Omnivore Atlanta

In case you think the restaurant business is about dead, go to the Real Chow Baby on a Saturday night, as we did this week. The inexpensive stir-fry restaurant was absolutely packed, making it basically impossible to get back in line to exploit the all-you-can-eat deal unless you’ve got unlimited time.

We didn’t. We were on our way to see Grey Gardens at Actor’s Express, which you should see before it closes at the end of this week.  Jill Hames, who plays the dual roles of Big Edie and and the grown-up Little Edie (right)  in the two-act production, is especially brilliant.

There are a bunch of full-service restaurants on Marietta Street and Howell Mill where you can dine on the way to the theater, but our meal at Real Chow Baby was very satisfying. I’m always amazed how I can randomly assemble a bowl of  ingredients, hand it to the chefs and end up with something that makes no sense but tastes very good. …

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I got some great news today. Dan Krinsky, who co-owns Tierra with wife Ticha, will undergo kidney transplant surgery on Aug. 28 at Piedmont Hospital. Dan found a suitable live donor a few months ago, after seven disappointments. He has been on dialysis three times weekly since last December.

Tierra will be closed for a week following his surgery.

Dan says the donor turned up after reading mention of his need in my Grazing column. Many thanks to that reader and others who contacted him offering help.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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I ran into Dan Krinsky today. He and his wife Ticha are co-chefs and owners of Tierra, our city’s best pan-Latin restaurant.

Dan has been on the hunt for a kidney donor for about two years and began dialysis three times a week in December. He has Polycystic Kidney Disesase (PKD), a genetic disorder with which he was diagnosed about six years ago following routine blood work.

His blood type is O — the most common type, which means the competition for a donor organ is intense. Although he is on lists for a cadaver kidney, he prefers a live donor. “I’ve had seven potential donors, including customers, friends and employees,” he said, “but all of them have been rejected for one reason or another.”

Recent research has concluded that donating a kidney does not affect the health or life expectancy of healthy donors. All donor costs will be paid by Dan’s insurance company. “It’s laparascopic surgery,” he said, “so the recovery is only a couple of weeks.”

Meridith Ford Goldman, of the AJC, wrote a column about Dan in May of last year. You can read that for more details. Also check out his wife Ticha’s blog, Dan Needs a Kidney. If you are interested in learning more, write danneedsakidney@gmail.com or call the restaurant, 404-874-5951.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

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Meredith Ford Goldman, the AJC’s dining critic, has named Tierra as the paper’s restaurant of the year. It’s a great choice — I’ve long considered Tierra to be one of our city’s great, under appreciated restaurants. Perhaps now they’ll get the crowds they deserve. Read the AJC story here.

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My award for Best Meal of the Week goes to Tierra (1425 Piedmont Ave., 404-874-5951). We dined there Thursday night because the restaurant was offering a three-course special menu marking Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16.

Our meal’s highlight was, as it is at meals throughout Mexico this time of year, chiles en nogada (above), whose colors replicate the red, white and green of the Mexican flag. The dish is also a celebration of the (red) pomegranate, which comes into season in August and September.

This is one of my favorite dishes on the planet. A roasted (green) poblano pepper, fried lightly in a coating of egg whites and a bit of flour, is stuffed with ground pork and beef seasoned with onions, tomatoes, apples, pears, peaches and almonds. Then it is topped with a (white) creamy walnut sauce and garnished with the pomegranate seeds. It is a magical dish invented by nuns. You may recall the dish is mentioned in Laura Esquivel’s book, Like Water for Chocolate, and the 1993 film of it.

First course of the meal was a bowl of caldo tlalpeño, an intense chicken broth seasoned with a chipotle chile, swimming with garbanzos, rice, some juicy chunks of white chicken, diced carrots, green beans and carrots, along with some sliced avocado. Squeeze a bit of lime in it to add a shot of tartness — and eat that damn chipotle pepper. It’s short of fiery but adds quiet sizzle to the bowl that explodes briefly when you bite into it.

Dessert (above, right) was an empanada stuffed with rice pudding and served with a mound of whipped cream. That’s crispy, creamy, billowy, sweet, slightly chewy all bound together.

This restaurant’s chef-owners are Dan and Ticha Krinsky, whose South American cooking has acquired an impassioned following in our city. They alternate the roles of chef and dining room manager every week. It’s that increasingly rare venue — a chef-driven neighborhood restaurant with friendly ambiance, great service and moderate prices.

The current special runs only through this Saturday, so make a reservation if you want to try it out. Cost is $28 per person.

(Photos by Cliff Bostock)

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