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If my foodie gauge is correct, Super Pan, a Latin sandwich shop from Hector Santiago, is about to be the latest restaurant to permeate Atlanta’s food chatter.  How long this Pura Vida spin-off manages to last in that conversation will depend entirely on their ability to deliver good, consistent food.  Of course, Santiago’s notability due to his time on Top Chef will help with the buzz.

As you might remember from Monday’s post, I first visited the subterranean sandwich purveyor last week during their first few days of business.  However, I grubbed sans camera, so a return trip was necessary before I dropped this post on y’all.  Three sandwiches in, I’d say there is some real potential.

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The photo above comes courtesy of Hector Santiago’s newest endeavor … Super Pan, a Latino Sandwich Shop. (I nabbed it off the Super Pan website).  I luckily stumbled upon this sandwich shop just the other day but stupidly forgot to update y’all on the details.  Sorry!  Buddha Fail!  Anyway, I’ll give y’all a recap just as soon as I can scrap together a food finds post on my experience… but for now … here are the goods:

• It’s a Latin influenced sandwich shop
• It’s located in Poncey-Highlands underneath Pura Vida and their herb garden!
• It’s open T-F from 11:30-2pm
• There are a couple of less expensive options, but get ready to spend about $10 or more on a sandwich.
• The shop relies heavily on local farms for sourcing.
• They have a facebook page.

[UPDATE: You can see my Food Find Review HERE]

Super Pan Address & Information
1057 Blue Ridge Avenue, NE Atlanta, GA 30306 // 404.477.0379 // Super Pan website

Nestled amongst Atlanta’s stretch of tasseled "thingies” and institutional eateries is one of the best examples of contemporary American cuisine this side of the Mason-Dixon.  Chef Kevin Gillespie, still shy of 30-years-old, has taken Woodfire Grill from the brink of EXtinction to the point of DIStinction.  If Atlanta’s hopes of international culinary fame are to ever come to fruition, Woodfire Grill will be one of the handful of establishments dragging our restaurant scene into that arena.

Some two-years ago, the highly regarded Michael Tuohy departed the helm of Woodfire.  When that happened, Gillespie took over the Cheshire Bridge hideaway and continued Woodfire’s thematic direction.  In the 20 plus months since, the restaurant has exploded and our favorite Yukon Cornelius impersonator has made the place distinctly his own.  With that in mind, and motivated by a truly inspirational family event, four of us set out this past Friday looking for a little peace in the midst of our chaos.

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Sometimes, I have a very good explanation for how and why I stumble upon a website.  Other times, I have no idea how I happen upon some of the gems I hit.  Such is the case with the blog I’m High On Cooking (link to the tumblr).  The blog tumblr itself is a bit of a photo-journal from a guy who happens to be serving as a farmer’s apprentice.  At least, that’s what the slogan implies.

While the content is really excellent, what makes I’m High On Cooking a true winner is the vibrant photography of farm life and the inclusion of great videos. [blogger's aside … this site is encouraging me to steal Papa Buddha’s Lumix G1!!!]. It’s also chalk full of recipes … mmmm! I must warn you, this isn’t a site for the faint of heart.  It’s a blog that evokes every essence of the farm to table movement, which means chickens are harmed in the making of some posts.  I always encourage people who eat meat (or any animal for that matter) to see the butchering process … when done right, it’s done out of love.  Coincidentally, in reading through the backlog, I found this awesome food porn on everybody’s favorite new burger joint.

Last but not least, I really wish I could snag some photography for you, but since I don’t have his permission … that’s not going to happen here.  What I can do is embed this video … it’s awesome:

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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Yes, today is a foodie day.  You see, it’s the first full day of service for Farm Burger, Decatur’s next trending restaurant.  As you may infer from the wisely chosen name, Farm Burger is a burger joint that features grassfed beef from locally sourced providers.  The restaurant has been in the works for some time and is the brainchild of partners Jason Mann and George Frangos.  It’s located at 410 W. Ponce De Leon, the former home of Viola.

Frangos’ name might be familiar to those of you who follow the Jaw-ga food scene.  He is one of the partners at Farm 255 in Athens and serves as the director for both Full Moon Farms (website) and Moonshine Meats.  As logic follows, many of the menu items come from those two establishments.

There’s a whole slew of things to talk about, and seeing as I just skedaddled over for lunch (witness the messy hands), I’ll be sure to put something up just as soon as I can find the time.  By the way, did anyone spot me and win the prize?

Farm Burger Restaurant Address & Information

410b W. Ponce de Leon, Decatur, GA 30030 // 404.378.5077 // Farm Burger website // Farm Burger menu // FB twitter // FB facebook

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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                                                                                                  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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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!!!

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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