Omnivore Atlanta

GREAT BALLS OF RICE: The arancini at Cakes & Ale

Reviewing restaurants is a tricky game. We want to be fair, to give credit where it’s due, and to be respectful of the heart and hard work someone has put into a business. For that reason, we have guidelines — at CL we never do a full starred review before a restaurant has been open one month. A month isn’t a lot of time, and I often feel as though it’s not enough. A restaurant can take a few months to become what it’s destined to be.

So why not wait those few months to review? Because to be a part of the conversation, we need to weigh in early. By the time three months have gone by, people are talking about something new.

When I review, I rate based on what the restaurant is at the time, not based on what I expect the restaurant to become. This can be frustrating, for me and, I’m sure, for the chefs and owners of the restaurants. Often I can see the potential, but I have no way to say for sure whether that potential will be met.

For that reason I’ve decided to revisit some restaurants I felt had more potential than they achieved in those first few months. I wanted a chance to update star ratings and to give credit to businesses that are constantly evolving, and in these cases, becoming better.

Continue reading “Feature: Come again”

(Photo by James Camp)

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After last week’s announcement that Nick Melvin will be leaving the Farmhouse on March 22, Serenbe has announced that Marie Nygren, the “proprietress” of the Inn at Serenbe (and wife of Steve Nygren) will be taking over preparing the meals at the Farmhouse.

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Two days after a glowing article in the New York Times travel section, Nick Melvin has resigned as chef of the Farmhouse restaurant for a chef job elsewhere. His last day is March 22. No word yet on where he’s headed, or who will replace him at Serenbe.

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A New York Times writer visits the “utopian experiment” of Serenbe:

In just a few years, this idyllic community — which aspires to be something of a Sonoma for the New South (though without the wine) — has become a destination for Atlantans in search of a day trip with the kids or a getaway without them. My wife, Dina, and I recently took the latter course, and quickly discovered a refuge that washed away the stresses of city living within minutes of arrival, after an hour’s drive through Atlanta’s ever-worsening traffic. Despite only word-of-mouth advertising, it is increasingly attracting visitors from afar, some on extended layovers at nearby Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

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Les Dames d’Escoffier International come together Nov. 9th for An Afternoon in the Country at Serenbe. The ladies welcome special guests Chef Cyrille Holota of Joel and Food 101’s Chef Ron Eyester, who plan to whip up some undoubtedly delicious eats, along with rich wines, beers, and natural tastes from the Georgia soil.

This is the delectable Dames’ 8th annual country gathering and it promises to be no less exciting than the previous seven. Les Dames is a society of women across the globe with booming careers in the culinary, beverage, and hospitality industries that savor organics and unique flavors worldwide.

Adult tickets are $95, children 12 to 20 are $35. Children under 12 are free of charge.

Purchase your ticket online: www.LDEIAtlanta.org.

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Nick Melvin is replacing Nicholas Bour (who left for DC) as the chef at the Farmhouse at Serenbe. Melvin comes to Serenbe from Concentrics, where he worked as sous chef for a few of their projects, including Murphy’s, Room and Tap.

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Muss & Turner’s is participating in some cool events in the coming months:

On Sunday, March 13 Muss & Turner’s is taking part in a local chef battle between Ryan Hidinger of M & T’s and Chris Hall of Canoe, to be held at Jay Swift’s ( formerly of South City Kitchen) new place, 4th and Swift located in the Old Fourth Ward.

Todd Mussman and Ryan Turner will be blind tasting the two chefs on two white wines, two reds wines and two beers and the chefs will create two courses for each.

“In our opinion, this is the most genuine way for a chef to make food in symphony with drink,” writes Turner. ” This kind of stuff is just fun for us. Obviously the whole chef battle thing is hip right now, but our goal is to just ‘throw down’ with our chef buddies in a very friendly competition.”

Make your reservations fast because this food fight is limited to 30 people.

If you’re looking to get a little fresh air then take a quick trip out to the farm. Muss and Turner are working with Brady Lowe from Taste Network to host a Champagne farm dinner.

On May 17, fifty guests will be loaded onto a “green” chartered bus provided by Elite Green Car, a company that refers to themselves as “eco-friendly chauffeurs,” at Muss & Turner’s store in Smyrna and driven to Serenbe for a tour of the development and the farm.

Everyone will be served an early, multi-course family style dinner created by Muss in conjunction with the harvest schedules of three local farms. Food will be paired with Henriot Champagne in celebration of their 200th anniversary.

Dinner will be served in a Serenbe home overlooking the farm where much of the food that will be served was actually grown.

Future details of the chef battle and farm dinner will be at www.mussandturners.com.

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This just in: The farmhouse at Serenbe’s chef Tony Seichrist is taking a “culinary sabbatical” to Italy, and Nicolas Bour, former chef/owner of Iris and current chef at the Blue Eyed Daisy bakery at Serenbe, will be taking over chef duties at the Farmhouse. It’ll be interesting to see what culinary direction Bour will take. Check out my recent profile of Bour here, and a profile of Seichrist from last year’s Food Issue here.

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