Omnivore Atlanta

5 Seasons at the Prado will host A Taste of Terra Madre (Slow Foods’ annual international conference) this coming Monday. Dishes from participating chefs will be paired with beers from 5 Seasons. Guests are encouraged meet the chefs and delegates from Slow Food Atlanta, in hopes of sending over 20 delegates to Terra Madre 2008 in Turnin, Italy. Participating restaurants include Restaurant Eugene, Muss & Turners, Pricci, and 5 Season’s. Tickets are $50. Mon., Sept. 8. 6:30 p.m.

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I confess I’m a bit cynical about events like Midtown Restaurant Week. The advertised special is three courses for $25 at some very good restaurants. My fantasy, though, is that once I’m seated, the restaurant will find a way to redirect me to spend more money.

That’s not what happened when Wayne and I went to Beleza Wednesday night with our friends Brad and Eric. We were offered three choices for each course and ended up tasting everything. Exotic Brazilian-style cocktails and wine for my companions added to the cost, of course, but there was no pressure to do things differently.

That was not, however, the experience Brad and Eric had the night before when they went to Trois. Things got off to a bad start when an annoying but bearable 15-minute wait stretched out to a famishing 40 minutes.

Then, as soon as they were seated (behind a pillar), the server informed them that while the special $25 menu was available, they might want to know that if they ordered from the regular menu, they would receive complimentary wine.

Rapid arithmetic told the couple they’d save money and eat better ordering from the regular menu. So, when the server came back, they ordered food and selected a bottle of wine.

You know the rest of the story: When the bill arrived, they’d been fully charged for the $45 bottle of wine. They protested and the server said, “Oh, that was for a free glass of wine, not a bottle.” Of course, they would have spent significantly less had they ordered the special menu and a bottle of wine.

Arguably, they should have asked for more details about the wine special. But the details should have been spelled out more clearly to begin with. And when they abandoned the $25 menu and ordered the bottle after hearing about the wine special, the server should have clarified things. Brad writes:

The wine was $45. There was a special wine list that they provided (similar to the small handout menu that is part of the Midtown Restaurant Week) that had all the wines available as part of the promotion. At the top there was a three sentence blurb about how they understood how pinched we all are as a result of the economy and this was their way to help through election day. There was no mention as far as I know of only providing one a glass of wine with one’s entree.

Brad, not the reticent type, got angry and, to Trois’ credit, the cost of the wine was deducted from their meal.

Back to Beleza….

Among the dishes at Beleza I especially liked was a “ceviche blanco” featuring coconut milk, habaneros and cucumber, as well as fish. Roasted beets with oranges, basil and tofu in an orange vinaigrette was also a hit. But my favorite dish here remains the shrimp moqueca, featuring white shrimp in coconut milk with extra-virgin red palm oil, cilantro, cashews and basmati rice.

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If you’ve never heard of Outstanding in the Field, they’re this group that drives around the country and throws dinners out in a field somewhere. They invite a local chef and showcase local produce. They’re coming to Atlanta on September 28th, and throwing a five course dinner with Watershed’s Scott Peacock (check out the details here). The event sold out a while back, but I’ve been contacted by someone who has six tickets he can’t use. If you’re interested in taking all or some of them off his hands, email me at besha.rodell@creativeloafing.com and I’ll put you in touch.

8-28-08 update: All the tickets have now been taken.

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Midtown Restaurant Week kicks off this Saturday, Aug. 23, and runs through the following Saturday. It’s your chance to eat three courses at some of the city’s notable restaurants for only $25.

To see the list of those participating and to make a reservation — and you should make a reservation — click here.

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Join Terrapin Beer Company at their new brewery in Athens Sat., Aug. 23 from 5-9 p.m. as they kick off the new school year with a sneak preview of their latest year-round offering: SunRay Wheat, brewed with honey from Savannah Bee Company. They may have the latest Side Project on tap, too, the Gamma Ray Wheat Wine. There will be music outside from Blue Flashing Light, Picture Me Free, and Bain Maddox & Shot from Guns; inside, Wesley Cook and Spencer Frye will perform acoustically. Terrapin President John Cochran’s father, Jimmy, will provide the barbeque. The $10 cover benefits Tumornators Children’s Tumor Foundation. For more information, contact the brewery at (706) 549-3377.

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Anyone for culinary comedy? Plan to attend “Son of a Bisque” at Ansley Park Playhouse on Wednesday, Aug 20, with Chef Will Rece.

It’s an evening of performance, cocktails and tasting. And it’s one night only. Read more here.

