Tickets to Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival

Despite saying last night that it was sold out, tickets to the Attack of the Killer Tomato festival seem to be available online today. Go here to get your tix before they're gone! Mr. AT and I just snagged ours!

Here's the skinny...

JCT. KITCHEN & BAR HOSTS SECOND ANNUAL

ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATO FESTIVAL

The Attack is Back by Popular Demand and Danger Never Tasted So Good

ATLANTA (July 2010) – On Sunday, August 8 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., JCT. Kitchen & Bar is hosting an event to celebrate some of the South’s best chefs, farmers and mixologists, who will join forces to benefit Georgia Organics in an event known as the second annual JCT. Kitchen & Bar Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival. Tickets cost $50 per person and $45 for Georgia Organics members if purchased by August 1. After August 1, tickets will cost $65 per person. Tickets can be purchased at www.georgiaorganics.org or at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market.

Top Tomato Ford Fry, owner and executive chef of JCT. Kitchen & Bar, is heading up the celebration and turning his restaurant into a tomato sanctuary that will also span the upstairs bar and outdoor courtyard area. Participating chefs include:

Jay Swift of 4^th & Swift

David Larkworthy of 5 Seasons

Anne Quatrano of Abattoir, Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, Floataway Café and Quinones

Gerry Klaskala of Aria

Todd Ginsberg of Bocado

Carvel Grant Gould of Canoe

John Currence of City Grocery

Kevin Maxey of Craft

Matt Palmerlee of Farm 255

Mike Lata of FIG

Hugh Acheson of Five and Ten and The National

Ford Fry of JCT. Kitchen & Bar

Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club

Craig Richards of La Tavola Trattoria

Bruce Logue of La Pietra Cucina

Gary Mennie of Livingston

Steven Satterfield of Miller Union

Keira Moritz of Pacci Ristorante and AltoRex Rooftop Lounge

Hector Santiago of Pura Vida

Kevin Rathbun of Rathbun’s, Kevin Rathbun Steak and Krog Bar

Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House

Ron Eyester of Rosebud

Scott Serpas of Serpas True Food

Jenny Levison of Souper Jenny

Eddie Hernandez of Taqueria del Sol

Joe Truex of Watershed

Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill

Each featured chef will be paired with a local farmer to create a yummy tomato dish for attendees to sample, while the featured mixologists (Brian Stanger of Abattoir, Andy Minchow of Holeman & Finch Public House, Lara Creasy of JCT. Kitchen & Bar, Miles MacQuarrie of Leon’s Full Service, Cara Laudino of Miller Union, Kevin Bragg of Prohibition, Nick Hearin of Restaurant Eugene and Paul Calvert of Sound Table) will stir up their own signature cocktails.

High-profile judges including Restaurant Editor Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appétit and Restaurant Editor Kate Krader of Food + Wine will be choosing the best dish and best beverage, and an award will also be given to the chef with the best table decorations. The festivities will also include live entertainment from The Spazmatics.

News Roundup

At least there's an upside - $Ra Sushi is serving up it's epic hot mess for $1 when the mercury hits 100

A perfect excuse to cut out of work early - get your drink on at special Sleight of Hand wine event at Ecco Thursday the 12th at 6.

Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival sounds amazing and clearly everyone else agrees. It sold out before slow pokes like me could snag a ticket.

Pork is out but locusts are in...for kosher eating at least.

CNN is gettin' in on the foodie game.

Don't forget to cast your vote for Best of Atlanta. Apparently there is a blog/blogger category. Sure would be neato if I got a vote or two ;-)

Atlanta's Downtown Restaurant Week - Legal Sea Food

Downtown Restaurant Week is going on this week through August 8. For $25 or $35/pp you can enjoy 3-courses at a variety of restaurants, from Pittypats Porch to BLT Steak. Mr. AT and I checked out Legal Sea Foods for dinner recently and found it to be a great deal!

I suspect Legal Sea Foods is a popular choice for Atlanta visitors given its location close to downtown hotels and sites like the aquarium. It's two stories, with a stylish hotelesque bar downstairs with a high ceilinged restaurant upstairs. It turns out that it's definitely worth a visit from locals, too!

