Special occasion dining

Oddly enough, Mr. AT and I have the same birthday, and it is just around the corner. For the big day itself, we'll be cooking dinner at home (more on that another time), but I can't let a milestone pass without using it as an excuse for some top notch restaurant dining.

I recall with a whistful longing, NY special occasion dining, when I had a plethora of never before tried, world-class dining options to choose from. Atlanta is certainly a good dining city, but NY it's not, and there simply aren't as many options in this much smaller town. So that being said, as I tried to start thinking about where we should eat for our annual dutch treat (it is both of our birthdays after all) birthday dinner, I was stumped.

Where haven't I eaten yet that is worthy of birthday dinner status? I can't think of a thing! Where have I eaten before that's good enough to merit special occasion status? Alas, our plight is not helped by our desire to be frugal these days, so places like Bachanalia, which I haven't dined at in something like a decade seem to be out of the running.

Hmm...Holeman and Finch? Love it, but it's so crowded, and duking it out for a table on my birthday doesn't sound that fun. JCT or Serpas? Like 'em, but have been so much that they don't scream "birthday" to me. Miller Union or Sauced? Just tried them recently. Rathbun's? That got me excited but Mr. AT seems to have nixed it. Oh the quandary I'm in. I'm an alleged Atlanta foodie, and I can't think for the life of me where I want to go for a birthday dinner.

So I open it to you...anyone have suggestions? Special enough to be worthy of an occasion, delicious food (natch!) and prices that won't blow the bank?

Valentine's Round Up

Valentines...oh that stressful day of angst if you're single and a heady mix of pressure and disappointment if you're not. OK it's not necessarily that bad, but seriously, isn't it almost always a let down? I do enjoy receiving flowers though and it is one of the only days of the year when I (might) receive them, so it's not all bad I suppose.

Last year's effort to cook a special meal together resulted in overcooked steak and heavy risotto. Oops! We usually steer clear of restaurants for fear of their overwrought fixed menus and sky high pricing, but in years past I was all about using the day as an excuse to dine somewhere fabulous! So in that spirit, I offer you a round-up of Atlanta Valentine's Day goings on...

Fourth & Swift

Prix Fixe 4-Course menu includes your choice of offerings ~
that will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Seasonal à la carte menu will also be available on Friday and Saturday.

Valentine's Menu is priced at $75 per person
with an optional Wine Pairing at $35 per person*.

678.904.0160 for reservations

Two Urban Licks
Enjoy a live band and complimentary roses

Parish
3-course prix fixe menu as well as the regular menu, including west coast oysters, smoked shortribs, roasted black grouper, and a chocolate hazelnut truffle tart. Cost is 42/person.

JCT Kitchen
Sample Chef Ford Fry's $55 four-course prix fixe Valentine's menu available on Sunday, February 14. Call 404-355-2252 for reservations.

La Tavola

4-course Valentine's dinner menufor $49/per person as well as the regular menu, available Friday, February 12 through Sunday, February 14. Call 404-873-5430 for reservations.

El Taco
Single? This may be just the place for you. Drink specials Saturday and Sunday include $2 Miller High Lifes, $4 tequila shots and $5 mojitos and house margaritas. Spin the wheel for prizes like Natural Body Spa and Helmet Salon gift cards.

Serpas
Order off the regular menu or enjoy Chef Scott Serpas' special three-course prix fixe for two menu. Early riser? Instead of dinner, try a romantic brunch on Valentine's Morning of Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes, New Orleans Beignets or Short Ribs Eggs Benedict.

Straits
Several prix-fixe menus for couples. Some regular menu items also available. $15/person bottomless champagne w/ dinner.

Pura Vida
Latino Passion Valentine's Day package incl.: 6 tapas (with all the aphrodisiacs highlighted), a dessert & a bottle of wine to share for $80/couple.

Repast
Repast will be feature a $75 per person 4-course menu with optional wine pairings from Chef Joe Friday through Sunday.

The SHED at Glenwood
Enjoy a 3-course prix-fixe dinner for $45/person.

1st Course
Gulf Oysters, Lemon & Black Pepper
or
Roasted Beet Salad, Organic Vermont Goat Cheese, White Balsamic
or
San Marzano Tomato Soup, Mini Grilled Cheese

2nd Course
Angus Strip with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, Drawn Butter & Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
or
Pan Seared Wreckfish, Winter Vegetable Salad
or
Mushroom & Ricotta Ravioli, Brown Butter Walnuts & Sage

3rd Course
Blackberry Cheesecake
or
Housemade Ding Dong
or
Profiteroles, Espresso Ice Cream, Valrhona Chocolate

All that yumminess makes it almost sound worth going out, no?

