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March 2008
Bloomin’ Onions and Other Fat Attacks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you read Kessler’s piece on bloomin’ onions? Where do you go for yours? What’s your favorite fast-action fat attack food?
Check out the story here:
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Passover PastTimes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: Chocolate-covered coconut macaroons: a double threat (to my waistline).
Photo: Phil Skinner/AJC staff
With Passover just around the calendar corner (it begins April 19 at sundown), I’m reminiscing about my days in New York, when friends would have me over for first seder. I could eat my weight in matzoh (even though social civility kept me from doing so).
One special treat that was always around, and that is always seen on grocery shelves this time of year, are the cannisters of coconut macaroons made by Manischewitz. The triple chocolate kind are super moist, bite sized and coconut-ty to the last. There are few bakeries that can recreate this flavor for me, though I never met a macaroon I didn’t like.
Chocolate, triple chocolate, chocolate dipped — who makes the best coconut macaroons?
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Where are the best grocery stores in Atlanta?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I hear often from people who complain about the supermarkets near them, or, more to the point, the lack of choice in the supermarkets near them.
Folks south of I-20 pine for a Whole Foods or a big farmers’ market like Harry’s or DeKalb. Some of my neighbors in Cobb regularly drive to the DeKalb Farmers Market because there’s nothing else quite like it out our way. And many neighborhoods are in what’s called a food desert, with few, if any, grocery stores that sell fresh vegetables and fruit. Instead, residents rely on convenience stores that stock mostly processed foods for their main source of food.
And then there’s Buckhead. Throw a rock and you hit a supermarket, but not just a run-of-the-mill one. Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Publix and Kroger are all there. EatZi’s used to be, until the chain closed most of its stores. Many smaller stores, like Souper Jenny’s and Savor, offer gourmet takeout. There’s a Wal-Mart Supercenter that’s just on the outskirts, a couple of blocks from Via Elisa and its fresh pasta, tomato sauces and Italian gourmet foods.
And Kroger may be considering opening a prototype natural/organic foods store, Fresh Fare, at the site now occupied by Disco Kroger, in the shopping center at Piedmont and Peachtree. (Next to the old Limelight, for you longtime Atlantans.)
What’s the grocery shopping situation like in your neighborhood? What kind of stores would you like to see more of? Or would you just change what the existing stores carry?
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How Can Restaurants Go Green?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: Bottled water has got to go.
Photo: Larry Crowe/AP
We’re all concerned about the environment, but sometimes we don’t know what to do to make a difference. Restaurants are an area of industry responsible for a lot of pollutants — waste and fuel costs for the service industry are high.
Before the drought, many Atlanta restaurants returned to pushing tap water instead of bottled water, which should be banned from the globe, frankly — the recycling and fuel costs for bottled water are just too high for us to continue drinking it.
Tolstoy once said that though a drop in the bucket isn’t much, if everyone would put just one drop in, the bucket would fill fast. A few area restaurants are taking that to heart this weekend.
As part of Earth Hour 2008, several local restaurants are participating in a global “black out,” where businesses and individuals in 24 cities will turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday, March 29, in a call to action for climate change and energy conservation.
What’s the deal? Well, Canoe will join in by turning off all their outside lights and filling the outdoor fountain with floating candles. Owner George McKerrow will host a private Earth Hour party as well. For more info, go to Canoe. $199 Paces Ferry Road, 770-432-2663.
Chipotle, my favorite take-out joint already going green with all natural beef and chicken, will turn off their outside lights at all 12 Atlanta locations. Got to Chiptole for more info.
Marlow’s Tavern in Midtown will host an “in the dark” party on the 29, with drink specials and candlelight from 8 to 9 p.m. 950 West Peachtree St., 404-815-0323, or Marlow’s Tavern.
Finally, Metrotainment restaurants will host candlelight dinners at all locations from 8 to 9 p.m., with drink specials and cupcakes to honor the event. For a list of restaurants, go to metrocafes.
These efforts are a drop in the bucket, but with everyone’s help, the bucket can be filled. In what other ways can restaurants go green? What do you do when dining out to help the environment (ie, order tap water, etc.)?
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Terrine Talk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: The ham knuckle and foie gras terrine at Posh. Is it still on the menu?
Photo: Charlotte B. Teagle/AJC Staff
Before the Napoleon, nay — before the stack — there was the terrine. Yes, that classic, alluring layering of silky meats and pate (and sometimes vegetables, though the latter is rarely silky).
