Guest blogger: Forget New York
August 6th, 2008 by Besha Rodell in Food & Life, Restaurants
I’ll take Atlanta
By Jessica Goldbogen Harlan
When I told my friends that, after a decade in New York City, I was moving to Atlanta, they were aghast. “But won’t you miss the bagels and pizza?” they asked.
I just marked my two-year anniversary of living here in Atlanta, and I’m happy to report that I miss neither. In fact, there is very little, food-wise, that I do miss from my previous home.
Tasty, cheap ethnic food that my husband and I would eat while waiting for Friday’s paycheck? Now we just take a trip to have awesome pho on Buford Highway (incidentally, my favorite, Pho Hua, has a location in Flushing, NY, though I’ve never been).
A see-and-be-seen hotspot where my girlfriends and I could down large quantities of great wine, accompanied by tapas-style plates of all varieties? When the girls come to visit, I book a table at Rathbun’s. They’re always especially impressed by those $3 desserts, which we usually order way too many of.
Fresh, deftly made sushi? It’s a hike from our Grant Park neighborhood, but Sushi Huku is the best we’ve found, with Taka a close runner-up.
Big-name chefs who are doing amazingly creative things with food? I finally got to experience Richard Blais’ cooking (after rooting for him in vain on Top Chef), and I was suitably impressed. And, unlike most of the restaurants run by boldfaced names in New York, you can score a table at Home even at the last minute.
Sustainable, organic and local ingredients that I can feel virtuous about eating? The trip from farm to table is closer in Atlanta than it is in New York, and chefs like Linton Hopkins at Restaurant Eugene, Carvel Grant Gould at Canoe and Scott Peacock at Watershed really make the most of farmer’s market ingredients. And, a short trek to the south, there’s always The Farmhouse at Serenbe, our own version of the Hudson Valley’s Stone Barns.
What’s more, I’ve come to realize that Atlanta has a culinary identity that New York, famous as it is for its food, never will possess. Dishes like fried chicken, green tomatoes, fluffy biscuits, and grits are ingrained into Atlanta’s cuisine, and I love seeing the interpretations that even the most casual restaurants make of these iconic foods.
Do I miss New York? Sure, I do. But I sure am having fun discovering my new home’s amazing food scene. Besides, on the rare occasion that a bagel craving strikes, there’s always Bagel Palace in Toco Hills.
Jessica Goldbogen Harlan lives in Grant Park and writes about food for lime.com and cooking equipment for About.com. If you’d like to be a guest blogger for Omnivore, send your ideas to besha.rodell@creativeloafing.com.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Delusional.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
But hey, at least the last half of your handle fits, eh?
August 6th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Interesting piece considering Jessica said the following last month in a NY paper:
“Atlanta is a second-tier city,” Jessica Harlan, 36, who relocated two years ago, said. “New York is cooler and more exciting in every respect.”
In this article:
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/40000-new-yorkers-flee-state-for-atlanta/81690/
August 6th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Ruh roh…better replace delusional with disingenuous.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Actually, I’m sort of glad somebody brought up that article. I was disappointed that my 20-minute interview with the Bloomberg reporter boiled down to an out-of-context sound bite. I spent a lot of time talking to him about how much I love Atlanta’s slower pace, easier lifestyle, and especially the amazing food scene here. I am grateful to Creative Loafing for the opportunity to share some of my favorites, since I didn’t get the opportunity to do so in that piece.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Ahem! This is the subject of this week’s cover story in CL. Read it here:
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/i_love_new_york/Content?oid=532849
August 6th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Jessica, really appreciate this article. As a 5 year New yorker (lived in Midtown, The East Village and the Lower East Side) who now has been in ATL for 3 year, I agree with some of your points.
I too was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the restaurants here; especially the Asian ethnic ones. Although I do think we are missing a decent Ramen joint and Chinese restaurants that serve fresh seafood. Also I really do appreciate that we have embraced the farm to table movement with restaurants like Woodfire Grill and The Shed at Glenwood and also the rise of the chef drive restaurant like at Repast, Shaun’s, and Rathbun’s.
The biggest difference to me is twofold. First is the lack of culinary knowledge, experience and appetite of an average Atlantan. The fact that PF Changs is ranked high on Citysearch’s survey and most Atlantan enjoy Moe’s is truly telling and sad. In NYC, almost everyone has an educated opinion about food and a better palette.