Food Entpreneurs: The Kale Chip Factory

I've long thought it would be pretty darn awesome to have your own food business. Alas I've never hit upon a winning idea (well a winning idea that earns actual income), but I thought I'd start an occasional series featuring other food entrepreneurs who've found some success.

First up is Amy Hamberry, a Brooklynite who along with her health food shop owner husband, started making kale chips when their provider proved too difficult to work with. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? After much hard work and experimentation, the Kale Chip Factory was born.

I've never had or even heard of a kale chip, but according to NY Mag and its commenters, these suckers are delicious and actually somewhat healthy. The chips are such a hit, in fact, that the kale chip business is even outliving the health food store it was born in.

I love a good entrepreneur success story - a random need and some hard work yields a business that is hopefully a labor of love. Livin' the dream...

To read more, check out the full article here.

The joys of specialty food shops

I studied French in grade school, and in these classes, we learned all about the patisseries, boulangeries, etc that line the streets of Paris. I always thought these shops had a romantic charm to them - I loved the idea of a knowledgeable butcher or baker (or candlestick maker) would sell his wares to me, offering gentle guidance and advice free of charge.

Alas, my shopping experience has almost exclusively been at traditional groceries over the years. Fortunately with the advent of Whole Foods, that experience got a bit more compelling, but still my shopping trips are nearly always to one-stop shops, where aisle after aisle of everything from dog food to make up to produce to steak are there for the choosing, but nary a helpful employee is in site. Seriously, have you ever tried to get someone's attention for help at Kroger? Nearly impossible. I digress, but I must share...I once asked at the Edgewood Kroger where the chorizo was. The Kroger employee's response? Oh Chorizo? He's not working tonight. I kid you not.

So on my trip to London earlier this week, I was so enchanted to pass an entire street of specialty shops. First a butcher, where the employees even wore old timey butcher outfits...so charming! Then a fromagerie, followed by a patisserie. So incredibly charming and European. I can certainly appreciate the ease of shopping for your groceries in one place, but I'd give anything for some specialty shops to offer real advice and breadth and depth of specialized product. It's like pulling teeth to find something like ground lamb or duck breast sometimes. I bet those old timey butchers would have ground the lamb by hand as I waited! Sigh...


As I walked through Holland Park admiring all of these shops, I also searched for an incredibly belated lunch (no thanks to you SAS Airlines). I stumbled upon Paul, which I've learned is actually a fairly large chain of French style bakery, founded in France over a hundred years ago. Despite being a chain, it felt anything but. Small, cozy, with friendly French accented salesgirls. Their display case was filled with delectable baguette sandwiches and mouthwatering pastries. I chose a baguette with ham, pickles and butter. Thin layers of ham didn't overwhelm, and the cheese flecked bread was salty, crispy perfection. Now I can appreciate Subway now and then, but an overstuffed sub sandwich this wasn't. It was fresh and light and oh so satisfying. You could actual taste each ingredient in all it's divine simplicity. It was so good in fact, I returned the following day for lunch again. This time ham with pears and boursin. I am in love with Paul. Can you believe this place is a chain? Why can't we have more profoundly quaint, adorable chains over here?


Now I know that specialty shops are rather trendy these days, but they don't seem to have taken hold in Atlanta just yet. I like to think that with the right location we could sustain some charming little shops like I saw in London. From what I hear people drive from all over town to Patak's to fill their coolers with sausages and cold cuts, so surely a well placed Atlanta butcher could succeed? And oh to be able to find affordable, slim little baguettes with delectable fillings. Yes Star Provisions is close, but it costs and arm and a leg. Surely it needn't?


For now I'll think fondly back to those little shops and imaging a day when I took can carry my own little basket to precious specialty shops...

A quick google search also turns up Sawicki's in Decatur. I've never heard of it, and it's not in my 'hood, but sounds like it could be worth a shot! Come on, surely Virginia Highlands is a perfect spot for a little butcher?

