Omnivore Atlanta

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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Well, almost. Chef Paul Luna is returning to Atlanta. I had a voicemail from him a few weeks ago but haven’t reconnected with him. However, Henry, a longtime server at Eclipse di Luna, told me during lunch today that he is returning. Apparently, he plans to work as a consultant, not as a chef. I repeat: I have not confirmed this with Luna himself.

Newcomers to Atlanta may not know Luna, to whom words like “legendary” and “bad boy” have been routinely applied. He first arrived here as chef of Bice in the early ’90s, as I recollect, then opened Luna Si, Cafe Mystique, Eclipse di Luna and Loca Luna. A year ago we reported that he was writing a bilingual children’s book, Luna Needs a Miracle, which will be available next month.

Known for rather temperamental behavior in his restaurants — ejecting diners who asked for salt, for example — he also became infamous for dancing on table tops in very few clothes. Diners tolerated the behavior because his food was so extraordinary.

We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.

(Photo courtesy of ChefLuna.com)

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The May issue of Knife and Fork includes this bit of news:

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Chef Paul Luna is writing his first children’s book (nothing to do with cooking) in San Jose, California, instead of mooning customers as he once did at Luna Si.

Oh SNAP! If you were in Atlanta 10 years ago, you probably heard about Luna. He was a brilliant chef/owner with a theatrical personality, to say the least. He ejected diners who dared to ask for salt, pointing them toward Houston’s. If you were camping at a table and got up to use the restroom, you’d likely find your chair had been removed when you returned.

As his tenure lengthened, and he opened two more restaurants — Eclipse di Luna and Loca Luna — his schtick became more blatantly sexual. The occasional mooning turned into strip tease on the bar at Loca Luna, for example. Eventually, he left town. I often wonder where he is now and I’m glad to get the report from Knife and Fork’s publisher, Christiane Lauterbach.

If you never laid eyes on Luna, you should check out Christiane’s Atlanta Magazine piece almost 10 years ago.

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