With a huge marlin overhead and an impressive wine racks lining the walls, Legal Sea Foods creates a more stylish environment than I was expecting. For some reason I'd pictured casual seafood shack, but what I got was an upscale evening out.

In the past, I've complained that some restaurants see Restaurant Week menu as a chance to trot out their b-game. Fortunately that's not the case at all at Legal Sea Foods.

We chose from a menu composed of their most popular items:

Choice of Appetizer:

New England Clam Chowder
Wedge Salad- Ice berg lettuce, blue cheese, fresh bacon, tomatoes with blue cheese vinaigrette Chilled Gazpacho- chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers

Choice of Entree

Legal’s Signature Crab Cake Combo- jumbo lump crab, grilled shrimp and scallops, mustard sauce and seasonal salad (contains nuts)
Red Onion Jam Swordfish- center prime cut, rice pilaf, sautéed sherry mushrooms and spinach Cioppino- lobster, scallop, shrimp, calamari, shellfish, scrod, tomato broth, side of jasmine rice

Choice of Dessert

Key Lime Pie

Boston Crème Pie

Legal Sea Food is known for its New England Clam Chowder, so despite the heat, I split it and the wedge salad with Mr. AT. The soup was chunky and rich, but given the weather, I actually found the salad just as compelling. It's huge and packed with flavor. It's pretty heavy on the dressing, bacon and cheese, so it's not diet food, but it certainly was delicious!

Ever since the July issue of Bon Appetit, at which cioppino was prepared as part of a July 4th feast, I've had a hankering to try it. Not only did it sound chock full of seafoody goodness, but this family and party sounded so delightful (Bobby and Sarah Akin, if you're looking for new friends to invite to your fab Montauk summer home, call me!) that it cast a warm glow on the dish. So I opted for that, while Mr. AT chose the crab cake combo.

The cioppino has a veritable cornucopia of seafood. Literally every bite is packed with at least one and often two types of seafood. For a $35 prix fixe, they are not kidding around. Having never had cioppino before, I'm not sure how exactly it should taste. That said, I could have done with a slightly more flavorful broth, especially to dip a crunchy buttery slice of bread in. But the seafood was well prepared and left pretty natural - definitely a good chance to appreciate the true flavors of mussels, lobster, shrimp, etc. Even with Mr. AT and I both tackling this dish, we couldn't finish - it's just that much food, which makes this a very, very good deal.


The crab cakes were perhaps even better. Unlike the bready blobs that often pass for crabcakes, these were packed with sweet crab meat, and the mustard sauce was a delectable enhancement.

Stuffed to the gills (terrible I know!), we still found room for dessert. Mr. AT was thrilled to get a chance to have key lime pie. I'm a citrus dessert hater, so when we're splitting, he never gets to have it, but here we each had our own included in the prix fixe. I tried a bite at least, and although it hasn't converted me to a citrus dessert lover, I did like the crust, which in this case played double duty as a shell holding the dessert together. My Boston Cream Pie was less creamy than you might expect, but from a textural standpoint, that worked for me.

The service at Legal Sea Foods was friendly and efficient, which helped make the evening a success. For the price, restaurant week is an amazing chance to get mountains of fresh, tasty, and actually healthy (read: not fried) seafood, which in this landlocked city, isn't always easy!

The only bad point of the night came when we left. Through no fault of Legal Sea Foods, the parking attendant - Michael - in the attached parking deck was rude to the max, and our otherwise lovely evening was marred by an argument and the feeling of being scammed. Therein lies the challenge for downtown restaurants. In a city with ample parking, it's a drag to pay for parking at all, let alone deal with oh so unpleasant parking attendants.

Fortunately with such a good deal going on and pleasant service inside it's worth it to suck it up and just high tail it as quickly as possible from car to restaurant!

Make your reservation here.

Legal Sea Foods

275 Baker Street Northwest
Atlanta, GA 30313-1801

The Next Food Network Star casting in Atlanta Aug. 9

Want to be a famous TV Chef? The Next Food Network star is casting in Atlanta, August 9 from 10-3 at the Midtown W Hotel. I must admit my interest was piqued, but having never seen the show, I checked out some of their previous challenges and realized that I am personally way, way under-qualified for this level of cooking. I do however love the idea of being a culinary personality. When's the casting for foodies who just want to talk about and eat food on a show? I want a gig like No Reservations or Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives!