Things I learned in Denmark

1. You have to be rich to eat really well in Copenhagen, at least by Atlanta or even NY standards. According to the NY Times, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure et al, Copenhagen is one of the world's best eating cities. Alas the kind of eating they're talking about will cost a pretty penny (or kroner for that matter). Noma is one of the world's top restaurants - it's fixed price menu runs about $200 USD a person. Alas probably not in my budget any time soon. Entrees at a regular restaurant (e.g., Le Le) seem to average around $30 USD and at a slightly nicer but by no means fancy restaurant (e.g., Cafe Victor) are in the $40-60 range. For a piece of fish to cost $60, Eric Ripert himself should be serving it to me, or maybe it should come with a chaser of gold.
2. Danes are nuts for making dinner reservations apparently. We had to eat at the bar numerous times and were outright turned away from our attempt to try smorebrod.
3. You know how they always bleep out the cursing on Hell's Kitchen? They don't in Europe, so you get to hear the cheftestants and Gordan Ramsey swear their little hearts out.
4. Did I mention you have to be rich to eat in Copenhagen? Seriously $20 soup and $25 slices of cake at nothing special restaurants. Holy moly! And to be honest, most of the food I had was good but not all that memorable, so certainly not worth super fancy restaurant prices. Quelle disappointment!
5. Riding a bus in a foreign city alone has to be one of the world's must frustrating and stress-inducing activities. FYI, there is no stop called Ny Torv Glamens Torv no matter what the owner of your hotel tells you.
6. The Danish version of Manhattan Italian apparently includes New England Clam Chowder. Yes I realize that it's an odd choice for two former New Yorkers to go to a NY style restaurant, but we didn't know that's what it was, and Tony's came recommended. Fortunately, although the pheasant was bland and the tirimasu so so, the chowder was actually delicious and the 3-course menu was super cheap by Copenhagen standards - 200 Kroner, or about $40.
7. Copenhagen is approximately as cold as Antarctica, or at least what I imagine Antarctica would feel like. It's frigid in a wrap your face in a scarf so that only your eyes show kind of way. And even my eye balls were cold. I didn't even know that was possible.

Sigh...I never thought I'd ever be in a hurry to return home from Europe, but I miss my cute little house, my sweet puppy and Mr. AT!

An Open Letter to Delta

Dear Delta,

I love food and I love travel, so one might think that combining the two would yield pleasurable results. But one would be wrong, very wrong. I flew last night from Atlanta direct to Copenhagen. While I was very pleased with the unusually attractive passengers (Scandinavians really up the ante on looking good while traveling!), but I was oh so dismayed by dinner and breakfast.

I realize it must be hard to prepare good food on an airplane. How can I forget CJ's epic downfall during the Top Chef airline food competition? But still I have sat in business class before, and I was amazed to find the food was actually good. So if fancy-pants passengers can get good food, then surely it's possible for coach food to be something slightly better than repugnant.

I can accept being crammed in like sardine (as long as I have my beloved aisle seat!), but I wish your stewards were consistent. They asked other passengers to sit their seats back up for the meal, but oh no, not my steward. She was AOK with the woman in front of me laying in my aforementioned repugnant dinner. Blurg!

But I digress, the real problem, Delta, is that the food you served made me want to throw up. It's smell was unnatural, and what was described as potatoes, was either something like polenta or the weirdest tasting potatoes ever. The chicken, bathed in a mystery sauce, was wan and sad looking, and the vegetables looked like something that had be frozen for a very long time. The only saving grace was the packaged brownie, which although not nearly as good as something I'd make, at least went down without inspiring my gag reflex.

Some vile free wine and an ambien later, and I drifted off to a dead sleep until I was awoken by the smells of breakfast. Not be mixed up with the pleasant smells of bacon and coffee, this was more of a microwaved egg smell, and did nothing to improve my groggy morning.

Delta, I am a loyal flyer. I cherish my medallion status, and have no intention of stopping my frequent travels. But please please, I beg of you, can't you find a way to make dinner better? I've had flights before were microwave pizzas and ice cream sandwiches were brought around. This would be FAR preferable to mystery chicken and not-quite-mashed potatoes. Heck, I'd take a pb&j and consider myself lucky.

Thanks!

A hungry Silver Medallion flyer

Sauced: Restaurant Preview

I had heard that the chef from Ria's Bluebird was opening a place in Inman Park, so when friends suggested we try Sauced last weekend, I was expecting it to be soul food. Why you ask? Because I have never been to Ria's and for some unknown reason, I always thought it was soul food. Turns out Chef Ria Pell is most definitely not a tiny African American old lady like I'd pictured. Go figure.

