Athens, GA: Potlikker and Coffee (and whiskey, too)

On Saturday, I headed out of town and down south to my beloved former home of Athens, GA, to attend the Southern Foodways Alliance's Potlikker Film Festival.

Held at Cine, it was a showcase of four short films about Southern Food: "The Rise of Southern Cheese," (about artisan cheesemaking in Alabama) "Cud: The Story of Will Harris and White Oak Pastures," (a story of a Georgia man and his livestock), and "Hot Chicken," (a freaking hilarious profile of Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville) all by Joe York; and T. G. Herrington's "Mr. Okra," about a produce seller in New Orleans. All were beautiful, and familiar, and loving stories about the food culture of this place we call the American South.
And then there was the whiskey.
I drank alot of it. And finally got up the gumption to introduce myself to (and present the Aunt Tissy's Italian Cream Cake that I had brought especially for) the food writer (and director of the SFA) whom I admire: John T. Edge.
Oh, and then there was the food:
Potlikker shots from Wilsons Soul Food (mmmm.... Wilsons, how I miss thee!) and Taqueria Del Sol, and sampler bites (like meatloaf, and yummy stuffed peppers, and sweet potato casserole) from Farm 255, Weaver D's, the National, and Five and Ten.
Luckily, My Best Girl Lexi, fresh from Chicago, appeared miraculously to take me away before I had enough time to act a fool (at least at that venue, and the rest of the night is none of your beeswax). but I do have to say, after attending my first SFA event, I'm impressed and I'm excited about this organization and the work they are doing to celebrate and document Southern food culture.

Soooo.... on Sunday, after nursing my hangover, I moseyed over to the
1000faces Coffee office/roasting facility on Barber Street in Athens to meet up with the man who roasts Short Street Cakes' coffee to order: Ben Myers.



I was grateful to get a chance to get to know a little more about this feisty coffee roasting company that provides the cake shop with our El Injerto single-origin, direct-trade coffee that we happily serve to our customers.
Apparently, alot of thinking goes on here:


Alot of thinking about coffee, and economy, and agriculture, and love, and artisan coffee roasting. And this means for you: beautiful coffee, fresh roasted, fresh ground, and fresh french press brewed for you at the Cake Shop. We love it when you come in to hang out, play records, eat cupcakes, and drink coffee with us. And we thank Ben (and the farmers and workers who produce our coffee) and SFA (who share our love of our Southern food traditions) for the inspiration to continue to create a loving space for the creative process of celebration through food.
xo