There are thousands of stories to come out of Hurricane Katrina. When something bad happens it changes your life forever. Nothing is ever the same. For many who fled the devastation, there was no going home again. Dionne Gant will tell you that she was lost for awhile, scared even. The flood waters had washed away everything: her embroidery and dry cleaning business, her home, her possessions, even her marriage. Who wouldn’t be scared? It wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen overnight, but Atlanta turned out to be more than just an escape. It became a new home, a place to start a new business and opportunity to share her cooking with the public.
She’s become just Miss D to most of us—dressed in her signature red chef’s coat. At first she focused on her New Orleans pralines, melt in your mouth creations of sugar, cream, butter and pecans. She made candy apples. But it was when she added popcorn that her business, at the parking lot entrance of Sweet Auburn Curb Market, really took off. Certainly the smell of freshly popping corn was part of the draw, but soon she started adding flavor combinations, including caramel, butter, fruit flavors, bacon, sour cream, cheese…the list tops 200 combinations at this point. And at two containers for $5 they are a bargain you can share.
While I can highly recommend the sweets, it’s Miss D herself that is the real treasure. When I’m feeling down, I try to channel her optimism. She is the most positive women I’ve met in a very long time. She makes you feel like you can overcome obstacles too. And it’s not just the sugar rush.
Miss D’s New Orleans Pralines is part of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, Atlanta’s only municipally owned market. You can visit the market on your own or join one of the monthly Atlanta Culinary Tours, where the final stop includes a visit to Miss D’s. Pssst: She usually ends the tour with a free praline, a sample of popcorn, and hug for everyone!
Miss D’s New Orleans Pralines
209 Edgewood Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30303
Open Monday-Saturday 8am to 6pm.
Georgia Made Georgia Grown wrote about the Atlanta Culinary Tour of Sweet Auburn Curb Market.
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