So as it turns out Sauced is upscale Southern, much like nearly every other popular restaurant in town. Not to say that is a bad thing. In fact, Sauced was much more appealing to me than the oh so hyped Miller Union. As Mr. AT and I have been decorating lately, I've become obsessed with all things mid-century modern. Much to my surprise (and great pleasure), Sauced is sporting a mid-century look, too, as well as some retro cocktails (more Prohibition era than mid-century) and even old school desserts like icebox pie.


The food is hearty, comforting, and Southern. Mr. AT and I both gobbled up our shortrib wellington, served wtih mushroom duxelle, colman’s mustard paint, house demi, and brussels sprouts. It was a fun twist on the ubiquitous shortrib. Bacon brittle as an appetizer was exactly what it sounded like. Probably not as delicious as I hoped it would be, but certainly yummy enough to finish every last morsel. Both black-eyed pea fritters served with three dipping sauces and super delish sweet potato fries were gone too fast.

Service was friendly and gracious (unlike a certain jerky Miller Union employee), and the place was packed with a neighborhood crowd. Even better, prices are reasonable and notably lower than some comparable restaurants. All in all, pretty impressive for only being open a week, and it will probably only get better. Definitely looking forward to a return visit!

Sauced

753 Edgewood Ave, Atlanta, GA‎

(404) 688-6554‎

Sexiest Culinary Celebrities

The Daily Fork just came out with their list of the hottest celebrity culinary stars.

​Starting with Food 911 in 2000, Tyler traveled around to help various home cooks overcome their culinary misadventures. We're pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence that 99 percent of the show's participants were female.

His latest television show, Tyler's Ultimate, consists of Tyler dressing up classic comfort food dishes and their traditional sides.

2) Curtis Stone

​A world traveler, surfer, chef, grocery store ambusher and a lively Aussie, Curtis Stone takes the cake with his boyish charm, dashing good looks and down-under accent. His Take Home Chef show on TLC consisted of surprising (mostly) ladies shopping in the supermarket and accompanying them to their abode to assist in dinner preparation. We're just happy he never ended up staring down the barrel of a jealous husband's shotgun when they arrived home to find their wife cooking with one of the hottest chefs alive.

3) Jamie Oliver

​Also an influential culinary icon, he's cute, the accent plays in, of course, and he actually takes action on important stuff; stuff like preventing school kids from getting fat on greasy cafeteria food and growing veggies in a big garden to cook for his family. To quote Paris Hilton: "That's hot."

4) Aaron McCargo, Jr.

​He's down-to-earth, cooks amazing food that can actually be replicated and it doesn't say anything on his Food Network bio about a wife. That's promising to all the single ladies out there. His family-centric attitude and ability to look great in a hot pink shirt simply add to his level of attractiveness.

5) Padma Lakshmi

​Even when she's dressed like Uhura, pregnant and shoving her mouth full of food, she's pretty damn sexy (sorry, we couldn't find any pics of her super-hero-esque outfit from part one of the Las Vegas finals). She was also the classiest lady to shoot a sexy burger session for Carl's Jr., among the ranks of Paris Hilton and Audrina Patridge. Married to old-ass novelist Salman Rushdie-not sexy, divorcing him-still not that sexy, being single-finally, sexy.

6) Cat Cora

​Southern AND Greek? Add in the lesbian factor and her mad cooking skillz and it's a quadruple whammy. While the fact that she and her wife, Jennifer, were pregnant at the same time, carrying each other's embryos is a little weird (ok, a LOT weird), she's still hot enough to overcome the Twilight Zone-ness of the whole ordeal to land a spot on this list.

7) Nigella Lawson

​A British beauty with a vocabulary to match, Nigella has been called the "queen of food porn," with her flirtatious presentation style and laid-back attitude. So, you can tell from this list that we're suckers for accents, and she might have the most luscious one of all. She also speaks her mind, no matter the political correctness when she once told the press that she'd love to kill a bear just to wear it, and that, is indeed, very sexy.

8) Giada De Laurentiis

​While she may be annoying, she's also pretty cute. Complete with a rack, not of lamb, and all around perkiness in more ways than one, she is the darling of The Food Network. While we might dislike her pronunciations of the Italian dishes she's cooking up, we do like watching her prepare it. We've realized that the men around here don't mind watching her show either, with or without it being muted.

