Omnivore Atlanta

My visit to Parish made me crave étouffée, so I ended up visiting Redfish (687 Memorial Dr., 404-475-1200) a few days later. Owner/Chef Gregg Herndon’s version is the best in town. It’s wonderfully fragrant, spicier than most versions and filling, thanks to a large quantity of crawfish.

We also ordered an appetizer special — a huge soft shell crab stuffed with the restaurant’s crawfish cake, fried and served with a jalapeño remoulade. It’s rarely available, but if it is, do not miss it.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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I’ve visited few restaurants as ambitious from Day One as Parish (240 N. Highland Ave., 404-681-4434). It’s a huge space whose design succeeds in evoking the ambiance of New Orleans’ French Quarter without resorting to the usual Mardi Gras cliches and cajun stereotyping. You won’t find the words “I garontee it!” on the menu. You won’t even find etouffee and jambalaya, for that matter.

The space is actually two operations. The Parish Market is downstairs, with the kitchen. You can order sandwiches like a good muffuletta or a po’ boy combo of oysters and shrimp (below) here, along with terrific pastries and breads from Jonathan St. Hilaire. (The almond croissant gives Alon’s version a serious run for the money.) There is a community table in the market where you can eat your sandwich, or you can eat it on the patio.

Anything you order in the market, which also sells everything from coffee to produce and cookware, comes to you wrapped in paper, even if you plan to eat in. The restaurant has leaped on the green bandwagon and, upstairs in the formal restaurant, there are no paper menus — just chalkboard ones afixed to the walls. This is part of avoiding the un-green use of paper, according to press materials. Then why not serve sandwiches on plates?

The upstairs restaurant, whose chef is Timothy Magee, includes a raw bar and a lot of seafood appetizers like barbecued shrimp. My entree (top photo) was pork cheeks over a pancake with a creamy mustard sauce. We also ordered catfish encrusted with andouille, served over a chive aioli. Both were delicious.

The restaurant is open daily for dinner and the market opens every morning for breakfast and serves sandwiches throughout the day.

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As I reported earlier this week, The Standard on Memorial Drive is now offering Korean barbecue on Wednesday nights. We gave it a try last night.

Honestly, I can’t say it’s as impressive as the Indian specials on Monday nights, but we enjoyed ourselves. About $10 buys two thick slices of tastily sauced pork placed on two rice cakes (that almost seemed like rice pudding) and a serving of kimchi. The latter did not measure up to the usual around town. I’m not sure if the restaurant is actually fermenting the stuff or buying it at one of the many Korean markets in town.

You’ve probably seen jars of kimchi at Publix, Kroger and Whole Foods, where it costs more than double, probably three times, the price at Buford Highway markets.

Spotted at The Standard: Tom Houck, everyone’s favorite gossip.

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Julie Shaffer of Slow Food Atlanta issues these invitations in the organization’s most recent newsletter:

You are all invited to attend Serata Italiana, The first Italian Festival of Food and Wine, sponsored by the Italy-Atlanta Foundation, 3-6 p.m. June 1, at the Buckhead Ballroom on Roswell Road. …

Mark your calendars for our second annual Ice Cream Social, on Saturday, June 21, at noon, at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, located in the parking lot of the Cathedral of St. Phillip in Buckhead. Last year’s event was delicious and so much fun! Again, it will be a competition, and I encourage all home cooks and professional chefs to participate. Last year’s prize went to Greg Hamon, a student at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, with his Dutch Apple Pie Crunch ice cream. Be creative! Last year, I made lemon-basil ice cream, and learned the hard way that it must be packed in dry ice. Please drop me an e-mail by June 10 to let me know if you intend to participate as a contestant.

Contact Shaffer at slowfoodatl@gmail.com.

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In this week’s Summer Guide, we did something a little sneaky to make your summer a fairly cool one. Embedded in 11 of the “111 things to do” is a little sentence that reads: “Wanna attend this event for free?”
If you click on that sentence, you will be whisked away to a magical place, where you can enter our contest for tickets to those 11 fun things. Within that link is a link to a form to fill out all 11 events once you’ve found them. Then email that form to: summerguide@cln.com.
You’ll be glad you did.
Oh, and that photo? Take it as a very nice, very broad hint about one of the 11.
Start clicking …

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Two baristas at the Ansley Starbucks play Vanna White to an announcement of the coffee shop’s latest gimmick — an “energy packet” containing B vitamins, ginseng and guarana. You can add it to any drink for 50 cents.

This picture was made only minutes after they tested the supplement themselves. As you can see, it works.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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OK, put down your fork and knife. It’s time for a break from eating. Instead, we’re going to be voyeurs at an insect sex orgy.

Honestly, this series of “Green Porn” videos by supermodel Isabella Rossellini is so cool, I had to tell the world. They were screened at this year’s Sundance

Check it out here. You’ll be amazed.

