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January 2009
New Beginnings for Pano’s (and Paul’s)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NO RESERVATIONS: Buckhead’s iconic restaurant Pano’s & Paul’s will close on February 14.
Photo: Philip McCollum/AJC
Talking with the founder of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group can be intimidating, even for a cynical dining critic. Pano Karatassos, after all, is one of the city’s most iconic restaurateurs. He is responsible, with only a handful of others, for bringing Atlanta dining into national prominence back in the late 70s and early 80s.
He and fellow chef Paul Albrecht (who moved on to open Paul’s in 2005) opened Buckhead Life’s flagship, Pano’s & Paul’s, back in February of 1979. Now, just five days before the restaurant’s 30 anniversary on February 19, Pano’s & Paul’s will fry its last fried lobster tail, mix its last martini and close its doors.
“I don’t think of it as closing,” Karatassos said in a phone interview. “I think of it as a move.”
And indeed, as one door closes another opens: plans are in the works for not one, but two new restaurants from Buckhead Life by the end of 2009. The first scheduled to open, Balon Rouge, will be located in the Sovereign at 3344 Peachtree Road. A stylish brasserie, P & P’s chef Gary Donlick is slated to helm the kitchen.
The second, simply called Pano’s, will open inside the St. Regis and tout a menu and ambiance that is “a little more high end,” according to Karatassos. “I want people to feel very comfortable there.”
Pano’s will offer a 90-seat dining room with room for two private spaces. “But it will have a neighborhood feel, just like Pano’s & Paul’s always has,” explained Karatassos. Pano Karatassos, Jr., the founder’s son, will help in the kitchen, in addition to his duties as executive chef of the company’s highly acclaimed Kyma, which specializes in high-end Greek and fresh fish. But the search is on for the right chef to helm Pano’s kitchen. Employees of P & P’s will spread to other Buckhead Life restaurants, if that’s what they desire.
And what better night to say au revoir than Valentine’s Day? Sunday, February 15, the restaurant will host a private reunion for original and past employees. “It’s for the old timers,” said Karatassos, “a chance to shake hands and toast the years.”
For more on the closing of Pano’s & Paul’s check out next Friday’s Go Guide.
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Dine Out for A Safer Atlanta, Weird Food Names …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dine Out For a Safer Atlanta, a benefit to help find the assailants of the recent murder of bartender John Henderson at the Standard, is scheduled for tonight at several restaurants across the city. Funds raised will go to the Atlanta Police Foundation and increase the Crime Stoppers reward. Just click on the link to get a list of participating restaurants.
I’ve been on the DL for the past two days, having injured my arm pretty badly at the gym. Thank goodness for steroids …
During my downtime, my daughter and I came up with a list of foods we think have really weird names, mainly because they sounds like something else we really wouldn’t want to eat. We actually like these foods, but think they sounds goofy. Here are a few:
Larb: This delicious Thai salad of minced pork or chicken sounds more like a type of worm to us.
Pu Pu Platter: love the variety, but come on.
Cochon: the French word for a pork dish sounds naughty to us — like a house of ill repute or something.
Rillette: is it a game? Is it something you use as a garden tool? Oh! It’s a kind of pate!
Frisee: fuzzy lettuce that sounds like a bedroom romp.
You get the idea. What weird food names make you laugh and scratch your head?
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Oh So Weird Tales of Dining Out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BIG WAITERS, LITTLE WAITERS: Do you ever wonder what the heck your waiter is doing?
Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
One of my buddies from my crossfit class at Crossfit Decatur shared a harrowing story of dining at the bar at a local eatery recently. I’ll keep things anonymous for him and them — but here’s the gist: After waiting nearly 25 minutes at the bar for an order of soup to arrive, he told the bartender that he needed to leave, even though the rest of his order hadn’t arrived yet.
The response was something like “yeah, right.” No offer to take the soup off the check or even a free drink. So he paid. As he was preparing to leave, a manager came over and said “So I hear there’s been an incident.” Which of course, made my friend feel like he’d started a brawl or something. The manager offered to take his phone number so that he could call and get his address — apparently so something like a gift card could be sent. The weird thing is, why didn’t he just take his address then, instead of his number?
Do you ever wonder while dining out what the heck the staff is doing? As a former restaurant industry gal, I can usually figure out what’s going wrong and why — and my sympathies more often than not lie with the staff. But sometimes it just seems as if folks don’t have their heads on straight.
