Omnivore Atlanta

CAFE DI SOL: This little café’s outdoor patio is a picturesque spot to dine alongside young families, brunch addicts and in-the-know regulars when spring is the air. The Café’s Eggs Benedict doesn’t try to be fancy, but it is prepared exactly as it should be. The kitchen takes toasted Thomas’ English Muffins and layers them with pan-heated German cold smoked ham, runny poached eggs, a silky sunshine yellow Hollandaise and a smattering of chives. 640 North Highland Avenue. 404-963-9438. www.cafedisol.com.

Continue reading “Mouthful: Eggs benedict”

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

Bookmark to:

The New York Times recently published an excellent summary of the increasing political clout of the sustainable food movement. An excerpt (but please read the entire article):

At the heart of the sustainable-food movement is a belief that America has become efficient at producing cheap, abundant food that profits corporations and agribusiness, but is unhealthy and bad for the environment.

The federal government is culpable, the activists say, because it pays farmers billions in subsidies each year for growing grains and soybeans. A result is an abundance of corn and soybeans that provide cheap feed for livestock and inexpensive food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup.

They argue that farm policy — and federal dollars — should instead encourage farmers to grow more diverse crops, reward conservation practices and promote local food networks that rely less on fossil fuels for such things as fertilizer and transportation.

Mark Bittman also has an essay in the Times about the need to emphasize healthy eating over “organic” eating:

“People believe it must be better for you if it’s organic,” says Phil Howard, an assistant professor of community, food and agriculture at Michigan State University.

So I discovered on a recent book tour around the United States and Canada.

No matter how carefully I avoided using the word “organic” when I spoke to groups of food enthusiasts about how to eat better, someone in the audience would inevitably ask, “What if I can’t afford to buy organic food?” It seems to have become the magic cure-all, synonymous with eating well, healthfully, sanely, even ethically.

But eating “organic” offers no guarantee of any of that. And the truth is that most Americans eat so badly — we get 7 percent of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is “sweets”; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese — that the organic question is a secondary one. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat.

Bookmark to:

Now, for your eyes only … totchos! That’s tater tots impersonating nachos (above). Actually, in this case, they are Cajun in flavor, with shrimp, andouille sausage, grilled onions and peppers all welded to the tater tots with “cheese sauce.”

They are featured at the Nook (1144 Piemont Ave., 404-745-9222). The new pub replaces the Prince of Wales and the owners have done a great job with the space, particularly with the way the inside flows outside to the roomy patio where there’s a view of Piedmont Park across the street.

The totchos were surprisingly edible. I bet if you drank a few beers, while you eat these, you’d start craving them regularly. There are three other versions.

Our food generally was good, although the place had been hit so hard over its opening weekend that about a third of the menu wasn’t available. Still, it’s great to see them do so well out of the gate.

This dish (above, right) of peanut-crusted scallops over a red-curry sauce, served with green beans, is the most expensive dish on the menu at $16.99. At first, we were told they were out of rice, which I found absurd. And they did indeed produce a bowl of white rice studded with green peas a few minutes after the plate arrived.

I’ll have more to say in my next Grazing column. But here’s something to think about in the meantime: sweet-tea ice cream. It’s creamy, soft-serve ice cream and it beats the hell out of the usual crumbly green-tea variety.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

Bookmark to:

Varasano’s Pizzeria opens Tuesday night … or maybe Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. (Unless it’s Thursday.) The anticipation is unbearable. Foodie bloggers, many of whom have sampled Jeff Varasano’s pizza at his home, are twittering like starving pigeons in Vatican Square. Honestly, I hear the face of the Virgin Mary appears regularly on Varasano’s pies.

Anyway, the latest announcement really is a Wednesday opening. Y’all go and let us know if the pizza is as polyorgasmic as the worshipful claim.

Bookmark to:

We checked out the new menu at Restaurant Eugene last night and had a 2.5-hour, spectacular meal of small-to-medium plates, including this one of duck breast with a bread sauce over creamed English peas. Altogether, we sampled 10 plates and could barely move afterward.

It’s kind of a hybrid of Holeman and Finch’s free-wheeling style and Restaurant Eugene’s elegance. The farm-to-table cooking still prevails.

