Omnivore Atlanta

Spoon has blown all other Thai restaurants in Atlanta out of the water. Although its menu is a bit limited compared to others, the curry sauces have no equal for their complexity and fiery heat (unless you specify “mild”). I go to the East Atlanta location, but the original is in the Westside.

Favorite dishes: The Massaman curry, to which I add mixed seafood or chicken. The tofu steak is my favorite special. 749 Moreland Ave., 404-624-4713. 768 Marietta Street., 404-522-5655. www.spoonatlanta.com.

We will be counting down Cliff’s Top 10 Favorites every day between now and Oct. 21, the day our Food Issue 2009 launches. Check back tomorrow for Number 6.

(Photo by James Camp)

Bookmark to:

I stopped in the relatively new Chocolate Coffee (1159 LaVista Rd., 404-327-6060) today. Actually, I have no idea if it’s actually spelled Chocolate Coffee, ChocoLaté Coffee or Chocolatte Coffee. Literally all three spellings are used on the shop’s website. (This is a local chain of three cafes.)

In any case, I skipped the numerous chocolate-and-coffee concoctions and had a good espresso macchiato. Pastries looked better than average.

One sort-of complaint: The shop offers free Wi-Fi and in fact is an advocate of free wireless everywhere for everyone, according to its website. Why, then, are you limited to an hour of service at the shop and why do you have to enter a code to log on? It took me some time to get my iTouch to work and the barista told me she had given up on getting her own iPhone to work there.

This isn’t unique to Chocolate Coffee. It costs practically nothing for businesses to provide free Wi-Fi. Why the time limits, the codes and the log-on pages full of advertising?. …

We ate at — you know where — the Shed on Glenwood Wednesday night, having become totally addicted to the $3 sliders. Last night’s delicious newbie was one of ratatouille topped with goat cheese. We also ordered this plate of onion rings. The damn things were as big as the sliders, tasted sweet and almost tempura-crispy.

The Shed began a Thursday-night special this week too — a plate of four fresh vegetables for $10. This week’s choices were sunchokes, organic tomatoes, Swiss chard, arugula and sweet corn. I hope to get there next week. …

We indulged our addiction to Spoon in East Atlanta Thursday night. The restaurant now has its pouring license, so you can dull the fiery curries by numbing your entire head with liquor. As usual, I trotted across the parking lot to Morelli’s for ice cream — one scoop of ginger-lavender and one of goat cheese swirled with figs.

Morelli’s is featured in the current issue of the Porch Press, by the way. That’s the monthly newspaper for Grant Park and East Atlanta Village. The article’s not online — none of the paper is, incredibly — so you’ll have to find a copy to read it. Writer Darin Glass reports that business has been crazy at the shop since Bon Appetit cited it as one of America’s top 10 ice cream shops. …

Name Change: Food 101 Morningside becomes Rosebud on July 6. This follows purchase of the restaurant by Executive Chef Ron Eyester, who has been with the restaurant as a co-owner and chef since it opened. So, there won’t be any significant changes in the menu. A press release explains the new name:

So, why Rosebud? Well, as any “regular” will tell you, Chef Eyester’s second love (aside from food) is music. An avid fan of bands such as The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, and The Allman Brothers, Eyester has built a reputation for offering unique music tribute dinners throughout the year. Fittingly, Rosebud is the name of one of Jerry Garcia’s custom made guitars.

Newbies on my list: RA Sushi, Evos, Nonna Mia, Midtown Mediterranean Diner, Teela Taqueria, Nectar, Noon Midtown and Bistro in a Box. I also hear stuff’s happening at Saba. Any reports on any of these?

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

Bookmark to:

I was engaging my addiction — eating at Spoon’s eastside location — a few nights ago when a nearby table of five began chanting an annoying mantra I’ve heard in restaurants for years:

“It’s so spicy! Ow, it’s so spicy! I didn’t know it was going to be this spicy! Ow, it’s so spicy! I can’t eat it! My mouth burns! It’s so spicy!” (Repeat.)

Spoon’s staff all but physically examines diners’ tongues in order to ascertain tolerance of chili heat. They always explain that they offer dishes with mild, hot and “Thai hot” sauces. Other restaurants do the same thing. But it doesn’t seem to matter. People still wave their hands in front of their mouths and guzzle water and then recite the Mantra of the Blistered Tongue.

Over the years, I’ve dined with many friends who, as we settled into our chairs, announced that they hoped the food was “not too spiiiiiicy.”

“Why did you want to come here if you don’t like spicy food?” I’d ask.

“Oh,” they’d invariably say, “I love spicy food. I just don’t like it too spicy.”

“Too spicy” of course always turned out to be anything hotter than Taco Bell seasonings.

