Omnivore Atlanta

How’s your gaydar for names? Can you, just by looking at a name, tell if it belongs to a gay bar or a steakhouse? Take the test.

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AMUSE: The charred octopus with seaweed

Certain restaurants evoke sweet memories. One is Anis in Buckhead. I lunched there every Friday for years with friends and still often do. Another evocative one no longer exists — at least not in its original form. I’m referring to Café Diem, which was replaced by Après Diem.

Café Diem was a favorite for light French food and an evening of listening to poetry back in the early ’90s. Created by Andy Alibaksh, it was the city’s most boho setting, and it seems that people enjoyed working there as much as hanging out there. There’s even a Facebook page titled “I worked at Café Diem Atlanta, GA, and still remember some of it.”

Among those who worked there was Arnaud Michel, who went on to open the aforementioned Anis (and several other restaurants) with business partners. Now, he has teamed up with Alibaksh, to open Amuse (560 Dutch Valley Road, 404-888-1890), an Anis-style bistro in the space vacated by Allegro.

Continue Reading “First Look: Amuse”

(Photo by James Camp)

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We checked out the new Pure Taqueria on North Highland in Inman Park tonight and had a pleasant meal. The place was packed, noisy as hell and featured a young, energetic staff that might end up becoming known as the city’s best looking.

The redo of the former tenant’s interior is a huge improvement and has a lot in common with the Taqueria del Sol look — lots of windows, a long bar (above) where you can eat and swill margaritas.  Unlike TDS, however, you don’t stand in line to order. Although,  you may have to wait for a table. We waited about 20 minutes. That’s not an experience one has in Atlanta restaurants much these days, especially on a Tuesday night.

Most of our food was good. Probably my favorite dish was a starter of grilled shrimp with an avocado-habanero salsa (right). For an entree, I tried chicken enchiladas with mole, which, like much of the food here, tasted a lot better than it looked. The mole was quite good, in fact.

As at the new Lupe, tacos are sold three-to-a-plate but you can mix and match. That will drive the price up a bit, since you also have to order side dishes — even the omnipresent rice and frijoles refritos –  a la carte.

A surprise was a tres leches cake made with coconut. It works!

Look for more in a future Grazing column.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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Atlanta Cuisine is about to take off in some new, pleasingly wacky directions, according to owner Tom Maicon, who sent me the following (edited) e-mail:

In just about 21 days the Atlanta Cuisine website is going to change dramatically in look and feel.  The forum will remain, as it is on someone else’s server (Ninja Post) and they maintain it.

We are moving more towards video — AC Television, which will air 21- and 42-minute segments of crazy investigative restaurant/bar stuff,  including paranormal investigations with real-life local ghost hunters armed with all the necessary equipment….

I just hired the production and camera folks in the last 48 hours and we plan to start shooting in the next 10 to 14 days.  The weekly show will be restaurant/bar oriented but with an investigative angle. Examples include paranormal investigations;  solving mysteries (such as identifying the “gel” that is in an Arby’s roast beef sandwich); a beer documentary covering 15 Southern breweries in five days with a bunch of beer fanatics on an old school bus, pouring beer from two custom-built kegorators; and all sorts of other show ideas I can’t yet mention.

There was no mention of the fate of the site’s monthly tabloid publication.

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The new El Toro on Memorial Drive in Grant Park, my neighborhood,  has opened. It’s located in the building that was occupied by the much-missed Redfish. I presume it is serving the usual Tex-Mex cooking that appeals to many gringos.

Grant Park was home to several completely authentic taquerias just a few years ago, including a couple hole-in-the-wall joints and the more  gringo-friendly Zocalo. The only really authentic Mexican restaurant left is the rather mediocre Mi Barrio, also on Memorial Drive, near Boulevard. And just west of that — on Memorial, at Cherokee — is the fun Tin Lizzy’s Cantina, also serving mainly Tex-Mex border cuisine.

