You may remember that I blogged about visiting the very first Urban Picnic at Sweet Auburn Curb Market last year. I was a little underwhelmed by the small number of vendors then, but since having gone back a few times, I can say that the offerings have only gotten better and more varied. I’m excited that the Urban Picnic is getting back into the swing of things!

Now that spring is in the air, the 2011 Atlanta Urban Picnic will return to Sweet Auburn Curb Market. The Urban Picnic is just about a year old, but if you didn’t make any of the 2010 meetings, you may be wondering: What is an urban picnic? It’s a chance for in-towners to meet up during Friday lunch hours (and sometimes early Saturday evenings) and sample the wares of Atlanta’s growing fleet of food trucks and other food vendors.

The Urban Picnics will again take place regularly at Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn Curb Market downtown. The Sweet Auburn Curb Market is “an urban farmers’ market that unites rural and urban Georgians through food and activities that celebrate local agriculture, the history of the Sweet Auburn neighborhood and the diversity of the city of Atlanta.”

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Here’s my ~quarterly “I’m being a blogging slacker” excuse: this time, it’s paper-writing, thesis-formulating, and the beginnings of wedding planning. But I managed to take a break from all the busy work to hit up Taste of Atlanta last weekend. I actually was thinking of skipping the Taste this year, but then I won 4 VIP tickets from the lovely folks at Scoutmob, so I really had no excuse! So Mario, 2 friends and I met up on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to eat ourselves silly.

A lot of the vendors at this year’s taste were the same as last year (and were even serving the same menu options), so we were able to try a number of new things while still getting tastes of a few old standbys. One of my favorite plates from this year’s taste were the spare ribs with coleslaw from Jim ‘n Nicks Bar-B-Q, if for nothing else than the huge portion (that’s a clean bone in the back + the untouched one in the front):

Jim 'n Nicks Bar-B-Q

Jim 'n Nicks Ribs

Mmmm…tender, smoky, mouthwatering ribs. I want more SOON! A few more pictures after the jump:
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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

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