Runners-Up: Anthony Bourdain-badass and sexy mutha' of the food world. Eric Ripert (according to Meredith Borders) presumably for his tall-drink-of-water status and *gasp* sexy French accent. Claire Robinson, host of Food Network's 5 Ingredient Fix along with Clotilde Dusoulier, the cute Parisian behind the brilliant food blog, Chocolate & Zucchini.

Personally I'd have put the dreamy Eric Ripert much higher on the list - one of the world's best chefs and a sexy French (technically Andoran!) accent. Sigh...

Padma and Giada are pretty obvious choices, and I love me some Curtis Stone and Jamie Oliver. I know many a guy with a Bourdain man-crush, so I'm surprised to see him only an honorable mention, too. My boss just said the other day that Nigella reminded him of me, so I'll take it as quite a compliment that she's on here ;-)

My honorable mentions? Lately John Besh, out of New Orleans, has been showing up on TV quite a bit, and he's awfully cute, although I watched some endlessly long Food Network seafood competition on a long flight, and Besh's antics got old real quick. Ideally he'd just stick to cooking and looking good and leave the humor to someone funnier. Govind Armstrong, Rocco Dispirito, and Marcus Samuelson aren't too shabby either!

Ra Sushi

To be honest, I didn't expect much when I went to Ra Sushi. It's first impression is definitely of a place more focused on scene than substance. The lights are dim, the music of the loud clubby variety, and the sushi is much more trendy than traditional.

That said, Mr. AT and I were actually quite impressed with several of the dishes we tried. There were definitely some misses, but there were some significant hits, too, and that's more than I can say for it's sushi fusion competitors.

Ra recently launched a new menu, focused largely on smallish sharable Asian fusion plates, as well as some new cocktails. The cocktails we tried, the "bangin' blueberry mojito" and the "strawberry soju sunrise" came in giant pint glasses, which seemed at first like good value, but they are way way way too sweet for me, and in such a large glass, 99% of it went to waste. After a couple of sips, I stuck with sake instead, lest my teeth rot out right at the table.

I have no idea if the fish fusion restaurants like Ra have access to is indeed any different than you find somewhere more authentic like Hayakawa, but that's the only way I can explain the relative weakness of the more pared down dishes compared to the ultra-fusiony rolls.

Sesame Lemon Whitefish and Garlic Citrus Yellowtail were certainly tasty, but definitely not standout dishes. The fish lacked the buttery fleshiness found at the very best authentic sushi restaurants, and the dishes were ultimately forgettable. On the other hand, Ra Chips and Salsa and the Hot Mess, two dishes that would surely send a sushi purist into a conniption fit, were flat out awesome.

Their take on chips and salsa combines spicy tuna tartare with cucumbers, avocado and fresh salsa and is served with wanton chips. The salsa and tuna tartare combo was full of flavor and the crunch of the wonton chip was an appealing counterpoint to the soft avocado and tuna. This was a higly scarfable dish and great for sharing.

Even more delicious was the Hot Mess. It is indeed a mess to eat, but this heavenly combination of crispy rice balls and spicy king crab mix, baked and topped with jalapeno and cilantro, is one of the most spectacularly yummy dishes I've had in ages. Crispy sushi rolls have long been a favorite of mine. The combination of hot and cold, soft and crunchy is just too good to be true, but alas, I haven't found a worthy competitor to my LA and NY faves until now. The textures and flavors in the Hot Mess are perfectly balanced and there's a just-right level of spicy heat. This dish quite literally explodes with flavor.

Ultimately it's best to focus on fusion sushi dishes at Ra and save your sashimi hunger for somewhere a bit more traditional. You have to know what you're in for at Ra - it's definitely a big night out, see and be seen kind of vibe, but if you're up for that, and some delish fusion sushi, then it's a worthwhile addition to Atlanta's generally so-so sushi scene. If nothing else, the Hot Mess is worth a return visit to Ra! I'm still drooling just thinking about it!

Ra Sushi Bar
1080 Peachtree Street, Suite 8
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 267-0114

It's (almost!) snowing...time for hot cocoa!

If it's going to be freezing, it might as well snow, right? Today Atlantans across the city are buying up everything at the grocery store and leaving work early for fear that an inch of snow might completely lock down the city. Yippee! Doesn't it make you want to curl up with a good book (or perhaps a Jersey Shore marathon?) and some hot cocoa?

This sounds like just what I need!

