Home > Table Talk > Archives > 2008 > November
November 2008
Goodbye to Jeremy Lieb of Trois
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE STYLISH BAR AT TROIS IN MIDTOWN: Good luck to chef Jeremy Lieb, who is leaving. Todd Ginsberg will replace him.
Photo: Joey Ivansco
Concentrics Hospitality has announced that chef Jeremy Lieb will leave his post as executive chef of Trois for personal reasons (he is moving back to Cincinnati to be closer to his family, according to the press release).
He will be replaced by TAP exec chef Todd Ginsberg, who is a CIA grad and has a strong background in modern French cooking, including stints at Alain Ducasse in NYC and at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead under Joel Antunes and Bruno Menard. He’ll also continue to oversee the gastropub menu at TAP.
Guess I’ll need to brush off my fork and rereview Trois … and TAP, too. But not until after the holiday — see you on Monday, and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Flip Set to Open
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BLAIS IS BACK: FLIP is set top open December 5.
FLIP, the boutique burger concept from chef Richard Blais and owner Barry Mills is set to open December 5, according to Blais. I’ve been pestering Blais’ PR folks for weeks about the elusive opening date.
“Top Chef” runner-up Blais and Mills have fashioned a menu that sports a variety of slider-sized burgers, from a lamb burger with green olive relish and raisin ketchup on a rosemary bun to the restaurant’s signature Flip beef burger using short ribs, hanger steak and brisket. Condiments including ketchup and mayo will all be housemade. And of course there will be a rotation of molecular milkshakes, including the promised Krispy Kreme flavor.
FLIP is located at 1537 Howell Mill Road, on Atlanta’s west side.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Thanksgiving Options
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re looking for a way out of making turkey and dressing and need some options for eating out on Thanksgiving, here’s a list:
The Melting Pot, four area locations
Spice Market, W Atlanta Midtown, 188 14th Street, NE, 404-549-5450
Market, 3377 Peachtree Road NE, 404-523-3600
Ibiza, 2285 Peachtree Road NE, Ste. 100, 404.352.3081
Imperial Fez, 2285 Peachtree Road NE, 404-351-0870
Lobby at TWELVE, 361 17th Street, 404.961.7370
Room at TWELVE, 400 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, 404.418.1250
Atkins Park Tavern, 794 North Highland Avenue, 404.876.7249.
Food 101, Food 101—Morningside, 1397 North Highland Avenue, 404.347.9747. Food 101 - Sandy Springs, 4969 Roswell Road, Suite 200, Sandy Springs, 404.497.9700.
Justin’s Restaurant, 2200 Peachtree Road, 404-603-5353.
Ted’s Montana Grill, various locations
Horseradish Grill, 4320 Powers Ferry Road, 404- 255-7277
Also, there’s still time to grab some last minute to-go items from Star Provisions, Souper Jenny and Alon’s
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
The Majestic Closed — Temporarily?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SAY IT AIN’T SO: the Majestic Diner on Ponce has been open for nearly 80 years. It’s closed temporarily, apparently for remodeling.
Photo: Rich Addicks/AJC Drive-bys and phone calls are telling me that the Majestic Diner on Ponce, the king-liest of Atlanta diners, is closed. Sources are saying it’s temporary, for remodeling. Just when I was hankering to drop by …
And short notice, but if you’re looking for a field trip this weekend, check out this event sponsored by the group Collared Greens, a group founded by Serenbe’s Tucker Berta of “green collar workers” who “meet once a month to learn more about how we can save the planet (in an extremely broad nutshell).”
This Saturday, November 22 2 - 4 p.m
“Tour the farm with Serenbe Farms Manager Paige Witherington. Chef Nick Melvin is providing some Bacon Merry (The Farmhouse’s signature Bloody Mary) samples and SweetWater Brewery is providing some local brews to take along for the walk. Featured Speaker: The Greenhorns—a group of young farmers from New York creating a documentary film exploring the lives of America’s young farming community and the growing interest in agriculture as a profession. The filmmakers hope to build the case for farming as a career via their documentary.”
RSVP to Tucker Berta at tucker@serenbe.com
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Proustian Holidays
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At a family gathering the other night, my mother promptly announced that she would not be making fruitcake for the holidays this year. With one whisper, a 50-year-old tradition vanished.