You may resume obsessing about food after viewing them.

(Photo from the Sundance Channel)

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In this week’s issue, we offer our readers our 2008 Summer Guide, with the theme “111 Things to Do This Summer.” But really, we lied. There are tons of things to do this summer. This was just the tip of the iceberg.When I sat down to edit it, I had well more than 111 to choose from (which was the idea), so there was some serious whittling down. But that shouldn’t stop us from providing the ones that didn’t make it into print, should it? So here are the rest of the blurbs. We should also note that with the comprehensive work done on the Summer Guide often means an even healthier updating of all of our listings, which I strongly recommend checking out for further summer planning.

Continue reading Pop Smart post.

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We dined at Parish Sunday night — I’ll be reviewing it soon — and the place was packed. It’s a beautiful space. There’s just one problem: If you’re handicapped, you’re not going to eat there — at least not in the main dining room.

There is no way into that part of the restaurant that doesn’t require using stairs. My bad knees make it very difficult for me to walk down stairs, while I have little trouble walking up them. I got in, but, when I went to use the restroom, I discovered that it’s down a steep flight of stairs.

A server told me that an alternative to the stairs was going to the back of the restaurant by way of an inclined sidewalk and entering through the deli section called Parish Market. That’s a lot of trouble to use a bathroom.

As far as access to the main dining room if you’re in a wheelchair, forget it. Another server told me that people who cannot negotiate the stairs have to eat downstairs in the market, which, granted, is a convivial, attractive space itself. But…I’m just saying.

I looked up the American Disabilities Act and found that Parish does qualify for exemption, but it’s disappointing the restaurant didn’t find a way to better accommodate handicapped folks.

Since I’m complaining, here’s another one: valet parking. Last night, we ate in a restaurant with a very large, very sparse parking lot. Nonetheless, we were expected to use the valet. I refused and the valet rolled his eyes so hard I could hear them clattering. But why should I turn the keys to my car over to a valet and tip him $5, if there’s a parking space 10 feet away?

(Photo of wheelchair-bound Blanche Hudson and Baby Jane Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane from MovieMail.)

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Old Brewery Pale Ale
Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
North Yorks, England
5% ABV

One of England’s oldest breweries knows a little something about brewing great ale. Wonderfully balanced and smooth, this is a beer that is meant to be enjoyed by the imperial pint with friends around a pub table. It pours a sparklingly-clear cooper red with a clingy but not sticky head. Floral, grassy aromas from the venerable English Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops are evident, along with earthy, toasted grains from the malts and a bit of overripe apple fruitiness as it warms. The taste emphasizes the toasted caramel malts. A hint of the mineral tang and cidery pear that characterize many British ales comes through mid-palate, but its overall character is dry and crisp, with a slightly citric finish. This is a nuanced brew, with subtle complexities that make it perfectly quaffable and yet intriguing, right down to the last sip. Along with Fuller’s London Pride, it is probably the quintessential example of a British pale ale available in the states.

(photo by Jeff Holland)

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One of the suggestions for sensible eating in Michael Pollan’s new book, In Defense of Food, is avoiding anything with ingredients you’ve never heard of.

While I was shopping at Publix a few days ago, I noticed this label on one of its pre-made salads. It includes everything from mold inhibitors and sodium nitrite to corn syrup and “vegetable color.” The potato salad label was even lengthier.

Meanwhile, the store was out of Fuji apples, the dried cherries I eat in my oatmeal every morning and the brown sugar I also put in my oatmeal. The store manager explained to me that there’s a “sugar shortage” because a processing plant burned down somewhere. Who knew?

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Here’s a tip for this Wednesday night. Head to the Standard (327 Memorial Drive, 404-681-3344) for Korean barbecue. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I know the owner is kind of a barbecue freak; other varieties he’s cooked in a smoker on the premises have been very good. The Korean ‘cue will be available every Wednesday night.

We still show up most Monday nights there for the curry special. If the Korean food is as good and as cheap, it should be a great bargain…

A COUPLE OF OPENINGS: Artistry is opening Sunday in the recently vacated Sweet Lowdown location on Peachtree in Midtown. All I know is that the menu will feature “American contemporary cuisine.”…

The Mick’s on Ponce de Leon in Decatur will be replaced by a steakhouse, Parker’s on Ponce.

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The latest big buzz is the announcement that Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison have announced plans to open a “meat-centric” restaurant with the rather bizarre name of Abattoir. The owners of Bacchanalia and Floataway Cafe say the new restaurant will be located in the White Provision complex on Howell Mill Road. A November opening is planned.

The new name — French for “slaughterhouse,” though commonly used in English — is not exactly receiving rave reviews in the blogosphere. Here’s “Therese” on EGullet:

Am I the only one who finds this a really, really horrendous name for a restaurant? Will I be expected to slaughter and butcher my own meat? Will the process be part of the dinner’s entertainment? Are the guests potentially subject to similar treatment?