Meanwhile, Pure Taqueria has opened a few miles away in Inman Park.

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Illy, maker of what many regard as the world’s best coffee, is going after the Starbucks crowd, according to the Wall Street Journal:

For more than 20 years the closely held company, based in Trieste, Italy, has sold its coffee in high-end grocers such as Whole Foods and in coffee shops, hotels and restaurants in the U.S. Now it’s expanding its reach by signing contracts with cafes in the U.S. that agree to serve Illy exclusively and allow Illy a hand in quality control.

There are only 28 such stores in the US now and one of them is our own Cafe Nineteen in the Westside:

Cafe Nineteen in Atlanta, which closed temporarily last year, reopened in June, having added an outdoor patio with red Illy umbrellas. Owner Sean Lupton-Smith said he began serving Illy coffee “so we could offer a consistent experience to our customers and be strong enough to stand up to the Starbucks around the corner.”

A 12-ounce Illy drip coffee in a white ceramic cup with the red Illy logo sells for $3 instead of $1.60 for his previously no-name cups of joe. Coffee sales have tripled to $750 a day. “We’re open until 2 a.m. and believe it or not, we sell coffee at midnight,” Mr. Lupton-Smith says.

Personally, I prefer Lavazza over Illy, and I mean the taste — not just the lower price.

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The Twitterers are tweeting that Stella in Grant Park will close at the end of December and be replaced by Doc Chey’s Noodle House. I’m not happy about that.

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The New York Times blog “You’re the Boss,” is running a two-part list of “One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do.” It ought to be posted in every restaurant in the city. It anticipates complaints:

Herewith is a modest list of dos and don’ts for servers at the seafood restaurant I am building. Veteran waiters, moonlighting actresses, libertarians and baristas will no doubt protest some or most of what follows. They will claim it homogenizes them or stifles their true nature. And yet, if 100 different actors play Hamlet, hitting all the same marks, reciting all the same lines, cannot each one bring something unique to that role?

Among my favorites from the first 50:

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral.

36. Never reek from perfume or cigarettes. People want to smell the food and beverage.

40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.

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LUPE TAQUERIA: The trio of guacamole

This is a cautionary tale about first impressions and foodies. The protagonist is Riccardo Ullio’s new Lupe Taqueria (905 Juniper St., 678-904-4584). The antagonist is the foodie community, including its bloggers and critics like me.

I long ago learned that a first impression of a new restaurant – the usual subject of this column – is not reliable if the visit turns out to feature extremes.  In such a case, particularly when the extreme is negative, I usually go back, hoping for better. Contrary to popular opinion, most critics don’t enjoy thoroughly panning a restaurant, which is typically a huge investment and provides a livelihood for its staff.

On the other hand, I think the effect any one critic has on a restaurant is short-lived. Of course, if the critic does pan a restaurant that ends up failing, he gets the blame. Typically, though, the restaurateur has not heeded any of the criticism directed his way.

Continue Reading “First Look: Lupe Taqueria”

(Photo by James Camp)

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We dined Thursday evening at Amuse (404-888-1890), the new restaurant in the short-lived Allegro’s space at 560 Dutch Valley Road in Midtown. The owners have improved the interior significantly, turning what was a rather chilly space into a warm, intimate bistro, replete with an instrumental jazz duo. We’d expect nothing less of the owners of Anis (Arnaud Michel) and Apres Diem (Andy Alibaksh) who have teamed up to create Amuse.

The menu by longtime Anis chef Lenny Robinson includes a number of novelties like the appetizer of sliced, charred octopus with pickled seaweed and cucumbers (above). My entree was a chunk of roasted, orange-glazed piglet (right) with shredded, pickled brussel sprouts and a paprika brodo.

Both dishes were terrific, although I thought the pickle flavors tended to overwhelm the octopus, which was sliced from a grilled tentacle. Wayne ordered an interesting appetizer of roasted cauliflower with a cauliflower puree. A bit of chili oil added zing to both forms of my favorite cruciferous vegetable. His entree was crispy mackerel over chickpeas with mint and sultanas.