The restaurant offers a five-course tasting menu for $55 but we ordered five dishes each for somewhat less than that. Of course, the tasting menu may include some more expensive dishes. In any case, the portions are not stingy and the average diner can eat quite well here without spending a zillion dollars. You certainly don’t need five plates.

More in my next Grazing column.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

Bookmark to:

I’ve been writing at the Ansley Starbucks today, as usual. The baristas tell me that one of the regulars here grabbed their tip jar, containing about $75, and bolted out the door. How rude.

Bookmark to:

It’s not up on the James Beard website yet, but the nominees are being announced as they happen on Twitter. The nominees for Best Chef in the Southeast are: Linton Hopkins (of our own Restaurant Eugene — yay Linton!!), Hugh Acheson (Of the Five and Ten in Athens), Mike Lata (of Fig in Charleston), Bill Smith (of Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill — I used to wait tables there! Congrats Bill), and Bob Waggoner (of the Charleston Grill).

Bookmark to:

In Ms. Wiggins’ fifth-grade class at Cascade Elementary in Atlanta’s West End, it’s coming up on state testing time. The kids are weary and antsy, having spent the past few weeks enduring lessons on facts and figures to prepare for the tests that will determine, among other things, the school’s level of funding. But at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays, it’s time for a different kind of lesson. On this particular Tuesday, using veggies they’ve grown themselves in the school’s courtyard garden, the kids will be making soup. Continue reading the food feature.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark to:

The New York Times reports that sugar is making a comeback, now that high-fructose corn syrup has been branded the slime of Beelzebub. It’s all about perception:

Sugar’s comeback is not entirely a backlash against the corn sweetener. Market researchers say that with the economy so unsettled, people want to control what they can. Choosing organic, less processed or so-called natural foods is a relatively inexpensive way to do that.

“Rightly or wrongly, that means consumers are more attracted to sugar,” said Kevin Higar, senior manager at Technomics, a market research company.

Chefs and connoisseurs have also driven sugar’s rehabilitation. Although even a sugar expert would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the taste of cane and beet sugar, some enthusiasts have elevated cane sugar to near cult status.

I well remember back in the ’70s, before high fructose corn syrup was invented, a spate of books on the many evils of sugar. It won’t be long before all of those are back in print.

(Image of Day of the Dead sugar skull from about.com)

Bookmark to:

Have you visited my other site, Savory Exposure? My “photo name” is Broderick Smylie. I took all these pictures … except the blurry ones.

But seriously, folks, nobody depicts the restaurant scene like Broderick. Bookmark him now. …

Who would have guessed? The FoodieBuddha likes tea more than coffee. He’s very peaceful. He’s inventoried the new selection of teas at Danneman’s. Bookmark his site too. …

Jennifer Zyman, the Blissful Glutton and author of our Cheap Eats column, has just returned from a visit to Madrid, Berlin and Prague. Check out her pictures of Madrid, probably my favorite big city in the world (with Sevilla, south of there, being my favorite small city). Unfortunately, Spain’s economy is tanking in a major way. …

Steakhead has started a tour of dining deals under $25. We must be on the same wavelength. His first visit was to Fritti, where Wayne and I dined a few nights ago too. …

Bill Addison waxes Proustian during a final visit to Pano’s and Paul’s on his Atlanta Magazine blog. …

Some of the folks on Atlanta Cuisine are complaining about a dip in quality and escalating prices at Dynamic Dish. They blame the restaurant’s success. I continue to have good meals there — when I can get in the damn place. I called a few days ago to reserve space for pizza night and got a recording that said they were all booked up. Grrrr.

Bookmark to:

After last year’s somewhat bizarre closing in Oakhurst, Calavino is back serving food, this time out of My Sister’s Room in East Atlanta Village. She’s calling the enterprise, which began operation on March 14, Calavino’s Soul Kitchen.

Bookmark to:

(Hat tip to Patricia Tinsley)

Bookmark to:

TAKE THE CAKE: A selection of baked goods at Alpine Bakery

Alpharetta is the last place you’d expect to find a slice of New York. But that is exactly where Long Island native Bill Clementi and his partners, Stephen Bishop and Anthony DeTommaso, opened Alpine Bakery & Pizzeria (295 Rucker Road, Alpharetta, 770-410-9883, www.alpinebakeryandpizzeria.com).

