Omnivore Atlanta

Decatur Metro reports Trackside Tavern and the Fifth Earl Market were damaged by fire this morning.

UPDATE: Comments on Decatur Metro indicate Trackside Tavern was destroyed.

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Taqueria La Oaxaqueña is moving.

The fantastic and fêted Mexican restaurant that brightens an otherwise grim stretch of Clayton County’s Tara Boulevard, is moving approximately 1,300 feet to 605 Mt. Zion Road.

The new location, which formerly housed a Captain D’s, is approximately three-times as large as the current location. This should alleviate the restaurant’s occasionally long waits.

I spoke to two people at the restaurant, neither of whom would commit to an exact move date. They both just say the move will happen any day now.

If you show up at the old location and find it’s closed, just turn right out of the parking lot, then right onto Mt. Zion Road. The new place is on your right and already has a sign.

If you’re the call-and-check-type, it’s 770-960-1712.

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At .99/head, endive and escarole were the least expensive lettuces at Your Dekalb Farmers Market yesterday.

Salad elitism isn’t what it used to be.

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My dinner last night looked like Africa.

I’ve had food before that looks like states and countries, but never a whole continent.

Incidentally, it was delicious. That’s Worcestershire sauce off the coast of Namibia.

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Greene’s Fine Foods is coming to Decatur.

The sign promises nuts, candy, gifts and fun.

I’m intrigued.

Decatur Metro says it opens October 1.

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Commenters purporting to be employees of Crescent Moon in Decatur are using the blog Decatur Metro to vent anger at the restaurant’s owners.

I was too busy eating cereal to notice, but reportedly the popular brunch spot was closed yesterday because of a staff rebellion.

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WABE’s Odette Yousef reports the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s inventory is at an all-time low.

Food bank CEO Bill Bolling blames the flagging economy. Donations have dipped while demand has surged, he says.

Georgia’s unemployment rate hit a 15-year high of 6.2% in July.

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The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta is accepting applications for its Best Teen Chef competition, to be held on March 14, 2009. The top prize is a full tuition at one of the The Art Institute’s schools.

Press release after the jump.

(more…)

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I noticed today Slice pizza on Howell Mill is boarded-up and for sale. A quick Googling indicates the place has been closed for over a month.

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The wine industry’s embrace of screw-tops and synthetic corks doesn’t just threaten the livelihood of wood cork-makers, it apparently threatens cork forest ecosystems.

From Audobon Magazine:

“If consumers and the wine industry turn their back on cork, then these forests will lose their viability and risk facing the axe,” says Grahame Madge, an RSPB spokesman. “If you’re not drinking wine that’s been in touch with a cork, then it is like felling the trees yourself.”

Note to the person who received a bottle of Two Buck Chuck (with natural wood cork) from me last week: I’m not a cheap dinner guest. I was simply doing my part to save ancient Portuguese cork groves.

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This sign below is posted at the Five Guys burger joint in Alpharetta.

I’m a big fan of not inadvertently killing children, but this strikes me more as lawyerly ass-covering than a sensible measure to protect children.

Do other peanut-y places do this?

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On Monday, my FutureWife™ and I ordered takeout from Tasty China for us to take to a friend’s house for his birthday.

Our intention was to order six appetizers and entrées, mixing food we already knew we liked with recommended items we had not yet tried.

Of the six items we attempted to order, however, we only received four. Two of the items were overruled.

We asked for sesame scallion bread, but were refused. Preparing sesame scallion bread, we were told, is a “pain in the butt.” I’m sure it is a pain in the butt, but I thought that’s why restaurants charged money for food. Oh well.

In its place, we were ordered to order Dan Dan noodles, which we like, but had eaten during our previous two visits.

The other item we were refused was Sichuan beef

“I’d like Sichuan beef.”

“Chinese or American [style]“

“Chinese, please.”

“No, you don’t want that.”

In its place, we were permitted to order shredded pork with bamboo shoots and green beans. Both delicious, but that’s beside the point.

Every time I’ve gone to or ordered from Tasty China, I get attitude when I attempt to order things they worry I might not like. It was amusing at first, but after my recent four-out-of-six phone-order experience, I give up. Tasty China is dead to me.

Dinho in Chamblee has better dumplings, better fish soup and a better attitude.

They also seem to have a much better grasp of the “order food-prepare food-exchange money” restaurant paradigm.

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Cantina El Tesoro, the long-awaited Decatur hermano of East Atlanta’s La Casita, opens its doors mañana.

According to our sources, the plate is hot, so be careful.

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Last month on this blog, I wrote about how a server at Tasty China turned into the Soup Nazi when I asked about menu items she didn’t think I would like.

At least one commenter suggested the server’s attitude was justified because too many customers send back items they don’t like.

Customers ordering, but refusing to pay for food, is indeed reason for servers getting annoyed.

But rudeness, as amusing as it is to me and the writers of Seinfeld, probably isn’t the best approach.

Tasty China should take a lesson from Penang, a Malaysian restaurant on Buford Highway.

Dining there on Saturday, I asked our server, Eva, about Penang Asam Laksa, a spicy fish soup with rice noodles.

Instead of giving me attitude, Eva gave me advice.

She said it’s very sour and pungent and that there’s a strong possibility I won’t like it. It’s one of her favorite things on the menu, she said, but she’s from Malaysia and her palate is different than mine.

I decided to order it and told her I’d happily pay for it even if I didn’t like it. It’s only $6.95.

She was right. I didn’t like it. It tasted good. But I couldn’t stand the smell.

With my permission, she mixed in some sweet coconut curry broth to take the edge off the soup’s character.

I still didn’t like it. I didn’t complain, I just didn’t eat it.

She took it away, and I ordered something else. And even though I told her again that I wanted pay for it, she took it off the bill. I paid for it anyway.

If you want to separate me from my money, guilt works a lot better than hostility.

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On Saturday, I finally followed Creative Loafing Food & Drink Editor Besha Rodell’s advice and dined at Tasty China in Marietta.

It was fantastic — easily the tastiest Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. It was so good I went back last night with my FutureWife, Christi.

On the way to the restaurant, I told her to expect brusque service. On Saturday, our server was quite abrupt. I didn’t take notes, but the conversations went pretty much like this:

ME: What is Sichuan Boy Chicken?
SERVER: You don’t want that. (more…)

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It’s on Pine Street at Piedmont, if you’re curious.

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Have you recently or persistently suffered discrimination because of your appearance?

Do you think people treat you badly because of the way you look, dress or groom yourself?

Are you an experienced restaurant or bar server passed up for jobs at trendy restaurants because you don’t look like a model?

If so, give me a call at 404-614-1888 or e-mail me at andisheh@creativeloafing.com. I’m working on a story for which you might be able to help.

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