Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 30, 2009
It’s a busy couple of days in the real world for one Foodie Buddha. So while I didn’t have the time or energy in the past 12-hours to write my post on Café Istanbul, I did want to stop in for this quick little tidbit. The writer responsible for Blog Soup is packing up and moving to Kansas City. In what appears to be her final post, she mentioned that Blog Soup will remain in the Dirty Dirty. Meanwhile, she recapped her visit to Kevin Gillespie’s Woodfire Grill, her final foodie stop, on the blog’s penultimate post.
Though I never met or even interacted with BS, it always bums me out when people go away. Bon Voyage Blog Soup, best of luck in the land of barbecue.
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 29, 2009
Last week, a friendly reader sent me a link to the snippets article on sushi etiquette. The article gives us a fun and informative way to learn about the multitude of faux pas prominent in American sushi dining. Given that it covers everything from ordering to ojigi (bowing), it’s kind of a crash course. While I think a lot of this is highly contingent on the environment (for example: anyone brave enough to swallow Ru San’s crap need not worry about etiquette), it’s a worthwhile scan.
My favorite points:
- Don’t store your chopsticks in your rice. (THIS IS A BIG ONE!!!!!!)
- Don’t mix your wasabi in your soy sauce. Add a little dab directly to the sushi if you want a little more heat.
- It’s OK to drink your miso soup. Use the spoon or chopsticks to eat any larger pieces.
Again, some of these are more useful as others, use it as a guide, not law (unless you find yourself in Tokyo).
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 29, 2009
Tucked away in the depths of Decatur’s town square, a new food-stop has emerged to beckon the foodies, the adventurous eaters, and the hip. Backed by a wealth of internet buzz (here, here, & here – just to name a few), The Iberian Pig supposedly opened this past evening. Truth be told, the restaurant found themselves accepting business over the weekend; hence the inclusion of the word “supposedly” in the previous sentence.
While people have shuttered at the meat-centric name bestowed on that relatively new joint over on the Westside, the reference to Iberian pigs has seemingly drawn a great deal of praise. The truth behind the name is that Iberian pigs are the source of Iberico ham, aka pata negra, aka jamón ibérico. As the restaurant has made it a point to include the delicacy on the menu, the name seems apropos. Why the French word for slaughterhouse caused such a ruckus, whereas the reference to a slaughtered piece of pork brought praise, is an unsolved mystery.
But we digress. Back on point, good press will only get you so far. For a restaurant to succeed, they need to deliver. Like the clockwork that is my life, the Ambiguously Foodie Duo (one part me, one part this guy) set out last night to see how things were starting off.
Continue reading…
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 28, 2009
Just a shade over two weeks ago, I hit up Turner Field for the Atlanta BBQ Festival. Given that this was their inaugural party, I was pretty impressed with how smoothly things went down. While the grubblins were essentially left to their own devices, it wasn’t too hard to figure out what was what. It was particularly amusing to see the little dance that developed.
Step 1: One of the tents would fire up some free barbecue
Step 2: A massive line would form
Step 3: Crowd would mow down their the amuse-bouche sized samples with fervor
Step 4: Crowd would instantly dissipate and move onto the next station victim, rinse, and repeat
While there were a ton of boutique grill masters on hand, a number of Atlanta barbecue joints made an appearance (Fox Bros comes to mind). As logic would follow, there were a plethora of styles and meats available, so I won’t go through all the individual bites I had. However, there were a couple of competitions, a report by Good Day Atlanta, and a bunch of photos… so check it out (after the jump of course)
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 26, 2009
On Thursday, I made another one of my near daily stops over at Octane Coffee. While there, I was informed of the good news. After months and months of waiting, the wildly popular coffee shop opened their satellite location over in Emory Village (just around the corner from Emory University). Open since early last week, it sounds like Octane Eastside is already hopping.
Though I have yet to make it out there and inspect the site, I’m sure it’s killer. In the meantime, be aware that the Eastside location has shorter hours (6a-8p M-F & 8a-8p S-S).
Alright ya’ll … back to some football. Buddha … OUT!
Octane Coffee Eastside Address & Information
1593 N. Decatur Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 // 404.585.4210 // Octane website // Octane menu
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 25, 2009
It’s a place that Atlanta denizens want to love. It’s the type of place we should love. Ultimately, I’m not sure it’s a place that we do love. ENO restaurant in Midtown Atlanta has gotten a lot of attention in recent months. The majority of the hype has come on the heels of executive chef Eli Kirshtein’s recent trip to Las Vegas for season six of Top Chef. The restaurant got it’s second wind when word broke that Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia had come out of nowhere to purchase both ENO and the adjunct Barrelman Wine & Cheese Shop. Despite that potential boon to business, things haven’t really changed much recently.
