I feel like I should preemptively duck for this one. Community Q, a Decatur meat emporium, is the result of a Triforcean partnership between David Roberts, Jim Laber, and Stuart Baesel. Backed by Roberts’ foundation at Sam and Dave’s, the trio has set out to save Atlanta from the clutches of the evil Ganon and his barbecue minions.
After seeing what S&D has put out for the past few years, I’d say CQ is playing in that pigpen. Though people often dismiss me as a curmudgeon, I wasn’t the only one at the table to walk away less than blown away. This was advertised as something transcendent … alas, it was not. While one of the better barbecues in Atlanta, there is still a long way to go. Though I will most certainly be back, this meal did little to make me feel like a drive beyond Daddy D’s or Fox Bros is necessary.
One heck of a weekend if you ask me … lots of football, lots of food, and lots of food news. What else is there? Here are just a few of the rumblings and grumblings that got tossed around this weekend.
Top Chef: Las Vegas Reunites In The Dirty South Several of the contestants on Top Chef: Atlanta Las Vegas were seen in town this weekend. The group, comprised of ATLiens Kevin Gillespie and Eli Kirshtein, included out of towners Jennifer Carroll, Bryan Voltaggio, and Mike Isabella. The gang was spotted at the Falcons game sucking down some buzztastic grub from the new “it” barbecue joint … known round these parts as Community Q. Speaking of which, I grabbed a meal there last week, and I’ll definitely share in the next day or so (if not sooner).
The fun didn’t stop watching our beloved birds get tarred and feathered. To get the full Atlanta experience, the kiddos spent a good amount of time sampling ATL’s food. They took a trip to Flip Burger Boutique to see TC alum Richard Blais, to Holeman & Finch for some libations, to Pricci, and to each of TC:LVC Atlanta restaurants. UPDATE:Atlanta’s best BBQ blogger was kind enough to recap the events on his blog, pictures and all! Enjoy!
Holeman & Finch To Open Liquor Store Speaking of H&F, long-standing rumors seem to be getting a little more traction. Several “reliable foodies” have mentioned that the group behind ATLs most notable “gastro bar” are going to expand into the liquor store business. All signs point to Bottleneck as the name of the establishment. Andy Minchow, one of the proprietors of H&F, is scheduled to take the reigns. For all you mixologists-in-training, this will most certainly be your store of choice. The former Repast barista will be there to help you with recipes, ingredients, and drinking gadgets. Atlanta’s masked videographer Rowdy just posted a clip of Andy … check it:
Some Bar In Some Place Opened Some people just don’t “get it.” They somehow take the idea of underground coolness and screw it up by going the snobby/elitist route. Here’s what I’m talking about:
Everyone wants to be “Milk & Honey” but no one has the balls (or apparently the brains) to actually pull it off the way M&H did. A bar hoping to copy take inspiration from the NYC underground destination is doing its best to do everything Milk and Honey did not. It starts with the press release.
In this waste of digital paper, the owners were kind enough to provide the name of the bar. Then, they told you what area of town to find it (no specific information – just a generic address – it’s a phone booth of sorts btw). Oh, last but not least, they were nice enough to give out the name of their master mixologist (which everyone in the foodie circle already knows). The cherry? There’s a password to get in. However, they won’t give it out.
One of the reasons why M&H succeeded is because they played the game. They weren’t pretentious about what they were, and they didn’t try to have their cake and eat it too. This establishment seems to want its feet on both sides of the line. Not gonna happen here … You want to put out something in a press release … than do it … but don’t half ass it. As such … not even a name mention from yours truly. If you’re reading this and don’t know the story behind Milk and Honey … feel free to email me and I’ll elaborate. And if you’re dying to know what I’m talking about … search some of the more notable food blogs here in town … you’ll find the 205.5 without too much difficulty. They have a website already and … of course … A FACEBOOK PAGE!!!!!! The website actually tells you where it is. Grrrr …
As time goes by, I am presented with the opportunity to head back to some of the restaurants I’ve already chatted up. Since my initial visit to DBA Barbecue, there have been a number of changes. Doug Morgan has moved on, and in his place, we have Drew Kirkland. Kirkland, who was previously stationed at The Albert, spent four years under celebrity chef Kevin Rathbun. According to Matt Coggin, one of the three owners, Kirkland has brought with him a Lang Smoker. I’m not sure if that’s a big selling point or not – my knowledge of smoker producers is definitively lacking.
After a fairly lackluster blind date, I was hopping to see an improvement from the restaurant. Unfortunately, the food seems lost in the doldrums of barbecue mediocrity. Given the high price point and the extended opportunity to fix the problems, I would say this return visit was far more disappointing than the first.