Double-Chocolate Hot Chocolate
Recipe by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

INGREDIENTS
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Jack Daniel's whiskey (optional)
Marshmallows, for serving

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine the bittersweet chocolate with the milk chocolate. Add the boiling water and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk the chocolate mixture until it is smooth.
In a small saucepan, bring the milk and heavy cream just to a simmer. Add the chocolate mixture and whisk over moderate heat until hot. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the whiskey. Pour the hot chocolate into demitasse cups or small mugs, garnish with marshmallows and serve.

Photo credit: Food & Wine Magazine, Ditte Isager

Best Teen Chef Competition

Know any aspiring chefs? Teens can enter now to win the title of Best Teen Chef and a scholarship to culinary school! Personally, when I was a teen, I couldn't even boil water (or at least I hadn't yet tried to!), so I imagine the teens who win this must be pretty impressive!

High School Seniors Are Invited Enter Best Teen Chef Competition 2010 at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta

A Scholarship and Internship for a Day at Food Network Could Be a Recipe Away

ATLANTA (GA) – Attention high school seniors who aspire to a culinary education! The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta is now accepting entries for the Best Teen Chef Competition 2010. Now in its eleventh year, the Best Teen Chef Competition awards more than $200,000 in tuition scholarships to high school seniors in the U.S. and Canada interested in pursuing a career in the fast growing culinary industry. The scholarships can be used only at one of The Art Institutes locations offering culinary arts, including The Art Institute of Atlanta.

The national top prize winner will earn a full-tuition scholarship toward a bachelor’s degree or associate degree to study culinary arts at one of the more than 30 participating Art Institutes locations.

The local cook-off competition will take place at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta on April 17, 2010. The top three winners of the local cook-off competition will each win a tuition scholarship towards a culinary arts degree program at The Art Institute of Atlanta.

The first place local winner will progress to the National Best Teen Chef Final Round Competition, which will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010, at The Art Institute of Houston.

In addition to a full-tuition scholarship and the title of Best Teen Chef 2010, the national first place winner, in partnership with Food Network, will be an "Intern for a Day" at Food Network Kitchens in New York City. The winner will also receive a tour of Food Network’s studios, dinner for two at a Food Network chef's restaurant and a library of Food Network Kitchens cookbooks. In 2008, Jonathan Miller of Savannah was named Best Teen Chef 2008 and is currently a culinary arts student at The Art Institute of Atlanta.

“Each year this event draws talented teens who have a real love for being in the kitchen, and enjoy using their creativity and imagination to create wonderful meals for themselves, their friends, and families,” says Chef Jim Gallivan, department chair of culinary arts at The Art Institute of Atlanta. “We are looking forward to meeting this year’s group of talented young chefs-to-be.”

To be eligible to enter the competition, high school seniors must submit a completed Entry and Release Form by February 5, 2010 to a participating The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes location where they wish to enter the competition. They must submit their complete entries by February 26, 2010.

To learn how to enter the Best Teen Chef Competition 2010 and view full details, visit here or contact Deborah Arrieta (darrieta@aii.edu, 770.689.6755, or 1.800.275.4242, ex. 6744, at The Art Institute of Atlanta.

Football snacks

The national championship is on tomorrow, and we're entertaining (assuming an inch of snow doesn't totally shut down Atlanta!), so I've been thinking on what munchies to make.

My favorite pimento cheese recipe was an obvious choice. It's so super easy to make - I just throw the ingredients into a food processor, and I buy sharp cheddar already shredded, so there is quite literally no work involved, other than cleaning the food processor at the end. I like to go lighter on the mayo, too, because I don't like to actually taste any mayo.

My favorite enchilada recipe was a hit on New Year's day when we brought Mr. AT's parents over to my parents' house for the day. Again, it's super easy and so yummy. Better yet, it makes great leftovers.

The two wildcards are blue cheese and caramelized shallot dip and cheesecake marbled brownies. Both sound like football friendly, cold night comfort. All of the recipes seem like perfect Super Bowl fodder, too. Fingers crossed our friends are able to come over despite the weather and these are all as tasty as they sound!

Tap Winter Luau - January 22

Southern food is "in"

Southern cuisine is having its moment. According to NY Magazine, Southern food, is in fact one of the major trends for 2010. It's a chicken or egg scenario - did the cultural zeitgeist's affinity for Southern food lead to Southern chefs figuring prominently on Top Chef, or did sudden attention accorded to Southern chefs lead to the overall trend?

