Omnivore Atlanta

For those who are familiar with the pub crawl, this is like that, but with hors d’oeuvres and possibly a more slurry crowd.

The wine madness begins Nov. 15th at 1:30 p.m., kicking off with ENO Restaurant & Wine Bar and slowly, but surely, making way down Peachtree to the finish line at Gordon Biersch for discount wine and lagers.

Participating restaurants include: Marlow’s Tavern ($5 reds and whites), Steel Restaurant & Lounge, the Melting Pot ($10 flights/$5-6 glasses), and Silk Asian Steak & Seafood (sake & sushi specials).

$5 in advance, $10 at the door.

Registration: 1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. www.atlantabartours.com.

Portion of the proceeds goes to Small Dog Rescue (aw!).

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

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I’m looking for office space in the Midtown area. The Ansley Starbucks’ Internet access has been totally f***ed up for months, so I need to find a place that won’t boot me off-line three times an hour…or charge me more than the cost of a few shots of espresso.

The problem, this time, began after Starbucks introduced sort-of-free WiFi through AT&T. I still pay $30 monthly for Tmobile’s service there, but neither service works half the time. No matter how much people complain, nothing happens.

My theory is that because the service is basically free now, nobody in the upper echelons of their corporate office, including the alleged AT&T liaison, feels the need to really do anything about the complaints. Further, I learned today, that allegedly nobody besides me calls to complain. As if. But it’s certainly true that many have become virtually acclimated to the WiFi dysfunction, like Baghdad residents who have become accustomed to having electricity only half the day.

Please don’t tell me it’s what I get for patronizing the corporate coffee culture. The shop’s baristas are great and the store is located next door to my gym. I tried Octane, which I love, but it’s out of the way….

La Pietra Cucina opens Saturday nights for the first time tomorrow. I’m happy to learn that the restaurant is booked except for one two-top. As usual, I lunched there today with my pals Brad Lapin and Todd Doane.

We had a gigantic meal, including tortellini al brodo (the popular Italian Christmas soup), a wild boar ragu with chitarra and a sorbet made with fresh huckleberries, olive oil and a touch of sea salt. My entree was pork slices over a thyme-laced salad of chopped red beets, placed over sliced yellow beets, with a dollop of blueberry confit spread about the plate. I could go on, but you’d do better to go sample the food yourself….

Speaking of pork slices, I have been ruminating a dish I sampled at Taqueria del Sol on Cheshire Bridge yesterday. Chef Eddie Hernandez offered me a taste of an off-the-menu dish — slices of roasted pork with a sauce made of New Mexico green chilies. The fiery sauce contained large chunks of the smoky chilies. I want more! It reminded me of the old Sundown Cafe days when such items appeared on the menu regularly….Eddie was headed to the Original El Taco last night. He promised to give me a report….By the way, the Athens Taqueria del Sol is scheduled to open within a few weeks….

Bill Pruitt writes to recommend the new Mai Thai (4394 Hugh Howell Rd., 770-493-8002) in Tucker. He likes the masaman curry with chicken, the basil rolls and the coconut soup. Prices range from $6.95 to $14.95….

News Flash from the Melting Pot in Kennesaw:

It’s time to bring out the kids for a day of fun, while teaching them the importance of giving back. From 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov.r 8, The Melting Pot in Kennesaw will join forces with Bears-4-Hope Charity for Fondue Festival! This will be a day filled with entertainment for the whole family, including music from The Tom and Chad Show, jewelry, a moon walk, face painting, a magic show, a “special” spiced cider for the parents and, of course, fondue for everyone. Guests will indulge in creamy cheese and rich chocolate fondues from The Melting Pot while supporting a worthy cause.

Admission is $20 for adults, $12 for each additional adult and $7.50 for children under 12. Proceeds will be donated to Bears-4-HopMa Charity and will be used to purchase blankets and pillows for children in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Seating is limited; please call 770.425.1411 to make a reservation. The Melting Pot is the country’s premier fondue restaurant franchise. Visit www.themeltingpot.com for details…..

More than 5,000 homeless men, women and children inhabit our city’s streets every night. Support Samaritan House by attending a benefit photography exhibit and reception 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct., 30, at Cator Woolford Gardens on Ponce de Leon Ave. Call 404-446-4691 or write GJenkins@SamHouse.org for more information and to purchase tickets, which are $55 each.

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I admit that I’ve never gotten the “fun” of fondue. Somewhere in the attic, I have a red-enamel fondue pot, a gift, that has gone unused more than 25 years.

I don’t object to fondue as something on a cocktail party buffet, but I don’t enjoy making a full dinner out of spearing chunks of food and going fishing in a pot of cheese, chocolate, oil or broth. I’ve enjoyed classic raclette in Switzerland several times, but that didn’t involve cooking in a communal pot.

Nonetheless, I visited the new Melting Pot (745 Peachtree St., 404-389-0099) in Midtown Sunday night. I’ll have more to say in a future “Grazing” column about this franchise restaurant that must have the lowest food overhead for the dollar in the city. Above is a shot of the entrée portion of our $86 (for two) din din.

We had a very entertaining server. But I was embarrassed when she brought a shaker of seasoning (left) to the table and proclaimed its miraculous good taste, available for purchase at the remarkably low price of $6. It just tasted like garlic salt to me.

The best thing I can say about the meal is that the beef was high-quality and mercilessly free of the harsh seasonings that flavored some of the other meats.

I found this description of fondue etiquette on Wikipedia:

As with other communal dishes fondue has an etiquette which can be both helpful and fun. Most often, allowing one’s tongue or lips to touch the dipping fork will be thought of as rude. With meat fondues one should use a dinner fork to take meat off the dipping fork. A “no double-dipping” rule also has sway: After a dipped morsel has been tasted it should never be returned to the pot. In longstanding Swiss tradition if a nugget of bread is lost in the cheese by a man he buys a bottle of wine and if such a thing happens to befall a woman she kisses the man on her left. Lately, rather more humorous twists on this have shown up in Switzerland such as young diners diving into the snow whilst clad only in underclothing.

We saw nobody running through the dining room in their underwear, but you go ahead.

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