Omnivore Atlanta

Help! My Estro-Profi espresso maker has given up the ghost after 12 years, and I’m in the market for something new. Honestly, I do not want to spend $500-plus dollars again.

Does anyone have a recommendation (besides a moka or AeroPress).

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What is it? It’s pizza, very strange, very thick pizza made with pureed black beans, chicken, avocados and creme fraiche. I ordered it at the new Prickly Pear Taqueria (950 W. Peachtree St., 404-881-8887), located between Marlow’s Tavern and Steele.

The restaurant, which is inexpensive, was absolutely packed when we visited Saturday night. It’s the usual, mediocre, mainly Tex-Mex fare. How mediocre? Well, a staffer actually told me not to order the chicken mole because, she said, it is completely inauthentic.  Of course, none of this matters after your first margarita or two or three or four.

Look to learn more in Grazing this week.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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SUBURBAN CHIC: The dining room at Kozmo Gastropub

I miss the Globe. I miss its sleek, understated design and its modern American menu. I miss its Technology Square location, convenient to Midtown, the Westside and downtown. I miss going there for drinks after work, or as a fallback for brunch or a business lunch. Parking was a pain, but apart from that, I miss almost everything about it.

So I was happy to hear that Oswald Morgan, one of the partners at the Globe, opened a spot in Johns Creek this past January. Of course, it being in Johns Creek, it took me eight months to get out there to try it.

You can see the Globe’s aesthetic the moment you walk into Kozmo Gastropub. Sparse without being the slightest bit austere, it features the same streamlined, polished angles and surfaces. Black leather booths and blond wood tables form rows, large blackboards denoting weekly specials adorn the the light walls, and huge vases filled with apples and limes provide vibrant decoration.

Continue reading “Review: Kozmo Gastropub”

(Photo by James Camp)

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We visited the new Niramish (1146 Euclid Ave.) in Little Five Points a few nights ago. This is a mainly Bangladeshi restaurant and you’ll likely encounter some dishes you’ve never had before.

Above is a plate of vegetable fritters cooked in the Balti style. This is a style of cooking that originated with Pakistani immigrants in Birmingham, England.  We also had a rather strange pasta dish featuring a very sweet, very creamy tomato sauce.

Most of the food was good and a departure from the usual Indian fare around town. There are lots of vegetarian dishes and many made with fish, but no meat. You won’t miss it.

I’ll have more to say later this week in “Grazing.”

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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In Episode 2 of “Top Chef”: Las Vegas, there were a few obvious, spirited political issues included in the plot. One was whether or not a girls versus boys challenge is sexist. And of course the legalization of gay marriage.

You’ll all be glad that I’m not going to discuss those issues in this column. OK, well, for the record, I think people should be able to wed whomever they want.

But, what I felt was the biggest controversy of the episode was the comment made that the boys’ food was “contrived” and that mass appeal is as important as the judges’ opinion.

These are both issues I take pretty seriously. The former is an issue we battle every day in my kitchens. (more…)

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Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and king of all things politically correct in the food world, has announced that he does not support the boycott of Whole Foods:

John Mackey’s views on health care, much as I disagree with them, will not prevent me from shopping at Whole Foods. I can understand why people would want to boycott, but it’s important to play out the hypothetical consequences of a successful boycott. Whole Foods is not perfect, however if they were to disappear, the cause of improving Americans’ health by building an alternative food system, based on more fresh food, pastured and humanely raised meats and sustainable agriculture, would suffer.

I happen to believe health care reform has the potential to drive big changes in the food system, and to enlist the health care industry in the fight to reform agriculture. How? Because if health insurers can no longer pick and choose their clients, and throw sick people out, they will develop a much stronger interest in prevention, which is to say, in changing the way America feeds itself.

When health insurers realize they will make thousands more in profits for every case of type II diabetes they can prevent, they will develop a strong interest in things like corn subsidies, local food systems, farmer’s markets, school lunch, public health campaigns about soda, etc. So Mackey is wrong on health care, but Whole Foods is often right about food, and their support for the farmers matters more to me than the political views of their founder. I haven’t examined the political views of all the retailers who feed me, but I can imagine having a lot of eating problems if I make them a litmus test.

Announcement of the statement on Huffington Post produced over 1500 comments.

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SOUTHERN SWEETS BAKERY: Nancy Cole’s family-run Decatur dessert mecca makes decadent brownies. The word “brownie” may conjure images of diminutive treats, but there is nothing small about these monsters — they’re almost as big as a box of Raisinets. Cole’s recipe uses two types of imported chocolate, which results in an incredibly rich and sticky treat whether your preference is regular or with toasted walnuts. It’s the stuff of which fudgey brownie dreams are made of. Both choices are finished with a lacy drizzle of deep chocolate ganache to take these destination-worthy beauties over the top. 186 Rio Circle, Decatur. 404-373-8752. www.southernsweets.com.

