Omnivore Atlanta

Executive Chef of Atkins Park in Virginia Highland, Andrew Smith, has plans for a 120 pound Fourth of July pig. A “meat and three” lunch and dinner for $15 will feature a roasted Berkshire pig from Riverview Farms.

Choices of sides include coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, grilled corn, pole beans and tomato cucumber salad. The cost also covers cornbread or Texas toast, a watermelon slice and three sauces — NC vinegar, tomato BBQ and mustard BBQ.

The pig should serve 60-70 plates, so plan ahead and make reservations. Call 678-513-2333.

(Image of pig with sun shades from coloradopigroasters.com)

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In the Spanish city of Pamplona, natives and tourists come together for one week to celebrate the famous “Running of the Bulls.” You’ve probably seen pictures or updates on the news about multitudes of people running wildly down the streets being chased by large and angry-looking horned animals.

From July 7-14, Cuerno will bring this tradition to Atlanta, except without the fear of being gored or trampled by a bull. Specials include $5 sangria ($20 for a pitcher), and $4 pinxtos (basque tapas). The festival wrap up party on Mon., July 14 will offer complimentary tapas and live flamenco performances.

Cuerno is located at 905 Juniper Street and is open for dinner Monday through Thursday from 5:30-12 p.m., and Friday and Saturday until 1 a.m. To make reservations, call 678.904.4584.

(photo courtesy Wikipedia commons)

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As Cliff mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Westside’s most popular Thai restaurant is heading east.

Spoon co-owner Sujaree Hewitt just told me she and her sister, Ain Suteeluxnaporn, plan to open Spoon Eastside in the fall. The restaurant, which will be about the same size as the Marietta Street location (except it will have a patio), will be located in the Ormewood Park shopping center (749 Moreland Ave.) that already houses the more lactose-oriented Little Azio pizza and Morelli Gourmet Ice Cream.

“I think lunch will be a little bit slower than here,” said Sujaree, whom I ran into at the original restaurant. “But dinner definitely stronger — lots of neighborhood people.”

Sujaree got an MBA at Georgia State and handles the front end, while her sister learned how to become a chef at the Atlanta Art Institute. Kid brother Wind Suteeluxanaporn (yes, he spells his last name differently) helps out.

“We’ll have to rotate” between the two stores, Sujaree said.

The menu will likely be the same simple lineup — highlighted by noodles and curries, with interchangeable meats and heat.

This sounds like a pretty good move, doesn’t it? Southeast Atlanta, like the Westside before Spoon came along, is a bit underrepresented in the Asian food department. I’d be surprised if the sisters didn’t strike the same chord they managed to hit on Marietta Street.

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My friend Brad Lapin, the part-time resident of Rome and the most ardent foodie I know, writes today:

We thought of you yesterday afternoon as we ate our way to a newer, better level of joy at Antonello Colonna’s little restaurant 30 k. outside of Rome. Undoubtedly, the best restaurant we’ve ever eaten at in Italy, perhaps anywhere…Let me say only that mere words cannot do justice to the cooking.

Believe me. If the loquacious Brad, says it’s beyond words, it must be sublime. Check it out here. I love the quote on the opening page.

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Last year, we caught ten ‘possums inside the house raiding the cats’ food. Wayne got very good at herding them into a cat carrier and transporting them across the street to Grant Park. (No, they did not waddle back to the house. Wayne, being a scientist, was careful to note nose and coat color.)

This young one, not quite fat enough for cooking, is the first of the season. If you’d like to reserve a ‘possum for your Thanksgiving dinner, please do so now.

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I think it must be a sign of the economic times that every foodie in the city seems to have made a beeline for the inexpensive, new Bone Garden Cantina (1425 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd., 404-418-9072). Located in the Westside, not far from Taqueria del Sol, Bone Garden has been opened by the same people who operate the Vortex restaurants.

The best thing about the place is its decor. The theme is taken from the Mexican Day of the Dead. If you’re not familiar with the holiday, think of a campy treatment of death (or rent the video Under the Volcano, which is set during Day of the Dead).

The food is pretty hit or miss. A “white” pozole has drawn raves from other diners, but I found it almost too salty to eat. This was probably a fluke; consistency is always a problem with a new restaurant. So far, my favorite dish has been the chicken mole. It’s a very rich mole with lots of playful flavors, garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds.

There’s a variety of enchiladas, tacos, burritos and sopes. Among the fillings, I’ve so far liked the barbacoa and brisket best.

Check out pictures by Jennifer Zyman, the Blissful Glutton, here. Also see the Disposable Income blog here.

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4th and Swift (621 North Ave., Bldg. B, 678-904-0160) has opened and it’s one of the most interesting interiors I’ve seen in our city in some time.