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)
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.
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!!!!!!!!
Tis the time of year that puts us knee-deep in festivals and restaurant weeks. Whether you spell it barbecue, barbeque, bar-b-q, or just plain ole BBQ, the Atlanta BBQ Festival seems ripe for a crowd in its inaugural run. The event, which runs from 10am-6pm on Saturday, September 12th and has over 700 confirmed guests, will take up the green lot in front of Turner Field. Though you’ll be able to grab some suds, this will be a kid friendly event. In addition to the barbecue related activities, there will be live music, baseball clinics, and half-price tours of Turner field. The organizer of this event is one Bob Herndon. Herndon, who has established the Atlanta BBQ Club (website/twitter), comes backed with a National BBQ Judge certification.
The star of the show, not surprisingly, is going to be the plethora of BBQ contests on tap. While all the contests offer up cash bling … the coolest prize is most definitely for the “Professional Division.” The top earner will walk away with $1500 and a contract with Turner Field to sell their BBQ at a Braves game next season. I’ll be hitting that game up, as well as this event! Full details are available at the Atlanta BBQ Festival website.
This news is actually a bit outdated, but it’s still worth a mention. Chef Jay Clark, who previously served as the Executive Chef at The Bureau, has found a home at Fox Bros Barbecue in L5P. This news brought on a “Well how bout that” moment. The move is a distinct departure for Clark as his previous stints include time at NYC’s Babbo and some of Shaun Doty’s restaurants.
Regardless, it seems like a needed move from Fox Bros, as their food has always been highly inconsistent. In fact, it’s that inconsistency that was the main culprit in the review a few months back. All that aside, with the Bureau now a thing of the past, it’s nice to see Clark resurface.
Osage Farms, located on Hwy 441 North in Rabun Gap, is just one of a handful of local farms that call Rabun County home. While I haven’t visited any one of those other spots, I imagine that Osage is one of the better options for fresh produce in the entire state of GA, let alone Rabun Gap.
Roughly a month ago, the AJC asked everyone to identify the best place to get produce in and around Atlanta. The resulting lists contained all of the usual suspects. The DeKalb Farmers’ Market and the Peachtree Road Farmers’ Market showed up on both top 5s, while the Morningside Farmers’ Market showed up on the staff section. Meanwhile, two or three people chimed in regarding this highway side farm some two-hours drive from the heart of Atlanta.
Last week, I posted some thoughts on Rolling Bones BBQ. Ultimately, I said that I found the new iteration of this downtown joint to be heavy on potential and thin on delivery. In a bit of surprise, owner/chef Todd Richards himself showed up to share his thoughts on my post.
As I’m not sure people will be as likely to find his words in the comment section of the post, I thought I’d throw them up here. So with that, take a gander at what Richards said this past Tuesday:
Creative Loafing ran a little bit on a recent article in Bon Appétit. BA decided to get in on the barbecue debate by naming the America’s ten best NEW barbecue places. The mention on CL motivated me to revisit my thoughts on the list that was released earlier this month.
Top 10 lists are really hard to do, especially when your sample size is the entire US of A. Heck, it’s hard enough to name the top 10 in any given city, let alone, the country. But still … they could have done better. Is it any surprise to you that I find the list a debacle for several reasons? Keep in mind, I’ve only hit 3 of these spots, but those trips have told me all I need to know.
First, the list is supposed to discuss new restaurants. Granted, there isn’t a hard definition for a “new restaurant,” but Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge is anything but. It’s a gourmet spot that has long been in my Boston rotation. While I can’t tell you how long they’ve been open, I do know that I’ve had barbecue there as early as 2005. Same can be said for my beloved Zingerman’s Roadhouse (website).
Second, there’s a difference between a BBQ restaurant and a place that serves barbecue (both of the aforementioned are the latter).
Third, Rolling Bones BBQ is now under new management. I posted on it earlier today, but I just want to clarify. I am surprised that it was identified as one of the best in its former incarnation.
I guess the moral of the story is “Be careful what you read.” You never know how qualified the person behind the list is! (wink) Meanwhile, if you are ever in Cambridge – you must stop in at Formaggio. Regardless of where you live, YOU MUST try Zingerman’s (via mail order if need be).
Not surprisingly, the amount of love doled out on Community Q has been nothing short of intense and swift. The Geek chimed in (several times in fact), Top Chef did it, and the carnivorously anxious gang at Creative Loafing also made a trip out. Speckled in between these notations were riblets from the young, the restless, and the truly irascible. In between all this hustle and bustle, I, joined by a duo of foodies, managed to sneak my way in to dine on some swine.