It’s the stuff culinary school legends are made of. Line a pullman-like loaf with a little pork fat, layer it with some meaty yummies, and voila — you’ve got a terrine. Like so many items that are the showcase of garde manger (the “keeper of cold foods” in the traditional French kitchen), the terrine has taken its hits over the years, showing up on the menus of only the most accomplished — or overreaching — kitchens.
A new cookbook focuses on the tertiary tact of the terrine, from French chef and restaurateur Stephane Reynaud, who stormed the culinary world last year with his incredible bible of butchering, “Pork and Sons.”
With “Terrine,” Reynaud brings terrines of all sorts, including desserts (strawberry and mint, apples in Calvados, diplomat pudding) and cheese (gorgonzola, mascarpone and nut terrine) in addition to the more traditional offerings of meat, fish and vegetables.
In some ways, the book is a tome only a culinary school super foodie can appreciate. It doesn’t exactly offer the kind of recipes Aunt Marge will cook up for the next family picnic.
But like “Pork & Sons,” “Terrine” is brilliant in it technique and approach, offering straightforward explanations in each recipe, as well as a gorgeous photo illustration. “Terrine” will be available in May from Phaidon Press for $29.95.
Like its sister chaud froid in the cold meat room, terrines don’t often show up on menus. The last time I remember trying on was at Posh, in Buckhead, which was serving a terrine of ham knuckle and foie gras that was a salty mass of ham surrounding smooth pate, with smears of lovely pea puree and walnut oil. There was a clumsiness to its presentation, but I remember enjoying it very much.
Have you tried a terrine somewhere? What was it like?
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Service With a Smile
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: DUDE, where’s my Jell-O? The cafeteria is the place to go for great service.
Photo: Andy Sharp/AJC staff
The hairnets. The missing teeth. Those long, drawn, Southern accents that sound like Tim Blake Nelson in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
There’s really nothing quite like a trip to the cafeteria. I went to an S & S for the first time in years last week (this was after spending most of the afternoon at the emergency room at the VA Hospital, so go figure).
I have wonderful memories of eating at the cafeteria when I was a kid — the carving station with the roast beef absolutely fascinated me, and those little potatoes that are served with it? Well, I would think about it all through church. I always started with my tray pointed towards the Jell-O, though. Back then, it was almost always red (what flavor is red?) and had Cool Whip or Rich’s whipped topping squirted all over the jiggling cubes.
And then there was dessert: chocolate cream pie with miles of meringue piled on top, all cut so perfectly into clean, neat slices.
Let’s face it, my taste in food has, well, changed a little since the days when I could get high on Jell-O. But I had a perfectly good meal that night (fried chicken, green beans, salad and one of those fluffy, buttery, roll-like things that serve as bread.)
The thing that struck me was the service. It was excellent. The only place in Atlanta I’ve had more attentive, pleasant service is the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. The Dining Room is exquisite, and offers a dining experience unparalleled in the city, but I have to say that S & S is going one on one with them on service.
Everyone behind the serving line was pleasant and polite, but not gushingly so. Once seated, a server made sure we always had enough water and iced tea, and brought us whatever we needed whenever we asked for it. He was seriously Mr. Johnny-on-the-Spot, and delivered the goods like a stealth Navy Seal — often we didn’t even know we needed something until he got it for us. At no time did anyone intrude, tell us their name without us asking, bend down to the table as if we were toddlers and explain the day’s specials, spill anything on us, or act put off in any way, like maybe they’d rather be, oh I don’t know, yachting off the coast of Greece or something. When we had a question, there was a prompt, polite answer. It was perfect: other than the smiles, we had no idea we were being waited on, until what we needed just showed up or was anticipated.
It was an S & S Cafeteria. Four of us ate for $30.
Have you encountered really great service in a place you least expected it? Where?
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Dinner’s a snap with Pillsbury Bake-Off finalists
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Four metro Atlanta women are finalists in this year’s Pillsbury Bake-Off, giving Georgia its best shot in years, if ever, at bringing the million-dollar prize home.
Earlier today, finalists Deborah Puette, Pam Tapia, Barbara Williams and Ayofemi Wright gathered at the newspaper’s photo studio, each with a finished version of their recipe, for a group photograph. (Look for the article the first week of April, in Living.) Debbie brought Southwestern Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Rollups. Pam had Huevos Rancheros Pizza. Barbara brought Mediterranean Pizza With Cheese-Stuffed Crust. Ayofemi had Creamy Mojito Pie, decorated with slices of lime and mint leaves.
