Food for Thought: PREP Food Junction DOUG REYNICS
I
’ve been frequenting for some time a strip of awesome food establishments on Presidential Parkway called PREP Food Junction. It recently occurred to me that many don’t know about this epicurean mecca. I want to share all the restaurants here and encourage you to try one or more. I promise it will be well worth the trip. PREP Food Junction (foodjunctionatl.com) opened its doors in 2014 with one goal in mind – to help build and support small and growing food businesses in Atlanta. PREP has helped local food entrepreneurs organically scale their businesses by providing cost-effective shared and private commercial kitchen facilities. Many of the current restaurants or food trucks in the PREP spaces got their start in a PREP kitchen. Please note the hours of operations as some aren’t open Mondays and have alternate hours other days. Little Farmhouse Café (littlefarmhousecafe.com) is perhaps the most well-known of the restaurants. Chef Chris Morrison specializes in innovative, New American, farm-to-table cuisine with Southern roots and European flair. I am a fan of their brunch menu. Slow and Low BBQ is a new offering from the Little Farmhouse Café, offering grab and go in-house made BBQ. This sounds like a great concept and one I will be trying very soon. Hot Chickpeas Mediterranean (hotchick-peas.com) is one of my new favorite places. Chef Saeed offers his signature homemade, heart-healthy Mediterranean cuisine. I love the lamb and beef shawarma, the falafel platter and all of the sides. We will frequently order all of Kufta Angus Beef Kebab and eggplant with charred tomatoes from Hot Chickpeas Mediterranean. (Photo by Doug Reynics) their appetizers. They offer starters, fried sandwiches, all day breakfasts and, of course, coffee, tea Raul’s Latin Café & Catering (raulslatinkitchen.com) is a newer brick and mortar and smoothies. store from a company that has had a longtime successful food truck business. This is In 2020, fast-food chain Fazoli’s (fazolis.com) opened its first ghost kitchen at a place I have not tried but will soon. The sandwiches, salads, apps and family meals PREP, preparing its pasta and sauces, breadsticks and salads fresh throughout the all sound worthy of a try! day but only as carry-out and delivery. Meatballerz (meatballerzatl.com) is another food truck business that added this Eat Clean Bro (eatcleanbro.com) is another take-away only meal place, offering PREP space as a dedicated restaurant. One of their newer features is a grab and go a diverse menu of healthy options from dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, ketocase right inside the store. I have never had as good a meatball sandwich as I have friendly, low-fat, paleo-friendly, and vegan menus. had here. The one I always get is The Pompeii, which is a spicy meatball with hot There are some non-restaurant options in the PREP complex I would recommend. Italian sausage, ground chuck and roasted seasonal peppers. It’s incredible. Georgia Sourdough (georgiasourdoughco.com) offers a variation on a market Let’s Taco ‘Bout It (letstacoboutitatl.com) is right next door. They, too, are both stand, with sourdough crackers and starters, local cheeses, charcuterie, jams, a food truck and dedicated restaurant space. I loved the Korean BBQ and the Jerk mustards, pickles and chow-chow, baking needs and other rotating specials. First Chicken. Batch Artisan Foods (firstbatchartisan.com) offers fresh baked cookies, dairy-free Southern Kitchen and Grill (southernkitchengrill.com) is a family-owned ice cream, brownies, and other products. establishment, offering curbside delivery, carryout, delivery, or catered BBQ. This is my next try of all the restaurants. Sealed Meals (sealedmeals.com) offers a unique meal concept - prepackaged DOUG REYNICS is a longtime Tucker resident and self-described meals that stay fresh in your fridge for up to forty-five days, microwaveable and “foodie.” Many know him as “Doug the Driver,” who provides rides to ready to eat in only three minutes. and from both the domestic and international airport terminals. (To Nonna’s Family Kitchen (nonnasfamilykitchen.com) is a family-owned and date, his service has provided almost 2,300 airport rides!) If you have operated traditional Neapolitan kitchen. They feature freshly made pastas and a food story or question you would like to see him write about (or if pizzas as well as frozen, oven-ready Italian meals. you need a ride!), email him at dougthedriver1@gmail.com or call him at Java Saga (javasagacoffee.com) sounds like it’s just coffee but it’s so much more. 770.842.4261.
10 OUR TOWN DEKALB | March 2022