The design firm of ai3 didn’t merely incorporate elements of the old Southern Dairies engine room, but heightened the overall post-industrial effect. I especially like the way the light is managed to partition the large, open space (although it sure isn’t helpful to photographers). Imagine a swank dining space in Blade Runner.

I dined there Sunday, during the restaurant’s “soft opening” and had a very good meal, including this escabeche of white shrimp with a roasted cauliflower salad.

The restaurant did not have its pouring license when we visited, so if that’s important to you, call ahead to find out if it’s gotten one yet.

I’ll have more to say in an upcoming Grazing column.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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News Flash: Man allegedly impersonates waiter at Nickiemoto’s, snatches purse and flees. Victim kicks off her high heels and pursues him, enlisting cops, who tackle and arrest him. (Get the full story here.)

Too bad this didn’t occur after July 1. That’s when we’ll be able to carry concealed guns to restaurants and blow the heads off purse-snatchin’ faux servers. (Advice: Do not carry your gun in your purse or things may backfire.)

(High-fashion purse, designed by Sonny Perdue, available from Spider Bullet.)

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Hey, look — it’s my Powerbook and a triple espresso macchiato. The picture was taken at Octane, the Westside coffee shop whose “Thursday Night Throwdown” invites baristas to compete to create artsy forms like the heart atop my macchiato.

The espresso here may be the city’s best — rich, almost oily, with layered flavors. The shop also serves real pastries and sandwiches.

But the really cool thing is that they offer free wireless internet service (WiFi) and — get this — it actually works!

My usual coffee hangout is the Ansley Starbucks but, once again, their WiFi doesn’t work about half the time. Never mind that I pay T-Mobile $30 a month to use it.

The latest problems began when they started offering two-hour blocks of free wireless through AT&T, as well as the T-Mobile service. For several weeks now, neither service has worked consistently. Moreover, nobody knows how to get it fixed. The Starbucks peeps say they don’t know what to do about it. Call T-Mobile or AT&T and they apologize, tell you they are working on it — and nothing changes.

Because my gym is an apple fritter’s throw from Starbucks, it’s more convenient for me to use. But I’ll be spending more time at Octane until Starbucks gets its WiFi fixed, which shouldn’t take more than 2, 3 or more months and 10 zillion phone calls to AT&T and T-Mobile.

You can find a mixed-media account of a Thursday Night Throwdown here.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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Change your wardrobe a tad on Friday, July 11, and get free food! Details here.

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Would this worry you as much as it did me? I ordered the beer-cheese soup at the new Diesel (870 North Highland Ave., 404-815-1820) recently and it came served in this Coca Cola mug, with these two scraps of bread on the saucer. They looked like the gnawed remains of someone else’s meal to me. I’m sure they weren’t, but they weren’t appetizing, either.

The new gastropub is located in the building vacated by Dish. Check out Grazing next week for more details.

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I’ve never cared much for potato chips — not the greasy grocery-store kind or the greasy gourmet kind made in restaurants and served with fancy grown-up dips.

And I don’t usually like “health food” that substitutes for junk food, either. But I really like these baked, lightly salted soy crisps from Glenny’s. I’ve tried several other brands, and none tastes as good as these.

A 1.3-oz. bag is only 140 calories and contains 10 grams of protein. The soy used is not genetically modified (whatever that means). And, as far as I know, it’s not enough soy to cause growth of man breasts.
I don’t like the ones flavored with apple-cinnamon and cheese powder. The straight-up salted ones (and the salt-and-pepper ones) are the best.

I just ran a Google search and found I’m not alone in my appreciation of them. Even Dunkin’ Donuts’ own purported terrorist loves them:

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Amanda Conti of Ask.com is doing her best to ruin the reputation of hot dogs:

Hi, Cliff…..I’m working with the popular search engine Ask.com and wanted to reach out with something I thought you might want on your radar screen with the July 4th holiday approaching.

For some, the 4th of July is all about fireworks and going to the beach. Grilling fans know better. It’s all about grilling and chilling. So, Ask.com decided to get to the ‘meat’ of the matter and dug into our search banks to see which came out on top this year — the hamburger or hot dog.

And, according to Ask.com’s online searchers, the answer is clear: hamburgers outweigh hot dogs in popularity by 33 percent.

Not to forget about something sweet to finish off the holiday meal, we wanted to test the adage that there’s nothing more American than apple pie, and a look at recent recipe searches in the Ask.com search banks proves that it’s absolutely true. Apple most certainly reigns supreme, accounting for 42 percent of all recent pie-recipe searches. Other seasonal favorites that round out the top three are key lime and strawberry- rhubarb.

(Advertisement of food bribe from the Daily Zuck.)

