Atlanta’s global grocers feed South’s restaurant diversity

Paul and Julia Pike, the husband-and-wife team behind Filipino food truck, Master BBQ, stick to tradition. That means when they make lumpia, they need a specific type of bean sprout that’s skinnier than the more robust soybean variety found in Asheville area markets near their home. Same with pancit: Their version of the stir-fried noodle dish, calls for Chinese celery with intact leaves, which give the dish the aroma it needs.

To reproduce recipes like these, which haven’t changed over 80 years of being handed down from generation to generation, sourcing is intentional and arduous. To keep their menu consistent and true, the Pikes once or twice a month drive their pickup truck to Doraville’s Buford Highway Farmers Market, about 200 miles away.