They were kind enough to leave the food after the photo shoot. Everything was delicious; the judges are going to have a tough time picking a winner. You can see their recipes, and those from other finalists, on the Pillsbury Web site. If you vote for your favorite by the end of March, you’ve got a shot at a million-dollar prize. If nothing else, you might pick up some quick ideas for dinner or brunch.
Have you ever tried any of the Bake-Off recipes, whether they were grand prize winners — like the Chicken with Spinach Stuffing that used frozen waffle sticks, and won $1 million in 2006 — or just plain tasty, like Tunnel of Fudge Cake or Peanut Blossoms, a ’50s classic that features a Hershey’s Kiss in a peanut cookie (it’s good with a miniature Reese’s cup, too)? If so, what’s your favorite?
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Spring is On Everyone’s Menu
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: James Beard award nominee Arnaud Berthelier, executive chef at the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead, served this exquisite springtime dish of poached quail egg with wilted pea shoots, chicken jus, and — holy smokes — shaved Perigord black truffles back in 2006. Yummers.
Photo: Elissa Eubanks/AJC staff
Thanks for your patience as I attended to personal matters last week and was unable to post these menus online for the AJC”s Spring Dine Guide. But here are a couple, and boy do they sound, well, yummy.
Linton Hopkins at Restaurant Eugene is offering
“A Tasting of Local Spring Vegetables” Which includes buttered English peas with pea shoots, baby carrots, roasted sunchokes, log-grown shiitake mushrooms, charred spring garlic, grilled baby onions, Anson Mill’s grits, fava beans and asparagus with mint and green tomato pickle Of the plate, Hopkins said: “I try not to do much as you know in terms of deep preparation of the vegetables for this plate. I like to augment with one other flavor and use simple methods to create harmony and contrast.”
And the Spring prix fixe menu for Floataway Cafe is offered at $48, from chef de cuisine Drew Belline:
Straciatella with Summerland Farm eggs and local spring onion
House cured country ham with Summerland Farm spring potatoes and field greens
Slow roasted Johnson Family Farm leg of Spring Llmb with local fennel and ricotta crespelle
Macerated local strawberries with lavender gelato black pepper shortbread
I’ll post more as I get them as the week comes to a close for these chefs and their local, seasonal offerings.
Have you tried these, or any, Spring menus? Who’s your favorite seasonal chef?
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Atlanta Takes Beard By Storm
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: Chef Hugh Acheson is nominated again this year for a James Beard Award, best chef Southeast.
Photo: Louie Favorite/AJC staff
Atlanta may have lost a few of its greatest chefs to the Big Apple recently, but the 2008 James Beard Award nominations are no evidence. Announced earlier today, the awards are considered the “Oscars” of the food world, and a nomination can mean big things for chefs, especially if followed by a win — cook book deals, television shows, endorsements. Courting the idea of the new Southern food movement, the awards have given our area three nominees for best chef Southeast: Hugh Acheson of Five & Ten in Athens (The AJC’s 2007 restaurant of the year), Arnaud Berthelier of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene. Charleston, South Carolina rounds out the list, with Mike Lata of Fig and Robert Stehling of Hominy Grill boasting nominations as well. It is the first nomination for Hopkins; Acheson and Berthelier repeat their nominations from the same category last year. Acheson and Hopkins both have helped define the Southern food movement in modern-day dining rooms, elevating seasonal ingredients and slow food cooking into a fine dining experience. Berthelier is noted for his technical prowess and exciting flavor profiles. “It’s all good,” said Acheson by phone from Athens, who was just cooking at the Beard House in New York last Saturday night with colleagues Joe Truex and Mihoko Obunai from Atlanta’s Repast restaurant. “It’s always fun to around all these incredible chefs at the awards dinner,” said Acheson, “but at the end of the day, life goes on. I’m just happy to be nominated and happy to see the maturation of the Southern food movement get some recognition.” “It’s awesome,” exclaimed Hopkins. “It’s such an honor to be included. But now I know I’ve got to be even better. Being nominated changes things - it makes me feel such a part of something bigger.” The awards will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on June 8.
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How are higher food prices affecting you?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Food prices are going up at the supermarket and in restaurants. Last year, food prices rose at their highest level since 1990, with the biggest increases coming in eggs, dairy and poultry.
This year, we’ll see similar increases, according to government economists.
There are many reasons why this is happening, but the end result is the same. With prices up for gas, home heating and food, we’re paying more for necessities.
