FoodieBuddha.com

I am the Foodie Buddha and I am a sheep amongst wolves.  Stealthily perched behind my menu, which serves as a shield from the plastic-esque décor, my eyes see nothing but menu and the fairer sex.  With Mama Buddha and my cousin with a famous backside in tow, and a handful of female neighbors onsite, I’m seated in NM Café, the basement *cough* lower level Lenox Square Neiman Marcus eatery.  If you haven’t heard of NM Café I’ll tell you that it’s Needless Markup’s culinary offering to the silver-haired blue bloods hailing from the nearby Buckhead neighborhoods.

As I sip on the underwhelming yet competent demitasse of consommé (complimentary to all who enter and sit), I can’t help but feel completely out of place.  Although … I am the impetus behind this excursion, so maybe I just have a twisted sense of entertainment.  What followed was one of the strangest yet oddly predictable meals of recent memory.

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Peering through my looking glass, a once formidable cocktail whose specifics elude me at this juncture, I find my mind fluttering and, most importantly, my stomach growling.  Mind you, this isn’t on account of an empty belly; rather, I’ve bellied up at one of the most notable gastro pubs in the world.  I’ve finally made my way over to the Michelin rated Minetta Tavern, and before I can even sit down, I can tell I’m going to be a better man for it.

In 2009, when proprietor Keith McNally (of Balthazar ilk) introduced New York to this Art Deco era bistro homage, the praise came quickly, often, and adoringly.  No doubt chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr had a lot to do with that.  As such, by the time I walked into the door some three-months ago, I had very few misgivings as to what was on deck.

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Updated: 6.23 @ 8:00am

After years and years of being Atlanta’s premier dive bar (sorry Clermont), Northside Tavern is finally getting in on the food game … sort of.  I say sort of because the Westside’s newest food adventure is coming in the form of a new food stand named Muncheez.  A lot of details are up in the air, but here’s what I know.

The launch date for Muncheez is Sunday, July 10th.  They’re going to have a little shindig where a handful of bands, including the Swamp Funk Quartet, are scheduled to play and the trailer will start pumping out food.  There’s a chance Muncheez might get going sooner, but that is the official date.

It’s a 20’ long trailer, so I’m not exactly sure where or how it will be configured, that currently sits in the parking lot, still wrapped and facing Brady Ave.  The menu is eerily similar to another nearby food stand, albeit much more expansive.  Scheduled to be in the included offerings are wings, burgers, hot dogs, pizza, buffalo calamari and fried snickers.  The man, or at least one of the people, behind Muncheez is a dude by the name of Rommel Chatman.  I don’t have a lot of info on Mr. Chatman, but from what I have been told, he doesn’t come from the restaurant industry  was a waiter at Fox and Hounds and Mr. C’s.

Anyway, that’s about all.  There is no mention of this on the NT website but Muncheez does have a twitter handle and a facebook page that includes a few videos related to said trailer.

Ann’s Snack Bar is famous.  You know that, I know that, and anyone who’s had the Ghetto Burger knows it.  Over the past year plus, rumors have inundated our food waves regarding the imminent demise/sale of Ann’s.  Now, NBC has picked up on the story.  Short but sweet I suppose:

[via NBC]

A: The Battle of the Burgers

Q: What is the meat slapping, gut busting, massive attack set to take place at John Howell Park in Virginia-Highland on Saturday, October 2nd (from 12-4p)?

To elaborate: some might say we’re in a burger renaissance.  I might say we’re in a burger infestation.  Regardless of your perspective, it isn’t a stretch to say that Atlanta’s cityscape has become a bastion of meat-eating fornication.  Spurned on by the dizzying selections our city has to offer, Embraced Atlanta is putting on a charitable contest of epic proportions … appropriately slugged as The Battle of the Burgers (web).  Read on for all the information!

