Chicken and the Egg, 800 Whitlock Ave. N.W., Marietta. 678-388-8813, www.chickandtheegg.com.
Murphy’s, 997 Virginia Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-0904, www.murphys-atlanta-restaurant.com.
No. 246, 129 E. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur. 678-399-8246, www.no246.com.
EVENT
How ’Bout Them Apples? 2-7 p.m. Sept. 23. Tickets: $35/$10 children under 12, includes food and cider tasting. Pre-sale tickets available at No. 246, 129 E. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur. 678-399-8246, www.no246.com.
Fall may not be in the air quite yet, but apples, one of the surest signs of the season, are already showing up in both sweet and savory dishes on menus at metro area restaurants.
At Chicken and the Egg in Marietta, chef-owner Marc Taft calls the cooking at his year-old restaurant “modern farmstead fare.” Homespun staples include the likes of fried chicken and waffles, a sweet tea-brined pork chop and Georgia peach cobbler.
Recently, Taft added a new item to the dessert menu: a sweet-tart apple and cranberry crumble with gingerbread streusel and sweet cream ice cream.
“Apples seem to be coming in early this year,” Taft said. “We’re excited about that. And since they’re available, we decided to use them in a new apple dessert. I have to say, it’s pretty delicious, and we’re already selling a bunch of it.”
Taft said he rarely uses apples in savory dishes, but this fall he plans to make a pork dish with local apples from Ellijay.
“I like everything we can get,” Taft said. “The problem with Georgia apples is the same as with Georgia peaches; it’s hard to keep up with the different varieties. But we use every variety we can get hold of and adjust our recipes to balance the sweet and tart flavors.”
At Murphy’s, a fixture of contemporary comfort food in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood, Executive Chef Ian Winslade presides over a kitchen that mixes familiar favorites with international flavors. For example, a slow-cooked salmon steak comes with a crispy rice cake, orange miso and Asian greens.
British-born Winslade said his favorite time of year to cook is fall, when apples and fresh cider are in season. He particularly likes to use local Fuji, Rome and Gala apples in everything from salads to pie.
“As a chef, I go a little bit dormant in the summer, making cold dishes,” Winslade said. “Then in the fall, mushrooms start kicking in, and squash starts coming, along with root vegetables. It’s just a fun time to cook — it’s a good transitional time for me.
“And I love the fresh apple cider we get from Ellijay and around that area. I love cooking with that stuff. It’s beautiful.”
Currently, Winslade is cooking a savory pork shank with apple cider. “That’s a significant piece of meat with a big bone in it,” Winslade said. “We rub it with a mixture of smoked sea salt, Chinese five-spice powder and black pepper, then grill it over a charcoal fire, so it gets a nice smoky flavor. After that, we braise it in fresh apple cider, with apples, onions, sage and thyme, and finish it with root vegetables.”
Going way beyond just a few apple dishes, chef Drew Belline and his team at No. 246 in Decatur are joining with local friends and farmers to present an apple extravaganza in the courtyard behind the restaurant and at neighboring Leon’s Full Service and Brick Store Pub.
The playfully titled How ’Bout Them Apples? festival, set for Sept. 23, will feature a whole smoked pig with apple cider barbecue sauce; fresh apple cider pressed on site; hard cider and apple cocktails; sweets, including caramel apples, apple-powdered kettle corn and apple candies; and a variety of apple sides.
“I’m an apple lover,” Belline said. “And I love roasting apples in our wood-burning oven. It’s an easy way to do it and you get a really beautiful product. We’re going to be combining roasted apples with roasted radicchio and we’ll be making apple slaw with celery root.”
Another dish Belline is planning for the fall menu at No. 246 showcases Ginger Gold apples from Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge roasted in the wood oven with brown butter, Brussels sprouts and bacon.
“My ultimate favorite apple is the Pink Lady,” Belline said. “What I really like a lot, too, is the Lady apple. That’s a little bit more firm, and it’s almost miniature size, with a reddish-green skin. They’re really nice roasted. And we’re going to do them as mini caramel apples. Yummy.”
SIDEBAR:
More metro apple bites
Chef Scott Serpas of Atlanta’s Serpas True Food uses apples in savory and sweet dishes. Green apples give Serpas’ tuna apple tartar a tart start, with chile-sesame dressing adding spicy bite. Fried apple pie with vanilla ice cream makes a fun after-dinner treat. 6659 Auburn Ave., No. 501, Atlanta. 404-688-0040, www.serpasrestaurant.com.
At Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub in Brookhaven, chef Joey Riley has a twist on crostini topped with pimento cheese made with Tillamook sharp cheddar, piquillo peppers, mayonnaise and cayenne pepper, and topped with thinly sliced Fuji apples. 1410 Dresden Drive, No.100, Atlanta. 404-474-9600, www.k-pub.com.
Dutch Monkey Doughnuts in Cumming is where culinary institute grads Arpana Satyu and Martin Burge elevate doughnuts to gourmet heights. Their wildly popular caramel apple fritter made with fresh Granny Smith apples sells out quick as a wink almost every day. 3075 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Cumming. www.dutchmonkeydoughnuts.com.
Culinary Institute of America grad Kamal Grant also makes a mean caramel apple fritter at his wildly creative Sublime Doughnuts shop near Georgia Tech, the recent winner of Bake magazine’s America’s Best Bakery award. 535 10th St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-897-1801, www.sublimedoughnuts.com.
For apples with a buzz, check out the international cider selection at Leon’s Full Service in Decatur. The current crop includes delicate Dry Blackthorn from England, fresh and sweet J.K.’s Scrumpy from Michigan, and sublimely funky Cidre Bouche from France. 131 E. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-687-0500, www.leonsfullservice.com.
