In search of ... food in jars
Food in jars. It’s a food fashion that’s in favor at some of Atlanta’s finest restaurants. The quintessentially Southern habit of putting up fruits and vegetables has extended itself on restaurant tables to a trend worth keeping: stacking, filling or layering savories and sweets in a jar is fun, stylish — and tasty. Look for an upcoming food story in the AJC for more on food in jars.
Abattoir
1170 Howell Mill Road, inside the White Provision complex, Atlanta, 404-892-3335, www.starprovisions.com
Anne Quatrano and Joshua Hopkins have created a section of Abattoir’s menu devoted to food in jars — and it is nothing short of genius. It’s easy to develop quite an addiction to the potted chicken liver and foie gras with Armagnac, a wickedly smooth concoction served in a preserving jar to be spread over the rustic, wood oven-toasted bread from the Star Provisions bakery. It is a naughty thing, this pate. Equally tempting are pickled shrimp in a jar — plump Georgia white shrimp with pickling spices and bright orbs of red onion, fatty rabbit rillettes or spicy pickled cabbage.
Bocado
887 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, 404-815-1399, www.bocadoatlanta.com
Desserts at Bocado show off a modern flair but possess a homey goodness, too. Nothing expresses that more than chocolate pudding — silky, soft and light, layered in a Mason jar with bananas and caramel sauce, garnished with a meringue cookie laced with peanuts, and a fluffy layer of caramel whipped cream. It’s clever, but not too cute, and tastes as if you’re at grandma’s house — if your grandmother happens to know how to make dacquoise. One sweet bite and there’s no way your spirits won’t be lifted.
Bakeshop
903 Peachtree St., Suite C, Atlanta, 404-892-9322, www.bakeshopatl.com
Few pastry chefs have made as indelible an impression on the city’s dessert dictionary as Jonathan St. Hilaire. Even from his early days at Woodfire Grill, it was evident that he possessed a rare talent for crafting seasonally inspired desserts that looked as good as they tasted. He capitalizes scrumptiously on the allure of jar food, stacking everything from carrot to red velvet cake in four-ounce Mason jars for nibbling at one of the spacious, family-style wooden tables, or to take home. Cheesecake in a jar? Why not.
