Field of Greens Festival

Just a quick post to share with you some photos from the Field of Greens Festival that I attended this past weekend. In its fifth year, the festival now brings over a 1,000 people to Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm in tiny Walnut Grove, Georgia (about 45 minutes east of Atlanta). It was my first year attending, and as you can imagine, it was right up my alley - good food, a farmer's market, fresh air, sunshine and live music. Proceeds from the festival benefit Slow Food Atlanta - a very worthy cause.

My favorite part was the tasting tent where 35 chefs from Atlanta and Athens area restaurants offered tastes of farm to table fare. The tent was packed, which made me a bit claustrophobic, but it was worth pushing and shoving to get a generous portion of Community Q's barbecue brisket. Now, I'm not a beef fan in general, but  brisket doesn't taste all that "beefy" to me -- especially when it is smoked until tender and falling apart like this hunk of meat was. Another favorite was the shrimp and grits with a housemade pickle on the side from Marietta newcomer Chicken and the Egg.

Shrimp and grits (and a little clown in the background).

There were countless other tasty dishes -- too many to name (and I can't remember). For those of you who are chef stalkers (like me), you will be happy to know that Linton Hopkins himself handed me a piece of his hot chicken. And boy was it hot! I also happened to see Kevin Gillespie from Top Chef fame walking around the grounds. His restaurant, Woodfire Grill, was also featured in the tent.

There was also a children's area with a petting zoo, jumpy things and fresh apple juice making. My boys were all over this apple squeezing contraption.

And finally, there were animals who simply lived on the farm. They were entertainment nonetheless.

To top it off, it was a beautiful day. I can't wait for next year! Of course, there are many more fall festivals around the corner -- and I love them all. How about you? Which is your favorite? As always, I love hearing from you!