Country: The Bahamas
Dish: Conch Salad
Location: Doraville
Stop: #3
If an island escape isn't in the cards this winter, look no further than Doraville. There you'll find Conch Heaven, a Bahamian refuge, where Annette Hanna is busy in the kitchen making foods native to the island.
"We sell authentic Bahamian food, from the Bahamas," Hanna shared with At the Table ATL. "Mostly conch."
The restaurant offers a range of items on its menu including the familiar fried conch, but for Hanna, it's the conch salad that represents home.
“How does this dish represent the Bahamas?”
"You see them alongside the street selling conch, making conch salad," Hanna said. "It's made fresh daily, and all the spices and seasonings that came from the Bahamas. It's from our water," she explained.
The salad features raw conch, with "bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, a little spice, orange, and a lime taste,' Hanna said.
Hanna offered another cultural tidbit with At the Table ATL. For Bahamians, the conch salad also considered to be an aphrodisiac.
"Better for mommy and sweeter for daddy, that’s what the Bahamians say," Hanna said.
“How does this dish represent Atlanta?”
“It’s just our nature. Bahamians: we’re very hospitable," Hanna said.
The city is a new home for her, having lost her mother to cancer almost four years ago. For Hanna, it's the thread of hospitality which unites Bahamians, food and metro Atlanta.
“I needed a change," she said. 'My spirit just kept saying, ‘Atlanta.' You never know where you’re headed when you think all is lost, so I’m so grateful."
Thanks to Conch Heaven, home isn't too far away.
“We have a lot of natives, a lot of Bahamians that have come here," she said. "Also, we have the Bahamas consulate here," she explained. “We brought a taste of the island here, through our food."