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What do servers do when they get home after a hard shift of smiling at annoying people? Here’s “Edmund,” an Atlanta waiter, trying to recapture his sanity:

You can see more of his videos here, including a few filmed in the kitchen of the unidentified restaurant where he works weekends.

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In other closing news, just got this press release from Melissa Libby PR:

FOOD STUDIO: A NEW CHAPTER

Fifth Group Restaurant Converts To Full-Time Event Space

ATLANTA (June 25, 2008) – From marriage proposals to wedding anniversaries, birthday celebrations to holiday parties, first dates to Mother’s Day, Food Studio®, a Fifth Group Restaurant®, has been one of Atlanta’s favorite restaurants and top choices for celebrating special occasions for more than 12 years.

But, as times change, so do the needs of Fifth Group Restaurants’ guests. That is why Fifth Group Restaurant Partners Robby Kukler, Steve Simon and Kris Reinhard are announcing that as of Saturday, July 19, Food Studio will convert to a full-time event space managed by the company’s award-winning catering division, Bold American® Catering.

“We’ve truly enjoyed operating Food Studio for the past twelve years, as it has been one of Atlanta’s most beloved restaurants, but I feel by closing the restaurant’s doors we are in turn opening many others” says Kukler. “Our patrons have always been passionate about Food Studio’s unique space and will still be able to appreciate the restaurant’s atmosphere in this new capacity,” he adds.

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I made my usual bee-line for Zocalo in Grant Park Tuesday night and found it closed — permanently closed, judging by the disarray visible through the windows.

This follows the closing of the Zocalo in Decatur, leaving only the original 10th Street location open.

I am going to have major withdrawal from the taqueria’s al pastor quesadillas and the chile relleno tacos.

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Epicurious.com has put out a list of the top 10 farm-to-table restaurants in the U.S. and our very own, Woodfire Grill, has made the list.
Here is what they had to say about chef Michael Tuohy’s Cheshire Bridge eatery:

Chef Michael Tuohy has long been a supporter of organic growing, and helped launch Georgia’s Organics, a nonprofit group that promotes healthy, local, sustainable food in the diet of people across the state. While he uses local produce to create dishes, his cooking shows North Californian influences, hinting at his San Francisco roots. His commitment to adapting his menu with the seasons is clear: The day’s fresh, local ingredients take center stage on the homepage. And even the decor has a local theme: Tuohy asked Atlanta-based craftsman Tracy Hartley to make some of the tables and wood paneling for the Grill. In many cases, the menu pays homage to the farms that provided the fare: There’s a Wood-Oven-Roasted Bramlett Farm Trout with Anson Mills Grits, Steel-Pan Greens, and Herb Butter; and a Chilled French White Asparagus with Sauce Gribiche (an aïoli sauce with chopped herbs, capers, lemon juice, and spices) and Ashland Farm Micro Celery.

Click HERE to view the rest of the locally-minded restaurants that made the list complete with a photo slide show.

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Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils

Clipper City Brewing Company
Baltimore, MD
7.0% ABV

Imperial or strong pilsners are arguably a dubious style, more often than not failing to exhibit the dry, crisp character that defines a pilsner. Clipper City’s Small Craft Warning, part of its Heavy Seas series of high-gravity offerings, hedges its bets a bit by calling itself a pilsner-style bock, which as it turns out is a fairly apt description. Maltier than a traditional pilsner, but with the unmistakable aroma of Saaz hops and a satisfyingly dry finish, this is a very refreshing beer for strong lager. A pleasant spicy, citrus hop aroma greets the nose, but the pilsner and caramel malts assert themselves at the first sip. Hop bitterness is low, but there is a spiciness and a bit of alcohol drying in the finish that keep it balanced. Medium bodied and smooth, the mouthfeel is more akin to a bock than a pilsner, and it could benefit from a bit more carbonation to lighten the body, but overall an interesting addition to a style that is still being refined.

(Photo by Jeff Holland)

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Zagat has released details of its most recent survey of Atlanta restaurants. There are no surprises:

In keeping with tradition, Atlanta surveyors named Bacchanalia as the Top Food winner this year — an accolade the restaurant has earned in every Zagat survey since 1996. Also familiar to the top five, Quinones Room, Rathbun’s, the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead Dining Room and Aria. Quinones Room took bragging rights for Top Service, while Bacchanalia, The Dining Room, Bone’s and Park 75 came in just behind. As for Decor, Nan Thai won top honors with Quinones Room coming second, The Dining Room, Canoe and Restaurant Eugene followed in order.

The survey also reports the influx of celebrity chefs here and the trend to go “green.” Like the rest of the country, Atlantans’ most popular cuisine is Italian.

Read a summary here.