At 83, the last year brought a battle with breast cancer, a near-fatal car accident (I was driving) and this New Year, she’ll need to undergo knee replacement surgery. She and my father found an “excellent” fruit cake at a bakery in Palestine, Texas, on their last trip, and she’s ordering the candied, nutty cake from them. Period.
But I’m so sad. I really don’t even like fruit cake that much, but I loved the tradition of her making it — it was like a scene straight out of Capote’s “Christmas Memory” — the Herculean effort that went into her fruitcakes. Unlike Capote’s “friend,” my mother never sent a fruitcake to the president, and certainly not to FDR. She made them mostly for my father and youngest brother, who adored them.
Every year about this time she would send my father for all the ingredients and when I was young I remember loving the rich, spice-laced batter licked from the end of a wooden spoon.
When I got home later that night, I cried. I will miss this part of her so much. And it’s hard for me to admit that she’s just not up to the task anymore. I even offered to make the cakes, but she and my father are resigned. And so a tradition ends.
It made me think of her Christmas fudge; her pound cake; her cornbread dressing — how I would miss them! Even as my sister and I take over the duties of the holiday kitchen, part of the reason these things are so dear, I know, is because my mother has been making them for us for so long.
I shared this with colleagues, and it seems I’m not alone: everyone had a certain something that they just can’t live without when it comes to the holidays: pepperoni yeast rolls are apparently a West Virginian tradition; juicy, crisp peach cobbler made by a great aunt who has passed; a grandmother’s lemon pound cake.
What holiday food tradition could you not live without?
Permalink | Comments (37) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Flip is Set to Open
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lots of “ifs” on the horizon for openings: I’m told Flip is getting ready to open the first week of December. Craft is “shooting” for a December 8 opening. And chef Scott Serpas new restaurant, Serpas True Food, will open in January, complete with a bar sporting inlaid oyster shells from the Gulf.
Anne Quatrano was nice enough to speak with me some more about Abattoir, which she says will most likely open in February. The meatcentric menu will showcase the full use of animal products, including rarities such as lamb brain fritters and corned pig tongue. Other items range from head cheese with fig mustard to steak frites and braised salt cod stew.
This will be she and chef-owner Clifford Harrison’s most casual restaurant to date (not counting provender Star Provisions), with a check average “less than that at Floataway Cafe,” according to Quatrano.
Inside the White Provision complex off Howell Mill Road, the former slaughterhouse will sport pine floors from a closed factory in Cartersville to a Chicago Cow-like life-sized cow on a front entrance ramp.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Visions of Sugarplums
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
IS CANDY EVER GOOD FOR YOU?
Photo: Louie Favorite/styling by Meridith Ford Goldman/ AJC
OMG is it ever the holidays — my desk is inundated with food, candy and booze from public relations firms offering recipes, tips and new ways to use something that in no way could be used in a new way.
I don’t fault these folks — it’s their job, and most of them do it well. (For the record, what me and the ladies who sit near me don’t consume is given to an in-house sale; the proceeds go to various charities).
But no one will be getting what just arrived on my desk — I’m keeping most of it for myself: a big box from the National Confectioners Association chock full of candy. The catch? This holiday season, candy is healthier for you. What? You didn’t know?
I’ll tell you why, according to the folks who make it: They’ve released “better for you” options:
Hershey’s Snacksters S’mores 100-calorie snack mix
100-calorie Skinny Hunk bar
Welch’s Fruit ‘n Yogurt snacks (which, they emphasize, are made with real fruit and even contain yogurt cultures)
The amount of nutritional information, from 60- to 100- calorie packs to fortified Jelly Belly packs and Hershey’s extra dark chocolate with pomegranate, is mind boggling. And it proves that everybody’s gotta get a gimmick in these hard economic times.
Truth be told, portioning what you eat does allow you to have a treat from time to time. But to call candy — even if it is fortified with vitamin C — “good for you” is a bit of a stretch. Unless we’re talking about mental health …
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Dude, Where’s My Food?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few years ago, the publishing world was a flutter with “guy” cookbooks — the kind that teach a dude how to do more than just open a can of tuna. Some, like “The Guy Can’t Cook,” are designed for the sort of man who thinks cooking is the heat-and-ingredient equivalent of a vasectomy. Others, like “Dude Food: Recipes for the Modern Guy,” explore beyond peanut butter and jelly to a realm where, though not of Martha’s standards, certainly help elevate the average Joe to a Jean-Georges.