Clementi grew up around dough. Some of his mostly Sicilian family were in the pizza and restaurant business. But it was his grandfather, a baker, who inspired a young Clementi to begin writing and compiling the book of recipes he still uses today. After one too many torturous New York commutes, Clementi moved down to Georgia. He eventually opened a pizzeria with Bishop and DeTommaso, whom he met while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. But things really came together when Clementi started baking cakes in his basement for a friend’s restaurant. The operation quickly expanded from its meager beginnings into an 8,000-square-foot bakery cranking out cakes for a long list of restaurant clients; the retail location opened some 18 years later.

Continue reading “Cheap Eats: Alpine Bakery & Pizzeria”

(Photo courtesy Alpine Bakery)

Bookmark to:

What is it? It’s a roasted-pork bánh mì from Nam. I reported recently that these sandwiches had shown up, along with pho, on the lunch menu there. I picked one up today and found the restaurant fairly crowded at 1:15 p.m. with only one person working the door and tables. She was clearly flustered, running from table to table.

The sandwich was tasty. While it’s a bit more substantial and definitely fresher than most of the Vietnamese sandwiches you find on Buford Highway, it does cost significantly more — $6.50, compared to under $3 at many places in the burbs. There’s also one made with chicken. I’ll return to sample the pho, of which there are four varieties available.

Some weirdness: Prices of other lunch dishes are very confusing. On the menu flier I picked up, more than a few of the lunch dishes are more expensive than the same dishes on the dinner menu. I have no idea. …

Thursday was a good-eating day. My friend Christopher Howe and I went to Star Provisions. He had a baguette with prosciutto and butter and I had the day’s special, roasted chicken with beet greens and rice. While the chicken leg and thigh had good flavor, they frankly weren’t pretty with their shriveled skin (served over quite tepid rice). Since the Girl Scouts have been pounding the pavement with armfuls of cookies everywhere, I had to have a smores cupcake with marshmallow icing. You’ll want two. …

After writing a post about the forthcoming Varasano’s Pizza, I was craving pizza all day yesterday, so Wayne and I dined at Fritti. We had our usual starter of fried mushrooms with truffle oil, plus a dish of fried goat cheese with arugula salad.

Wayne ordered the pizza with cotto ham and mushrooms, while I ordered the “Toscana,” featuring bufala mozzarella, peppered salami, cherry tomatoes and rosemary.

Our server warned us that the restaurant’s new  chef, Enrico Liberato (from Naples), was using a new bufala with a quite salty edge. He wasn’t kidding. I quickly adapted but the initial bite stung. Enrico, who is young and very friendly, has made other subtle changes in the ingredients.

Fritti’s remains the best pizza in town to my palate. Moreover, it doesn’t cost much more than most others. We both marveled at the intensity of flavors — from toppings to the dough itself. I can’t wait for the pizza wars to begin when Varasano’s opens.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

Bookmark to:

INSERT SCATOLOGICAL HUMOR HERE: The chocolate spasm at Social Vinings

There are certain things one doesn’t expect to see these days and among them are new, huge restaurants with fairly pricey menus. But that’s exactly what Social Vinings (3621 Vinings Slope Dr., Suite 4100, 770-432-9772) is.

Of course, it’s true that Paul Albrecht (of Pano’s and Paul’s fame) and his son Patrick have struggled to get Social open for a year – before the economy began its unprecedented dive toward Ramen noodles and canned soup. Social joins their other restaurant, Paul’s, as part of their Great Food Group. (A third is planned next year, like Paul’s, in Peachtree Hills.

The new restaurant is located in the Vinings Main development. It is 6,500 sq. ft. with a large bar space, a dining room replete with a sushi bar and several private dining rooms. It was open only a few days when I visited and a sign had not even been installed.

The restaurant’s website describes the décor as “a combination of old European style such as heavy wood and plaster-like textures to burgundy-colored glass and some iron work.”

Um, okay, but to me, it looked like a gigantic, relatively barren hotel restaurant with more windows than the Crystal Cathedral. It’s nice that you can tuck yourself away in a comfy booth and have a conversation, but the ambiance is really chilly. Perhaps the fact that the place was virtually empty when we visited contributed to that effect.

