Explore Roswell's Culinary Scene with Final Atlanta Culinary Tour on May 18th

Atlanta Culinary Tours, founded by Beth Robinette, are a great way to explore the foodie delights of the ATL and beyond.

The tours include the best foodie neighborhoods in and around Atlanta including Decatur, Inman Park and the Old Fourth Ward. About a year ago, they included Roswell. As we all know, Roswell's culinary scene has taken off over the past three years. Canton street has gone from a quint, sleepy historic street to a bustling thoroughfare with street traffic, packed eateries and bustling boutiques. There are now so many options of places to eat on Canton, it's hard to choose! Well, one way to get acquainted with the savory side of this area is to go on a culinary tour -- the up-coming tour is on May 18th.

I had the privilege of joining the tour recently and I'll give you the scoop. The guide, Erin Parks, is a local Roswell resident and business owner. Erin has experience leading tours throughout Europe and it shows! As you arrive for the tour, Erin briefs you on the history of Roswell and the historic district. The historical and cultural tid-bits ensure that your brain engages along with your taste buds. After a warm welcome from Erin and a macaroon from Douceur de France, you're off on your way up to historic Canton street in Roswell!

The first stop off on the tour is at Rice Thai Cuisine. Owner and Chef Kris Boonruang greeted our group by the tour and welcomed us into his restaurant as if he were welcoming us into his home. Immediately, Kris regaled the group with stories of his early days in Thailand, experimenting with new and unusual combinations of ingredients. All the while, his staff is serving us Thai iced tea, beer, fried rice, shrimp and the like. Everyone in our group digs in -- you can tell that this is our first stop and we're delighted to be eating and getting "behind the scenes" information from Kris. The portions of the "samples" were generous and it was here that it dawned on me that I would need to pace myself in order to make it through all six venues! A word to the wise: Enjoy, but pace yourself! And, show up hungry! 

Next, we meandered down the street to Table and Main. I've written about T&M at length, so I won't go on and on. That said, owner Ryan Pernice is most certainly a perfectionist  He welcomed our tour into Table & Main with open arms and served us each a nice helping of the ever-popular shrimp and grits dish. From the architecture, to the art, to the way each check is delivered at the end of a meal, Ryan pays attention. He mentioned on the tour that his goal is to "provide people with various ways to connect to the restaurant." Well, he's doing a good job of it because it's working on me!

Next, we headed to Artisan Foods followed by Plum Cafe. Artisan foods is always a hit for beignets -- best ones in Roswell! They're little clouds of delicate, sweet, fried goodness! Paired with a little iced Cafe du Monde and we were good to go! We meandered down the street to a relatively new restaurant in the Plum Village. Owner and chef Monica Bolsoni whips up salads, paninis, soups and desserts in this beautiful venue off of Canton. On the tour, Monica welcomed the group like family and served us a variety of fresh salads and hummus that were garden fresh. Monica uses local ingredients, and the flavors speak to that fact. I was also impressed by the number of gluten free options she offers. Monica served up fresh mango juice, as well as subtly delicate infused waters with our afternoon eats. Since the tour, I've been back again and again for the wonderful lunchtime salads and yummy cocoas and coffees - definitely stop by the Plum Cafe the next time you're in town. :)

Just when I thought that I couldn't get any more full, we headed over to our two final destinations: The Fickle Pickle and Oli+Ve. The Fickle Pickle has been on Canton Street in Roswell since 2003 when proprietor and chef Andy Badgett closed his fine dining restaurant Asher to open the southern cafe and deli. But, as you likely know, this is no ordinary deli! The place serves up some of the most unique sandwiches and soups around including the Fried Green Tomato sandwich and the Caribbean Clam Chowder! Our tour group got to sample those two items, plus the fried pickles (obviously). We had a sampling of cookies as well - I was ready to pop!

From there, we waddled to our final stop: Oli+Ve. The tasting shop, Oli+Ve, opened up during the spring of last year. With a passion for quality olive oils, Deborah Hardee and Suzanne Davidson launched this business, a unique shop in Roswell and in Atlanta overall. The owners greeted us with open arms and opened up our senses and palates to good olive oil! I'd never tasted oils before and was shocked at the variations and delighted to learn about the many uses for both different oils and vinegars. After sampling a dozen or so, I walked home with an Italian gift set - six different oils and vinegars to experiment with. I've already used them all!

The Atlanta Culinary Tour in Historic Roswell delivered even more than I'd hoped for! So don't delay - sign up for the May 18th Tour right now. And, as they say, "Come Hungry!"

*Sad Note: The tours are ending, so be sure to join this final tour. I'm trying to learn more about why they are being discontinued, so stay tuned!