It seemed the Scoutmob folks were in attendance as we saw a number of mustachioed festival patrons. All in all, it was a good time.

Band

Hunt an Improviser

Band