Have you changed what you buy at the grocery store because of rising food prices? What about in restaurants — are you eating out as often, or choosing another type of restaurant, to save money?
I’m writing an article about how higher food prices are affecting Atlantans, whether they’re shoppers or restaurant workers who might see their income affected. If you’re interested in speaking with me about it, please e-mail me early this week and include a daytime phone number.
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Where can you buy local, pastured meat?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tim of Nature’s Harmony Farm in Elberton posted earlier this week on the blog about pastured meats, to let me know about the delivery program he’s setting up for buying clubs in Atlanta. That adds one more option for shoppers who’d like to purchase meat produced outside the conventional livestock production system.
As Tim points out, finding chicken, beef, pork and eggs from animals allowed to roam outdoors, soaking up the sun, isn’t as easy as buying locally grown fruits and vegetables. Some of that may be due to lack of processing facilities in Georgia, and regulations governing poultry processing. I’d like to hear from farmers about how this affects them; I’ve already heard a good bit about this from chefs. (Check out Michael Tuohy’s blog, Front Burner, on this topic.)
The good news is, supplies of locally raised produce and meat are increasing.
Several markets carry pastured meat and eggs in season, and a few offer it now. Morningside, open Saturday mornings until 11:30 a.m, usually has eggs, beef and pork. You can find eggs at Spruill every other Wednesday, from 10:30 until noon, if Corinna Garmon hasn’t already presold all the duck and chicken eggs from Garmon Family Farm. Sometimes Gum Creek Farm sells meat at Spruill in the off season.
Once markets open for the season in May, you also can find a selection at the Peachtree Road Market, the Piedmont Park Greenmarket and in Carrollton at the Cotton Mill market., which opens April 26. The Marietta Square market usually has eggs.
And new vendors could be joining these markets or others in May, so keep looking and I’ll try to post an update.
Meanwhile, you can find grass-fed, pastured beef in some supermarkets around Atlanta. Publix sells ground beef from Will Harris, a Georgia Organics board member who operates White Oak Pastures in Early County. And beef cuts from the farm, including steaks and roasts, are available in some Whole Foods and Harry’s Farmers Market stores. Will is opening an on-farm processing facility in late April, which should increase the supply to more Whole Foods locations. Will’s rib eyes won the grand prize this week in the Flavor of Georgia competition, which drew 150 specialty foods from across the state. (If you want to check out winners in other categories, here’s a roundup from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
And if you swing by Star Provisions, the west Midtown market attached to Bacchanalia, you can usually find eggs from Summerland Farm in Cartersville. That’s the home of the restaurant’s chefs and owners, Anne Quatrano and Cliff Harrison.
Are there places around town that I’m missing? Let me know. Or have you found a good, on-farm source?
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Spring is Here!!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Spring Dine Guide is celebrating the season with a look at five chefs who adhere closely to the farm-to-table principles of our grandparents, keeping the slow food movement alive and well here in Atlanta. Want to know who they are? Check out the story in accessAtlanta today.
A few of the chefs shared their menus, and I promise to put them online in the blog as soon as I return to the office on Monday. Sorry for the delay, but I’ve been out due to a family emergency!
In the meantime, check out my favorite spots for eating when I’m not “on call” — these are the places with the food I crave when I’ve taken off the critic’s cap and just want to get down with some of my favorite grub. We’ve included great neighborhood spots, too, so let me know if we left out one of your favorites.
Say hello to Spring….
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Community-supported ag shares going fast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Getting weekly bags of fresh produce from local farmers sounds incredibly appealing. That’s why community-supported agriculture programs are booming in metro Atlanta, with more interest than there are shares. Some of the popular CSAs have already sold out for the season, but others are just starting to sign up members.
Last year, I started a year-long series on CSAs by joining Farmers Fresh Food Network, a cooperative of nearly two dozen farmers from West Georgia and eastern Alabama. This year the group pulled back its early spring operation, limiting it to the area around Carrollton. But now that warmer weather is here and more spring crops will soon be available, they’re getting ready to expand to metro Atlanta.
Farmers Fresh just opened subscriptions for the season, offering a four-week tryout or a 12-week program. Among the produce they promise for April: lettuce, spinach, beets, broccoli, cabbage and some other farm products, like eggs. In May, look for strawberries, peas and some early field tomatoes. Prices vary; a four-week subscription for the standard plan, which promises five to seven items a week, works out to about $23 a week for a metro Atlanta dropoff site.