Continue reading Mouthful

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

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Maizie Hale, the PR Queen, writes with details about the Iberian Pig, a new Spanish restaurant that will open in Decatur next month:

The Iberian Pig will open in mid-September on the Decatur Square, offering an array of innovative dishes, including some that feature the restaurant’s exotic namesake -The Black Iberian Pig. Federico Castellucci III, whose family introduced the popular Sugo restaurants to metro Atlanta, created the concept and is co-owner with his sister, Stephanie Castellucci. The siblings are graduates of the Hospitality School at Cornell University and are fourth-generation restaurateurs.

The Iberian Pig’s eclectic menu will focus on traditional cured meats, cheeses, tapas, cocas (flatbreads) and main plates like the Iberian Burger made with American Waygu Beef, a toasted brioche bun, bacon-onion relish, vine-ripe tomatoes, mahon cheese and butter lettuce, served with eggplant fries). Another planned main plate is Cabrito Carbonara, slow-roasted goat with chittara pasta tossed in a carbonara sauce with applewood smoked bacon, fresh cream and a poached egg.

The European décor evokes the feel of a festive Spanish tapas bar, while an upbeat mix of modern, independent and Spanish music helps create a high-energy atmosphere.

The Iberian Pig’s chef is Chad Crete, a managing partner and fellow graduate of Cornell University. Crete’s tapas include tacos made with slow roasted pork cheeks, fire-roasted corn salsa, avocado, butter lettuce and cilantro oil. Another features slow-simmered octopus char grilled with barbecue sauce, fennel and shallots, and served with crunchy potatoes.

The bar, a focus of the restaurant, will be managed by Bar Chef Thomas Fable Jhun, who distinguished himself as mixologist at Sugo in Duluth with in-house infusions, culinary cocktails and fresh in-house squeezed juice. A huge ice block stationed in the bar will be chipped to prepare individual cocktails. There is also an extensive selection of comfortably priced wines.

The Iberian Pig is located at 121 Sycamore St. in the center of historic Decatur Square. (This is the former home of Sage.) The restaurant seats 140, including a 20-seat bar area and a 40-seat private room.

Hours will be: dinner only Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m.-1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m. A late-night menu will be served until midnight Monday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

(Photo of Iberian Black Pig courtesy of Wikimedia)

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RAGUN CAJUN: The crispy fried catfish at Crawfish Shack Seafood

One morning, we are all going to wake up and find that we have turned the same color. A post-racial world will eliminate a significant portion of Americans’ conflicts. Until then, there is Buford Highway.

For at least 25 years, the road has been transitioning to an intense multicultural enclave best known for its ethnically diverse restaurants. Stop a moment to ponder the role of dining in the diminishment of ethnocentrism. Every visit to Buford Highway is an opportunity to cross a cultural boundary. Dining on delicious, unfamiliar ethnic food is a serious step toward the realization that ethnocentrism and racism not only oppress other people, they also limit our experience of much of the world’s beauty.

During the decades of Buford Highway’s transition, I’ve watched the cultural diversity blend ever more. It’s not just a matter of an authentic Chinese restaurant now. A few years ago, for example, I went to a Mexican restaurant that specializes in Chinese cooking. (A fist fight erupted while I was there.) My understanding is that there’s a restaurant in another area of town that features Indian-style Italian cooking.

Continue reading “Grazing: Cajun spice at Crawfish Shack Seafood”

(Photo by James Camp)

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Oh, Sweet Jesus, they are gonna kill us all!

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The Huffington Post reports that two unions are encouraging their six million workers to join the Whole Foods boycott:

Now the Change To Win Investment Group and United Food And Commercial Workers Union — both a part of the Change To Win federation of unions representing six million workers — have put out statements criticizing Mackey and encouraging a boycott of the store.

CtW called for Mackey’s removal as chairman of the board and CEO. “Mr. Mackey attempted to capitalize on the brand reputation of Whole Foods to champion his personal political views, but has instead deeply offended a key segment of Whole Foods consumer base,” the group’s executive director Bill Patterson said in a statement. UFCW has begun handing out pamphlets to Whole Food shoppers. The group said Mackey’s op-ed was an “attempt to undermine Obama’s health-care reform.” (Whole Foods is not unionized.)