Secondly, a major thing the NYC food scene over Atlanta is accessibility. Living Intown ATL in areas like Midtown or Downtown, you truly are limited to very few choices; unlike living in NYC where you can find a world of options just blocks from apartment no matter the neighborhood. Or they are a short subway ride way; but the sad ATL public trans situation is a story for another day… In the end, we won’t be unsatisfied in ATL; and given the cost of living tradeoffs, I’m ok with that.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Michael, thanks for the comments. I’m with you on the Ramen– my husband totally misses Momofuku Noodles, and wishes there was someplace like it here. We heard (from sushi chef Taka’s blog, actually) that Bluefin in Duluth had great Ramen, so one day we drove the 45 minutes to check it out, and were disappointed.
So if anyone knows of a good ramen place (preferably closer than Duluth!) please chime in!
By the way, I actually like Moe’s. Haute cuisine it isn’t, but it’s cheap, satisfying and somewhat healthy.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Hey darlin’ – Welcome to the ATL. I’m sure you’ll find some great eats that’ll tickle y’all’s fancy.
We ain’t New York. We’re nicer.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I haven’t had Momofuku but D Chang himself admits it’s his fusion version of it. You’re better off with the real thing such as Rai Rai Ken or Sapporo in NY. I hear Ippudo in the EV is also pretty good.
The closest and probably truest thing to authentic Japanese Ramen here in Atlanta is actually in Marietta off of Cobb Parkway. Yakitori Jinbei. Hashiguchi Jr’s noodles are too soggy/overcooked. I hear Haru Ichiban in Duluth is pretty good but I had their ramen years ago and it was close but no cigar. But again, that way years ago.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Ah the ol’ celebrity-popular “taken out of context” excuse.
How exactly should calling Atlanta a ‘2nd tier city’ and that ‘NY is cooler and [MORE] exciting in every respect’ be taken?
Somebody want to email Steve Matthews, author of the Bloomberg article and get his statement?
smatthews@bloomberg.net
August 7th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Mr. Edelstein, while you have pointed out the remiss in this thread, please excuse yourself to your proper place.
Thanks,
Kali
August 7th, 2008 at 7:48 am
I second Yakitori Jinbei. It is the only place I go for ramen in Atlanta. While it is no Momofuku, the Tonkotsu ramen is delicious and the staff are very friendly. http://www.flickr.com/photos/blissfulglutton/2034741649/
August 7th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Wow Michael, sounds like someone thinks us Atlantans are just some bumbling country fools who don’t know or care about food. Pehaps we just look for different things in our restaurants such as taste vs. scene. Also we are a little bit newer of a city than NY as well as having a completely different geography. To be honest I hate when people compare Atlanta to the fabulous New York b/c obviously they are completey different in every regard. Glad to see that in the end you have decided that living here is satisfactory.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:40 am
LOL. Kali, Ken is the EDITOR in CHIEF of CL. I think he is in his proper place. I think it may best best if you stop trying to damage control since you are only making matters worse. The conflicting statments about Atlanta and New York speak for themeselves anyeway.
The South’ll rise again!!!
Good day.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Wow, I’ve seen it all. What a cliffhanger that this publication would publish something two-faced.
What’s next, Hustler with a nude centerfold?
August 7th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I grew up in Atlanta, spent 10+ years in New York City, and moved back to Atlanta three years ago. I’d like to come to Jessica’s defense: Atlanta IS a second-tier city. That’s just a fact. And New York is more exciting in almost every way. But that doesn’t mean that I (or Jessica) want to live there again. Atlanta has it’s own merits that go beyond excitement. The weather’s great (except now), the people are warm and generous and kooky, and the cost of living can’t be beat.
August 7th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Jen,
Someone’s assessment of a city is an ‘opinion’ not fact. Although if she is talking about the cosmopolitan offerings than yes, there really is not a comparison to someplace like NY, London, Paris, etc…
And you said it yourself, that this city has its own merits that go beyond excitement.
We may have yokels but I’d take that over those Banana Republic shiny shirt meatheads that are everywhere up there.
August 7th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Sheesh. Who knew that some of us southerners could be so, well, rude. Seems very un-southern. Perhaps you’d feel more at home, Chad, with those shiny shirt meatheads.
I read the NY Sun article, and it seems to me like it was a hatchet job to begin with. It looks like the author was just looking for reasons to dis Atlanta. If Jessica here says she spoke highly of Atlanta for the most part, and the guy took the one bad thing she said to quote, I’m inclined to take her at her word.
After all, isn’t that the polite (southern) thing to do?
Besides, I agree with her. I think one of the greatest things Atlanta has got going for it is its incredible food scene, which seems to fly under the radar across the country.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Oh, Irving, your mama must just shake her head in despair.
Kisses!
August 12th, 2008 at 9:43 am
“Actually, I’m sort of glad somebody brought up that article. I was disappointed that my 20-minute interview with the Bloomberg reporter boiled down to an out-of-context sound bite.”
Out of context? Really? Was the context opposite day?
Looks more like you said one thing for a New York audience and another for this Atlanta audience.