Anyway, here’s what to do, instead of waving your hands and shouting. Ask for a glass of milk. I’m always amazed how many people don’t know this. Milk will almost instantly stop the burning. There are other remedies, including increasing the amount of rice you mix with the sauce, but milk works best. Cecil Adams, author of The Straight Dope explained why long ago.

But, really, learn to enjoy the pain. It’s all about oral jouissance, baby.

Bookmark to:

We dined at the new Spoon on Moreland Avenue in East Atlanta tonight — great, as always — and then headed across the parking lot to the highly addictive Morelli’s for ice cream and a life lesson.

Wayne ordered a crepe whose preparation created a bottleneck since only two employees were on duty. I enjoyed telling people who were drumming their fingers at the counter that Wayne was responsible for the holdup.

Eventually, one of the employees opened the pick-up window and slid an order toward a woman. “That’s not what I ordered, did I? I don’t think so,” the woman said, embarrassed. The employee apologized, asked for the order again, filled it and insisted that the woman’s companion take the incorrect order for no charge. They left smiling and literally promising to return many times.

Wayne’s endless crepe was finally delivered, but I still had not received my cone. The employee looked at me and said, “Did you want something?”

“Um, yeah. I ordered and paid you for a scoop of ginger-lavender in a waffle cone,” I said, feeling annoyed.

“Oh yeah! I knew that. Sorry, I forgot.” Ohhhh-kay.

She shut the window and, moments later, returned with my cone. “I’m sorry I messed up,” she said, “so I gave  you two scoops.”

I felt happy-happy, joy-joy. Finally, a solution to all conflict. When you screw up and annoy people, just give them free ice cream.

Bookmark to:

“Excuse me while I go to the restroom,” I told Wayne.

“Again?” he replied.

It was my third visit during our meal at Spoon (749 Moreland Ave., 404-624-4713) in East Atlanta. This Thai restaurant has been opened by the same people who operate Spoon on Marietta Street in West Atlanta.

My continual visits to the bathroom had nothing to do with the usual reasons. I was already weeping and sneezing 24 hours a day because of pine pollen. But Spoon’s very spicy food had caused my sinuses to evacuate and my eyes to water even more. I had to run to the bathroom repeatedly to blow my nose with the intensity of a trumpet solo.

Honestly, I love hot food and I wince when I hear diners whining to servers that they don’t eat spicy. (“Then, why are you here?” would be the appropriate response.) But this Spoon, like the original, challenges my own tolerance. You have three choices – “medium spicy,” “hot” and “Thai hot” – and even the medium is capable of causing your mouth to sizzle.

Continue reading Grazing.

(Photo by James Camp)

Bookmark to:

Oh happy day! Spoon, the terrific Thai spot on Marietta Street, has opened a sister operation in Ormewood Park shopping center, 749 Moreland Ave. That’s the shopping center that houses Azio.

The restaurant opened Friday and we dined there Saturday night. Our meal was flawless. We both ordered specials. For me: soft-shell crabs in a panang sauce that has no equal in the city. For Wayne: this crispy duck in a basil sauce. (Warning: the latter cost $26 while the crabs were only about $16.)

The restaurant is not yet serving alcohol and probably won’t until June. You can carry your own beer and wine, if you like. The bar is, however, in place and customers are welcome to dine there. The place, generally, has a very sociable vibe.

The restaurant was crowded when we visited but was running without any obvious glitches. The staff, just like the Westside one, is beautiful, solicitous, friendly and witty. There’s nothing like being waited on by marriage material.

I’ll have more to say in an upcoming Grazing column.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

Bookmark to:

As Cliff mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Westside’s most popular Thai restaurant is heading east.

Spoon co-owner Sujaree Hewitt just told me she and her sister, Ain Suteeluxnaporn, plan to open Spoon Eastside in the fall. The restaurant, which will be about the same size as the Marietta Street location (except it will have a patio), will be located in the Ormewood Park shopping center (749 Moreland Ave.) that already houses the more lactose-oriented Little Azio pizza and Morelli Gourmet Ice Cream.

“I think lunch will be a little bit slower than here,” said Sujaree, whom I ran into at the original restaurant. “But dinner definitely stronger — lots of neighborhood people.”

Sujaree got an MBA at Georgia State and handles the front end, while her sister learned how to become a chef at the Atlanta Art Institute. Kid brother Wind Suteeluxanaporn (yes, he spells his last name differently) helps out.

“We’ll have to rotate” between the two stores, Sujaree said.

The menu will likely be the same simple lineup — highlighted by noodles and curries, with interchangeable meats and heat.

This sounds like a pretty good move, doesn’t it? Southeast Atlanta, like the Westside before Spoon came along, is a bit underrepresented in the Asian food department. I’d be surprised if the sisters didn’t strike the same chord they managed to hit on Marietta Street.

Bookmark to: