Visiting the Buford Highway Farmer's Market

Yesterday I visited the Buford Highway Farmer's Market for the first time. I typically shop at Your Dekalb Farmer's Market for international products and food, but decided to try out another one for variety.

I was so impressed with the quantity and scope of international products available there! The market is generally arranged by region of the world, and includes aisles of products from Brazil, Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Caribbean, and more. Everything at the market, too, is very reasonably priced.

Almost all the products are labeled in another language; it's sometimes difficult to find the English translation on the product label, and even when I did find it, I was often still left clueless to the contents or use of the product. I always am intrigued by packaging in other languages-- I'm not sure why this is; perhaps it's because it's something representing the quotidian life of people of another country that gets past the touristy images; or perhaps it's because it shakes my ideas of what's "normal" for a soft drink bottle or bag of candy to look like.

The market also includes an extensive produce section with fruits and vegetables from all over the world. I bought longans, a fruit popular in Thailand that I'd never heard of before. Longans are small, grape-like fruits that you have to peel before eating. The flesh of the fruit is similar to that of lychees, but longans are somewhat less flavorful. In any case, it's fun to explore the market and try new fruits and vegetables.

Even if you're not shopping for international food, the market is worth a trip for the people-watching opportunities-- I definitely heard more conversations in foreign languages than I did in English! Outside the market I picked up newspapers in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean.

Here's a short photo slideshow to see some photos from the market.

The market is located at 5600 Buford Highway, Doraville, GA 30340. It's worth the trip!