In these tough times, I would think a newly opened restaurant (as this one is) would bend over backwards to get people in — and back in, for return business. Have you ever had an “incident” dining out that left you scratching your head?
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Muss & Turner’s and More …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
RELAX: THEY AIN’T GOING NOWHERE Todd Mussman, left, and Ryan Turner of Muss & Turner’s
Photo: Courtesy of Muss & Turner
Ryan Turner, owner of Muss & Turner’s in Smyrna/Vinings (we call that Smynings, don’t we?), emailed to tell me that my story on new places to watch for, online here (and in print in Friday’s Go Guide) had his phone ringing pretty hard. Seems my wording had everyone worried that the popular gourmet hot spot was moving to the West Side. I had reported a second location for Muss & Turner’s waaaay back in October’s Fall Dine Guide.
But Turner set me straight: In addition to staying put in their original location, Todd Mussman and Turner, along with chef Chris Hall, are planning a new venture for the West Side: “We are staying put in Smyrna with M&T, but we are working on opening a new place called Local 3 with Chris Hall, chef de cuisine at 4th & Swift,” Turner told me in the email. The location? A new building behind Joel.
I’ve emailed Turner back for more details about the menu, etc.
Other news: A reliable source has informed me that, as suspected, FLIP will open concepts in three more cities this year … most likely Miami, DC and LA (though that’s not confirmed).
Tierra, one of my favorites, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a complimentary glass of cava on Tuesday, February 17. Dan Krinsky, owner with wife Ticha, is in training for dialysis …
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Brrrr … Where’s your favorite hot drink?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HMMMM …. where’d you get that cup of cocoa?
Photo: Nick Noon/KRT
Working from home today, making marshmallows and Spanish hot chocolate for the AJC’s Valentine food section next month. The photographer will be here by noon, and I’ve still got lots to do …
I used to make gobs of old-fashioned hot cocoa for my students at Johnson & Wales, and am planning to include a recipe for that in the section as well.
I love the Latin-inspired, spicy hot chocolate at Cacao, in Inman Park, and Decatur’s Chocolate Bar has one of the most decadent cups of ganache-filled hot chocolate I’ve ever sipped.
But what about other warm drinks? Baby, it’s cold outside. Where’s your favorite warm drink? What’s in it?
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“The Figuring It Out At Kitchen Tables”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
Happy Inauguration Day!!
Watching the ceremony today, I was very moved by poet Elizabeth Alexander’s poem, “Praise Song for the Day.” We all spend time figuring it out at our kitchen tables, I’m guessing …
And I was most amused by the fact that the recipes page (for the inaugural luncheon) is the most visited page on the inaugural website. First course? A seafood stew, followed by a “brace” of American birds (pheasant and duck) with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes. Dessert was an apple cinnamon sponge cake with sweet cream glace. The menu was purportedly inspired by Lincoln, evoking the kinds of things that might have been eaten during his presidency. I’m not sure the term “brace of birds” should be used in a culinary context, though, since it basically describes the whole of a hunter’s kill, not a dining portion.
You can download the recipes from the Inaugural website. read more about the chef, Shannon Shaffer, and the luncheon here.
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Where are the Best Deals in Town?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lots of response on an earlier post this week, yes and no, for whether or not Atlanta is still dining out in this bleak economy.
Restaurants are opening and closing.
And many are offering specials and deals — what’s your favorite dining deal?
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Bon Appetit and Food & Wine Give Local Props
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BON APPETIT: the current issue has a shout out to local veggie palace Dynamic Dish
Photo courtesy of Bon Appetit
Restaurants in Atlanta can all be thankful that cutie pie Andrew Knowlton, Bon Appetit’s restaurant editor, grew up in Alpharetta. He gives lots of home-style props in the magazine, from Buttersweet Bakery’s Key lime cupcakes mention last summer to this month’s mention of veggie palace Dynamic Dish, in the Old Fourth Ward, as one of the ten best “modern vegetarian” spots in the country (it’s listed as number 3).
And not to be thought second best, Food & Wine shouts out to Decatur’s Cakes & Ale (which just keeps getting better and better each time I eat there), featuring super-talented pastry chef Cynthia Wong’s six-layer coconut cake with passion fruit filling. Funny, it was the figgy toffee pudding with creme friache I went for the last time I was in … yummers.