A premium program offers more expensive produce, like shiitake mushrooms, and more of the standard items. It’s available to 12-week subscribers, as is the standard plan. The standard is $240, plus a $2 a week surcharge for Atlanta dropoffs; the premium is $360. The season starts April 16, but subscribers can choose what date they wish to begin. There are dropoffs at various locations inside the Perimeter, and at some on the west side, basically along I-20 outside the Perimeter.
Want to find out what other CSAs are still available? Local Harvest is a good place to start.
If you’d rather get your local food at a restaurant, check out AJC dining critic Meridith Ford’s spring Dining Guide. She spotlights restaurants that work with area farms to showcase seasonal food, like 5 Seasons Brewing, Food 101 in Morningside and the Hil in Serenbe. Many are offering special spring menus starting this Thursday, March 20.
Have you joined a CSA this year, or belonged to one in previous years? If so, what did you think?
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What food goes best with NCAA tourney?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nachos, wings and pizza are the fall-back snacks for watching the game, whatever the game happens to be.
But some sports have their specialties. The Masters has pimiento cheese sandwiches, baseball has hot dogs and some football fans wouldn’t watch a game without a brat or, for the Super Bowl, a batch of chili.
What about basketball? Is there a food that you can’t imagine watching March Madness without? If you’re still searching for ideas, check out the selection of recipes from the AJC Food & Drink section on Evening Edge.
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Should restaurants disclose calories on menus?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a breakfast menu at IHOP and looked at the section marked for special diets. Carb conscious, fewer fat grams and lower calorie choices were marked, which is more than I see on most restaurant menus.
But you couldn’t tell much about the food otherwise. The Big Breakfast Combo had less than 15 grams of carbs, but there was no information on calories or saturated fat (and with three strips of bacon, three sausage links, three ham slices and four eggs, you can bet there were plenty to be found).
The Garden Scramble had less than 600 calories in its omelet and two pancakes, but how much less? Was it 599 calories, or 210? And with just two breakfast items on the menu labeled as less than 600 calories, what kind of damage was I looking at from the dozens of other entrees?
If you were picking up those foods in a grocery store, you’d know, because of federal nutrition labeling requirements. In restaurants, you’re on your own.
Some cities and states have been considering menu labeling laws that would require nutrition disclosure. Last week, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced a bill that would require restaurants with more than 20 locations anywhere in America to include calories, fat and sodium content on menus for standard items. They’d also have to post calories on menu boards. (Daily specials and temporary menu items are exempt.)
His argument: Americans eat so many meals away from home, that restaurants ought to provide the same information available in supermarkets, so consumers can make informed choices.
The restaurant industry in general has opposed menu labeling laws as burdensome and unworkable, although a number of fast-food restaurants do provide complete information, if you go online to look for it.
Should restaurants disclose calories in what they’re serving you? Would you look at the information? If so, would it affect what you order?
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Server Semantics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Photo: Gavin Averill/Special to the AJC
AT RIGHT: Is a specials’ board the way to wiggle past verbalizing a dish’s price?
A local restaurateur, who asked to remain anonymous, recently forwarded a complaint he received to me.
The situation — short version — is that the restaurant offers daily specials, described at the table by the server, who left out the price. When the bill came, the diner was shocked at how much the dish cost. Mind you, it wasn’t a “market price” deal, which we all know is restaurant code for “costs way too much.” It was just a daily special, the ingredients gleaned from a local farm stand, the cost passed on to the customer accordingly.
Many higher end restaurants feel that verbalizing the price of each of the daily specials is tacky. And customers hesitate to ask because it feels embarrassing. But other than a blackboard, there is really no way for the customer to know the cost. It’s so easy for a server to just mention the price at the end of a dish’s description. I’d rather know than not know.
High-end steak houses, which serve everything a la carte, handle this verbal show down with great ease. It’s done so discreetly it’s painless.
Who thinks it’s tacky when a server verbalizes the price of an off-the-menu item?
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Guy Fieri has Groovy Hair-y
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Photo: Louie Favorite/ AJC staff
AT RIGHT: Pickles are for frying — a basket of the tart treats at Restaurant Eugene.
My Rachael Ray posting from a couple of days back confirms that there are quite a few Guy Fieri fans in the ATL.
The bleached blonde bad boy, with his black goattee and surfer-dude look, won the Food Network’s second season’s search for “The Next Food Network Star.” “Guys Big Bites” was the result of his winning, and his second show, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” started airing last year.
