Southern Swap Meet
by Jake Cole Tucked away in the shade of a rusted cotton gin factory and ivy-covered trees, the post-industrial graveyard of The Goat Room proved a fitting backdrop for the hopeful birth of a new kind of business in Atlanta. [caption id="attachment_3734" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A crowd gathered outside the Good Food Truck.[/caption] Benefiting the Atlanta Street Food Coalition, the Southern Swap Meet, held May 21, showcased some of the businesses attempting to gain permits for food trucks in the city, as well as performance art and independent vendors. Among the food vendors present were Good Food Truck, specializing in American, especially Southern, food with international twists Tamale Queen, a taco and tamale vendor King of Pops, an ice pop stand with exotic and seasonal flavors Lafayette's Fancy Boiled Peanuts, a gourmet peanut vendor Westside Creamery, an ice cream vendor In-between snacks, attendees could watch The Collective Project, a performance art troupe that offered "re-enactments" of the history of the food truck, as well as various musicians. Also in attendance were the performers of the Dance Truck, a portable dance venue promoting its unorthodox platform alongside the food trucks. Dancers performed both inside the Good Food Truck and in the bed of a time-worn yet still virile 1955 Chevy. [caption id="attachment_3735" align="aligncenter" width="500"]