Cheap Eat of the Week - Lunacy Black Market
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Lunacy Black Market (http://www.lunacyblackmarket.com) located on Mitchell Street downtown is not a restaurant I would have even known about had someone not sent me an article about it. It is in a very unassuming block that frankly smells a little too much like urine for me to spend any time there without a specific purpose. However, I was intrigued by the fact that the chef is Paul Luna of Eclipse de Luna (http://www.eclipsediluna.com) and Loca Luna (http://www.loca-luna.com) renown, and the promised inexpensive, delicious menu. So, I drug a visiting friend downtown one day recently for lunch and I must say it exceeded expectations despite the pungent odor on the street.
The Chow Down Atlanta blog (http://www.chowdownatlanta.com) that first tempted me mentioned that ingredients were sourced fresh at nearby Sweet Auburn Curb Market. You can tell. Reminiscent of another great cheap eat, Doc Chey’s Noodle House, they were serving a special appetizer made up of string green beans flash fried with some sort of delicious Asian ginger concoction. While Doc Chey’s and even P.F. Chang’s similar appetizers are quite good, the individual beans inside of the string pods were so fresh that they still held individual texture and crunch; the opposite of mush that clearly set the ingredients apart from competitors.
The lunch menu is mostly made up of sandwiches, salads and soups. In addition to the appetizer described above, we also sampled the chicken, spinach and goat cheese sandwich, balsamic pork sandwich, mozzarella and tomato sandwich and the very scrumptious cabbage salad with gorgonzola, toasted walnuts and vinaigrette. All fantastic. Very fresh, small plate portions and nothing over $3.50. My understanding is the dinner menu keeps items at a max of $5.00. I will definitely be checking that out soon.
My only real complaint relates to the interior. In an effort to strike a sparse casual lounge/tea room type atmosphere, much of the seating is not actually comfortable for enjoying a meal. The wait staff however, was very warm and hospitable and truly seemed concerned that we had a great dining experience.
Lunacy Black Market, 231 Mitchell Street, Atlanta, GA 30303
- Ashlee Heath, REALTOR
Posted in: Intown Living