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Despite the tragic end to the World Cup just a handful of weeks back, it looks like I have another reason to break out my beloved Oranje jersey before 2014.  It turns out that Whataburger, another one of those boutique burger chains, is handing out free burgers.  On August 3rd 2010, if you walk in to any Whataburger in the fast food nation, you get a free burger.  Ah … but there’s a catch.  You see, you have to show up between 5-8pm and you have to wear a piece of Dutch soccer paraphernalia.

Okay, I fibbed a little, you don’t actually have to wear something Dutch … just something orange.  The event is a celebration of the franchise’s 60th year in biz.  Those of us in the ATL can get in on the action if our heart and our gas tank so desires.  With locations in Thomasville and near Savannah (x2), it looks like South Georgia is your best bet if you’re hell bent on staying inside state lines.  If you don’t mind handing your tax dollars to another state, Birmingham is actually your best bet to snag one of these (mappage).

[photo via whataburger website]

Well Atlanta, are you looking for another burger joint? [Insert Rhetorical Answer], because it turns out the heavens have opened and one Shaun Doty has stepped down with his excitement imploring Yeah! Burger.  Planted firmly on the Westside in the bursting at the seems White Provision Development, Yeah Burger is hoping to capitalize on that incongruous relationship that is our lust for a burger amidst the rage for ultra organic, ethically produced, plastic wrapped grub.

If Rodeo Drive’s culinary alternative existed in Atlanta, its being would probably hit smack dab at the intersection of 14th street and Howell Mill.  Amongst the shi shi of the Star Provisions empire, the buzzed about Miller Union, the gentrified tacos of TdS, and the morphed West Egg, this hood can keep table hoppers busy for some time.  Might as well get on it myself.

Open inside of 7-days, I recently took advantage of the nice arm candy, courtesy one Georgia Devine, and some typically steamy Atlanta weather to sit porch side and engage in America’s messiest past time: burger chomping (with a hot dog thrown in for good measure).

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All this Atlanta burger chatter got me thinking: “Maybe it’s time for a diet.”  Then, I got a late night request from The Legend (twitter) which brought me to my senses.  Yes, maybe just one more day of gluttony (haven’t we all said that?).

You see, The Legend was taking a few people for a little afternoon birthday party at the world famous Ann’s Snack Bar.  It’s one of the few well known burger joints across our land that claims to be world famous … and really IS.  Despite rumors of its demise, brought on by the dominating Miss Ann herself, the Snack Bar is alive and well in East Atlanta.

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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.

As mentioned yesterday, in a frenzy of magnanimous delight, burger fiends have descended on Farm Burger in Decatur with fervor and excitement.  Like cows set out to pasture at Augusta National, people just can’t seem to get over this organically inclined burger joint.  Case in point: by noon on day one, tables were filled and the ordering line was 15 deep for the better part of the lunching hour.  Despite this welcomed intrusion, Farm Burger dusted off a few opening day jitters and managed to set the stage for potential success as one of Atlanta’s better options when your waste line isn’t given a second thought.

Though hitting restaurants early and often is just part of my MO, I too must admit an adrenaline rush during the drive over.  Thankfully stationed just a few miles away, had I been forced to commute any farther, there’s a good chance I’d have gone telephone pole all up on Ponce.  Yeah, I was kind of giddy.

Upon arrival, this excitement quickly turned to a case of “The burger loves me, the burger loves me not.”  For lack of a better term, parking at Farm Burger was a bitch, and it will probably stay that way.  You see, Farm Burger shares the same lot with Watershed and some dry cleaner whose name I’ve never taken the time to notice.  Excited that the place was a buzz, but pissed that people didn’t have the decency to save me a spot, I shoved my car in illegally and strolled on in (don’t worry – I didn’t block anyone).  I was dead on shocked by the size of the crowd; fortunately, the thought of running past my 45-minute time limit for lunch quickly dissipated … you just can’t help but feel good when a newborn baby grows up in a matter of moments.

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