FoodieBuddha.com

Two establishments, one building, and one curious story.  That’s the deal with two new eateries going in at Renaissance Walk, a struggling (aka foreclosed) downtown condominium complex just a few steps from Georgia State.  One Café and Yoeshi are siblings spots that have been in production for quite sometime.  If recent grumblings (spurred by self-promotion) are to be taken at face value, then the two newborns will say hello sometime in mid-February.  Still, details are muddled.

Tucked in at the corner of Auburn Ave. and Piedmont, the location for these two restaurants is not nearly as ideal as one would think.  In that same location, several restaurants have opened and closed faster than you can say recession.  Still, that hasn’t stopped one restaurateur from trying to open not one, but two, fast casual concepts.

One Café is purportedly set to offer a mind-boggling array of cuisines with everything from burritos to burgers and all the way through pastries.  They’ve actually named just about every restaurant in Atlanta as their source of unoriginality inspiration.  Speaking of names, according to the Renaissance Walk website, the name of the restaurant is actually spelled One Caffe.

As for that other gig, Yoeshi will serve Japanese street food as well as Japanese pastries and desserts.

According to their own musings, these will be a walk-up and order establishments with no service staff.  They have a chef, but no word on who that actually is at this time.  Anywho, there y’all have it.

One Cafe / Yoeshi Address:
171 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30303-2552

Saturdays and Sundays, at least the good ones, equal football and football equals wings (of the Buffalo persuasion).  Late in the calendar year, and on into the earliest months of the newest 365, men and women come together on those days of little sun for rowdy goodness.  At the intersection of beer guts and team pennants, you’ll find droves of people yelling at TVs and bantering with their nearest compatriots, all while donning their gayest apparel.

These engagements of caveman-like behavior would not be complete without a significant amount of sustenance.  More often than not, discussions of what to eat and what to order dwindle down to the sympathetic duo of pizza and wings.  For the past 28-years, J.R. Crickets has tried its best to remain at the forefront of those discussions.  In more ways than one, this wing establishment has matured into the wings version of Mellow Mushroom.  What started as a solitary fryer has blossomed into a dozen+ location chain with a reasonably strong following.

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What better way to start off the new year than with a visit to Inside The Chef’s Kitchen.  Today’s chef du jour is Alex Brounstein of Grindhouse Killer Burgers.  Brounstein and his team, serving up round mounds of ground since September of last year, and have already garnered a good bit of praise.

With a come as you are attitude and an über cool location (inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market), Grindhouse has already put itself closer to the top of the burger heap than to the bottom.  Meanwhile, Brounstein makes it a point to be a constant fixture in front of his wall projected movie screen.

Brounstein’s answers are in depth and full of good tidbits, so this should be an enjoyable read for y’all.  I’ll second his JBA suggestion for Kenny Shopsin.  If you make it up to New York City, a visit to Shopsin’s General Store should definitely be on your itinerary.  Anyone who makes Mac-and-Cheese pancakes is a hero in my book.  But we digress, as Brounstein is the star of the show.  So kick back, relax … and with that, welcome to ITCK!

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Big ups to Atlanta Magazine’s Bill Addison … who dropped this jewel on us via twitter.   Apparently, Dynamic Dish, everyone’s favorite healthy eating spot, is scheduled to expand in the spring.  According to Addison, DD will do away with their BYOB policy as they are due a liquor license.  More interesting, is the idea that there will be a semi-standard menu in place.  I’m not so sure how people will react to that point.  Some people love that DD is different everyday, other’s hate it.  I’m sure it’s hell on owner/chef David Sweeney and this will almost definitely help him streamline his business.  Congrats to DD, and if you haven’t been … get there now!

[via @BillAddison]

Dynamic Dish Restaurant Address & Information
427 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312 // 404.688.4344 // Dynamic Dish website

In any other city, or even at any other time in Atlanta, Max’s Coal Oven Pizza would have a fighting chance.  Fair or not, two or three names have dominated our pizzascape during the last 12 months and change.  Fighting for the table scraps that is our attention, Max’s has setup shop in Downtown Atlanta as one of the newest eateries from the Concentrics Restaurants Group.