Continue reading Grazing: A first look at Social Vinings

(Photo by James Camp)

Bookmark to:

Relative to an earlier post in which I mentioned Nam, I got this e-mail today from owner Alex Kinjo, who also owns MF Buckhead:

It’s been an eventful year for the Kinjo brothers, as MF Buckhead’s grand
opening has demanded their full meticulousness. After ensuring the concept¹s
success and unveiling their final touch, the Omakase room, a luxurious
private dining area for an exclusive, culinary experience, owner Alex Kinjo
returns to his brainchild of the MF series: Nam.

Located in the center of Midtown, Nam has captured the hearts of neighbors
and dining veterans alike with its authentic Vietnamese cuisine fused with
the modern zeitgeist of American fine dining. Deciding to further this
congenial concept by taking advantage of its bustling Midtown Promenade
location, Alex Kinjo extends both affordability and accessibility by adding
a new lunch menu and items such as traditional Vietnamese pho and
sandwiches.

(For the picky, I think Alex means “bánh mì” when he says “sandwiches.” Meow.)

Bookmark to:

To many foodies, attending the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience is like trekking to Mecca. Some of the best food in this country originates from this home of Cajun and Creole goodness. The folks from Bravo’s “Top Chef” and New Orleans Online are giving away an all-expenses paid, weekend vacation for two to New Orleans for the NOFWE. Dates are May 20-23, 2009 and include the following:

1) Round-trip coach class domestic air transportation for Grand Prize Winner and Guest from a major airport nearest to Grand Prize Winner’s home;
2) 4 days/3 nights at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, LA (one (1) standard room, double occupancy); (more…)

Bookmark to:

Take the local: Brooklyn Local 2

Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
9% ABV

This Belgian-style strong dark ale joins the Local 1, a strong saison, in Brooklyn’s regular lineup. This is good news, indeed, as brewer Garrett Oliver is building a nice portfolio of Belgian-inspired ales. Local 2 is brewed with honey and citrus peel and is refermented in a beautiful imbossed 750-ml cork-and-cage bottle. The Diet Coke-brown color and equally cola-like, quickly-dissipating head leave the impression of a fizzy dark lager, but appearances can be deceiving. There’s plenty of heft to this baby. Burnt sugar, roasty malt, and brown bread yeastiness dominate the aroma, with a hint of herbal spice and nose-tingling alcohol in the background. These flavors carry over to the taste, which is sweet, and slightly roasted, with notes of mild coffee, toffee, chocolate, cherry, raisin, and licorice candy. Herbal hops, the tang of Belgian yeast, and the drying alcohol complement the sweet malts and honey, which only seems evident in the slick, smooth mouthfeel. The body is a bit thinner than might be expected from strong dark ale, but the bright carbonation and clean, dry character are plenty satsifying, as is the flush of alcohol that warms all the way down. A fantastic interpretation of a Belgian ale that should satisfy both purists and extreme beer lovers.

Bookmark to:

The much-awaited Varasano’s Pizzeria is on the verge of opening in Buckhead. Staff has been training and cocktails have been tested (tonight!), according to gossip on Facebook. The hysteria is building. Soon, Flip will be so yesterday. It’s all about pizza now, baby.

Bookmark to:

I had dinner tonight at Solstice Cafe on Boulevard and discovered that Erick Newman, owner of the original Lamplighter in Grant Park (and last seen waiting tables at Serpas), has become a partner in the restaurant with owner Sean Germain.

The new chef is Stephen McGuffin, most recently owner of Vine and chef at Dish before that.

Erick said the restaurant is plannning a weekly event he has tentatively named Proletariat Night, featuring the “common” food of three different nations. We were a bit concerned that the name might imply the restaurant is a front for a socialist underground. He is still working on the name. Feel free to make suggestions.

Bookmark to:

Grant Achatz defends molecular gastronomy on the Atlantic’s food website.

John Kessler reports on the new menu format at Restaurant Eugene, plus more.

The L.A. Times reports on the delay in the 300% tariff markup on Roquefort.