To which “Doodad” replied:

Very bad name. Perhaps the motto should be “where the elite meat to eat.”

The White Provision Company opened as a meat-packing plant in 1910 — the South’s largest — and was commonly referred to as “The Slaughterhouse” around town, according to this history of the site. But it was the present Bacchanalia building itself that bore the name “abattoir,” specifically the United Butchers Abattoir. You can read about that facility here.

In other news, Quatrano and Harrison announced they have hired Chef Todd Immel away from Table 1280, where he has been replaced by his sous chef, Tracey Bloom. No plans to make Immel lord of the abattoir were announced.

(Map showing the White Provision Company and United Butchers Abattoir from www.artery.org.)

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Steakhead of the Atlanta Eats blog is reminding people of his Mother’s Day brunch last year at Pastis. Read his review here….He has also published a list of recommendations from Melissa Libby and Associates here….

Tanai, one of the lovely ladies of the Atlanta Dish blog, has published basically the same list with some additions. Check it out here….

Jennifer Zyman, who writes our Cheap Eats column and the renowned Blissful Glutton blog, has a great post up about outdoor cookware. At the top of Jennifer’s personal wish list is the beehive-shaped pizza oven (left). Read her post here for details….

This is from Chow Down Atlanta:

Just a reminder that the new McDonald’s chicken biscuits will be handed out next week for free on Wednesday, May 14th from 6-9am at 1404 Spring Street (parking lot of The Center for Puppetry Arts). Rock 100.5 (my newest favorite station) will be on hand to make things lively. This should be fun.

Why does this make me picture a reformed playground drug dealer passing out junk food?…

Running with Tweezers posts a thoughtful review about dining on Richard Blais’ menu at Home…

The folks at AtlantaCuisine.com are reporting about their visits to Parish here. (I stopped by for a muffaletta in the very pleasant downstairs section myself on Thursday. I’ll report more soon.)…The AC site also features a discussion about green curry. The originator of the thread mentions the green curry at Little Bangkok as being very good. It’s long been my favorite in town, but he waxes musically, literally, about one he sampled recently at Penang:

From the first little bite of green bean, I was amazed. My problems with other places’ curry are that they are never as spicy as I ask for them to be, and that, even ignoring the spiciness, they are just bland. At Penang, I forgot to say that I wanted it spicy, so it wasn’t very spicy (though still spicier than at many places that I asked for it to be spicy), but the flavor was explosive. It was deep, complex, earthy and bright. I’m a trumpet player and I tend to think of taste [in the way] I think of sound resonance. A good sound is full of deep fundamental tones, but balanced by sparkling, ringing, higher overtones. This had that kind of balance and resonance.

The super-cool Ice Cream Fellow files this report:

The ice cream world has lost one of its 20th century pioneers. Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins passed away on Monday at the age of 90. His obituary appears in the LA Times.

It was reported that he started each day with a bowl of cereal topped with a scoop of banana ice cream. I would like to think that was his secret to living to 90.

He’s also posted a recipe for ice cream inspired by a favorite drink of Jack Daniels and ginger ale. I want some.

(Photo of Ronald McDonald under arrest from GreenPeace.org.)

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Here are two photographers’ impressions of the new gastro-pub, Holeman and Finch.

First up is this terrific impressionistic video from Matt of RowdyFood.com:

And these are photos from Broderick Smylie, whose photos of Straits I recently featured. These do a wonderful job of communicating the ambiance of the place. You can see all of his H&F shots here.

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On any given weekday at lunchtime, the sidewalks of downtown’s Broad Street are packed with hungry office workers, loft dwellers and university students. Dua Vietnamese Noodle Soup (53 Broad St., 404-589-8889), a tiny nondescript Vietnamese newcomer, holds promise for intowners in search of quality Asian cuisine at reasonable prices, minus the costly drive to Buford Highway.

Continue reading Cheap Eats.

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

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Parish, the latest member of the Concentrics Restaurants group has opened at 240 N. Highland Ave. (404-681-4434). The New Orleans-style restaurant opens for dinner daily at 5 p.m. and also serves brunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There’s also a to-go shop that opens at 7 a.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. weekends.. And there’s Parish Market, open daily at 7 a.m. until restaurant closing.

Chef of the new restaurant is Timothy Magee, who has worked for Lobby at Twelve, another Concentrics restaurant, since 2006. He earlier worked for restaurants owned by Buckhead Life and The Fifth Group and has also worked for several well known New Orleans chefs.

Executive pastry chef is Jonathan St. Hilaire, a title he holds with other Concentrics restaurants. Now, though, he is expanding his repertoire to include organic breads, pastries and desserts at Parish Market.

You can check out the restaurant’s menus on its website here.