Posted by Foodie Buddha
on April 07, 2010
Sauced, Ria Pell’s new fusion soul food venture in Inman Park Atlanta, has been motoring along for several months. Though the restaurant came up for a brief breath of air in 2009, it actually opened for real in early 2010. Soon after, Spark Plug and I made it the appetizer stop on one of our habitual dinning excursions. Though it’s taken me a while to recap the less than stellar experience, ATLiens have been treated to several reviews during my hiatus thanks to some of our mainstream media brethren (linkage at the bottom). It seems I’m not alone in my total lack of fandom for Sauced.
Sauced itself is Pell’s attempt to offer entry-level fine dining. After building up her eponymous Ria’s Bluebird to the point where it’s one of the more well-known breakfast places, Pell is now serving "inspired” soul food in the midst of a late 60’s-esc dinning hall. I use the words inspired here loosely because the only true inspiration seems to be coming from the servers. In the world of take it or leave it, this grub is definitely a leave it. To put it another way, it’s never a good thing when someone spends the first part of a review talking about something other than the atmosphere or the food itself. In the case of Meridith Ford Goldman, she talked about the bathrooms. Not a good sign.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on October 19, 2009
If you head over to 560 Dutch Valley Road this evening, you’ll bare witness to Amuse, yet another new Atlanta restaurant. The team behind Amuse is a mix of Andy Alibaksh (via Diem Restaurant Group: Après Diem, Carpe Diem, Carroll Street Cafe, Village Pizza Co.) and Arnaud Michel of Anis restaurant. Whether that means the restaurant will hit the ground running or not remains to be seen.
For those keen observers, you’ll notice that 560 Dutch Valley is the same address once occupied by Allegro. I’m not sure what has been done with the space, but my understanding is that it’s a French-inspired bistro serving fusion inspired tapas. When news broke on the biz, we learned that Lenny Robinson was slated to be chef. Robinson last displayed his skills at Peasant Bistro, but is best known for his time at Les Fleur de Lis Cafe.
Amuse Restaurant Address & Information
560 Dutch Valley Rd, Atlanta, GA 30324 // 404.888.1890
Technorati Tags:
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arnaud miche,
lenny robinson,
andy alibaksh,
french
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on April 17, 2009
A restaurant review from the airport? Yup yup! My return flight landed just after 8:00 in the Post Meridian; the ideal time to go grab a bite. So I took the opportunity to check out One Flew South, the newly opened “fine dining” experience over in the E Terminal. Damn Delta for landing me in the A Terminal; alas, some exercise was in order. I tossed on my headphones, picked up my bags, and made the trek out to Hartsfield’s newest terminal.
Fine dining in an airport is hardly a novel concept. Why it took the world’s busiest airport this long to open a high end eatery is a question that remains unanswered. With a dearth of solid alternatives, a menu from chefs Duane Nutter and Todd Richards [his cool blog], and one heck of a friendly staff, this restaurant has the underlying elements of a successful endeavor. Though not without problems, this was easily one of the most thought provoking meals I’ve had in some time. While that internal dialogue may have been more about the circumstances than the food, I like a place that makes you think … whatever the reason.
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