To separate themselves from the crowd, Max’s has employed the only coal burning pizza oven in the state; and, it seems that the restaurant has hinged its reputation on this oven.  In addition to claims of a better flavor (more on that in a bit), Max’s purports that “the coal oven promotes environmental sustainability by burning anthracite coal.”  Unless Max’s knows something that is unknown to every country on earth, then that seems like a bit of poetic license if I ever saw it.  I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t crazy, so I went on a little internet search.  Here are a few things I found that seem to imply that Max’s claim is a bit specious.  Leaving that where it should be left, we showed up at Max’s with every hope that delicious pizza awaited.

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On a recent working weekend, after Adam and I were rejected by Busy Bee Cafe (they are closed on Saturdays), we were forced to look elsewhere for grub.  We volleyed back and forth until Adam suggested Paschal’s, a long-standing highbrow soul food joint.  It’s amazing to me how many times I’ve visited Castleberry Hills for a meal, only to drive right past Paschal’s.  Furthermore, it’s not a particularly good sign that when pressed to come up with a place to get my Suth’un fix in, Paschal’s almost never comes to mind.  This despite the fact that it is in close proximity to where I work/live.

Started as a motor hotel by a couple of brothers way back yonder, this Atlanta mainstay has gone the way of corporate America.  As my only previous visits to Paschal’s occurred around the time I just started to learn my two plus two’s, I cannot really speak to what once was.  What we have now, for better or worse, is the fine dining version of Mary Mac’s Tea Room.

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The Ambiguously Foodie Duo has struck again, and this time our victim was Grindhouse Killer Burgers in Downtown Atlanta.  In just a few short days, Grindhouse has thrown down the gauntlet, though not for their food.  The freshly cooked Sweet Auburn Curb Market eatery is alive and kicking and it is readily apparent that owner Alex Brounstein and his crew have hit the ground running.

Before I wax-foodetic about the specifics, Grindhouse has done something many new restaurants, even those run by experienced restaurateurs, have failed to do: open smoothly, at least from the perspective of a patron.  While I am usually inclined to give people new to the restaurant business a bit of a pass in the early stages, Brounstein’s joint requires no such grace period.  Perhaps this is do to the abbreviated amount of service, the relative simplicity of the menu, or the layout of the space (how many fooderies can you name that don’t even have walls?).  In a number of ways, Grindhouse has gone simple.  Some may say they have played it safe, I say they have played it smart.

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My goodness are burger joints in Atlanta exploding!  The latest entrant is Grindhouse Killer Burgers, scheduled to open September 8th 14th inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market in Downtown Atlanta.

A few months ago, as I knocked back a nightcap at Top Flr, I stumbled upon a friendly gentleman and his quest for the most delicious burger.  His name is Alex Brounstein and he’s the owner in question.  A friendly chap, we had a pretty good conversation.  Ever since that night, I’ve been watching the Grindhouse website like a hawk.

In the past few months, a facebook page and a twitter account have sprung up, the website has turned snazzy, and the menu (pdf) plays the role of teaser.

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Originally Posted 11.16.2008

I returned to Mi Barrio last night for what was probably my fifth meal there.  While I will say that it was the best meal I’ve ever had there, that was not a consequence of the cuisine.  Ultimately, Mi Barrio is a decent restaurant, but drastically overrated in the food community.  At the end of the day, I would only recommend Mi Barrio if you have a hankering for some Mexican food and live in nearby Grant Park.  The food last night was par for the course for Barrio.  However, my good buddy Chris (from Café Agora fame) and Leslie, his wonderful wife, were kind enough to join me.  That’s what made this fun.

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Last night was date night. Since it was restaurant week (3 courses for $25 at participating restaurants), we decided to hop on MARTA and head over to BLT Steak for dinner. After a quick 2 stop jaunt on the train and a 1 block walk to the W Downtown, we arrived at our final destination. We were briskly seated at our table and presented with two menus. The regular menu and the abbreviated restaurant week menu (entrée options included hangar steak, roast chicken or wild salmon).

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