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The Fifth Street Café, the newest endeavor for Hawks center Zaza Pachulia and the ADI Restaurant Group, is opening today at 800 Peachtree Street.  In supplanting ENO, the space has been completely reworked and as the picture above shows [viar facebook album], the interior looks a lot more like that of an ultra-lounge than that of a café.

The opening chef is Ian Winslade, whose name might ring a bell with those who visited Bluepointe a few years back.  The English national also spent some time at Shout, Prime, and TomTom (All Here2Serve concepts). Winslades’ last job was as the chef de cuisine at Vongericthen’s Spice Market.  Currently, Winslade also runs things over at Buckhead Bottle Bar, a new joint from the same group of guys.

The 5th Street website isn’t much more than a landing page at this point.  As such, I’m not entirely sure what the menu will look like; however, I’m guessing it will be progressive American cuisine.  I’ll see what I can come up with in the next few days.

As I mentioned back on July 6th, Savor Specialty Foods is done.  The specialty market located in the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center in South Buckhead has been selling their storage racks and shelves, as well as all their goodies.  They had become a frequent stop for me every time I wanted to stock up on H+F Bread.  At this time, there are no firm plans for a replacement tenant.

Mark August 21st on your calendars ladies and gents.  In a joint event with the Japan American Society of Atlanta (website), Taka Moriuchi, the knife slinging leader of Taka Sushi in Buckhead, is hosting a cooking class.  It starts at 11 am and lasts until 2pm.  For reservations, you need to email axistaka@msn.com.  At only $30/head, this is a steal.  Not only do you get to learn, but you also get LUNCH!!!  Dishes on the schedule include soba and udon soup, okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes), and gyoza (dumplings).

[via Taka Blog]

Taka Sushi Cafe Restaurant Address & Information

375 Pharr Rd, Atlanta, GA 30305 // 404.869.2802 // Taka website // Taka menu

It’s not news that Noche, the tapas arm of Here To Serve Restaurants, is set to expand.  But it looks like there is a tentative date in place for their third location.  According to David Abes’ twitter feed, construction starts in October with a targeted opening of March 2011.  Abes serves as the director of operations for the restaurant group.  The restaurant is going in the Town Brookhaven community at 4330 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA 30319.

Even I don’t have the heart to dress this up.  Denver based Smashburger is expanding into Atlanta.  Thankfully, we might get as many as FIVE of these burger joints!  According to Scott Crane, el jefe de la empresa (the boss), they have put out five letters of intent in strip centers around East Cobb, Perimeter Mall, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, and Buckhead/Midtown.  Thank god, cuz what we need is more fast casual restaurants serving up burgers.

The corner of E. Andrews and W. Paces Ferry in Buckhead is choke full of Atlanta’s forgotten culinary greatness.  Yes, the converted home that housed one of Atlanta’s most notable restaurants (Seeger’s) has gradually morphed from a place of legend and shi shi into an establishment for the more casual dinner.  Coast Seafood & Raw Bar is the current resident, and they’ve set out to fill the void left when Steamhouse Lounge moved to Midtown.

The restaurant is operated by Tom Catherall’s Here To Serve, a restaurant group whose fooderies dot our cityscape with thoughts of greatness that always fall short.  In fact, 111 W. Paces’ previous tenant,  aptly named Home, was one such example.  The restaurant’s brief flirtation with success came when Catherall brought in Atlanta’s darling chef, one Richard Blais.  That Blais up and ran just a few months after showing up was not a surprise (it’s kinda been his m.o.).  It was also no surprise that when Blais left, so too did Home’s business.  Now, just a few months after H2S shuttered the cougarville that was Lola Bellini Bar in favor of the disgusting Cantina Taqueria, they have followed suit with Home and Coast Seafood.

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Breaking news: On Thursday, April 22nd, Buckhead’s Souper Jenny will be cancelling their Grilled Cheese Night.  Instead, proprietor Jenny Levison will be hosting the Super Secret Underground Food Truck Extravaganza (from 6pm to 9pm).  Yes, it seems that the food truck craze that is just now inundating our daily lives is getting another big push from “fringe” to “mainstream.”

The previously mentioned Incredible Flying Soup Mobile will be there, serving up Nantucket lobster rolls and shrimp posole.  In addition, my favorite popsicle dude (The King of Pops) and Black Tie Barbeque will be on hand, fighting with The Good truck, Taqueria del Sol, and The Pickle for your stomach space.  In fact, there will be a few more vendors and FREE WINE!!!! (while supplies last).  Woot!

Most importantly, this is a street food affair – so leave your plastic at home. Get there:

Souper Jenny Restaurant Address & Information

56 E. Andrews Dr, Atlanta, GA 30305 // Souper Jenny website // Souper Jenny menu

Some very sad and totally off-topic news to report.  Robert Hiestand of Robert’s Roses has died.  Nearly everyone who drove by the corner of West Paces Ferry and Northside Drive during the past 20 or so years likely spotted Robert standing on the little island dishing out a smile and some love.  He died this past Tuesday of a reported stroke; he was 55.

The West Paces Ferry flower guy was a fixture of my childhood, and I, like many others, bought many a flower from him over the years.  The Robert’s Roses website has promised to add more information, so check there to get the latest.

As a street corner florist, he was tops in this town.  Regardless of the weather, Hiestand mad it a point to get to that corner!  In honor of Robert, I am not going to post my review scheduled for today.  Instead, check back tomorrow when we get back on the saddle.

[via JBP on facebook]

UPDATE: There is currently a facebook group entitled 10,000 to build a monument at W Paces Ferry honoring Robert the Flower Man.  It’s already over 600 fans.  Meanwhile, R.I.P. Rose man has roughly 2,000 fans.  It’s nice to see the community come together on this.  Meanwhile, there are already 2700 fans of Robert’s other facebook page.

Hello to The Kind Pie in Buckhead.  You see, crave worthy deliciousness is something we all obsess about.  While achieving that meditative state is difficult and rare, when we do stumble upon such wonderful morsels of yum, those of us lucky enough to have the time will do what we can to feed that obsession [case in point: 3x visits in nine days].  Amongst foodies in the Dirty, nothing seems to draw us out more than the opportunity to expand our waistlines and spike our cholesterol at the mercy of the pizza gods.

Being the creatures of habit that we happen to be, many of us have started to make our way over to The Kind Pie.  Within 24-hour of my initial notation on the place, @EggRollStan started abusing TKP’s gratis delivery service, The Bliss followed shortly thereafter, and Live to Feast oozed all over it just a few days later.  At the tail end, even the mainstream media is on the trail (ATL Mag’s Bill Addison has been over for a meal).  While we wait for further dissemination by foodies, cavorters, and grublets alike, early impressions from this guy are that TKP should easily be considered amongst the best pizza pushing drug dealers in the city.

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As I work through my full First Impressions review of The Kind Pie, I thought now is as good a time as any to mention that Varasano’s Pizzeria is getting ready to go late night on the weekends.  Starting this weekend, V’s will keep their ovens running until 1 AM on both Friday and Saturday nights.  Also, you’ll find pizza guy Jeff Varasano is in the process of putting some Sicilian pies on the menu.  Things keep on trucking for Atlanta’s most talked about pie man … we’ll see what else comes out of this Peachtree Hills pizza oven!

Varasano’s Pizzeria Restaurant Address & Information:
2171 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 // 404.352.8216 // Varasano’s reservations // Varasano’s website // Varasano’s twitter