Coolest place I’ve visited in weeks
October 31st, 2007 by Cliff Bostock in Restaurants
Meet David Sweeney, proprietor of the new Dynamic Dish (427 Edgewood Ave., 404-688-4344) in the Sweet Auburn District. Sweeney, an Army brat, has spent most of his life in Germany, returning to the United States just three months ago. “Yes, I feel like a foreigner,” he says. “I know nothing.”
Sweeney’s shop is about the coolest place I’ve hit since Zennubian opened in Castleberry Hill. He prepares one entree daily and three or four sandwiches. Everything is made with organic produce, like this tagine (above) featuring pumpkin, peppers, fennel and chickpeas over cous cous. That’s a glass of pomegranate tea, sweetened with agave syrup (safe for diabetics), with the tagine.
Sandwiches today included a tofu club with tempeh bacon, tomatoes and lettuce on whole wheat with Russian dressing and a rosemary-roasted tofu wrap with roasted carrots and onions with pine-nut pesto. Sweeney says he’s “meat-friendly,” even though none of the dishes today included a meat.
Sweeney admits he was a bit optimistic in choosing Edgewood Avenue for his cafe. Open since early September, he was serving a larger menu of take-out dishes but walk-in trade in the transitional ‘hood didn’t warrant more than his present menu.
There’s plenty nearby that’s prospering, though, including Javaology and Rolling Bones. (In fact, several restaurants are opening in the area during the next few months, including one by popular bartender Chris Lopez at 327 Edgewood. The still-to-be-named restaurant will serve “hearty American food,” according to Lopez. Matt Ruppert, one of the operators of the Big Gay Supper Club, is also opening a restaurant in the area.)
Sweeney also works the local organic markets, selling prepared dishes. He is open daytimes only and is revising his hours now, so call ahead before visiting. And good luck finding the place. It is as inconspicuous as it could be, in a nondescript building (right) next to a thrift store. The interior (above), however, is spare and elegant, with a few communal tables.
I’ll write more in Grazing in a few weeks. Meantime, go to lunch there!
October 31st, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Cool – I love this section of Edgewood Ave. It reminds me of what the Ponce corridor around Poncey Highland used to be like before it got all super gentrified and developed. I like that it’s one of the seemingly few areas you can go around town (please correct me if I’m wrong – I’d love to be wrong on this) where you can see a good mix of races and income groups walking around and going to places like Thumbs Up.
I look forward to trying out Dynamic Dish and also seeing the other places that are opening. But please don’t let this are become too gentrified to where it becomes another blandly affluent hot spot with no grit or economic/racial diversity.
The pic of that tagine, plus the interior, reminds me of my old beloved and much-missed Teaspace. That’s the kind of healthy food with a nice presentation I used to enjoy there.
October 31st, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I love this blog! I am so excited to hear about this place and others opening up nearby soon. Keep up the good work!
October 31st, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Looks very promising. Can’t wait to check out that tagine. Thanks for the tip.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
aww Teaspace! I miss that place. Cliff the place looks great, you didn’t mention the hours. Is this only a lunch place? Is it open weekends?
October 31st, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Actually, I did explain that he’s revising the hours, but, yes, it’s only open during the day. I’d call ahead to make sure he’s open if you are headed there in the late afternoon.
I miss Teaspace too, one of my favorites.
November 4th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Club sandwich with Russian dressing and “very easy to eat wheat bread” was a stand out item. The space was refreshing, simple, and surprisingly relaxing with appropriate music. I hope to see a new sign high up on the facade soon. The owner will someday be credited for revitalizing that whole building. Well done David!
November 14th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
I just had a really great lunch here. The kamut soup/stew with chickpeas and sunchokes was wonderful and so was the side salad of beets and apples.
The interior was beautiful – simple and relaxing, as Jon noted above, also sleek and clean but not in a sterile way. The plant greenery and the dark wood touches give a nice warmth.
Parking is a problem on the busy week day roads. Also, the area is a little rough around the edges. I saw a man changing clothes on the sidewalk and another relieving himself on an abandoned storefront. Not enough to keep me away from this place.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
What a wonderful place! I just had the most fantastic lunch of a rainbow beet and quinoa salad with Georgia field greens. It was obvious the care that the owner has put into the preparation of the food. The space itself was lovely, very simple and airy. The staff who work with the owner seem to care as much about the food as David does. I can’t wait to go back!