If you, unlike me would have a clue what to do if someone said cook dinner for breakfast with Kellogg's Cereal, here's the skinny on how to audition!

The Next Food Network Star

is NOW CASTING Season 7 in Atlanta!

Do you think you have what it takes to host your own show on the Food Network?

Calling all Chefs, Line Cooks, Home Cooks, Caterers and Culinary Enthusiasts!

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Strong Culinary Skills Personality that Pops

Passion for Cooking Food Knowledge

Lots of Energy and Enthusiasm

Atlanta Open Casting Call

Monday, August 9, 2010

Time: 10am-3pm

Location: W Hotel Midtown

188 14^th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30361

What to Bring:

1. Two recent photos

2. A copy of your resume

3. A COMPLETED application (found at www.FoodNetwork.com/star)

For more information or questions please e-mail us at nfns7atlanta@gmail.com or visit www.nfns7casting.com.

Buford Highway Farmers Market

How did I not know this place existed? Well, that's not technically true. I had heard of the Buford Highway Farmers Market, but I pictured it kind of warehouse-like and grubby. Turns out it's an epic grocery store with produce, meats, seafood, and packaged goods from all over the world.



The produce section offers a mind-boggling array, from pile upon pile of hot peppers to cacti, to fruits like jack fruit and dragon fruit that I'm not even sure how to eat! Better yet, all of the produce is priced so well that it beats the heck out of regular grocery prices.

I've wondered where to get whole fish before, and now I know. The seafood section is enormous and has every kind of fish you can imagine. Forget the antiseptic pre-cleaned and cut varieties you get elsewhere. This is old school head-on fish country.

Want fresh made corn tortillas? Got 'em. Hot pirogies? Just head to the Russian section. Then you can wander for hours, seriously hours, through the packaged food aisles oggling indecipherable jars and bottles of Asian something or other.

Seriously, this is love. I came home with a dazzling variety of fruits, green tea mochi ice cream, those cool little chewy Asian treats filled with red bean paste, a mountain of corn tortillas, Baltika beer and pork buns - all for just $70. Plus we actually had a fun time doing something I normally dread - grocery shopping. This place is addictive for food and travel lovers. Check it out!

Buford Highway Farmers Market

5600 Buford Highway NE

Doraville, GA 303040

Southern Dining at Mary Mac's

Despite being a born and bred Atlantan, I had never stepped foot in Mary Mac's tea room. Through various owners, Mary Mac's has been dishing up Southern food on Ponce for 65 years! So in honor of their new cook book, written by current owner John Ferrel, I finally checked it out.

Now it seems that every upscale restaurant in Atlanta these days is dishing up some variation on Southern food, but Mary Mac's is real deal, old school southern, nothing nouveau about it! So old school in fact, that many employees have been there 30-years plus. How's that for employee loyalty?

Even as Ponce has evolved into an eclectic mix of strip malls, fast casual dining and a high

sketch factor, Mary Mac's remains a throwback to another time. When you dressed for dinner and people had supper at 4 pm. I was in fact shocked to see their waiting area so crowded on a weekday at 4:30 or so. Who knew people ate then?!

Surprise surprise, the menu is heavily fried. Diet food it ain't. I sampled fried chicken tenders, catfish, shrimp, green tomatoes, and okra, each served with it's own sauce. My personal fave were the fried green tomatoes. Addictively salty and crispy with a slightly sour fresh tomato and a parmesan horseradish dipping sauce. I declare!

I washed that down with a Georgia Peach martini, which was sweet without being cloying. Probably couldn't handle two of them, but one hit the spot!

Lest you think I only ate fried things, I of course made room for some scrumptious veggie sides, too. Don't mistake the word veggie for implying these were healthy. True to Southern form, they were rich and decadent. Tomato pie was to die for. So rich and full of flavor. It appears in the cookbook, so I can whip it up at home too. I kind of love that a recipe involving ritz crackers, mayo, two kinds of cheese and canned tomatoes is so darned good.

