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December 2008
More New Year’s Eve info
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’ve put things off until the last minute, here are some more spots open for tomorrow night:
Krog Bar opens at 4:30
[Quinones at Bacchanalia]9http://www.starprovisions.com)
Please drink and drive responsibly!
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Japanese Gastro Pub
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GRILLING WITH GUSTO: Atlanta has its first official izakaya restaurant with Miso Izakaya opening in January
Photo: Charlotte B. Teagle/AJC
The Japanese are not exactly new to the art of enjoying great food and drink together in a casual setting. Izakaya, lovingly referred to as “red lantern” restaurants (apparently since red paper lanterns are often hung outside) have been popular in Japan since the early 1980s, when chain forms of these sake houses that also offer substantial food began to take hold.
Izakaya can serve everything from robatayaki (the art of communally grilling) to yakitori (kebabs), and in Japan you might eat on tatami mats or sit in chairs, depending on the izakaya. The idea, though, is to share ad enjoy small plates.
Miso Izakaya Restaurant, at 619 Edgewood Ave. in Atlanta, is slated to open in early January, and will offer a true izakaya experience, offering traditional tempura dishes as well as yakitori and a hefty menu of sake, wine, beer and shochu. Chef and owner is Guy Wong, who’s from the same family as the folks at Chinese Buddha on 10th Street. Wong (who’s heritage is Chinese), studied in Japan. Plates for sharing will be offered at $10 and under, with “chef selection” items at $16 and under. And of course, there will be sushi.
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Reindeer Games
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LET’S PLAY
Photo: Phil Skinner/AJC
We do a lot of game playing this time of year. My family loves to play cards of all kinds, and we also love board games and many of the “think tank” games that started with Trivial Pursuit and have mushroomed into a million types.
My sister got a new game for Christmas called Things. It basically gives players a topic, like “things people do when no one is looking,” then each player writes down whatever comes to mind. A reader reads responses out loud and then everyone guesses who said what.
It would be a blast to think of questions in strictly culinary terms. For instance:
What two ingredients should never be mixed together?
What should you never say to a waiter?
What should a waiter never say to you?
What food or dish makes you say yum?
What food or dish makes you say bleeeeeck?
Okay, now we’re warmed up. What other questions can you think of?
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New Year’s Eve Openings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR’S EVE?
Photo: Larry Crowe/AP
No sooner do we take down the stockings is it time to ring in a New Year. Here’s a list of some of the spots open for the big celebration, in no particular order:
Antica Posta — has a special menu for the evening
Eno — has a special menu for the evening
FAB — has a special menu for the evening
MF Buckhead — has a special menu for the evening
The Shed at Glenwood — has a special menu for the evening
I will update more if I get news of other openings. Feel free to share news of your restaurant’s NYE plans on the comment board, too.
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The Gift of the Magi
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PEACE ON EARTH
Photo: Charlotte B. Teagle/AJC
My daughter and I will read to each other tonight of the two young people in O.Henry’s classic short story who sold what was most valuable to them (in a monetary way, anyway) so that they could buy each other a Christmas gift. Then we will dream of sugarplums and elves.
Here, the last passage from the story:
“The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.”
May all of us be magi this season, and remember how wise it is to be kind.
Happy Holidays, everyone.
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Christmas Eve — What are Your Plans?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My family has a tried-and-true tradition of eating out at a divey Mexican joint every Christmas Eve.
We all gather at an El Toro, or some other chain similar, and eat tacos and enchiladas while singing “Winter Wonderland” as loudly as possible at the table, usually incorporating as much help with the tune from the wait staff as possible. We’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember, and other than the fact that we all love Mexican food, I have no idea why.
This year, we actually tried to go a little more upscale and make reservations at Original El Taco, but they are closed that night.
Do you dine out on Christmas Eve traditionally? If so, where do you eat?
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Expecting and Overdue? Try These Foods to Induce Labor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DOES EGGPLANT PARM INDUCE LABOR? This plateful is from Sugo’s in Roswell.
Photo: Jenni Girtman/ AJC
Most of us have heard the old wives’ tales about spicy or exotic food inducing labor — a peppery curry from your favorite Thai restaurant, or your husband’s five-alarm chili.
Well, a colleague shared something with me she came across on the Mckinnon’s Louisiane, in Buckhead, restaurant’s website:
“And speaking of dishes and traditions, Mckinnon’s stuffed eggplant (a casserole with shrimp, crab and eggplant to die for) is guaranteed to get an expectant and past due mom to deliver. Billy says, “if an expectant mom is a day over 9 months and has my stuffed eggplant, we will promise baby in 48 hours or dinner is “on the house.” Needless to say there is quite a parade of past due parents at the restaurant.”
