FoodieBuddha.com

Last week, I mentioned that a well respected NYC foodie and a local heavyweight were scampering around town to try some of the best Atlanta has to offer.  Yesterday, Ed Levine, the NYC dude of Serious Eats fame, posted a writing by John Kessler, the AJC’s food dude.  Topics included the delicious pizzas that we all talk oh so much about.  Yes, that’s Varasano’s, Antico Pizza, & Fritti, for all you rock dwellers.  Though there isn’t a great deal of “review” details in the post, the article does seem to tip its hat in the direction of Antico.

Kessler goes on to discuss Atlanta’s burgeoning farm-to-table scene, BuHi’s Korean BBQ and ramen, and checks out with a tip of the hat to Woodfire Grill’s Kevin Gillespie and The Hil’s Hilary White.  I’m not sure if Levine actually went anywhere other than Antico and V’s, and his opinion is notably absent from the piece.  Still, it’s great to see Kessler pushing us on the national scene, and it’s a well-written summary piece for anyone trying to get a lay of the land.

[via Serious Eats]

First Downtown Atlanta did it, then Midtown rolled the dice.  Now Inman Park is getting in on the action.  Starting September 21st and running through the 27th, twelve restaurants in the Inman Park neighborhood will offer up a special prix-fixe menu.  By now, there’s a good chance you know the drill.  If not, here’s the short of the short: three courses will run you $25 [most of the time].  I say most of the time because there are a few exceptions.  A meal at Rathbun’s Steak will run you $35 while Sauced, The Albert, and Pure Taqueria will run their specials at $15.

To further add to the confusion, Sauced and Pure Taqueria, that taco chain out of Alpharetta, won’t actually be open.  Apparently, Pure Taqueria won’t actually be open in time for restaurant week – so I’m not sure how that qualifies them.  Similarly, neither will Sauced.  However, the latter will host guests on the 25th from 6-10pm for $15 cash money.  I’ll elaborate on those goings on in another post.  Full details after the jump.

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Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday and today.  Real life beckons when you’ve been on the lamb for a few weeks.  Still, I’ve managed to get back into the foodie thing with my return to the ATL.  Last night, I found myself at Fritti, the popular pizza joint that sits just outside of Inman Park.  A lot, and I do mean a lot, has been said about Riccardo Ullio’s little restaurant in the past year.  As such, I felt it was about time that I gave ya’ll a little taste of what to expect.

Fritti sits on one side of the coin in what seems to have been dubbed “the Atlanta Pizza Wars.”  The other “contender” in this sham is Varasano’s Pizzeria.  I call it a sham for one reason: These restaurants are both worthy of a following; however, I cannot for the life of me identify any other duo where people are asked to like one establishment and not the other.  It’s not even important who started the debate, or how it got so widespread.  All that matters to me is that people realize that Fritti and Varasano’s are different types of pizza.  Neither is the “correct way” and neither is “the best X, Y, or Z.”  They are simply different takes on a single culinary tradition.  Some will undoubtedly find one better than the other, and that’s just fine.  Hopefully, people can put down them “fighting words” at the mere mention of either establishment and just take them at face value.

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So the Mushroom Channel is a blog dedicated to all things funghi.  It’s a pretty good read despite it’s lack of diversity.  Yesterday, I noticed they had an interview with Riccardo Ullio, the owner of notable Atlanta restaurants Sotto Sotto, Fritti, Cuerno, and Beleza.  In that interview, Ullio shares with the crowd the method behind his Funghi Fritti.  Enjoy!

Chef Riccardo’s Funghi Fritti

• 12 pounds assorted mushrooms (such as white, crimini, portobello, shiitake)
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• 6 cups rice flour
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
• Truffle oil, as needed
• Canola oil, as needed
• Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Stem and cut the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a large bowl, add the water and wine, then slowly whisk in the rice flour until the batter is the consistency of a thick gravy.
3. Add the rosemary and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the mushrooms and toss until the mushrooms are lightly and evenly coated.
5. For each serving to order: Fry 8 ounces of the mushrooms at 350 degrees F, using a metal spoon to keep them from clumping, 3 to 4 minutes, or until the batter is crisp.
6. Drain the mushrooms on a paper towel, then drizzle very lightly with truffle oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Though I’ve always found the idea of “buying something on sale in order to save money” to be laughable, buying things at a discounted rate is a good thing.  Enter the “Intown [sic] Restaurant Stimulus” (betcha thought I was talking about the other IRS).  From April 19-23, and again on the 26-30th, a handful of in town Atlanta restaurants are offering up a 15% discount. What’s better, the total based on the pre-tax amount of your bill!  Boo ya!

The event is sponsored by the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, a nonprofit that has been in our city for almost a century.  The coupon and list of restaurants is available after the jump!

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For those that are scratching their heads by the title of this post, John Henderson was an employee at the Standard on Memorial Drive.   He was gunned down during an early morning robbery.  Though I only “knew him” in the loosest sense of the term, I denoted his warm affect the two or three times he waited on me.  Well, several Atlanta restaurants are uniting to help honor John’s memory.

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