The California restaurateur made his way to Atlanta last month to film an episode of “DDD” at Cabbagetown Market, which is also mentioned in this month’s Bon Appetit magazine as a hot spot.
That’s because owner Lisa Hanson makes a mean pimiento cheese sandwich with fried pickles. Word form the market is that the episode is scheduled to air in late April or May, but the date is not confirmed yet.
Click here if you’d like to learn more about Guy Fieri and stay tuned for the air date. I’ll post them when I know them.
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Blais IS Back in Town
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC staff
AT RIGHT: The boy is back in town: Richard Blais’ crystal burger and foie gras milk shake from his now-closed restaurant, Blais. He’ll be making them again at a new spot called Flip.
Chef Richard Blais, who will be one of the contestants on Bravo’s fourth season of Top Chef (premiering tonight) has struck a deal with businessman and investor Barry Mills to design the menu and serve as executive chef for an upscale hamburger restaurant, tentatively called Flip.
Blais was most recently chef at Element in Midtown, which closed last fall due to financial woes (the chef, who has become known in Atlanta for his whacky take on molecular gastronomy, was actually away taping the Top Chef series when the restaurant closed). His restaurant, Blais, was a critical smash, but his destructured brand of gourmet-goes-gonzo left diner cold. It closed in 2004. He later enjoyed a short-but-successful stint at One Midtown Kitchen, then left for a consulting job in Florida before returning last year to work at Element.
Located on the West Side near the Atlanta Waterworks, the Blais’ burger palace plans to offer ground meats of all sorts, not just beef. And Blais says he intends to spend a lot time and effort creating the “best veggie burger in the world.”
“We’ll be offering house-made sodas like root beer, and I’m looking to make side dishes a focal point, like maybe house-made tater tots,” Blais told me by phone. And what of foie gras milk shakes, the his most infamous dish and critically acclaimed dish?
“Oh yeah,” Blais said, “they’ll be there.”
Blais will continue consulting at Elevation in Kennesaw, as well as other projects for his consulting company, Trail-blais.
The opening of Flip is planned for later this summer.
Blais still plans to eventually open another fine dining establishment, hopefully in Atlanta. ‘I want a five-star experience,” he said, “and I hope I can do that in Atlanta.
One of the issues Blais had was location. If the bad boy of brunoise was to open a white-linen concept, where should it be?
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Rachael Ray Stole My Life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: Why can’t I be on the cover of Newsweek like Rachael Ray (and Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin)?
Photo: PRNewsFoto/Newsweek
I really have no reason to dislike Rachael Ray, the perky optimist-cum-TV chef who has turned her original “30 Minute Meals” television show into three Food Network shows, upteen million cookbooks and her own magazine, “Every Day with Rachael Ray.” But I do.
I could argue that she’s not qualified as a culinarian. (She openly admits that she can’t bake because that requires proper measuring of ingredients. I taught baking and pastry arts at the largest culinary school in the world for seven years, dangit.) I could argue that she’s just not cute enough. (After all, her weight has become such an issue in the tabloids. One of my colleagues actually calls a patty melt and fries a “Rachael Ray.”) And what’s with all those catch phrases? EVOO? Puhlease. Stoup? It sounds way too much like a Yiddish term that has NOTHING to do with cooking (not the kind in the kitchen, anyway).
But the truth is, I’m just jealous. I think she stole my life — wasn’t I supposed to have all the Food Network shows and the publishing deals? Apparently someone in the Great Beyond has the two of us mixed up. After all, I’m perky and optimistic. And I can bake. Plus, how’s this for a culinary catch phrase: ooey gooey. I use it all the time. I guess I’ll just have to wait until the Cosmos figures the whole thing out. Meanwhile, I’ll be here at my desk thinking up a response to “yum-o.” How good is THAT?
Who’s your favorite TV chef? Do you plan to watch Atlanta chef Richard Blais battle it out on the season premiere of “Top Chef” tomorrow night?
“Good oil, like good wine, is a gift from the gods.”
— George Ellwanger
Especially when it’s EVOO.
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Whiskey Bar
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I spoke with Rande Gerber (you know, Mr. Cindy Crawford) last week about Whiskey Park, his ultra swanky lounge going into the W Hotel in Midtown.
“I have friends in Atlanta,” he told me. “I think the city has the perfect vibe for the Whiskey Bar concept.”