And then despite a rapidly expanding waistline, I found room for dessert! In my humble opinion, peanut butter makes for frequently awesome desserts. Mary Mac's surprisingly light peanut butter pie was true to form. Even more fabulous was its banana pudding. So creamy and sweet. How on earth did I find room to try two desserts?

I haven't tackled anything out of the cookbook yet, but it's got all the classics. Woven between chapters is quite a bit of restaurant and Atlanta history, too. For instance, did you know the Atlanta Crackers baseball team once played in a rickety park where today's Midtown Whole Foods and Home Depot are on Ponce? I love to envision a time when Mary Mac's was just one of sixteen tea rooms in Atlanta. So charming and old South, right?

I'm glad I finally tried Mary Mac's. I can certainly understand its longstanding appeal as the epitome of old Southern cooking and a little slice of Atlanta history. Get yours here.

Mary Mac's Tea Room

224 Ponce De Leon Avenue Northeast

Atlanta, GA 30308-1938
(404) 876-1800

Quick Bites: Pita Palace

Lately Mr. AT and I are both trying to save money and eat healthy, which makes for lots of cooking at home. But after two nights of entertaining in the last week, I'm all cooked out. So it was off to one of my two standby take out options - Pita Palace.

Most truly awesome take out restaurants aren't much to look at, and Pita Palace is true to form. It's in the Jewish strip mall at Briarcliff and Lavista. It's tiny with just a few tables, blasting Israeli music videos, and a rather creepy poster of a Jewish man with coke bottle glasses stuffing a pita down his gullet (trust me, you have to see it to appreciate its full creep-factor).

The same diminutive, hirsute guy is working there EVERY SINGLE TIME I go in. Apparently he takes the Sabbath quite seriously, and it is his only day of rest. So don't bother trying to sate your pita craving on Saturdays! This guy is small enough that I am pretty sure he's standing on a platform behind the counter in order to see over. I seriously love this guy - he sates my craving for the very tiny and the very tasty (not at the same time, thankyouverymuch!) I have no pics from pita palace because I'm always heading there straight from pilates, but here is a photo of one of my very favorite tiny things...

But I digress...

Pita Palace may be no frills, but the food is consistently tasty. We always choose the shwarma plate, which omes with a massive pile of hot, succulent meat (origins not entirely known, but who cares when it's this good?), fries or falafal balls, pitas, and serve yourself "salad." The salad bar is my personal favorite part. First there's the ritual. The guy without fail will always ask in singsong way, "you want hummus? Baba ghanoush? Spicy sauce?" There is literally no stopping him mid-questioning. Even if you say, "I want all three," he will simply continue on. You have to just let him do his thing!

Then you have your pick of diced cucumber and tomato, heaven sent fried eggplant, crunchy fried pita, pickles, pepperoncini, etc. I always load up extra on the pickles and eggplant. They are just so addictively good, and make a fabulous counterpoint to the savory meat and creamy hummus and baba ghanoush.

Tonight Mr. AT and I split just that platter. In the past we got one shwarma pita, which comes with no sides, and one platter so we could share the sides, but we always had meat leftover, so really for just $14 we can feed ourselves a very satisfying dinner.

If you live anywhere in the Virginia Highlands/Druid Hills area, Pita Palace is totally worth a visit. When you want a quick dinner option, it's hard to beat!

Pita Palace
1658 Lavista Road Northeast
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 781-7482
Open Mon-Fri,Sun

Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta

Dining and movie watching is one of those things that makes perfect sense and yet there are few places you can do it besides your sofa. We've had an option in Buckhead for years, but now those OTP can enjoy their own bites 'n flicks combo at Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta.

I have pretty low expectations for movie theater food, as cherry icees and junior mints are as good as most get (don't get me wrong, those are delish!), but Mr. AT and I went to check outStudio Movie Grill's more ambitious menu rececently and were quite impressed.