Regardless, the overall trend is more towards Southern comfort foods than anything particularly upscale. According to NY Mag, southern-fried cooking, in its greasy, queasy glory, is all the rage. I suppose it makes perfect sense - a lousy economy is the perfect time for the unique comforts of fried chicken, or cheesy buttery grits. Alas I'll never try any of the restaurants the article mentions because when I visit NY, the last thing I want is Southern food.

However, Southern food's newfound popularity has it's downside, too. Is it just me, or do 90% of the popular restaurants in Atlanta serve some variation on upscale Southern? When I was recommending restaurants to wedding guests, I realized that my description of each restaurant sounded virtually the same. JCT, Dogwood, Food 101, Woodfire Grill, Serpas, etc - they're certainly not identical, but they all serve variations on Southern food. Now of course that's often because they're serving seasonal, local cuisine, and we live in the South, so that's going to lead to an abundance of Southern-influenced cuisine.

That said, I wish a few more restaurants would come out with something totally different. I could use some better Italian (not pizza!) options, or what about something David Changy serving tweaked Asian cuisine? I know there are some places like the Straits at least attempting to do something different, so perhaps there's hope yet for Atlanta to become a truly cosmopolitan, diverse eating scene. If awesome ethnic food could cross over from Buford Highway to the trendier parts of town, then we could be an on-trend dining city even long after the Southern trend becomes "so 2010."

Miller Union: A let down

Granted I've been very distracted from my normally rapt attention to the Atlanta food scene, but from what I can tell, Miller Union has caused quite a stir. Maybe it was just an off night, but I just wasn't that impressed. The room we sat in was decidedly lacking in atmosphere. Bare walls, and nothing much to look at.

Our melted cabbage and mushroom toast was a pleasant starter with a nice rustic, earthy taste, but it was not nearly as good as our friends' fried grits with country ham. The fried grits reminded me of arancini, one of my favorite Italian appetizers.

The rabbit dish (served with wild mushrooms and grits) I had was adequate but forgettable. Certainly it didn't taste bad, but honestly I had to look up the menu to remember what it included. Whereas the rabbit dish I had weeks before at La Petite Ferme in South Africa still sets my mouth watering. The bliss inducing latter dish came in the most remarkable mustard sauce, and the herbed polenta put Miller Union's grits to shame. At $24, I need to be impressed. That's more than just any ol' night out pricing, and I can think of many other restaurants at that price range, or even lower, I'd rather return to than this one.

Worse, we had a rather unfortunate experience with the sommelier. Our friend and I ordered two glasses of Beaujolais. It came, and upon smelling it, I thought it had gone bad. I asked Mr. AT, far more the oenophile than I, to take a sniff, and he agreed that it decidedly did NOT smell like it should. So we very nicely told our waiter that the wine was corked, and he said he'd get us a replacement.

The sommelier came out with a new bottle and poured a taste for my friend. She protested that she really didn't feel comfortable being the one to speak for the table, and yet he poured it for her anyway. I never understand when restaurants do this. Being the taster puts someone on the spot, and if they don't feel comfortable doing so, why should they be forced? We asked him to pour it for me instead and he just ignored me. So she took a taste and looked somewhat uncertain as to what to say. Upon seeing this, the guy said rather snidely, "I tasted this myself, and it's fine. If you don't like it, then you just don't like Beaujolais, and you should order something else." Whoa, snippy much?

I finally insisted he pour it for me instead, and I tasted it and told him that unlike the previous glass, this was fine. To this he replied that the initial glass was simply oxidized, implying that it too was fine. Seriously, we drink a lot of wine, and I mean A LOT. He doesn't know us from anyone, so why act so snooty as if we don't know what we're talking about? The first glass was not OK. Oxidized or corked, it's irrelevant to me. It was no good, and that's all that matters. In the end we got our wine, and all was well, but we were all left a bit shocked that he was so weird about it all.

All in all, it was really just a so so experience. Nothing was outright bad, but I can't think of a reason to go back. Bummer because I was excited for a new hot spot, but I guess I'll just have an excuse to go try some other new places rather than returning here.

Pros: Delicious appetizers, tons of buzz

Cons: Limited menu with good but not amazing results, rude sommelier

Miller Union

999 Brady Avenue NW, Atlanta, GA‎

(678) 733-8550‎