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Recently I had the opportunity to try out Two Urban Licks, a restaurant owned by the same folks that run One Midtown Kitchen and Trois.  Self described as ‘fiery American food,’ Two Urban Licks offers a diverse menu that changes daily, and offers hearty seasonal dishes with options that even fill up gluten-free bellies.

I went with a group of friends on a Friday night to Two Urban Licks and it was quite a happening place.  With high ceilings, live music, full tables, and the kitchen located in the center of the restaurant, surrounded by glass, there’s action everywhere.  Being that it was a weekend night, it was particularly loud and I was glad that our table was far away from the band.  (Does that make me old and lame?)

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If you take a trip down to the corner of Edgewood and Waddell, you’ll find yourself smack dab in front of one of Atlanta’s newest southern food spots, albeit a slightly modified one.  Sauced, a new rendition from the gang at Ria’s Bluebird, is just about ready to rock and roll.  As you’ll see from the image above (taken from the Sauced website), they’re really going to get it started on NYE.  However, they were open for a bit at the end of August and have already started letting people in the door over the past few days.

In the news as early as this past January, Ria Pell’s newest venture is a step towards the high-brow.  Keep in mind, that is a statement of relativity.  The food is cost conscious and there is a lot of focus on the sauces.  That said, I don’t believe they’ve employed a saucier (that’d probably be a little too fru fru anyway).  While you sip on your Courvoisier, you and the Ladies Man can chilax on the big couch in the midst of the brown and cream space.   If you are heading down there in the next few, make sure to be liquid – it’s cash only.

I’ll wax-foodetic once I work through my back log.  In the meantime, check out their facebook page, as it already has quite the following, and get ready to munch away.

Sauced Restaurant Address & Information

753 Edgewood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30307 // 404.688.6554 // Sauced website // Sauced on facebook

Chef Shaun Doty has long been at the forefront of the Atlanta dining scene.  For the past three-years, he has been the man behind Shaun’s Social Club.  Before that, he headed up things at establishments like Table 1280 and MidCity Cuisine.  Now, he’s primed to open the city’s next burger joint, aptly named Good Burger.

Doty maintains his cool while putting out straightforward, ingredient driven dishes.  Friendly and approachable, the chef has taken the time to step out from behind the burner to drop in here on Inside The Chef’s Kitchen.  In it, he professes his continued love for a particular rendition of fried chicken, manages to sneak in the word “wankers,” and declares … why settle for one when you can have both?  Alright y’all, let the good times roll!  And with that, welcome to ITCK!

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The  north end of Inman Park is packed with small businesses, a few markets, and a number of restaurants.  Amongst them, the Albert has been a long standing member of the community and the area’s requisite watering hole.  While it might not seem worthy of a foodie review, I can assure you it is.

The restaurant itself sort of meanders back and forth between a dive bar and a pub.  The majority of seats in the place are either at the bar or at a booth; and, a handful of offbeat pieces of artwork, a Golden Tee machine, a pool table, and a few TVs will keep you entertained.

The food is straight up bar fare with chicken fingers, wings, burgers, BLT’s and the like as your options du jour.  It’s all decent, given what it is, and the prices and portions are more than reasonable.  A fixed rotation of daily specials can make a trip to the Albert down right ridiculously cheap, and the chilled out vibe will almost always guarantee a good time.

Mind you, it’s a place for the everyman, where tattoos, button downs, and everything in between, are welcome.  Sure, sometimes the food is a little overcooked, and you might catch a few too many lit cigarettes if you’re a non-smoker, but as a hangout spot, the Albert is well oiled.  They aren’t trying to offer the beer menu of The Brick Store or the gastro-inspired food of The Porter, they’re just trying to be themselves.  Though I’ve never actually grabbed a table, the staff and service are always friendly, and I’ve never left feeling fleeced or cheated.  Similar to The Local, The Albert has become a popular hang out, and for good reason.

Note: The picture, starring Todd the bartender, came courtesy of the Albert website, hopefully – they don’t mind

The Albert Restaurant Address & Information

918 Austin Ave Atlanta, GA 30307 // 404.872.4990 // The Albert website // The Albert menu
The Albert on facebook

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!!!!!!!!

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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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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Been a little pre-occupied, but I promise I’ll get back into the swing of things henceforth.  In the meantime, if you don’t have any plans for dinner tonight, why not check out Serpas True Food?  Helmed by chef Scott Serpas, the restaurant is hosting a Hunger Action event tonight (Tuesday, Sep. 08 for all you calendar snobs).

As September is the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s “Hunger Action Month,” 20% of proceeds from this evenings dinner will go to the ACFB.  You can find out more on the ACFBs website and then make a reservation online.  As of this late in the day penning, there is still plenty of availability.  I have only been back once since my first impression, but this may just get me back down there.  In the meantime, check out Serpas on Good Day Atlanta:

Serpas True Food Restaurant Address & Information

659 Auburn Ave, Atlanta, GA 30312 // 404.688.0040 // Online Reservations // Serpas Website // Serpas menu

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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Last night, I had the pleasure of hitting Wisteria with CND.  Unfortunately for Wisteria, the majority of the enjoyment was the company I was in and not the food I was served.  Part first impression, part quick hits, this was my first full meal at Wisteria and my first visit of any kind in over a year.  As such, I’m not really in a position to comment on qualities like consistency of food and service.  Still, I think this restaurant experience is worth noting.

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