Just what exactly is that concept? “A fuse of rock and roll with lots of glam and a dose of allure,” according to the press release. Atlantans can expect a different design from some of the Gerber Group’s other Whiskey concepts in NYC, Chicago and LA — the lounge will be highlighted by three separate spaces, one called ‘the vault.’ The entrance will be set with crystal chandeliers, cut-mirrored walls, deep leather sofas and a DJ booth. An outdoor garden completes the trio.
The menu will work with Spice Market, the Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant that specializes in Asian street food, that will also open in the hotel. All was to open in mid-February, but we’re still waiting. And when I spoke to Gerber last Monday he wouldn’t confirm an opening date for the hotel or Whiskey Park.
Has anyone been to a Whiskey Park in other cities? What can Atlantans REALLY expect?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Dining
Asparagus Aspirations
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: It’s time for some green! Asparagus season starts today!
Photo: Larry Crowe/AP
Just got off the phone with chef Drew Belline of Floataway Cafe. He — and other Atlanta chefs who cook seasonally — is excited about the advent of asparagus season, which officially opens today.
Spring will bring lots of good things to our plates. Ron Eyester at Food 101 in Morningside told me last week he’ll soon be inundated with local strawberries. And morels are just around the corner, with foraging beginning next week.
Spring is an exciting time for local farms and chefs. I’ll be reporting more in the AJC’s Spring Dine Guide, which publishes March 20, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you about your favorite local produce and meats, and what restaurants you feel embody the sustainability movement most? Does strawberry shortcake really make you smile? Do you love asparagus (like I do) as much as you love chocolate? Where’s your favorite spring time meal?
“The three great stumbling blocks in a girl’s education … homard a la Americaine, a boiled egg, and asparagus.”
— Colette
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Dining
Where’s the recalled beef? Right here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Hallmark/Westland beef recall keeps spreading. The beef, under recall because the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the California plant had treated animals inhumanely and had not followed procedures in getting a vet to check over downer (sick or injured) cattle before slaughter, first turned up in 39 Georgia school districts. The plant was a major supplier to the federal school meals program.
Now the recall has reached the secondary stage, where beef sent to other food companies and mixed into other foods, is being recalled. USDA has classified the recall as a level 2, low risk to human health. Downer cattle are considered at higher risk for bacterial contamination such as e. coli 0157:H7 and salmonella, since they’re lying in feces for extended periods. They’re also considered at higher risk for mad cow disease, a fatal, brain-wasting illness with a human counterpart that can take decades to appear.
So where’s the beef? As a consumer, you won’t know unless you check the California Department of Public Health’s web site. Although consumer groups have long pushed the USDA to release that information as part of the recall notice, they haven’t succeeded. USDA cites concerns about revealing trade secrets, based on manufacturers’ reluctance to release customer lists. But California now requires disclosure of that information.
Some food manufacturers and retailers have pushed the USDA to rescind the Feb. 17 recall, arguing that there’s a minimal risk of illness. The meat recall, at 143 million pounds, is the nation’s largest. Now it’s even larger, because the beef was mixed into many other products, from Slim Jim Jerky to Progresso Italian Wedding soup to Hunts Meat Flavored Spaghetti Sauce, Costco’s Kirkland Signature Sirloin and Loin of Beef Patties, and Hot Pockets Philly Steak and Cheese sandwich. So far, the USDA is holding to the recall. If you’re concerned about having any of these products in your pantry, check out the California site.
Permalink | | Categories: Food safety
Want your own restaurant? Click here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you really love restaurant or cooking reality shows, you know the best ones are on BBC America. (If you get digital cable or satellite TV, you’ve got access to this channel, a greatest-hits version of the one across the pond.) Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares” are more real, less spoon-fed schlock, on BBC America than in the U.S. version.
“Last Restaurant Standing,” now winnowing hopeful restaurateurs in England, is engaging, too. A successful restaurateur promises one couple a restaurant of their own as the final prize. Here’s how it works: Each couple gets an empty space that they must turn into a restaurant in just a few days, and must quickly come up with a concept, decor, menu and staff. Each week, one couple is eliminated; the last one gets the restaurant.
Now it looks like there will be an American version, and they’re casting in Atlanta. (And let’s hope it stays true to the BBC style.)
NBC is holding a casting call Sunday, March 16, for couples interested in operating a restaurant on a reality show. Granada Productions, the company behind “Nanny 911” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” is looking for two-person teams with existing relationships. Producers are doing interviews from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the W Hotel at Perimeter, 111 Perimeter Center West. If you’re interested in doing this, you’ll find all the rules on the NBC Now Casting area.
