One sweet market

This fresh-food emporium offers a world of flavors.

During downtown Atlanta's lunch hour, Bess Boeri scurries in and out of her display cases filling orders. Her Salumeria Taggiasca, a booth at Sweet Auburn Curb Market, stays busy satisfying customers with flavors direct from Italy. But it hasn't always been that way.

Three years ago when she and her husband began importing specialties, they selected this locale because it reminded them of European markets. She later became partners with Anna de Benedictis. "We started with no customers," Bess recalls. "Then people found out about us."

Now, patrons stand in rows two and three people thick. They choose from olive pates, roasted peppers with dried tomatoes, and a selection of olives that will make you salivate. Cheeses, pastas and sauces, all kinds of prosciutti, and sandwiches are also tempting.

Surrounding Salumeria, a dozen other fresh-food establishments also provide tastes not typical to most local stores. At Atlantic Seafood, the proprietors keep fresh whole flounder, perch, bass, snapper, and mullet. Around the corner at Roy's Seafood, you can also buy wrapped rabbits for $6.99 each. At Chicken Farm of Georgia across the way, all kinds of meats, including chitterlings and fatback, are available. Elsewhere, booths stack fresh produce.

Not everyone who comes to Sweet Auburn goes home with food to prepare. Some come just for lunch. Red's Tasty Express keeps your calorie level constant with chili dogs ($2), burgers ($2), and layer cakes, including sweet potato ($20). The food court area offers seafood and pizza as well as Japanese, African, and Caribbean cuisines.

A couple of shops entice you with other wares. Over at Afrikan Image, you can peruse the shea butter selection amid imported clothing and art. And at An Apple a Day, look for herbs and full-service massages. Now that's a relaxing experience.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jul 2003
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