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Slow Food Atlanta has a bunch of events coming up, including this one featuring my favorite summertime figs:

Event: Big Fig Pig Jig
Location: TaylOrganic Farm in Ellenwood
Time: 2-6pm

Join us for an old-fashioned Pig Roast featuring Farmer Neil Taylor’s Fig BBQ sauce, heirloom tomato salad, fig gelato, fig tarts, and muscaberry blue juice. Pick your own figs to take home! Cost of the event is $35 per person. To reserve your spot, contact figfest@gmail.com or call 404-964-6086.

Click here to see more events.

(Image from greekshops.com)

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My friend Brian Cohn went to the Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival that was held in Kennesaw Friday and Saturday. “Until today, I never realized what an influence Jesus had on BBQ,” Brian writes. Here’s his proof.

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Rosa Mexicano is reprising its fall chocolate menu Sept 10-Oct. 5. I thoroughly enjoyed it last year. The menu features starters, entrees and desserts made with chocolate….

Midtown restaurants are going the way of downtown ones Aug. 23-30 by offering a week of three-course meals for $25. Among the participants are some very good restaurants, including Beleza, Cuerno, Ecco, Trois and the Globe. Check out the full list of participants in Midtown Restaurant Week and make a reservation here….

The Atlanta’s Table Supper Club will convene this month at 4th and Swift. The dinner, Aug. 12, will benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank … 4th and Swift is also serving Sunday suppers these days. You get three courses for $30. Call the restaurant, 678-904-0160, to make a reservation for either event….

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Varsity love

By Molly Spruill

When co-workers ask where I am from and I tell them “Atlanta”, they say, “That’s a rarity!” As the hub of the Southeast, Atlanta seems to have far more out-of-towners than native Atlantans. As a result, many of the people that I work with don’t have the history or memories of our fair city that I do.

These memories often come up when people want to know why I have an affinity for places like the Varsity. Just take a glance at the reviews for the Varsity on Yelp. Many of the negative ones are from people who went to the Varsity because it’s an “Atlanta institution”. That’s like a vegan telling a hardcore meat eater that tofu tastes just like chicken. People who haven’t gone to the Varsity all their lives probably won’t appreciate it in the same way that native Atlantans do.

Okay, yes, it is greasy — incredibly greasy — and don’t even think about going there if you have a rigorous day planned. But, if you grew up in Atlanta like me, you probably have a soft spot for The Varsity, too. Early memories of trips to there include always getting a trademark Varsity paper hat! (more…)

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This could be fun:

The Slow Food on Campus Club at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta will host its first “Summer Harvest Event” on August 3, at the Tucker campus, 1927 Lakeside Parkway, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For the most current information about this event, visit the club’s website, www.slowfoodlcb.com.

The Slow Food Club is a campus convivium of Slow Food USA — food lovers who want to share good food and who care about how it reaches local plates and palates. The purpose of the August event is to increase awareness of sustainability efforts and to support locally-owned businesses that use local resources and serve primarily local consumers.

The “rain or shine” festival is open and free to the public and will include a local farmers market with celebrity chef demos, including Chef Linton Hopkins from Restaurant Eugene; Chef Kevin Rathbun from Rathbun’s, Krog Bar and Rathbun’s Steak; Delia Champion from Flying Biscuit, Michael Klein from Emory University; Michael Tuohy from Woodfire Grill; Cathy Conway from Avalon Catering; and Hector Santiago from Pura Vida. There will be local bands, BBQ and children’s activities.

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For French people and Francophiles, Bastille Day is a holiday worth celebrating in style.

TROIS invites everyone to bring out their inner royal and impersonate a King, Queen or peasant. Complimentary cake, champagne and live music performed by a peasant band are all part of the celebration, which begins tonight at 8 p.m.

The winner of the costume contest will receive a $500 Concentrics Restaurants gift card. (Mention “Bastille Day at TROIS” at Norcostco Atlanta Costume to rent your royal wardrobe at a special price. Call 404-874-7511 to place your costume reservation.)

TROIS will also celebrate all month with a chef-selected $35 prix-fixe menu offered every day in July.

The restaurant is located on 1180 Peachtree Street. Call 404-815-3337 for reservations or more info.

(image from bastilleday.com)

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Studioplex will begin hosting a weekly green market starting Saturday, July 12 from 8 a.m. – noon (rain or shine). The Studioplex Green market will be held every Saturday through the fall, and will be set up across from the main entrance to Studioplex on Irwin Street near the corner of Auburn Avenue (at the water tower triangle) in the Old Fourth Ward. A portion of the profits from the market will benefit City Church-Eastside, led by Pastor Scott Armstrong, which regularly meets in the community room at Studioplex. In addition, vegetables not sold during market hours will be donated to Project Open Hand, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization.“This green market will be especially convenient for the residents of Studioplex and our neighbors in the Historic Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park and the surrounding communities,” said Dillon Baynes, principal of Studioplex LLC and one of the three partners in the in-town development. “It may even save some shopping trips!”

Tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and squash will be some of the initial produce available and will be “competitively priced,” according to Baynes.

“In following the farm-to-table concept, our goal is to efficiently bring an abundance of fresh produce from farmers in Habersham and Rabun counties in North Georgia to the heart of Atlanta. We are all eager to do our part to promote sustainability,” said Baynes.

Danneman’s Coffee in the Old Fourth Ward will have their coffee available for purchase at the Studioplex Green market.

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Even though $1 won’t buy a thimble of gas anymore, it will buy you one taste from any food establishment in East Atlanta Village next Thursday, July 17 from 5-8 p.m.

Taste tickets are available the day of the event at Bound to Be Read Books, Champagne Taste, East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Graveyard Tavern, Origins Realty and Urban Gardener.

Visit the Taste of East Atlanta website here, to see the eighteen participants and a map.

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When I returned from running the Peachtree Road Race on Friday, my wife suggested that we go to dinner at Woodfire Grill that night. Perhaps she was hoping to catch me off-guard and mentally woozy — you know, more so than usual — to coax me into taking the family to her favorite restaurant. She made a compelling case, however, because that night Woodfire offered a three-course, $29 price fixe Pig Roast, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Save the Hooch fund. The menu also featured “all you can drink” (with $2 suggested donation) glasses of Sweetwater Brewery’s India Pale Ale and Hummer, a summer Belgian white ale with hints of orange and coriander in the flavor. The phrases “all you can drink beer” and “pig roast” worked their magic on me, so I suggested we go for it.

It seems like a great new tradition for July 4. Woodfire’s elegant approach to Southern cooking provided, as usual, for a delicious meal. The entrées included a salad of arugula and luscious heirloom tomatoes, along with cornbread croutons that would make an addictive bar snack; a slow-roasted Berkshire hog from Gum Creek Farm in spicy (but not overpowering) barbecue sauce, served with grits and succotash; and blueberry and peach crisp with vanilla ice cream. It’s possible that I’ve never tasted better off-the-bone BBQ pork before, certainly none so lean and tender, and the vinegary sauce didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the meat. The pork didn’t come in the kind of huge portion that would buckle a paper plate at a backyard barbecue, but was ample to whet my appetite. I probably shouldn’t each too much pork, anyway.

Part of what made our Independence Day visit to Woodfire a special occasion was that my wife and I brought our five-and-a-half year-old daughter with us. She likes princesses and books like Fancy Nancy, and we knew that she’d be excited at the chance to go to a nice restaurant, although we refrained from wearing neckties or other formal wear — it was a pig roast, after all. We pointed out the wood-fired ovens and the cheese cave to her, and Woodfire proved quite accommodating to her, plating half-sized portions of the entrées for her, putting the sauces on the side (and cutting the price in half as well).

If they do it again next year, we’ll be the first to show up.

(Image courtesy of Sweetwater Brewing Company)

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Chef Shaun Doty of Shaun’s is continuing his dinner series for those with celiac disease on Sun., July 13. The prix fixe, gluten-free and wheat-free menu is $45 and $65 with gluten-free beer pairings. Whole Foods Briarcliff will provide a gift bag with gluten-free products for diners. According to a press release:

The appetizer will feature Eggplant Salad with Poached and Spicy Vinaigrette. The intermezzo will include Fig Tempura with Sweet Potato, Vanilla and Tahini. The entree will be Vegan Zucchini Lasagna with Heirloom Tomatoes and Pinenut Ricotta. Dessert will consist of a Black Rice Pudding and Coconut Sorbet.

Call 404-577-4358 for reservations or more information.

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In the Spanish city of Pamplona, natives and tourists come together for one week to celebrate the famous “Running of the Bulls.” You’ve probably seen pictures or updates on the news about multitudes of people running wildly down the streets being chased by large and angry-looking horned animals.

From July 7-14, Cuerno will bring this tradition to Atlanta, except without the fear of being gored or trampled by a bull. Specials include $5 sangria ($20 for a pitcher), and $4 pinxtos (basque tapas). The festival wrap up party on Mon., July 14 will offer complimentary tapas and live flamenco performances.

Cuerno is located at 905 Juniper Street and is open for dinner Monday through Thursday from 5:30-12 p.m., and Friday and Saturday until 1 a.m. To make reservations, call 678.904.4584.

(photo courtesy Wikipedia commons)

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Change your wardrobe a tad on Friday, July 11, and get free food! Details here.

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