Posted by foodiebuddha
on February 01, 2010
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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Posted by foodiebuddha
on January 29, 2010
Photo by David Naugle via MU
A recent dining excursion took me to the ever bustling Miller Union, a Westside eatery that has become one of the “it places.” MU is a restaurant that showed up on the scene roughly two-months ago and is currently in the middle of a love fest not uncommon around these parts. Some heavy hitters love it and judging by the packed house we witnessed, so too do the lay folk.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on December 15, 2009
My readers are full of great info! Dianne Reinhardt and the folks behind the Magnolia Bread Company (website) have decided to launch their own food truck! Aptly named “The Green Van,” the just launched website is chock full of good tidbits.
The truck will feature a short and sweet selection of sandwiches, seasonal salads, and desserts. Joyfully enough, all of them will be constructed from organic goodness. No word yet on exactly where they’ll try and set up – but I suspect their twitter account will have the deets.
All Hail Stephanie – whomever you are!!!
Posted by foodiebuddha
on November 20, 2009
If chef Kevin Gillespie is still an unknown to you at this point – I’d be shocked. Even if you don’t find yourself wrapped up in all things food – he is hard to miss. Complete with a pig tat and a stunning resemblance to Yukon Cornelius, he’s got a style that’s distinctly his own.
Outside of the 404, he’s probably best known as one of the studs on this season of Top Chef. In town, we all know him as the loveable legatee of Woodfire Grill. With his pension for seasonal ingredients, farm to table cooking, and simplistic excellence, Kevin is one of the many people trying their best to make Atlanta something other than an afterthought on the national food consciousness. Still in his mid-20s, the guy cooks and speaks with a confidence beyond his years.
Those are just some of the reasons why I’m pleased as pork to have one of the magnanimous leaders of Atlanta’s culinary scene take the time to chime in here. Anyone who has ever heard Kevin talk will probably find some of these answers predictably comforting (the guy loves him some pig!). If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out Gillespie’s food … GO NOW!!! In the meantime, sit back and enjoy his. And with that, welcome to ITCK!
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on November 16, 2009
Atlanta’s newest buzz restaurant said hello world early last week. Miller Union, a freshly designed (by ai3) Westside restaurant, features ever trendy farm fresh food from Steven Satterfield, formerly of Watershed. With the help of GM Neal McCarthy, by way of Sotto Sotto, and the assistance of mixologist Cara Laudino, the group is hoping that M+U becomes Atlanta’s next “it” restaurant.
Though their menus and vibe are extremely disparate, I could not help but draw some immediate connections between M+U and the nearby Abattoir. First and foremost, just as Abattoir borrowed its name from the history of the building within which it resides, so too does Miller Union. Next, the two both share an affinity for finely styled country decor. Third, there is a particularly acute focus on freshly sourced ingredients.
While my introduction to M+U was not the runaway success that I had hoped, there are a number of reasons to smile after taking the time dine there. A man date with Savory Exposure (website) turned anniversary trio, it seemed that all the members of “Team Buddha” walked away from our meal smiling and content.
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on November 14, 2009
Though I’m a much bigger fan of the Japanese original (that’s a wiki link), Iron Chef America isn’t half bad. Hosted by Atlanta’s own Alton Brown on the Food Network, the competition show features a number of great cooks (remember the Richard Blais episode?).
Now, a couple of Iron Chef’s (Mario Batali & Bobby Flay), will join Emeril Lagasse in a Super Chef Battle at the White House. I must admit, it saddened me to hear that Atlanta’s White House Restaurant was not the hosting location. Instead, the trio will take a trip to our nation’s capital to challenge White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and first lady Michelle Obama.
The episode, a two-hour special, will premier Sunday January 3rd, 2010 at 8pm. The challenge at hand? Create a meal for America using the White House Kitchen’s local produce as the secret ingredient. Talk about taking Farm to Table to the next level? I’ll be watching!
[via prince of petworth]
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on October 08, 2009
After saying hello world last night, Bocado, which translates loosely to mouthful or morsel, opened for business earlier today on the Westside of Atlanta. As mentioned previously, B to the C to the ado is the brainchild of Brian Lewis, who comes to Atlanta via the southern comfort of Birmingham, AL. Designed by ai3 and staffed by a people I’ve previously seen working at some successful ATL restaurants, it seems there is a strong foundation in place.
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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!!!!!!!!
Posted by foodiebuddha
on September 21, 2009
This past Sunday, Adam and I went to Rathbun’s in Inman Park for their farm-to-table cooking class. There is a whole lot to say about this as I have about 200 pictures and a notebook full of scribble. Luckily, the two videos I shot came out half-decent. While they are nothing close in quality to the videos put out by Rowdy Food, I was reasonably pleased that my camera skills didn’t completely suck. As for the audio … well … it is what it is.
While there is a whole mess of stuff to say on this (so be on the look out), I thought we’d start ya’ll off with a few short videos. The star of the shows is chef Adam Williams, a 24-year-old wunderkind, who helped take Team Two to the promise land. In his spare time, Williams serves as one of Kevin Rathbun’s devout minions chefs. Enjoy!
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Posted by foodiebuddha
on August 14, 2009
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.
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