Omnivore Atlanta

VEGGIE TALES: The vegetable plate at Atkins Park

It wasn’t that long ago in the urban South that you heard can openers whirring in the summer heat.  My assumption is that people became so accustomed to the convenience and taste of canned vegetables, they weren’t really attracted to garden-grown produce.

When fresh produce did show up on urban tables, it usually came from the grocery store and was typically cooked beyond recognition — often to the degree that it was indistinguishable from canned food. I’m thinking about green beans in particular. Yellow summer squash was boiled and mashed with butter and bacon fat. Tomatoes, thanks to the miracle of hydroponic greenhouses, were mealy and flavorless year round. It was not until I was in my 20s, living in Elberton, that I tasted a garden-grown tomato.

Happily, restaurants have turned local produce into a virtual fad during the last few years. One of those is Atkins Park Restaurant (794 N. Highland Ave., 404-876-7249), well-known as the longest continually licensed bar in the city. The chef is Andrew Smith, who earlier worked for Scott Peacock of Watershed and Shaun Doty of Shaun’s.

Continue reading “Grazing: Get fresh at Atkins Park”

(Photo by James Camp)

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Executive Chef of Atkins Park in Virginia Highland, Andrew Smith, has plans for a 120 pound Fourth of July pig. A “meat and three” lunch and dinner for $15 will feature a roasted Berkshire pig from Riverview Farms.

Choices of sides include coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, grilled corn, pole beans and tomato cucumber salad. The cost also covers cornbread or Texas toast, a watermelon slice and three sauces — NC vinegar, tomato BBQ and mustard BBQ.

The pig should serve 60-70 plates, so plan ahead and make reservations. Call 678-513-2333.

(Image of pig with sun shades from coloradopigroasters.com)

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