So, if you’re wanting a New Year’s baby, what foods should you eat to make that baby get here by midnight New Year’s Eve?
Suite101 states that “there has not been any research that indicated that eating any spicy foods will induce labor or start contractions. However anecdotally, many women testify that as soon as they ate a spicy dish, within several hours they went into labor.”
Eggplant parmesan, like the one mentioned above, seems to be tops on many moms’ lists. Other faves are tropical fruits like pineapple, mango or kiwi — they contain an enzyme that “tones” the cervix. And of course, spicy foods of any sort.
Do you swear by a food or dish that induced labor for you or your baby’s mom? What is it?
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Would You Let a Girl Park Your Car?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
VIXEN VALET SERVICE: It’s not just a guy’s game anymore
Photo Courtesy of VVS
Valet services might not seem on-topic for a dining and food blog, but if you’re like me and eat out a lot, valets and valet services are a big part of your life.
I have had very little issue with valets in Atlanta, other than that they never put my seat back to the proper setting when they hand my keys back over to me.
And when I was a critic for the Providence Journal, there was a particular restaurateur on Federal Hill who only used guys who looked like soap opera stars — you know, chiseled and glistening. It was meant to part of the appeal.
Atlanta now has it’s very first all-girl valet service, called VVS, or Vixen Valet Service. The girls are dressed out in cute, short-skirted uniforms, ready to park your car. They describe themselves as “an exquisite parking service owned, staffed and operated by beautiful, intelligent women of various ethnicities.”
Operational since March of this year, so far their client list is mostly special events. You may have had your car parked by VVS at Moya or Arizona’s.
Even though tradition speaks to the contrary, I would have no issue with one of these fine ladies parking my car. But I’m wondering how the rest of Atlanta will react … If guys can do it, why can’t girls?
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Do You Bring Food From Elsewhere For Your Kids to a Restaurant?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DO YOU HAVE A PICKY EATER?
Photo: Phil Skinner/AJC
A colleague had a question for me, and didn’t mind me sharing it on the blog.
Her dilemma is that her son is a very picky eater (he’s under 10). She and her husband have been enjoying dining at a neighborhood restaurant, and in the past they’ve asked if it was okay with management to bring in Wendy’s (or something else) for their son, since he’s too picky to eat from the restaurant’s menu.
And the management said they didn’t have a problem with that. But now her husband is uncomfortable with it — and she wanted to know what I thought. My thoughts are that if the management doesn’t have an issue, it’s really their call at this point, though I’d encourage my daughter to choose something from the menu that the kitchen might alter to her taste — like buttered noodles, etc., rather than catering to her pickiness.
What do you think? Is it okay to bring in food from elsewhere for dining with your children? Is there an age cut-off here for what’s tolerable and what isn’t? I think so. What do you think?
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Where Would You Eat — If You Could Eat Anywhere?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WOULD YOU FLY TO PARIS JUST FOR A BOWL OF CHERRIES?
Photo: TONY BERARDI/KRT
My blog a couple of Mondays ago about Lubi’s in JAX got me pondering an old notion of mine: If I had my own jet, where would I go to eat at the drop of a hat?
A spot in Corpus Christi, Texas, called The Old Mexico was my family’s first introduction to real Mexican food. We would visit it every time we were there, which was often, since my mother did a lot of growing up there and my grandparents lived there for many years. The tacos there are ethereally puffy, and filled with beef; beer mugs come round and frosty. I’d go every weekend if I had the chance.
The Berghoff, in Chicago, was a favorite bar of mine when I would skip class at Northwestern and take the L into the city to go to the Art Institute of Chicago and hang out. Fridays were always the day to get a fish sandwich, and back then 19-year-olds could drink. There were rarely even bar stools to sit on, so we ate our sandwiches — a golden-fried fish fillet between buns — standing up.
L’Ardoise, in Paris, offered one the best meals I had there. My daughter and I simply loved it, and have tried to recreate it many times at home with some success. But I’ll never forget the bowl of fresh cherries, soused in brandy and crowned with a perfect quenelle of sorbet, that came for dessert. It was like eating a mouthful of summer.
Where would you eat if you could eat anywhere you wanted?
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Chef Linton Hopkins and Cakes & Ale Featured in Bon Appetit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA IS FEATURED IN JANUARY BON APPETIT
The Magazine goes on sale January 9, 2009.
Well, it’s taken a while, but Southern chefs and food writers have finally gotten Southern cuisine back to its roots, and front and center in national publications. January’s Bon Appetit, which will feature the mag’s predictions for 2009, touts “new Southern cuisine” as the cuisine to follow in 2009.
