1) Dane Cook performs at Philips Arena.
2) Corndogorama returns to East Atlanta Village.
3) Richard Blais gives a cooking demonstration at Variety Playhouse.
4) Woodruff Arts Center hosts STIR (Sounds Through Ideas and Rhymes).
3) Dad’s Garage Theatre stages Beach Blanket Improv.
(Photo by Tony Duran)
PRETTY IN GREEN: The dining room at WaterHaven
Knife’s Edge: Staff infection (Richard Blais gives us a glimpse into the restaurant world’s make or break pre-game huddle.)
Ghetto burger for sale? (Say it ain’t so. Looks like Miss Ann could be retiring.)
Grazing: First Look: 5 Seasons Westside and WaterHaven (It’s surprising that new restaurants are still opening around town given the current economy, but Cliff is pleasantly pleased with both of these new offerings.)
Restaurant Review: Taverna Fiorentina (Besha enjoys the “soul-pleasing Italian dishes” at Andreas Montobbio’s Taverna Fiorentina.)
Cheap Eats: TINY Bistro (Jennifer Zyman visits this cute new spot in the booming Westside.)
Upton Sinclair did not eat here (Cliff shares his thoughts — and photos! — about the newly opened Abattoir.)
(Photo by James Camp)
PIZZA! PIZZA! The goods at Vasarano's Pizzeria
Grazing: Restaurant Eugene reinvented (The upscale eatery introduces a revamped menu featuring an array of small plates.)
The pizza, its char is just right (Cliff visits the highly anticipated Varasano’s Pizzeria and reflects on the hype as well as his first impressions.)
Review: Leon’s Full Service (The owners of Brick Store Pub hit us baby one more time.)
Knife’s Edge: Ponzu scheme (Blais takes us through the last days of a restaurant’s financial period.)
Spoon opens in East Atlanta (And finally spreads the yummy Thai wealth.)
(Photo by Cliff Bostock)
This slogan sounds familiar. Anyone else craving a Bud Light?
Review: BLT Steak (Besha visits Laurent Tourondel’s high-end steakhouse and admits that the steaks are tasty, but at the high price, does the end really justify the means?)
Knife’s Edge: Starry Night (CL’s newest food columnist, Richard Blais, shows us the other, often nerve-wrecking side of a restaurant review.)
Good cooking at Holy Taco … with one brazen exception (Cliff visits the East Atlanta staple and despite the chicharrones, has a killer meal.)
Beer events and news releases (Our beer guru, Jeff Holland, chats about Oskar Blues Brewery’s latest Czech-style pilsner as well as a few local beer happenings.)
Grazing: Shaun’s, Ecco and Craftbar (Cliff gets his grub on around town.)
(Photo by Cliff Bostock)
Richard Blais, the Willy Wonka of Atlanta
Over at our sister blog, Omnivore, Atlanta’s favorite molecular gastronomist and “Top Chef” 2008 short-lister Richard Blais will be dishing up celebrity-chef insight as Creative Loafing’s newest columnist.
Blais is ready and willing to “field as many questions as I can” and “take some harsh critique from real people behind ridiculous screen names” — with a couple of exceptions:
The rules are simple. I won’t be writing about any of my projects in Atlanta. My boss, my “chef”, my editor, the food critic, who I’ve sworn profanity at from the comfort of my own kitchens at times, won’t have it. And neither will I.
ELECTORAL CURRENT: The Christian Science Monitor examines this year’s swingingest states, and how swinging they are compared with 2004.
HURRICANE IKE: Hits Cuba, downgraded to a Category 2. It’s expected to head Gulfward from there, meaning Georgia’s streak of dodging major hurricanes will likely stay intact. The downside of that is Lake Lanier won’t get much rain from it.
FALCONS: Win their season opener against Detroit behind breakout performances from their two new stars. QB Matt Ryan threw a a 62-yard touchdown on his first NFL pass and had an unrookielike afternoon, while RB Michael Turner set a team rushing record to power a surprisingly potent offense.
BEGGARS CAN BE BOOZERS: Atlanta city officials are starting a new campaign to discourage downtown pedestrians from filling handled pans, and giving the money to charities instead.
FOOD BANK: The Atlanta Community Food Bank is suffering from the lowest food supply of its 30-year history.
LEAVING HOME: Richard Blais leaves his job at Tom Catherall’s restaurant to focus on several personal business ventures, including FLIP, his new burger joint.
EXOTIC GECKO: Found in Savannah.
BLACK BEARS: Are attacking people more often throughout their ranges in North America, including Southeastern forests such as the Great Smoky Mountains.
MALIGNANT RUMORS: Obama goes against political tradition of ignoring unsubstantiated attacks, creates website to combat rumor-mongering e-mails.
I WANNA TAKE YOU DRIER: The drought is still getting worse.
CLASSICAL GAS: Gas is cheaper in South Carolina; maybe we should look into annexing it.
BLAIS UNDER PRESSURE: Richard Blais is still the top chef to us even though he “choked” and then choked up last night.
GSU: Hires former Ga. Tech coach Bill Curry to head its nascent football team, which will begin play in 2010 at the Georgia Dome.
DRIVIN’ THAT TRAIN: Casey Jones pulled over, charged with marijuana meth and Xanax possession.
HOOP SCHEMES: Disgraced former NBA ref with plenty of incentive to make up such a story nonetheless weaves an intriguing tale of playoff-rigging NBA execs and bought-out refs.