First off, it is FAR FAR away from those ITP, but if you live near Alpharetta, it's a pleasant surprise in a sea of strip malls. There's a pretty hip waiting area bar where you can lounge and sip signature cocktails while you wait for your film to be called. When you hear your movie called out, you head in a choose a seat, and in no time flat a friendly waiter is there to serve you. You have a little button you can push, too, so you can beckon them throughout the evening with minimal effort.

The menu is pretty standard bar and grill fare, heavy on the burgers, pizzas, and wings. Always on the quest for good wings, we started with the spicy Tabasco wings before chowing down on make your own sandwiches. I opted for a cheddar jalapeño chicken sandwich.

Food came out in no time, and soon enough I was sipping on pinot noir, digging into hot wings and a sandwich, and enjoying the much maligned Knight & Day. Let it be said that despite the lousy box office take and my own serious doubts about anything Tom Cruise does, this film was much, much better than I expected! Really totally worth an add to your Netflix queue

First off, the wings were really good. Shockingly good in fact. Mr. AT loves to complain about Atlanta's dearth of decent hot wings, and he was scarfing these down like nobody's business. Go figure, you head way up to the burbs, to a movie theater no less, and end up with great wings. They were meaty, with appealingly crisp skin, and the perfect level of heat - enough to appeal to my Teflon mouthed honey and still not sizzle fry my delicate palate! I got thoroughly messy, but hey, it's dark, so who cares!

The burgers and chicken sandwiches were more typical of what you'd expect. Tasty enough and mightily unhealthy but nothing to get excited about. Still, it was as good as I'd expect from the kind of restaurants where you "go watch a game," and I don't even have to endure sports while there.

Eager to continue stuffing ourselves while Cameron and Tom flirted and fought there way out of trouble, we indulged in the brownie sundae and fresh chocolate chip cookies. I have never said such a thing, but the brownie was kind of eh. Not bad, but just not as scrumptiliumptious as brownies should be. Probably due to being preprepared and reheated. The cookies, which likely met the same fate, totally worked, though. They were gooey and oh so yummy - A perfect film denouement treat!

Towards the end of the film, our charming suburban teen waiter headed back over with the bill, and we were able to leave promptly when the film ended. All in all, a delightful evening of gustatory and visual entertainment. 5-star it ain't, but that's not really the point. It's definitely a fun night out, and makes mid-evening movie times infinitely more appealing. Is it just me or is it hard to work dinner around 8-ish movie times? This way you can kill two birds with one stone!


Studio Movie Grill
2880 Holcomb Bridge Road
Alpharetta, GA 30022

Southern Chef's Potluck this weekend

Sigh...I love Serenbe. Not only is it just plain lovely but is of course also where Mr. AT and I got hitched (a little peek from my wedding photos included here).

Oh how I would love to spend a day down there, especially if that day was filled with great food.  If you, unlike me, have $100 bucks to spare, you can head down this weekend for the Southern Chefs Potluck to benefit Wholesome Wave Georgia.

Here's the deets:

Southern Chefs Potluck
July 18, 2010 from 3-6 at The Inn at Serenbe (10950 Hutcheson Ferry Rd., Palmetto, GA)

Chefs including Anne Quattrano, Hugh Acheson, Joe Truex, Kevin Gillespie, Linton Hopkins, and Ford Fry will congregate for a "Sunday supper potluck" Each chef will contribute their favorite Sunday Suppoer side dish, a relish and a dessert. Guests will dine family style. Main courses will be beef from Jim -n-Nick's BBQ and fried chicken from The Farmhouse at Serenbe. Cocktails prepared by Greg Best from Holeman and Finch.

Does that sound awesome or what? That is seriously one helluva list of Atlanta chefs. You've got James Beard nominees/Top Chefs/Food and Wine Best New Chefs out the wazoo! And if you haven't been to Serenbe yet, it is AMAZING.

Want tickets? Click here. And of course if you want to donate to the "Lindsey wants to go, too" fund, just give me a holler!

Free Ice Cream this Saturday courtesy of the Cooking Channel

From the creators of the Food Network, the Cooking Channel l just launched on Memorial Day this year. The focus is on instruction rather than pure foodie entertainment, and Food Network stars like Flay and Lagasse will be there to demystify popular but intimidating cuisine, visit the world’s most extreme restaurants, follow food geeks as they invent outrageous solutions to their cravings and recapture classics like Julia Child.