And in the midst of all the bad news, take heart: Scott Serpas is moving ahead with the opening of Serpas True Food, located at The Pavilion at Studioplex in the Old Fourth Ward historic district, in a historical cotton storage factory built in the 1900’s overlooking Auburn Avenue. Original elements to the building have been preserved to “ensure the look is raw and holds true to the original rustic form,” according to a press release.
The food is Louisiana meets the rest of the USA, and points beyond: shrimp andouille croquettes with mango sour rum and queso cotija; sage pork-stuffed mushrooms with parsley oil and lemon; and braised short ribs with cast iron potato and horseradish cottage cheese. Lemon-rhubarb cake with coriander cream tops the list of desserts.
An invitation-only opening party is set for January 26, with the opening date still TBA.
AND …. Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Steak is still scheduled to open in the W Downtown when the hotel opens on January 27.
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Where’s Your Favorite Cocktail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE MOJITO AT ECLIPSE DI LUNA: one of my all-time favorite cocktails. Where’s yours?
Photo: Rich Addicks/AJC
Economic downturn, cutbacks, crisis. Yikes! I need a drink. Check out five of my favorite cocktails here.
What would you add to the list? And who’s that bartender making your drink?
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Are You Still Eating Out?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With reports of several restaurants closing, and rumors of more to follow, I’m befuddled. I dine out a lot, and I’ve yet to see a sparse dining room.
January, of course, will be the judge. Winter is always the worst time of year for restaurants, especially right after the holidays.
But I’m not yet seeing the dive in dining that would be expected in the current “economic crisis.” The times I dined at FLIP for last week’s review it was packed. Even ethnic joints like Frank Ma South have relatively busy dining rooms for their size.
So, are you still eating out, or have you cut back?
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More Restaurant Closings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TAURUS HAS CLOSED: The chopped salad was a favorite …
Photo: Charlotte B. Teagle/AJC
The AJC is reporting today what many of you already knew: Taurus, Gary Mennie’s first solo venture beyond his prolific career at Canoe, has closed. Read John Kessler’s brief.
Opened in 2005, this was a fine restaurant, with one of my favorite chopped salads on the planet, and some pretty good steaks for the price point. The space was visually interesting, and I always enjoyed the fact you had to take an elevator up to get to the dining room.
Mennie’s Atlanta pedigree is impressive, and it was his stewardship in Canoe’s kitchen that brought it to national attention pre-Olympics.
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Where’s Your Favorite Cambodian?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Other than Phnom Penh in Tucker (is it still open? I haven’t been by in a while …), I can’t think of other Cambodian spots in the area. It’s a cuisine that’s sorely lacking representation, along with Eastern European and Pacific Rim spots.
Like many SE Asian cuisines, Khmer cuisine borrows much from the countries nearby, and vice versa: Curries (in the form of paste called kroeung) are similar to many found in India, and noodles, as well as fish paste and coconut milk are often used as flavorings and ingredients.
I’m checking out a Polish restaurant, and will keep you posted …
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New Foodie Sites
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
RUMOR HAS IT: Tom Catherall’s Home — Is it Closing?
A new foodie site, LizCooks, may seem familiar to you if you miss the voice of former AJC food writer Elizabeth Lee, who left the paper last August.
She’s got her own show here, from a six-part series on cooking a country ham to her hard-and-fast look at food news and trends. Take a look; if you like food, you’ll like her coverage.
And another restaurant blog popped up last year: FoodieBuddha. Other than referring to former AJC dining critic John Kessler as the AJC’s “Frank Bruni,” (my wounded ego will have to just get over that one) FoodieBuddha provides lots of good stuff for all those looking to know more about what we just can’t get enough of — restaurants. An email to foodiebuddha for more info was not returned …
I’ve been away for a much needed few days off, including a halt on dining out, other than a trip to FLIP last weekend for this week’s review.
So here’s some news, all sad:
The AJC’s Christopher Quinn and Tim Eberly are following a story of the shooting at the Standard on Memorial Drive where a bartender identified as John Henderson, 27, was shot to death during a robbery. He died at Grady. If you have information about John or his co-workers, or anything about the shooting, please email Tim at teberly@ajc.com.
And I have it on very good authority that Home, Tom Catherall’s venture into modern southern cuisine in Seeger’s old spot that touted Richard Blais as ‘top chef,’ is closing.
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