Dirty Wine South has a nice ode to Popcorn Sutton, the Tennessee moonshiner who died two days ago.

Bookmark to:

More from Chris Lopez at the Bureau:

Acclaimed chef Shaun Doty is making a guest appearance for the evening and will be cooking holiday menu items including a Corned Beef Sandwich on Rye with Sauerkraut ($5); Corned Beef and Cabbage with Boiled Potatoes ($6); Irish Shepard’s Pie with Mashed Potatoes and Braised Beef ($6); Guinness Lamb Stew ($8.50); and Chipped Beef with Gravy Toast ($5). Start the festivities with Belfast Bombers, Irish Car Bombs, pints of Guinness, and shots of “Irish Courage” (whiskey).

Located at 327 Edgewood Ave SE, Atlanta Georgia 30312, The Bureau can be easily spotted under the flashing red arrow. For more information, please visit www.thebureaubar.com or call (678) 732-0067. Free valet parking is located directly across the street.

Bookmark to:

I was on my own last night and, on the way home from the gym, I decided to stop at MetroFresh. I mentioned a few weeks back that I was seated next to owner Mitchell Anderson at the first of Shaun’s Sunday night pasta dinners. Mitchell mentioned that his menu had taken some interesting turns and that he was selling bread from Eli Kikove now.

I was pretty much blown away by this dish of sliced flat iron steak over roasted asparagus with a mushroom-cream sauce. I’m talking intense flavors. It was about $17 and came with a cup of corn-sausage chowder. Naturally, I had to eat a lemon cupcake from the Atlanta Cupcake Factory for dessert.

I did have a few complaints. The counter people were all nice but totally uneducated in the menu. Every time I asked a question, they had to pop into the kitchen for an answer. Also, I bought a bread stick and a square of ciabatta. I am assuming that the three days of rain were responsible for the unpleasant chewiness.

But the rest of my food was really good. The MetroFresh website credits Executive Chef Bryan Kraatz for the menu innovations. There is mention, too, that Kraatz makes a cassoulet. I want.

After dinner I took a walk next door to Nam. I was shocked to see how completely obscured it is by the new Starbucks. You can’t see it unless you happen to walk down that way. I was happy to see a sign on the window that the restaurant is now offering pho and Vietnamese sandwiches to go.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

Bookmark to:

Lovers of gourmet food and alcohol rejoice! That quaint store where you could buy luxurious-sounding grub — but not wine — may soon be able to legally stock booze.

Yesterday, the Atlanta City Council passed legislation that would allow such gourmet food shops as the Cabbagetown Market and the Mercantile on DeKalb Avenue to stock beer, wine and malt beverages. The legislation, which essentially now gives those and similar stores a legal classification in the city’s code, was penned by Councilmember Natalyn Archibong and passed 8-2. Such stores won’t be allowed to sell lotto tickets or “other games of chance,” gasoline or tobacco. They also can’t operate drive-thru windows or cash checks. But bring on the booze!

If she chooses, Mayor Shirley Franklin has eight days to veto the bill.

To peruse Archibong’s bill, laden with good ole fashioned legalese and multiple uses of “whereas,” click here. Keep in mind that an amendment — supposedly a minor tweak — was added to the legislation. I’m waiting on Archibong’s staff to return a call and clarify what in entails.

UPDATE: Here’s the “specialty food store” legislation as passed in Monday’s council meeting. I received some emails from folks who said they had problems opening the file I posted yesterday. If this one fails to open, shoot me an email and I’ll send it to you directly.

Bookmark to:

ARDEN’S GARDEN: While you’re probably familiar with this Atlanta-based juice company’s bottled products, its stores are worth the visit for the exclusive juices—like wheat grass—made with a cloth-filtered hydraulic press so the juices don’t lose any of their nutrients by being exposed to air, etc. Hardcore juicing enthusiasts will adore the “Grand Slam” a sequence of mini shots—wheat grass, ginger, lemon and cranberry—with a pineapple chaser. No matter how skeptical you may be, the sensation as each juice infuses the body does leave one feeling cleaner. Jack LaLanne may actually be onto something. 1117 Euclid Avenue. 404-827-0424; and four other locations. www.ardensgarden.com.

Continue reading Mouthful.

Bookmark to: