Star Provisions, Atlanta GA

Sometimes, word of mouth is still much stronger than social media. For example, one of my co-workers also has a part time job at Jeni’s Ice Creams. We all love this particular co-worker, well, for lots of reasons, but one of them is that every so often, she’ll bring in a few pints and leave them in the freezer with a note on a break room table inviting us to indulge. Oh, that Banana French Toast. My, my.

Anyway, she came in one morning recently and said “Jeni’s isn’t really promoting it very loudly in this market, but they have a new flavor that you might like. Cultured Key Lime Pie Frozen Yogurt. You should try it.” Well, that sounded so good that I went over to the Westside Provisions shopping complex for lunch the following day. I had been meaning to visit Star Provisions, which is right next door to Jeni’s, for ages anyway.

Star Provisions had also been on my mind recently. The AJC had one of their annual click-bait articles about the best in Atlanta dining and their shrimp po-boy was on the list. Probably for the umpteenth time. Owner Anne Quatrano had separately received a little press lately in Charleston SC. She’s consulting on a project there run by a restaurant group called Indigo Road that sounds like the managing partners wanted to make their own version of Star Provisions, so they figured they should probably just hire the original source and get her take on things. (Have a read.)

The layout at Star confused me a little, because I am easily distracted and baffled. After a couple of minutes looking over all the cookware for sale, and the coolers of salads and drinks, I joined the deli line for sandwiches and baked treats. Then I left the line because oh, my goodness, isn’t that neat, and don’t we need this at home, and wait, I’m supposed to be here buying lunch for myself and not dropping a C-note at the cheese counter. Get back in line.

With a bag of Zapp’s chips and a soda, my meal came to $15, but it was certainly worth it. The bread was so good that I’d have been happy just to have a simple loaf of that. Filled as it was with delicious shrimp, pickles, and a tongue-dancingly tangy remoulade, it absolutely lived up to the hype. What a great little meal. Be sure to spend a few minutes shopping around. Even if you don’t want to bring home any cupcakes or cheeses or salami, you’ll enjoy just being in a place that curates its selections so carefully. It’s a terrific shop, run by people who genuinely love food.

Next door, the staffers at Jeni’s were enjoying one of their rare periods of calm. It was 2 pm, and the lunchtime crowd had thinned away. The key lime yogurt was good, in fact, paired with a small scoop of Salty Caramel, it was very good, but I left thinking that the shrimp po-boy was so darn perfect that it did not need dessert, and besides, the Banana French Bread is even better.

Other blog posts about Star Provisions:

Dine With Dani (Dec. 14 2010)
Food Near Snellville (Jan. 24 2011)
My Little Foodies (July 2 2012)
Atlanta etc. (Dec. 2 2013)

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