And to get folks in the mood, our own Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch and H & F Bread Co. is featured with recipes highlighting, in his words, “gussied up” beet salad with cornbread croutons and crispy ham, and brioche-crusted fish with Jerusalem artichoke puree and pickles. “You don’t need to go to New York or Chicago or Paris to be a great chef,” Hopkins is quoted as saying. “You can cook cook Southern food with the same passion and integrity.”
Also in the January issue, the editors choose their top picks for the new “gastro tavern,” and Cakes & Ale in Decatur (which just keeps getting better and better every time I visit — a winter broccoli salad was a welcome forkful on my last time in) is on the list.
Bravo!
And more in the news: Serpas True food, chef Scott Serpas’ new place located at the Pavilion at Studioplex in the Old Fourth Ward, is scheduled to open in mid-January.
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Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LARGE AND IN CHARGE: Cutey pie chef Tom Colicchio opens Craft Atlanta and Craftbar
Photo: Courtesy of the Reynolds Group
With Craft Atlanta and Craftbar opening this week, I sat down with chef-owner Tom Colicchio last Friday at a Starbucks close to the restaurant. Dressed in jeans, a gray sweater and wearing his trademark black beret (backwards, of course), he talked freely about the restaurant, Atlanta, his management philosophy and, as you’ll read below, playing the guitar.
Q: You’ve opened Craft at other locations around the country. What makes Atlanta’s Craft different? A: Well, the design element of this restaurant is by far the most beautiful of any we’ve done. The designer, Peter Bentel, has been with us from the beginning, and this location is stunning. This is also the first time that Craft and Craftbar will be open in the same space. Plus, I’ve finally been able to include the design of a wood-burning stove I came up with years ago when I was at Gramercy Tavern.
Q: You chose a seasoned chef, Kevin Maxey, from inside your management team to lead Craft’s kitchen in Atlanta. Why not someone local? A: Kevin has been with me for seven years, starting in New York, then Dallas. It wouldn’t be fair to the dedicated staff I’ve had for years to hire someone just because they are from Atlanta. I like to allow the people who work for me to have free reign over what’s prepared, too — I don’t dictate a menu, just a style. And that wouldn’t be possible with someone who hasn’t worked with me for very long. We have hired over 100 people for the Atlanta location, so I don’t feel too badly about it.
Q: What can Atlantans expect to eat when they visit Craft or Craftbar? A: The same types of dishes that are served at Craft in New York — Craftbar has braised pork shoulder with white beans and collards, smoked house-made sausage with cole slaw. Craftbar’s menu is much more casual, with nothing on the menu for more than about $25. We’re stressing local ingredients on both menus.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to eat right now? A: Porcini mushrooms. Or morels.
Q: You’ve got a really busy schedule, especially when you add “Top Chef” into the mix. Do you still cook? A: I love to cook. We reserve a private room at Craft (in New York) every Tuesday so that I can cook a nine-course prix fixe.
Q: What restaurants have you tried in Atlanta? A: I enjoyed Holeman & Finch. That burger thing they do was fun. I’m planning on going to Shaun’s.
Q: What would you do if you had more time in your day? A: Play the guitar. I’ve got my eye on a pricey Olson that’s for sale on the Internet right now, but I’m just not sure ..
Craft Atlanta and Craftbar are located in a free-standing building at The Mansion on Peachtree at 3376 Peachtree Road. Both restaurants are open for dinner seven days a week on Monday, Dec. 8, and Craftbar will also serve lunch beginning Jan. 5, 2009. For more information, call 404.995.7580.
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Are You A Restaurant Klepto?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the hardest parts of being a dining critic — ask any of the people who dine with them regularly — is stealing the menu. I have friends who help me with this all the time. You know, I distract the waiter while they peel the menu from the jacket and stuff it into my purse. Sometimes we pretend to be tourists and just ask for a copy, especially if the menu is particularly large and unruly and difficult to snatch.
Why not just get the menu online? A. Online menus are totally unreliable. B. Lots of places don’t put their menus online; some don’t even have websites. This is often the case with ethnic restaurants. And I thought I had seen it all until last week when I was dining at Chateau de Saigon for a review (see it in the Go Guide on December 19) and spent the better part of the meal dismantling the menu so that I could steal it: Jeez Louise it was like, 20 pages long.
Others I know who shall remain nameless steal other things from restaurants: cream pitchers, napkins, even flatware. My sister and I are proud of the two beer glasses we managed to purge from the Berghoff in Chicago, especially now that it’s closed. Give us a break — we were 20 and 24. (And don’t preach to me about how costly this type of thing is for restaurants — I know it is. )
So, be honest: have you ever stolen anything from a restaurant while you were dining there? What? Why?