That’s not to say that the restaurant as a whole has remained stagnate since its 1999 opening. Their days as a Mediterranean stomping ground are a thing of the past as the menu is now a cornucopia of highly conceptualized dishes that hint at the elements of molecular cooking. Though the menu is constantly in flux, the backbone of the experience is the wine. It is a constant point of pleasure for yours truly, and I’m not alone in that respect. [Amongst others, Atlanta wine blogger and current Murphy-Goode employee Hardy Wallace loves it!]
Still, this post is a little non-traditional as it is a balance between the singular experience of my most recent trip and the longstanding qualities that have been in place for the better part of the past few years. True to my modus operandi, I wasn’t totally sold on the experience. In fact, I walked away from the meal with one word on my mind: Interesting. Mind you, this isn’t to imply that ENO was a disaster, rather … it just didn’t snap together nice and tight.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 24, 2009
Stashed away in Downtown Norcross is a little Mexican restaurant touting the name Zapata. Though the word translates as shoes to us gringos, the restaurant actually takes its name from Emiliano Zapata, a Mexican revolutionary. Thus, it was predictably cool that the words “Revolutionary Mexican Cuisine” were scribed just under the name on our menus.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 23, 2009
Yesterday’s impromptu post on the unfortunate state of Canoe in Vinings resulted in an unexpected explosion of traffic. As such, I thought I’d take some time to update people on the status of the restaurant. In addition, it looks like Love Is Love Farm has its own share of water damage to deal with..
Canoe
I received an email from Canoe’s Special Events Manager who told me that they intend to re-open as soon as possible. However, there is no timetable yet as the assessment and repairs are still in their infantile stages. I also caught word from a reader that until things move farther along, they don’t seem to know if they’ll be able to open in full or in stages. I’ll keep in touch with the folks over at Canoe and see what’s what. As an aside (and an important one in that), they took some time in the email to communicate just how sad they are for those who lost friends and/or family members during the past few days. A classy group no doubt.
Love Is Love Farm
The above picture comes from Savory Exposure’s via his twitpic account. This past Saturday, Love is Love Farm hosted their Outstanding in the Field Dinner with local chef Kevin Gillespie. My understanding is that the event did go down, but under very wet conditions. Since then, the farm has flooded but I hear that everyone is okay.
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 22, 2009
It seems almost shameful. Not only am I deeply passionate about Japanese culture and cuisine, but I pride myself on visiting most anything that resembles a Japanese restaurant here in the Dirty. Such was the basis for my dismay as I met up with ChowDownAtlanta (website) for a little grub late last week. After our usual game of who’s gonna make the call, we finally settled on the long standing Yakitori Jinbei for our lunch endeavor. Located up Cobb Pkwy, just outside I-285, it is beyond shocking that I had never before ventured into the tiny strip mall eatery. Open since ‘02, I lived not more than 3 miles from the place for many a year.
Walking into the 40 some-odd seat room, you can’t help but identify the formulaic Japanese décor. Heavy on the soft, and accented with the deep, the simplicity of the space is both expected and demanded. It is a style that I will never tire of. My affinity for the layout, however, is inconsequential. What is of importance is that the place is clean and the furniture and such are all of relatively high build quality.
Continue reading…
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 22, 2009
As I mentioned yesterday, I recently had the pleasure of attending one of the seasonal cooking classes offered up by Kevin Rathbun and his staff over at Rathbun’s. While we hope to have a full-fledged recap posted in the next couple of days, I thought this was as good a time as any to talk about the classes and give you guys and dolls a heads up on how to secure a spot. The most important thing to remember is that they go on sale on October 1st. Last year, I had to call back twice just to get through … so get your redial finger ready.
Coming in at $350/duo (one cook + one guest), these aren’t for the faint of heart. The deal is that the person doing the cooking shows up at 1:30, is tossed into a group, and then spends the next 3-hours jumping around the Rathbun’s kitchen. Three-hours later, your guest shows up for apps (which you help serve). Then, everyone sits down, has a little drink, and dines on a gluttonous dinner.
Without spoiling the post, I will tell you that these are not your traditional “chef talks and chops” type classes. Rather, these are throw yourselves to the wolves sort of events where by you really get to get in there. Don’t worry – the staff keeps thing very well organized and you will have one of a bevy of top notch chefs at your disposal for teaching and discussion.
The available classes are as follows:
- Southwestern Cooking Class: Sunday, January, 18, 2009
- Greek Cooking Class: Sunday, March 15, 2009
- East Meets West Cooking Class: Sunday, May 17, 2009
- BBQ – Grilling & Smoking Cooking Class: Sunday, July 19, 2009
- Farm to Table Cooking Class: Sunday, September 20, 2009
- Southern Holiday Cooking Class: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Full details are available on the Rathbun’s Cooking Class Website, but all you have to do to reserve is call 404.524.8280. I guess the only other mission critical piece of info is that Rathbun’s sends you a gift card that serves as your ticket – DON’T LOSE IT!!!!!!!!
