September 29, 2008

The Merchants of Venison

The Mercantile Opens

Market bell rings. Ding, ding! Let’s get ready to grocery!

Welcome to The Mercantile, a new stop for gourmet pickup and specialty items run by two fierce foodie girls.

In one corner: resto heavyweight Janea Rae Boyles. The sommelier trained with Restaurant Eugene’s elite opening crew and curates artisanal finds (Georgia dairy products and herbs, cherry-infused chocolate bars, Jack’s Harvest baby food) to set stomachs rumbling.

In the other: Samantha Enzmann. The lean, mean, cheffing machine has CIA, Viking, and Marvin Woods cooking experience under her belt. Her handiwork at the takeaway counter includes soup stocks, pear caramel cookies, and sandwiches named after local spots (the Candler is stacked with cream cheese, turkey, cranberry sauce, and pancetta).

Check the web for her bloglike, virtual pantry. (When rattling off favorite spices, Enzmann’s not pulling any punches.)

Fight clean. Your napkin will be dirty soon enough.

The Mercantile, 1660 DeKalb Avenue, Candler Park (404-378-0096 or themercantileatl.com).