Meanwhile, Whole Foods’ brand perception appears to be taking a serious hit. Below is the “reputation chart” from YouGov. The brand’s reputation has fallen from 33.3 on Aug. 12 to 20.3 by Aug. 20. I’m not sure how much this research can be trusted. It’s all conducted among members of the YouGov site.

Lots of bloggers are waiting for Michael Pollan, who wrote negatively about the grocery chain in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, to take a stand on the issue. I’m betting he stays quiet. You may remember that he engaged in a public conversation at Berkeley with CEO John Mackey a couple of  years ago. Pollan then acknowledged Mackey’s courage in appearing before an audience of foodie activists.

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I wrote recently about the new iPhone application for Chipotle lovers. Now I learn that the staffs of Social Vinings and Paul’s, both owned by Great Foods Inc., are using iPhones for everything from turning on the lights to producing daily reports.

Great Foods is one of 12 companies, and the only Atlanta one, that Apple has chosen to profile on its website. The profile includes video of Patrick Albrecht explaining his restaurants’ use of the phone.

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Oops, she did it again. And she really, really shouldn’t have.

In last night’s Vegas style battle of the sexes, the girls served up a heaping helping of repeats – an impressive feat for the second episode – practically handing fuel to Michael Isabella’s fire. Eve, the midwest complicated/simple girl, served the judges and a cabana full of bachelors underseasoned and over complicated (not to mention over cooked) shrimp, this time with salsa instead of curry, and still couldn’t explain a lick of it. Jesse came up with another decent idea for chicken and did everything wrong again. Not even Jennifer’s snotty octopus ceviche could save the day for the girls’ team, no matter how much I was rooting for them.

Thankfully, Atlanta fared much better than the ladies, with both Eli and Hector winding up at the top during judge’s table. Despite missing out on the elimination challenge victory (it’s pretty hard to beat a macaroon filled with guacamole after that many shots), Hector’s tequila lemon-lime tofu proved he still had plenty of huevos, earning accolades from the judges and even more sighs of envy from my couch. Fellow Atlanta representative Eli also scored with his thai-inspired tuna tartar with wild rice, winning over Gail Simmons and the bevy of “so hot” bachelorettes (Thanks, Mattin). (more…)

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Here’s a couple of tasty dishes. Above is the latest slider to erupt from Lance Gummere’s imagination at the Shed at Glenwood. It’s a super-slider-sized Reuben sandwich — only $3, like the rest of his creations every Wednesday night.

Yeah, I’m totally addicted to Gummere’s sliders. I’ve finally found my own version of crack. I feel like Wimpy in the old Popeye cartoons.

By the way, the restaurant also offers a Thursday-night “Harvest” dinner of four vegetables for $10, according to owner Cindy Shera. It’s a healthy follow-up to the Wednesday night pig-out.

This is the chile relleno plate at Taquería la Norteña (4166 Buford Hwy., 404-320-0770) in the food court of Plaza Fiesta. It’s a huge poblano pepper stuffed with a decent white cheese and fried in a light batter — a classic that is often poorly prepared around town. It was about $10, including the usual rice and beans and five or six corn tortillas.

I sliced up the quite hot chile and rolled the pieces into the tortillas with some of the beans. Unfortunately, there was only one salsa available — a generic, mediocre red dispensed from a gigantic jar like ketchup.

You can do a lot of grazing with very mixed success at Plaza Fiesta. But it’s a fun afternoon, no matter what you eat.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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OK, it’s not the most elegantly plated lunch I’ve ever had, but it’s the best fried catfish I’ve encountered in many years. This — two crispy filets of catfish, four jumbo shrimp, red potatoes and corn on the cob — is “meal #1″ at Crawfish Shack Seafood (4337 Buford Hwy., 404-929-6789).

The tiny restaurant has drawn raves from the critics on Yelp since its opening last October. Adding to its fascination is the background of the family that operates it. They are an all-American blend of Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese.

The owner is the son of the family and he was born and raised in Georgia. He loves Cajun seafood, which blends perfectly with the spicy and seafood-heavy cuisine of his family’s Asian heritage. So you get a uniquely spicy crawfish boil that is used with everything from the corn to snow crab legs. Meanwhile, the owner’s mother whips out spring rolls to go with your crawfish and fried oysters, just in case you’ve had your fill of her perfect hushpuppies.

Read more about it later this week in Grazing.

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Raining beer: The rainwater catchment system at 5 Season Westside

I just heard the best news to come down the pike since Stone Brewing came to town. Even if Judge Magnuson pulls the plug on Atlanta’s Chatahoochee River water supply in 3 years, there will still be beer at 5 Seasons Westside.

The recently opened restaurant and brewery, which already fires its brewing kettles with used cooking oil from its kitchens, announced that it has installed a rainwater catchment system from RainHarvest Systems of Cumming that will provide all the water for their beer. The water is purified through 6 stages of filtration, followed by a dual-beam ultraviolet sterilization that results in water of superior quality to tap water. “The processed rainwater not only fulfills our commitment to environmentally responsible production, but it also tastes better than municipal water, which ultimately makes a smoother, better tasting beer,” says head brewer Crawford Moran. “We’re the only brewery in the world doing this.” (more…)

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Then you’re one application away from a burrito. Check out Chipotle’s latest marketing gimmick.

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SWEET RELIEF: The flan at Little Cuba

Cuban food in Atlanta has its limitations. Yes, we are blessed with spots such as the exceedingly warm Las Palmeras. But Atlanta’s Cuban cuisine scene has taken a big hit in the past year. Havana caught on fire, and the sweet owner of Kool Korners closed his restaurant to everyone’s dismay. Both have since opened in other less convenient locations — Canton and Alabama, respectively.  But that doesn’t help the rest of us folks pining for a little taste of Cuba closer to home.

Little Cuba (3350 Chamblee Tucker Road, Suite D, Chamblee. 770-451-0025) is not a new restaurant, but it deserves a little love for its massive menu of classic Cuban dishes. The restaurant has managed to receive very little press in the 10 years it’s been open. But the seats have been filled every time I’ve dined here, and a wait at lunchtime is not uncommon.

Continue reading Cheap Eats

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

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Simon Owens is a  journalist and new media consultant who writes a blog called Bloggasm. He e-mailed today to alert me to his interview with Steven Mikulencak and Mark Rosenthal, who started the 27,000-member Facebook group calling for a boycott of Whole Foods.

Rosenthal explains his motivation to Owens:

[The op-ed] lit a fire under me,” Rosenthal said. “This person was using his company as a sort of Trojan horse for a bunch of discredited, bad ideas that we have said no to over and over again. And it was just really frustrating because we had an election where we voted on these things, and we said no to these stupid ideas about deregulation being the solution to any of our problems. We’ve said no to the notion that ‘I’ve got mine and everyone else can go suck an egg.’

The post is well worth a read. It mainly focuses on how so-called social media have become a highly effective means of community organizing.

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IN THE SOUP: The artichoke bisque at Paces 88

It’s hard to call the proliferation of swanky new hotel restaurants in Atlanta these days a trend. It’s more like a side effect. Three years ago, when the economy was booming, upscale hotels were planned all over town. Millions of dollars went into construction. But these weren’t projects that could be abandoned simply because the economy tanked. So while smaller restaurant projects were put on hold or abandoned, and large and small eateries alike closed all over town, a generation of gleaming, expensive hotel restaurants arose.

Paces 88, in Buckhead’s new St. Regis, epitomizes almost everything that’s both commendable and frustrating with this new crop of restaurants. Extreme care has been taken with the décor and food. The place has a meticulously upscale and conservative feel (think muted wood tones, large cream archways, oil paintings and windows overlooking a manicured courtyard), and the menu consists of dish after dish of perfectly cooked and presented luxe ingredients. Everything is $5-$10 more expensive than you probably want to pay, and nothing about the place is the least bit surprising. If that sounds good to you, you’ll probably love Paces 88. If it sounds a tad boring, well, it is.

Continue reading “Review: Paces 88″

(Photo by James Camp)

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As I cover Top Chef Season 6 in Las Vegas for Bravo, I take a few seconds of action each week and throw it under the microscope. I often find one or two moments each episode that either reveal a industry insider’s secret or, as a former competitor, something I have a behind the scenes take on.

In episode 1 of Las Vegas, both of these moments came together in the same sequence. It was the kiss that Jennifer Carroll gave Tom Colicchio. And the facial expression that Tom made immediately following.

I’ve read on a few blogs that some people feel the kiss was inappropriate.

I don’t think so. (more…)

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The “Prescriptions” blog of the New York Times reported on the Whole Foods brouhaha yesterday. More than 25,000 people have joined a boycott group on Facebook because of CEO John Mackey’s op-ed opposing government-financed health insurance. (The group now has its own website, WholeBoycott.com.)

Kevin Sack, who lives in Atlanta and is Southern Bureau chief for the Times, visited the Midtown Ponce de Leon store and reported the following on the “Prescriptions” blog.:

At a Whole Foods store in midtown Atlanta on Thursday, there seemed to be little awareness of the boycott, although employees said some customers had commented about it.