This all became more interesting to me after a recent conversation with my husband, who — before marrying me — was single for close to 15 years. It’s dawned on me that while I thought he married me because he thought I was cute, things may actually have slanted my way because I can cook. Dang. And while I’ve had lots of ideas for cookbooks over the years, never has the idea of a guy cookbook entered my mind — until now.
I was stunned as he relayed over breakfast recently the creative process by which he used to eat. Clever dishes, perfect for the single guy, with little or no heat or clean up involved. Things that could be mixed together and eaten from the can or jar. Dishes that use only three ingredients. One bowl mixes that utilize nothing but water and a spoon for combining. Brilliant. Absolute genius. Even more of a miracle, his dishes are made sans microwave. He didn’t own one. I can’t wait to get the proposal written so I can send his recipes off to a publisher ASAP.
While we’re waiting, here are a few of his creations. Feel free to share. And send me your or your guy’s ideas, too.
His first dish goes by no name, but doesn’t really need one, either:
1 can Vienna sausages
1 liberal squirt (to taste) of Texas Pete hot sauce
Method: Open the can, squirt the hot sauce over the sausages, close the lid, shake, open, eat. Fork optional. Tips and comments: “You’ll have to sacrifice one sausage to get the others out whole.”
Tuna Noodle Pea
This dish requires that whoever is cooking knows how to cook a pound of egg noodles.
1 pound egg noodles
1 can tuna, it doesn’t matter what kind
1 pound frozen English peas
Method: Cook the pasta according to the package directions (see above). Drain the pasta. Open the can of tuna and drain the water from it. Dump the tuna and peas onto the hot pasta. Stir. Tips/comments: “Don’t worry about pre-thawing the peas — the heat from the noodles will warm them up enough.”
Big Guns
This recipe requires an oven and the ability to turn it on.
1 package Bisquick baking mix
1 package hot dogs
Mix the Bisquick with water according to the package directions. Spread half the mixture on the bottom of a baking dish (“it doesn’t matter what size”). Place the hot dogs over the mixture, then spread the remaining half over the hot dogs. Bake until golden brown. Tips/comments: “I was drunk when I named this dish. I was drunk every time I ate it, too.”
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Dumplings?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This week’s In Search of explores Chinese in Atlanta but I’m hankering for dough of all sorts, especially dumplings.
Love Chef Lui’s, love Canton House’s sui mai — but are there any dumplings out there of the Eastern European nature? Pulmenis? Or do I have to settle for gnudi, which hit a bit of a craze last spring at local spots and is still going strong.
If you know of a great Eastern European dumpling house, or dumplings of other sorts, let me know.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Shaken, not Stirred
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NOW THAT’S A MARTINI: Buckhead Diner makes it easy to belly up to the bar.
Photo: Brant Sanderlin/AJC
I’m so in for Bond this weekend — I think our entire family is heading to see it. Before hand, I’m going to recommend a martini or two — and I hate to make my own drinks.
Even though Bond — whether played by Daniel Craig or Sean Connery — is hardly the sissy type, he does drink vodka martinis, which is bothersome. Martinis are made with gin, dahlinks! They’re made with gin, vermouth and either a twist of lemon or an olive — or in my case, lots of olives plus juice. I often like my lunch poured.
Bond, of course, has made the vodka martini a legend — though Ian Fleming’s first mention of it, in 1953’s Casino Royale, is a mixture of gin and vodka, plus Lillet. Here’s the passage from the book:
“Bond insisted on ordering Leither’s Haig-and-Haig ‘on the rocks’ and then he looked carefully at the barman.
‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’
‘Oui, monsieur.’
‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’
‘Certainly, monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleasant with the idea.
I’m pleasant with the idea, too. My favorite dirty martini is at Buckhead Diner, where it’s served up, ice cold and with the perfect mix of juice and gin. I’ve also been known to enjoy a good martini at Restaurant Eugene (where there is a wonderful selection of gin) and the bar at the C & S Oyster House. My gin? Hendricks, of course.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Where’s Your Favorite Pancake?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE LEMON CREPE AT FAB IS FABULOUS: Where’s your favorite pancake?
Photo: Becky Stein
I don’t know if it’s the weather, or if the opening of Crepe Revolution in Sminings at West Village has gotten to me, but I’m hankering for some pancakes.
My daughter and I have a tradition of making pancakes every weekend, but I’m remembering my days at IHOP, drenching my pancakes in strawberry syrup and whipped cream.
Crepe Revolution is already a big hit with the folks in Smyrna and Vinings, and I’m looking forward to heading that way for a flatbread fix of the sweet kind. But this crepe factory serves everything from wrapped pot roast made with buckwheat crepes and slow roasted beef and veggies to a fresh herb crepe with chicken in Thai peanut sauce. There’s also salads and sandwiches, for those who can’t do the circular thing.
Who makes the city’s best plate of pancakes? My favorite right now (and it changes frequently!) is the HUGE plate of blueberry pancakes at Manuel’s Tavern. I know: Who knew? Seriously, they are fluffy yet dense and chock full of blueberries. I do wish the management would spring for syrup in a bottle, though, instead of in those little tubs.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Do You Use Mixes or Bake From Scratch for the Holidays?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ANN BYRN, AUTHOR OF THE “CAKE MIX DOCTOR” COOKBOOKS, says cake mixes are “very forgiving.” Do you use cake mixes?
Photo: Steve Lowry
I visited recently opened The Mercantile, a new gourmet food store that offers ready-made meals from chef Samantha Enzmann in addition to locally harvested produce and regionally produced foodie goods.
Among shelves of pickles and bread from H & F Bakery was a box of cake mix from Sugah Cakes out of Spartanburg, SC. Distributed by Home and Garden Classics (no relation to the magazine), bakers Ann Beardon and Kim Nelson have created mixes for pound cake, pumpkin pound cake and red velvet cake that came from their grandmothers’ kitchens. The Mercantile offers only the pound cake, and I snatched up a box to test it out.
The holidays are one of the few times left in the year that I can actually bake from scratch, unless I am creating something for the food pages of the AJC. So rarely do I give up the opportunity. Still, it’s great to have short cuts when you can. Oddly, when cake mixes were introduced by Betty Crocker after WWII, they failed miserably at first. The “just add water” to the mix formula had post-war housewives feeling as if they weren’t doing enough. Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker subsequently changed their mixes to include the addition of water, oil or butter, and eggs so that everyone felt a little more adequate — the rest is cake mix history.
This mix takes only the addition of 2 sticks of butter, 4 eggs and a cup of water. It uses an old trick I hadn’t seen in a long time in a recipe, too: After baking, the cake is skewered with a toothpick and a sugar-and-butter syrup is poured over while the cake is still hot. This is a very old-fashioned way of creating a “moister crumb.”
The result was a densely crumbed cake, and the syrup added flavor as well as moistness. Is it as good as my cream cheese pound cake? No, but it took about half the time to make and was perfect for the volley ball banquet my daughter and I attended last night.
Will you use mixes to help you bake during the holidays? Or are you a stickler for scratch?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment |
Do You Tip In Front of Your Waiter?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DO YOU PAY IN FRONT OF YOUR WAITER?
Dining out on Wednesday night I had an odd experience with my waiter — he shared the same small hometown with a friend I was dining with and ended up overstaying his welcome exchanging stories. Seriously, it added a good 20 - 30 minutes to our time at the table. Otherwise he was a delightful waiter, but by the end of the evening I knew far more about him, his family and where he grew up than I cared to.
That’s a subject all its own, but think on this for a moment: after he finally delivered the bill to us, he lingered to talk more. For 10 more minutes at least. During that time, my husband nudged me towards paying the bill. But I never pay the bill in front of the waiter. I think it’s rude to pay — and tip — in front of the wait person.
After doing a little poll of my own, I’m finding that people are as divided over this as they are over politics — some agree it’s rude, others feel it’s perfectly acceptable. What do you think?
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
How Green are You When You Dine Out?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HELP RESTAURANTS GO GREEN: Did you know that eating locally produced foods helps the environment?
Photo: Bob Andres/AJC
Saturday, November 15, marks the date for the 3rd annual Field of Greens, an organic farm aid with proceeds to benefit local farmers and Slow Food Georgia.
The event takes place at Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm in Walnut Grove and some of the fun to expect includes chef demonstrations and tastings, a farmers’ market with local organic vegetables and flowers, an art fair featuring local artisans, gardening demonstrations and Information on local green energy and recycling from area green businesses. Plus, they’ll be plenty to do for the kids: pony rides, face painting and lots of arts and crafts. Tickets are $3, free for children under 12.
Though we have many local chefs and area businesses dedicated to the Slow Food movement, Georgia still has a long way to go when it comes to going green. I think about this all the time when I’m dining out, and it dawns on me how egregious the restaurant industry is for our environment. Many restaurants are making great strides to go green, and it’s not easy for them.
But what about the consumption end of things? What types of things can diners do to help restaurants go green?
Order tap water. Bottled water is tapping (pardon the pun) too deeply into our most precious natural resource, it costs too much in recycling (if the bottles are recycled) and the energy costs to ship (and the pollution that causes) are too high. Ditch it.
Reuse that napkin, paper or cloth. Have you ever seen a landfill?
And don’t take home a doggie “bag” — the packaging used is most likely not recyclable. Recommend that what you don’t eat be used to start a compost pile.
Support restaurants that procure locally grown products. Not only will you be eating healthier, tastier food, but you’ll be helping the environment by reducing fuel costs and emissions.
Help restaurants go green: check out tips at [Green Restaurant Association].(http://www.dinegreen.com/)
What green tips do you have for dining out?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
What Restaurants Should I “Rereview?”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10 DEGREES SOUTH: Ten years old and ready for a rereview. Look for it in the November 21 issue of the AJC’s Go Guide.
Photo: Bita Honarvar/AJC
Market, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant with a concept similar to his Mercer Kitchen restaurants in NYC, will open November 17 with Ian Winslade as chef de cuisine. Winslade will remain chef de cuisine of Spice Market as well.
From the press release:
“The multicultural menu features French, Asian and Italian inspirations coupled with alluringly familiar cuisine. From Maine lobster with crispy potatoes and spicy aioli, to bacon wrapped shrimp with avocado and passion fruit mustard, every appetizer and entree on the menu is an old-fashioned favorite with a modern twist.”
Meanwhile, there’s still no specific date set for the opening of Tom Colicchio’s Craft or Richard Blais’ FLIP. Craft was originally scheduled to open early fall of this year, but now reps for the Top Chef chef are saying the restaurant, with the same concept as Colicchio’s Craft in NYC, will be open in time for the holidays. FLIP is scheduled to open any day …
With so many new, high-profile openings, it’s easy to forget that there are lots of restaurants that need rereviews. I try to include a rereview at least once a month, when my schedule allows.
What’s a “rereview?” Many restaurants reviewed by the AJC — either by me, or former critics John Kessler and Elliot Mackle — are out of date. It’s my policy to try and make sure that restaurants reviewed by the AJC are at the most no older than five years old. (The top 50 selected for the Fall Dine Guide are rereviewed every year.) In addition to editorial fairness, this also helps us keep our online database current.
Believe me, it’s hard keeping up and keeping track. I’ll be the first to admit I fail at it regularly. So, help me out here — what’s a fave of yours that you’ve been wanting an update for?
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Are You Partying on Election Night?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the past two months, my email box has been inundated with Election Night ideas — from cocktails to recipes for snacks and three-course dinners.
Are you planning or attending and election party? If so, are you dining out or staying in?
Here’s a recipe for a Election Lunch stew developed by Alix Nancy Botsford from Seminole, OK, for the “Fix it and Forget It Big Cookbook.” My favorite part of the recipe is the yield: how can something vary between 6 and 12 servings? Anyway, if you’re looking for something to put on before you go to the polls and have ready by the time you return later that day, this apparently hits the spot.
MAKES: 6-12 SERVINGS PREP. TIME: 30 MINUTES COOKING TIME: 2-4 HOURS IDEAL SLOW COOKER SIZE: 6 QUART
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 lb. sausage, cut into thin slices, or casings removed and crumbled 1 rib celery, sliced 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 * tsp. dry mustard * cup honey 10-oz. can tomatoes with green chili peppers 1-lb. can of lima or butter beans, drained, with liquid reserved 1-lb. can red kidney beans, drained, with liquid reserved 1-lb can garbanzo beans, drained, with liquid reserved
Brown onion and sausage oil
Combine ingredients in 6-quart slow cooker, or divide between 2 4-quart cookers and stir to combine. Add reserved juice from lima, kidney and garbanzo beans if there’s enough room in the cookers.
Cover. Cook on low 2-4 hours.
Background: The creator mixed up this hearty stew the night before Election Day and took it to the voting site the next morning. She plugged it in, and all day long they could smell the stew cooking. She works at a very sparsely populated, county polling place and ended up giving out the recipe and little water-cup samples to many voters that day.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