Have you ever dreamed of opening your own restaurant? If so, what would it look like? What would you serve? How would you make it stand out from so many others?
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Have you heard….?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: Pano Karatassos, Jr., at Buckhead Life restaurant Kyma. Is the family adding to the family?
Buzz of late, all unsubstantiated. You know, like, a rumor?
Pano’s Cafe will add one more restaurant to the Buckhead Life group in the Sovereign Bank building in Buckhead.
Is Marvin Woods returning to Atlanta? The rumor is that the former TV chef would like to open a restaurant downtown.
Daniel Zoby, formerly of City Grill, is rumored to be the guy with the tongs at the much-anticipated Maxim Prime, inside the Glenn Hotel downtown.
Got something to add?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Dining
Saying Goodbye to Winter
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: The National’s offering of Spanish chorizo with caramelized apples.
One weekend of sunny weather and I’m sold: it’s time for the weather to warm. It’s time for spring. New England may have fall, but few cities offer up springtime better than Atlanta, in spite of all the signs of global warming (I’m certain that by the time my daughter is my age, the weather in the metro area will be more like Orlando’s).
It also means restaurants will be changing their menus to greener offerings soon, so here are a few of my favorite bites from this winter:
Shaun’s heritage pork schnitzel with its perfectly crunchy breading served with vidalia onions, peanuts and leafy fresh parsley as well as lemon wedges, which you should squeeze all over the schnitzel before eating — it just brightens an already fabulous dish. Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit calls it “unforgettable” in this month’s Bon Appetit.
The snow crab, asparagus and salmon roll at MF Buckhead, served with a light vinaigrette. We fought each other for who would have the last bite.
Broiled Spanish chorizo, perfectly spicy, served with caramelized apples at the National in Athens. I want to marry this dish. I want it to take care of me for the rest of my life. Oh, I forgot — it’s a sausage. Lost myself for a moment…
Pastor torta at Taqueria Los Hermanos in Tucker is a big messy load of lunch (or dinner). Big, round Mexican bread stuffed with marinated pork, avocado, tomato, onions and lettuce, all spread with refried beans, sour cream and cheese. Holy smokes. Half for lunch, the other half for dinner.
Buttersweet Bakery’s red velvet cupcakes are possibly the best I’ve ever had. Moist yet dense; the crumb is the type that sticks to your fork. It’s topped generously with a creamy frosting that seems part cream cheese, part butter. I haven’t had a chance to get to the bakery in Hapeville yet — my colleague, Elizabeth Lee, brought me a few tastes when she dropped in a month or so ago. So thanks, Liz.
Permalink | | Categories: Dining
Springtime Yearnings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One weekend of sunny weather and I’m sold: it’s time for the weather to warm. It’s time for spring. New England may have fall, but few cities offer up springtime better than Atlanta, in spite of all the signs of global warming (I’m certain that by the time my daughter is my age, the weather in the metro area will be more like Orlando’s).
It also means restaurants will be changing their menus to greener offerings soon, so here are a few of my favorite bites from this winter:
Shaun’s heritage pork schnitzel with its perfectly crunchy breading served with vidalia onions, peanuts and leafy fresh parsley as well as lemon wedges, which you should squeeze all over the schnitzel before eating — it just brightens an already fabulous dish. Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit calls it “unforgettable” in this month’s Bon Appetit.
The snow crab, asparagus and salmon roll at MF Buckhead, served with a light vinaigrette. We fought each other for who would have the last bite.
Broiled Spanish chorizo, perfectly spicy, served with caramelized apples at the National in Athens. I want to marry this dish. I want it to take care of me for the rest of my life. Oh, I forgot — it’s a sausage. Lost myself for a moment…
Pastor torta at Taqueria Los Hermanos in Tucker is a big messy load of lunch (or dinner). Big, round Mexican bread stuffed with marinated pork, avocado, tomato, onions and lettuce, all spread with refried beans, sour cream and cheese. Holy smokes. Half for lunch, the other half for dinner.
Buttersweet Bakery’s red velvet cupcakes are possibly the best I’ve ever had. Moist yet dense; the crumb is the type that sticks to your fork. It’s topped generously with a creamy frosting that seems part cream cheese, part butter. I haven’t had a chance to get to the bakery in Hapeville yet — my colleague, Elizabeth Lee, brought me a few tastes when she dropped in a month or so ago. So thanks, Liz.
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