Dessert: a butterscotch creme brulee with a roasted marshmallow topping for me and two scoops of housemade ice cream for Wayne — one lavender and the other violet.

The restaurant is also open for lunch weekdays and brunch on weekends. Did I mention that portions are huge? Some of the appetizers I saw go by our table looked like entrees, especially one of crispy pork belly over napa cabbage, plum, avocado and yuzu.

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

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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Paul Luna, our city’s first celebrity chef (before there was “Top Chef” and such), was spotted at Atmosphere last night. I have not confirmed that he’s moving back, although AtlantaLatino.com reports that “he is looking to make Atlanta a new home and to teach cooking classes and English.”

Luna has, amazingly, crossed the U.S. on bike to promote his children’s book, Luna Needs a Miracle, an English-Spanish text about bridging cultural difference. He’s recorded his impressions of how Atlanta has changed since his departure on one of his blogs.

Let’s hope the brilliant chef decides to cook in restaurants now and then!

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It matters, according to new research:

Whether your companions are overweight or skinny and how much they put on their plates can greatly influence how much you eat. New research shows if we eat with skinny people, we tend to mimic their food portions, regardless of how much they take. However, if we eat with overweight companions, we generally try to adjust our portions to be different.

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I stopped at MetroFresh at Midtown Promenade after the gym Monday night, thinking I’d eat something low-calorie. Then I encountered this dish — strips of grilled flank steak over blue-cheese risotto with red-pepper coulis. Sold! Cost, including a cup of Thai coconut-chicken-rice soup, was only $12.95.

This reminds me of the recent study, widely reported, that concluded that if a restaurant advertises healthy food but also offers heavier dishes, people will often choose the latter while congratulating themselves for dining in a health-conscious restaurant.

MetroFresh posts its menu daily and I noticed that tonight’s entrees (Tuesday) include chicken and dumplings. I have to eat elsewhere this evening; otherwise I’d be there.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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The newest location of Pure Taqueria — 300 North Highland Ave. — will open Oct. 31. Inman Park residents will be treated to an open house this Thursday night. The new taqueria is in the old Grape location, across from Sotto Sotto and Fritti. …

Check out photographer Mark Petko’s blog Spoonfed Atlanta to see some beautiful shots of dishes at Serpas True Food. Other restaurants he’s featured recently include Top Flr and 4th and Swift. …

In case you missed it, Tom Maicon of Atlanta Cuisine published a great interview with Jeff Varasano, owner of the controversial Varasano’s Pizzeria. Among his comments which have caused further controversy:

The biggest unexpected challenge was the fact that guests eat their pizza with a knife and fork. Coming from NY it’s just a reflex to pick up a slice and fold it. I really want everyone to try pizza at it’s best and a huge part of any food experience is the way it feels in your mouth. A great piece of fresh fried chicken has a nice crunch on the outside that gives way to a juicy interior. Similarly, folding a fresh slice allows you to bite the crust which gives way to the juicy sauce.

This style of pizza has a light crust that is too delicate to retain any crunch after it’s been cut with a knife or if it’s sat too long. We got a lot of early criticism about the texture of the crust and we spent the first two months altering the dough formula to compensate. This was probably our biggest mistake. I know of no pizza with this kind of thin, charred, light airy style that holds up to a knife and fork….

