Dekalb Farmers Market

Clint E. left a Yelp review for the Dekalb Farmers Market warning visitors to take a Xanax before they came inside. I thought he was kidding, but upon entering the place for the first time, I immediately wish that I had taken something. It's not like there's not enough Xanax lying around my place.

Clint E. was also right when he said the anxiety-fueled nightmare that is the Dekalb Farmers Market is definitely worth every stressful minute.

That guy that I've been seeing and I have started a new tradition where he calls to wake me up at whatever ungodly hour he arrives in Atlanta, we then enjoy delicious breakfast burritos at Gato, and then we go to the Dekalb Farmers Market. I know we haven't been seeing each other for very long, but I'm pretty sure that surviving a crowded market filled with 19 different kinds of radishes and some potentially illegal seafood items together without screaming or threatening one another with bodily harm is a good indication that we might actually get along. I always ask if anyone in Atlanta works and then I remember that he and I manage to go there at 11 AM on a Friday but his work schedule is weird and mine is flexible. I always drive because 1. my car has a roof and doors, and 2. I am somehow the better driver. (This is very concerning.)

Meal prep feels fantastic when you can buy a bajillion items of fresh produce and the only decent looking scallops I've seen in Atlanta for under $50. I managed to spend $80 the other day only because I bought enough fruit to make fruit salad for 20 people. It was for a picnic in the park because it's been 72 degrees in Atlanta for about a week.

I've been there thrice so I'm no expert, but this is what I've learned:

1. Get a cart in the parking lot.
2. Don't go hungry.
3. Agree upon a pre-decided meeting spot for when one of you gets lost.
4. Devise a strategy to make it to every aisle while one person mans the buggy.
5. Make sure there's cash on your debit card because they don't accept credit cards.
6. Don't expect the cashiers or the other patrons to find your witty banter amusing. Apparently asking who someone is and why his items are in your cart is not as funny to others.
7. Photography is prohibited.

Literally moments later, I was being chased down by an employee and told I had to put away my phone.