Omnivore Atlanta

BURGER CLUB: The Artery Annihilator is an 8-ounce Angus patty on two Krispy Kreme doughnuts

It arrived like any other hamburger of its type, crowding the plate, oozing melted cheddar cheese from which lengths of crispy bacon jutted. Above all, it glowed with the nostalgia of every American kid’s favorite meal. The economy has tanked, the plutocrats bid the lawmakers to let us eat cake, the teabaggers exhort us literally to vote against our own interests. The world has gone mad, but we’ve still got hamburgers.

Sort of. I took a closer look, as did those sitting at nearby tables in the bar of the new Burger Club (4300 Paces Ferry Road, Vinings, 678-888-9036). There was a barely discernible gasp. A woman’s hand flew to her chest. “Yeah,” I said, “it’s the ‘Artery Annihilator.’”

The 8-ounce Angus patty’s bun wasn’t a bun at all – it was two Krispy Kreme doughnuts. As my gaze took in the concoction, childhood nostalgia melted – like the sugar glaze on the doughnuts, the globes of fat in the burger, the crystallized fat in the bacon and the drooping fat of the cheese – into an adult’s vision of slow suicide. Why wasn’t it served with Lipitor and beta-blockers?

Continue Reading “First Look: Burger Club and FuzeBurger”

(Photo by James Camp)

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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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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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BETWEEN A ROCKERFELLER AND A HARD PLACE: The nostalgic oysters at Harry Bissett

When a friend saw me perusing the website for Harry Bissett’s (360 Pharr Road, 404-425-5995), he got excited. A Georgia Bulldogs fan, he’s eaten several times at the Athens restaurant, which has been serving New Orleans-style cooking since 1986. He was happy to learn that a clone of the restaurant opened here a few months ago. “You’ll enjoy it,” he promised.

I’ve never eaten in the Athens restaurant, but if the restaurant there is anything like the one here, my friend has either lapsed into a culinary coma or was playing a practical joke on me. I’ve seriously not had such an unpleasant experience in a restaurant in memory.

I don’t feel good about writing that this restaurant is a landmark in poor service and food, but the missteps were so bold and so obvious, we felt like we were watching very bad theater. The lead actor, the server, did such a miserable job that, halfway through the performance, I couldn’t look at him without flushing with embarrassment, much less point out to him his most recent error.

There was no crowd to explain the incomprehensibly bad service. On a Monday evening, the restaurant had only a few tables of diners and maybe eight people at the bar. This is generic space in a generic mixed-use building in generic Buckhead. Mardi Gras beads and a few other visual clichés make you suspect les bon temps are not going to roulez too good.

Not long after we were seated, our server appeared at the table and asked for our drink orders. I ordered my usual tonic water. I thought it might be an oversight that I received a lukewarm glass of tonic that was about half-full, with no ice. But the server twice replaced the glass during the meal in identical fashion. (more…)

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STEAK IT OR LEAVE IT: The Kansas City strip steak

Last week, Our Fearless Leader finally uttered the “r” word: recession. Never mind that anyone who has rolled a cart in a grocery store or coasted to a gas pump has known the word has been applicable for months. Now it’s an official part of reality. We’ve been in a recession for a year.

Given that, it’s surprising that restaurants, especially higher-end restaurants, continue to open. My bank account says “burger,” not “steak,” so it felt almost decadent to show up at a new steakhouse last week. Parker’s on Ponce (116 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., 404-924-2230) is located in the former Mick’s building across from the courthouse in downtown Decatur.

The restaurant seems huge – all restaurants look huge to me these days, owing to their epidemic emptiness – but Parker’s space is broken up into several dining rooms. We ate in the front room, where a few other tables were seated.

It’s been years since I was in the building, so I’m not sure how much remodeling has occurred. The space is warmly lit, almost minimalist in décor, and features a few glowing fireplaces. I saw my first Christmas decorations of the year here – a few poinsettias and a silvery stocking.

Our server gave us the scoop. The restaurant, more than a year in planning, has been opened by brothers JT and Chris Scott, who earlier worked at Mick’s. (They are the sons of the late Tom Scott, DeKalb County’s longtime tax commissioner.) Chef is David Hartshorn, who earlier was the chef at Einstein’s in Midtown. (more…)

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