The Cabbagetown Chomp and Stomp is the weekend of Nov. 7. The annual event’s highlight is a chili cookoff. This year’s judges are Shaun Doty, Kevin Gillespie, Linton Hopkins, Kevin Rathbun, Joe Truex and Scott Serpas. …

The Anis and Carpe Diem folks have opened their new restaurant, Amuse, in the old Allegro space on Dutch Valley Road in Midtown. It’s been open a week now. …

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Andrew Smith, the (amazingly prolific) author of Eating History, will be speaking 7:30-9:30 p.m. Mon., Nov. 16, at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts (1927 Lakeside Pkw., Tucker):

Food historian Andrew F. Smith will recount—in delicious detail—some of the major moments that made contemporary American cuisine, as described in his brand new book, Eating History: Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine, from Columbia University Press. The style of American cooking, along with the ingredients that compose it, has never been fixed. With a cast of characters including bold inventors, savvy restaurateurs, ruthless advertisers, mad scientists, adventurous entrepreneurs, celebrity chefs, and relentless health nuts, Smith pins down the truly crackerjack history behind the way America eats.

The event is co-sponsored by the Culinary Historians of Atlanta, which maintains a Facebook page (e-mail deborah.duchon@gmail.com). There is also a separate Facebook page for this event.

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This is pretty groovy. Illy is marketing cups designed by one of my favorite film directors:

This signed and numbered, limited edition illy Art Collection cup set was designed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar for illy caffè. Almodóvar’s six-cup series – each entry paired with an equally vivid saucer — takes inspiration from six of the famed Spanish director’s most admired films; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990), High Heels (1991), The Flower of My Secret (1995), Bad Education (2004) and Volver (2006). The individually decorated cups depict his signature themes of love, women — including his favorite lead actress Penélope Cruz — desire, passion and family.

They’re kind of retro-garish and expensive, but if you’ve got money to burn, go ahead and buy a full set.

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We checked out the new Lupe Taqueria (905 Juniper St., 678-904-4584) over the weekend. The new restaurant by Riccardo Ullio is located in the space formerly occupied by Cuerno, his attempt at a Spanish restaurant (something that never seems to succeed in Atlanta).

The new restaurant, named after the Virgin of Guadalupe, features a very straightforward menu of tacos and classics like the chile relleno above and the flan at right. The chile relleno departs from the usual around town by featuring a filling of queso cincho — an aged, firm cheese that does not melt into the creamy texture of chihuahua cheese.

Although it’s completely usual to do so, I prefer my chiles served over the traditional red sauce, not under it, as the chef is doing here. That can easily turn the fried flour-and-egg coating soggy.

I have one major complaint about the restaurant. It calls itself a “taqueria,” but you are only allowed to order  plates of three-of-a-kind tacos with the usual rice and refried beans — no mix-and-match. So, even if you’re tempted to order a $9 plate of tacos as a starter, they all have to be of a single kind.

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

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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LUNCH WITH FRIENDS: Bocado's dining room

Bocado (887 Howell Mill Road, 404-815-1399) is the latest restaurant to open on the city’s Westside. Its location — across from Octane, at the corner of Howell Mill Road and Marietta Street — is the first evidence of the way the restaurant typifies a significant shift in the city’s restaurant community. The Westside is booming — at least compared to more expensive real estate in the city. Lower rent and smaller spaces are essential to most restaurants’ survival in this economy.

And that’s also produced a shift in restaurant appearance. Bocado’s design is by ai3, the people whose first project was the (defunct) Globe, my favorite interior in recent years. They’ve also designed 4th & Swift, Holeman & Finch and the particularly wonderful Flip.

Rather than the theatrical, large spaces that typify the Johnson Studio designs (Aria, Two Urban Licks), for example, ai3’s are spare in utilization of uncluttered open space, but the firm also employs natural (and recycled) materials that conversely add an intimate glow, especially after sunset. Communal tables also seem to be part of ai3’s play with space.

Continue Reading “First Look: Bocado”

(Photo by James Camp)

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La Pietra Cucina is my favorite restaurant, and my default when I’m in the mood for fine dining. Bruce Logue’s thoughtfully conceived “progressive Italian cooking” makes the restaurant chef-driven — what I find most appealing — but with a distinctive edge.