Now not only are they teaching you how to cook, but they're giving you free ice cream! They just kicked off a nationwide tour, which pulls into Atlanta on Saturday, July 17. One of the network’s newest stars Roger Mooking, host of Everyday Exotic, will be at Jake's Ice Cream (www.jakesicecream.com) at East Lake Farmers Market to serve up free ice cream to fans from 11am-1pm. The truck and the free ice cream will arrive at 9 am if you're looking for breakfast dessert! 

So who is this Roger Mooking character? He's the host of the new Cooking Channel program: Everyday Exotic. Roger is currently Executive Chef/Co - Owner of Kultura Social Dining and Nyood Restaurant in downtown Toronto, where he has earned a reputation as one of the city's premiere chefs. He is also the recording artist and creator of the CD Soul Food, a food and music project released by Warner Music.

On Everyday Exotic Roger explores exotic ingredients and incorporates them into everyday cooking. In each episode Roger focuses on one distinctive seasoning or ingredient–and explores its provocative palate.

Recipe: Elote

Man do I love elote, the decadent Mexican treat. Corn on the cob this time of year is just plain delicious without any adornment, but slather on some mayo, cotija cheese, chili powder and lime juice, and it's heaven. Messy, fattening, and totally worth it heaven...

Find a recipe here.
Photo Credit: Joanna Miller

Special Farm to Table Dinner at JCT this Thursday

I'm off to glamorous Cincinnati for work, so before I leave, wanted to at least share a little something fun with you...

Chef/Owner Ford Fry of JCT. Kitchen & Bar is hosting a quarterly “Farm to Table and Back” guest chef series at his restaurant that will feature the South’s top toques, and 100% of the proceeds from each guest chef’s featured menu will benefit Georgia Organics. 

The second quarterly dinner will be held on Thursday, July 15, during regular dinner hours (5 pm  - 10 pm) and will include a four-course menu from guest chef Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama.  Cost of the special prix fixe menu is $75 per person and includes wine pairings.  To make a reservation, guests must call 404-355-2252 and say that they want the special “Farm to Table and Back” menu.  Please note that everyone at the table must order the special menu as JCT.’s regular menu will also be available during this dinner series.

Subsequent quarterly guest chef dinners will take place on October 14 with:

• John Currence of City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi
• December 9 with Mike Lata of FIG in Charleston, South Carolina.

Recipe: Cherry Cola Popsicles

When I saw cherry cola popsicles on Tasting Table, I simply had to have them. So much so that I rushed over to Amazon and purchased my very own Tovolo popsicle molds. I was lazy and wanted to use what I had on hand otherwise, so I adapted the recipe just a bit to what you see below.

If you go to the Tasting Table site, you will note their photo is far, far lovelier than mine. Never mind that, it was still a wonderfully yummy frozen treat. I loved the sweet fresh cherry flavor and the familiar combination of cherry and coke in a new format. I had some leftover pureed cherries, so I mixed it with the leftover Mexican coke and had one helluva real deal cherry coke, too.

Cherry Cola Popsicles

Recipe adapted from Shiho Yoshikawa, Sweet Rose Creamery, Santa Monica & Tastingtable.com

Makes eight 4-ounce ice pops

• 1 pound frozen pitted cherries
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar 
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• One 12-ounce can Mexican Coke (with real cane sugar)

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the cherries with the water and sugar and cook until the mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and let the fruit steep for 30 minutes.
2. In a blender, puree the cherry mixture with the lemon juice and pour it into prepared molds until each is half full. Insert the popsicle sticks and freeze for 2 hours. Slowly pour the cola into each mold--filling them to the top--and freeze until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Note: These popsicles can also be made by mixing the cherry puree and cola together and pouring it into the molds to freeze in one layer. This technique works best for molds that have sticks attached to the lids, like the Tovolo popsicle molds.