“I’ve had a few to come in and say I don’t agree with his point of view,” said one cashier, “but they’re still here, so….”

Another cashier said one of her customers had announced herself as an “anti-boycotter,” saying she was shopping there specifically to support Mr. Mackey’s views.

As they loaded their groceries into a green Volvo, Carl and Sharon Gentry said they had not heard of the boycott until asked about it by a reporter (sorry about that, Whole Foods).

“I’m going to go into management right now and tell them I disagree and that we’re going to see that people not shop here,” said Mr. Gentry, 54, sporting a gray ponytail.

“I’m just going to have to stop buying,” said his wife. “But they have good meat, that’s the problem, and good fish.”

Other shoppers were not nearly so passionate. “In my opinion, a boycott is stupid because you’re going to cost the people who work here their jobs,” said Katrina Drlik, 27. “People have a right to their own opinion.”

Obviously, you’re going to get a mainly predictable opinion if you ask people shopping at Whole Foods if they support a boycott of it. Oh, and I love the mention of Mr. Gentry’s ponytail. I’m sure Mr. Sack didn’t mean to stereotype anyone.

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New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who grew up on a family farm, writes about the way factory farming drains our food of soul:

[The] diverse, chaotic family farm is now disappearing, replaced by insipid food assembly lines.

The result is food that also lacks soul — but may contain pathogens. In the last two months, there have been two major recalls of ground beef because of possible contamination with drug-resistant salmonella. When factory farms routinely fill animals with antibiotics, the result is superbugs that resist antibiotics.

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Jimmy of Eat It, Atlanta notified me via Twitter that the owners of Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q were recently interviewed by Tom Maicon of Atlanta Cuisine. My name came up:

Cliff Bostock has been tough on your food pointing out inconsistencies. Do you think he’s here on only the bad nights, or does he just not get your barbecue?

Cliff has been documenting his dining experiences for much longer than I have been living in Atlanta.  I regularly read his column, and as a matter of fact, his piece about a popular Athens restaurant that opened in Buckhead and the horrible server experience he had there, I made all my servers read it to enforce our demand on how important it is for them to give our guests the best service they can give.

So, I take his columns as a way to make Fox Bros Bar-B-Q better. Cliff loved our take on a burger once, but the next two times it was flawed and he called us out.  Well, it was a matter of the way it was being made, so it has totally been re-worked because of his thoughts, and I think it is really a better sandwich because of that.

We make it a point to talk to each table to find out how our guests are enjoying their experience and anything we need to do to make ourselves better.  We work everyday to make ourselves more consistent, it just stings a little bit to be called out in print vs. hearing about it firsthand during that dining experience.

We had some really big growing pains when we opened, and we finally feel like we have a great staff that not only loves our food and cares about the product, but also has the pride to make sure that the product they put out follows our main belief, which is to prove ourselves, one plate at a time.

So, like I hope that one day the Falcons will have back-to-back winning seasons, that one day Cliff will also share that he has continually had outstanding meals at Fox Bros.  Until then, we will keep working at being the best we can be.

Of course, as soon as I read this Friday, I made plans to visit the restaurant that night. The “burger” on the Fox Bros. menu is actually smoked brisket smothered with pimento cheese, bacon, onions and tomato. The first time I ordered it, I thought it was a deliciously decadent way of inducing a heart attack. But, as the brothers told Tom Maicon, my next visits found it disappointing.

Happily, I did find the sandwich hugely improved last night, as good as it was my first visit. The restaurant appears to be chopping the brisket a bit finer and actually shaping the meat into something like a patty. The sandwich had a particularly delicious tomato slice on it.

Wayne’s mother, who is visiting from Columbia, S.C., went with us last night and ordered pulled pork, which she liked very much. Wayne ordered a special of smoked beef tenderloin that had about three layers of  flavor — from the smoke, to the beef, to the sauce on the side.

The restaurant was packed, by the way. We were lucky to get a table. Actually, we were lucky to get a parking space. I had to move somebody’s Herbie Curbie out of the street to get a spot.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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BLT Steak: The beauty of BLT’s Vegetable Chopped Salad lies in the layering of textures and flavors. A pop of sweetness from some fresh corn, the crunch of romaine lettuce, slices of radish, briny feta, olives and a host of other ingredients bathe in a creamy olive-oil-based dressing. The ample serving in a large square bowl alongside the complimentary popovers served with room temperature butter might just be the perfect summertime lunch. 45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. (inside the W Atlanta downtown). 404-577-7601. www.bltsteak.com.

Continue reading Mouthful

(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)

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