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Where’s Your Favorite Chinese in Atlanta?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE BUBBLE PANCAKES HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING, but I still prefer Tasty China to Frank Ma South.
Photo: Elissa Eubanks/ AJC
Frank Ma is front and center in this week’s dining review.
Many believe he’s the absolute best in the city when it comes to Chinese, no matter where he works his wok. But save for the dumplings (go for the Shanghai juice dumplings filled with soup) and a few of the noodle dishes at Frank Ma South (the steamed pork buns will make you utter animal sounds), I actually still prefer Tasty China in Marietta.
The flavors at TC are pure Sezchwan, with lots of heat, you just need to steer past the Americanized offerings on the varied menu.
Which do you prefer? Tasty China or Frank Ma South? Where’s your favorite Chinese in Atlanta?
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Michael Pollen to Headline at Georgia Organics Conference
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anyone who reads the NYT or has read “Omnivore’s Dilemma” knows that Michael Pollen rocks.
The author, and Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California-Berkeley, has been one of the country’s biggest proponents of the Slow Food movement and an advocate for sustainability for years. And now, he’ll be in Atlanta this spring to headline Georgia Organics 12th Annual Conference and Trade Show, which takes place March 20 and 21 at Agnes Scott College.
I heard him speak at a chefs’ conference I attended at CIA several years back. Not only is he a genius, he’s an affable and funny speaker. And he has a lot to say about what we eat: along with chef Alice Waters, he is perhaps the greatest environmental food thinker of our time. His philosophy stems around the notion that how and what we eat is our most intimate connection to the natural world. He maintains that modern agribusiness and industrial farming practices sever that connection dramatically. In short, he’s my big fat hero. I can’t gush enough.
If you’d like to attend the conference, sign up early: preference will be given to Organics’ members, and the event is likely to sell out. Go to Georgia Organics for more information.
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Lenny Robinson is BAAACCCK, plus BLT and FLIP opening dates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MR. PERSONALITY: Chef Lenny Robinson has returned to the dining scene as exec chef for Peasant Bistro
Photo: Jessica McGowan/ Special to the AJC
I’m happy to report that chef Lenny Robinson, formerly of Les Fleur de Lis Cafe downtown, has resurfaced at Peasant Bistro in the Luckie Marietta District.
This charismatic chef has been MIA since closing FDL earlier this year, after reshaping its French concept to a more N’Awlins style menu. Honestly, he makes the best gumbo — seafood or otherwise — I have ever eaten. Such a dark roux it boggles the mind … But he always had woes, and not just because he was downtown (where there’s plenty of a lunch crowd to keep a chef busy).
His personality was as out front as his cooking — which is excellent — and it put some folks off to the point that they wouldn’t return. The problem was that Robinson, who one colleague aptly dubbed “grumpy-olicious, ” was doing all the cooking and his wait staff was, well, a little out to lunch in a non-literal way.
He’s gifted, and I’m glad to know he’s back. Now if only Joshua Perkins, formerly of the Globe, would come back, too.
And, as suspected, FLIP has moved its opening from this week to next: December 10. Laurent Tourondel’s BLT is scheduled to open January 29.
Any chefs you’d like to see back in the ATL?
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Lubi’s and Other Wonders
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I spent the holiday in Jacksonville, Fla., with my new in-laws, and one of the fun things that was insisted upon that I try was a local sandwich known as a ‘Lubi’.
My husband grew up there, and the tour of where he went to school and visiting his old neighborhood was a hoot, but the Lubi really was a trip maker (along with his Dad’s sticky date pudding, which was so gooey, sweet and delicious it made my teeth hurt).
Apparently the Arabic population in Jacksonville skyrocketed in the late 50s and 60s, and sandwich shops hawking hummus and the like can still be found in abundance on the south side. ‘Camel Riders’ (now there’s a name that would never make it past the PC police these days) can be found in lots of these Arabic sandwich shops — they are basically a hero sandwich on pita bread, stuffed with cheese, mustard, mayo, tomatoes, pickles and lots of peppers.
The ‘Lubi’ —named after it’s creator, I presume, is a hot dog bun stuffed with ground beef and smothered in onions, cheese, mayonnaise, hot peppers and a few other things I’m not so sure about. Pre-rolled and ready to pop into the microwave, they’re served honorably with cherry limeade, which is like a Mister Misty on acid — a huge, sweet drink with fresh lime wedges floating in pink syrup with chipped ice.
There are apparently four locations in JAX.
What’s Atlanta’s Lubi’s? Is it the Varsity? That seems the obvious choice … or is it a BBQ sandwich .. or the banh mi thit at Lee’s Bakery? Do we have a Lubi’s?
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