Restaurant Preview: Buckhead Bottle Bar

The Atlanta Hawks' Georgian (the country not the state) basketball player, Zaza Pachulia, is becoming quite the prolific restaurant investor. First Eno, and now Buckhead Bottle Bar. A.D. Allushi and Ian Winslade, no restaurant slouches themselves, have teamed up with Zaza to open what they are calling "an all day cocktail house featuring bar food favorites." Before visiting, I was predisposed to have low expectations.  First strike, it's owned by a basketball player. I'm dubious. Secondly by the sound of it, it's a bar with some food. So I was envisioning mozzarella sticks and maybe some sliders.

Mr. AT and I headed over recently to check it out, and we were very pleasantly surprised. Despite the name, and even the press release description, Buckhead Bottle Bar is very much a restaurant, too. The menu is totally legit - with creative and varied options, and nary a mozzarella stick in site. Even better, the food is actually really, shockingly good. This ain't no Taco Mac food.

The setting of course is also nothing like the dingy Buckhead bars of my youth (I'm looking at your Buckhead Saloon!) It's a large, swanky space, with very distinctive lighting and lit from below marble cocktail tables. Definite date territory.

We of course had to start with a signature cocktail. It is an all day cocktail house, right? I chose a Ginger Fig - made with orange vodka, fig jam, muddled ginger and oj, and Mr. AT chose the Scottish Mule - made with gin, ginger beer and English cucumbers. Both were enjoyable, but my honey clearly won that one. His was reminiscent of a Pimms Cup which is infinitely more refreshing and gulpable than a pretty sweet Ginger Fig.

We started with the cornmeal dusted oysters with a citrus shooter. Our gregarious Albanian waiter poured the citrus shooter over the oysters, a nice flourish. I love me some fried oysters, and these hit the spot. Yum, and a nice contrast to my sweet drink.

We then split pasta with veal ragu and parmesan, and a lamb burger with goat cheese and chow chow. The pasta was hearty and comforting, albeit probably not ideal hot weather food. Interesting enough, it had a heavy smattering of mushrooms, which weren't actually on the menu description but were still welcome. This dish didn't knock our socks off, but it was still good eating and certainly not something you see at many bars.

The burger was yet again a very pleasant surprise. All too often burgers at places that don't specialize in them are pretty blah, but this meat was chock full of flavor. It was seasoned with a pretty heavy hand, but I way prefer that to the bland burgers I've had elsewhere. I especially loved the chow chow, a nice change from the norm. But the real shock was how darn good the onion rings are. Lately we seem to be ordering a lot of these suckers, and they're usually too soggy, too dry or falling apart. But these were crispy, perfect rings, and the soft oniony insides stayed put with every bite. Now that's some good soak-up-the-booze food!

We were already stuffed to the gills, but how could we turn down the adorable A.D. when he offered to bring us milkshake samples? The chocolate hazelnut is like creamy Nuttela in a glass, which is obviously a very good thing. And the white chocolate peach is a combination I've never experienced before. The white chocolate flavor is subtle, so it almost tastes like a smoothie more than a milkshake. Either way, we indulged in way too much of those given we still had our dessert coming!

I don't know who's Great Grandma invented "Great Grandma Hatti's Sticky Toffee Pudding", but I hope he visited her all the time and indulged her endless listing of her ailments, because this thing is the bomb. It's got a helluva booze kick (Grandma liked the sauce don'tcha know?!), and is one delectable, ooey gooey treat. We seriously shouldn't have been able to move by this point, let alone eat, and yet, we ate THE ENTIRE THING. That's gross (not the cake, us), but so worth it.

We really enjoyed our meal, and were only disappointed that the dining room was so empty the night we visited. It's new, so I hope the word gets out that Buckhead Bottle Bar is far more than just cocktails, and is totally worth heading to for dinner and drinks.

An interesting side bar - Zaza is Georgian, and A.D. and many of the staff are Albanian. A very unusual combination of nationalities for Atlanta but a great excuse to learn more about a country most of us know nothing about (if you don't count Adil Hoxha the Simpson's nefarious Albanian exchange student). I visited Zaza's old hood, Tblisi, when I was 12, and I'm glad to see the pig testicles they served up were not on offer at Buckhead Bottle Bar!

Buckhead Bottle Bar
268 East Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
(free valet)