Omnivore Atlanta

Dogwood Restaurant chef Shane Touhy will be preparing a five-course meal at New York’s James Beard House next Saturday, April 18.

Lucky for us, the restaurant will present the same menu here this Tuesday, April 14. That’s the day before your tax return is due, so ease the misery with Touhy’s great food and wine pairings from Swanson Vineyards of Rutherford, Calif.

The menu, limited to 60 reservations, costs $95 per person, including wine. I want the third course in particular: charred rare venison tartare on toasted brioche, sunny-side-up quail egg, caramelized shallot jam and smoked blackberry-merlot reduction.

Call 404-835-1410 for a table.

(UPDATE: Another impostor’s comment was deleted 4/12 – CB)

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The James Beard Awards took place over the weekend. Of note:

I wrote about the nominees in the Best Chef of the Southeast category a couple of weeks back. The winner is Robert Stehling of Charleston’s Hominy Grill. This marks the second year that the judges have picked a home-style, traditional Southern chef over others in the field with more fine dining establishments. It’s a bit of a surprise — I like the Hominy Grill, but I thought it was the least likely to win considering the competition.

The wonderful River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall won Cookbook of the Year.

In the Writing Category, Barbara Kingsolver won for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Kim Cattrall hosted the awards ceremony. I wonder how many sausage jokes were made. You can see all the results here.

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Joseph Truex and Mihoko Obunai, the husband-and-wife chef/owners of Repast, will be cooking at the James Beard House in New York on Saturday, March 22. You can read about their planned dinner, headlined “East Meets Far East,” here.

You’re probably not going to travel to New York to attend the dinner, but here’s the good news. You can eat the same five-course meal here in Atlanta. It will be available March 14, 15, 21 and 22 at Repast for $95 per person ($125 with wine pairings).

Here’s the menu, from the Beard site:

Miso-Cured Foie Gras with Lotus Root Mostarda and Sansho Pepper

Wild Striped Bass with Black Pepper, Spring Garlic, Wild Mushrooms, and Dashi

Crispy Pork Belly with Spring Vegetable Slaw and Grain Mustard Emulsion

Jurgielewicz Farm Duck with Sprouted Green Lentils, Escargot Tempura, and Soy–Ginger Vinaigrette

Dessert Duo: Banana–Pecan Bread Pudding with Banana Ice Cream and Jamaican Rum Sauce, and Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake with Kumquat Preserves

Repast is located at 620 N. Glen Iris Dr. Call 404-870-8707 for reservations.

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This weekend is the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America, a nationwide food event celebrating American cuisine created this year in honor of the foundation’s 20th anniversary. Twenty cities, including Atlanta, host events and educational activities spotlighting different chefs, cookbook authors and other culinary stars.

Here in Atlanta, the Floataway Cafe holds a benefit dinner on Friday. The dinner features top local chefs, including JBF award winners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison (Bacchanalia, Quinones, Star Provisions), Kevin Rathbun (Rathbun’s, Krog Bar), JBF award winner Joel Antunes (Joel), Arnaud Berthelier (Ritz-Carlton Buckhead), Jeremy Lieb (Trois), and Kathryn King (Aria).

Tickets are $175 per person and the dinner begins at 6:30 p.m and a portion of the proceeds made will go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. To make reservations or for more info call 404-888-9348.

On Saturday, Williams-Sonoma at Lenox hosts a free day of events from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with cooking demonstrations featuring chefs Joe Ahn (SoHo) and Patrick Daly (Seasons 52). For the kiddies ages 6-10, an interactive activity teaches where foods come from and how they grow. Samples of regional products from artisanal producer Via Elisa will be available as well.

For more information about the James Beard Foundation and Taste America, click here.

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