Favorite Dishes: Mainly, I lunch here and the dish that most often draws my attention is the crispy fish with caponata and salsa passato. (But I never ignore the specials…or the porchetta salad.) 1545 Peachtree St. 404-888-8709. www.lapietracucina.com.

See the rest of Cliff’s Top 10 Favorites and don’t miss our Food Issue 2009, out today.

(Photo by James Camp)

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Dynamic Dish is a restaurant where I would happily eat daily. Unfortunately, it’s also a restaurant that is booked most evenings, so lunch is usually the most convenient option. David Sweeney’s brilliant, mainly organic, mainly vegetarian cuisine has gained national kudos.

Favorite Dishes: Anything Sweeny does with collards instantly attracts me, but Saturday night’s organic pizzas are amazingly playful, healthy riffs on everyone’s favorite unhealthy food. 427 Edgewood Ave. 404-688-4344. www.dynamicdish.net.

We will be counting down Cliff’s Top 10 Favorites every day between now and Oct. 21, the day our Food Issue 2009 launches. Check back tomorrow for Number 1.

(Photo by James Camp)

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Repast is featuring a “Piedmont Truffle Wine Dinner” this Wednesday night. The five-course dinner costs $125 with paired wines. Space is limited, so call 404-870-8707 now to make a reservation. Chef Joe Truex’s menu looks spectacular:

First course:
Foie gras with truffles
2006 Mascarello Dolcetto d’alba

Second course
Black truffle agnolotti
2005 Fantino Barbera d’alba

Third course
Braised rabbit with cipollini onions, black olives & truffles
2005 Forteto della Luja Le Grive

Fourth course
Short smoked filet mignon with
creamed celery risotto & black truffles
2000 Rocche dei Manzoni Vigna d’la roul Barolo

Fifth course
Frozen lemon chiffon
2003 Forteto della Luja Moscato Passito

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The Big Gay Supper Club meets tomorrow night, Tuesday, at One Midtown Kitchen. Cocktails will be served at 7 p.m. and a four-course dinner will follow at 8 p.m. Cost is $35 (not including cocktails or tips).

This is a great way to sample the restaurant’s menu, since the family-style service allows tastes of many dishes. Check it out.

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This is from Lisa Hanson at Cabbagetown Market:

Perla Lopez and Carola Pava, of Lupita Coffee, are now open at Cabbagetown Market:

Lupita Coffee

Mondays through Fridays

6-10 a.m.

198 Carroll Street

Atlanta, GA 30312

404-254-1456

Fair trade, organic coffees

Cafe con leche

Pan de queso (gluten free)

Arepas

Fruit cups

Call ahead and they’ll bring your order out to your car.  Not quite a drive-through, but almost.

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Antico Pizza Napoletana is now open for lunch and has installed seating at its large communal table. Jennifer Zyman has the restaurant’s announcement on her Blissful Glutton blog.

As it happens, Wayne and I visited the pizzeria again Saturday night and took a seat at the table with five Georgia Tech students who were in obvious awe as we plowed our way through two pizzas, leaving only four slices to take home. Wayne ordered the marinara with white anchovies and I got the pie with sopressata and fiery pepperonata.

The pies, I’m sorry to say, were so soft and floppy they were almost impossible to eat without a fork and knife. Pizzaiolo Enrico Liberato said the sudden cold and rainy weather had played havoc with his dough. Interestingly, the leftover slices actually re-heated quite well on a cookie sheet in a 300-degree oven.

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Top Flr is the default choice when I’m able to dine out Monday night. The restaurant’s special of three courses for $15 is a bargain nobody in town can beat.

Favorite Dishes: Among the best on the regular menu of uncomplicated eats are the tarragon-spiked pan-roasted chicken and the crispy duck with fennel salt and vermouth honey. 674 Myrtle St. 404-685-3110. www.topflr.com.

We will be counting down Cliff’s Top 10 Favorites every day between now and Oct. 21, the day our Food Issue 2009 launches. Check back tomorrow for Number 2.

(Photo by James Camp)

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