Factoid: Nava, the longstanding “Southwestern” eatery from the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, is headed for the land of restaurants past. While I don’t think anyone from BLRG has officially gone on record, this has been rumored and considered by many people over the past months and years. The rumors are dead because this is now a fact. Nava is closing in August despite (or perhaps b/c of) the revitalization that’s happening in Buckhead. Because of that revitalization, Nava’s demise is not the only part to this story.
You see, one might argue that the intersection of Peachtree and East/West Paces Ferry is in fact the epicenter of Atlanta’s ritziest zip code. 3060 Peachtree Rd (the building that houses Nava) has kind of gotten the “Up” treatment in recent years; so you know someone was going to jump at the opportunity to move in. As it just so happens, it appears that someone is right outside the neighborhood gates.
In the case of most trilogies, the third edition of a Hollywood picture series is often the weakest [See: Return of the Jedi]. Fortunately for foodies, festivals are not subject to that rule of thumb. As such, and to the delight of the masses, the Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival returned yesterday in expanded form over at the Westside Provisions District. After a ragger of an event in 2010, I was all over this like a Cabbage Patch Kid in a tomato patch.
For those unaware, the festival is a slam dance mash up of booze, grub, and music that showcases both Atlanta chefs and that little round red ball of seedy goodness. Oh, hello belly … you are looking an awful lot like a tomato right now. Hosted by JCT Kitchen and sponsored by Georgia Organics, this year’s festival was the first to span both sides of the WPD bridge and went off in fine form. Despite young evil doers and their attempts to sway me with hints of pork festivals far far away, and obscene amounts of food, and a World Cup match to compete with, The Attack of The Killer Tomatoes was a whole lot of Deep South goodness.
Answer: Jay Swift, Anne Quatrano, Hugh Acheson, Chris Hastings, Kevin Gillespie, Bruce Logue. Question: Who are just a few of the awesome chef’s showing up at this years Attack of The Killer Tomato Festival?
Yes ladies and gents … it is that time again. Thanks to the good folks over at Georgia Organics, the Killer Tomatoes are back. Just like last year, the event will land at the Westside Urban Market, home to places like JCT Kitchen and Star Provisions. From 1pm – 5pm on Sunday August 8th, you’ll be able to indulge yourself in a sea of all things red.
To further wet your whistle, check out Savory Exposure’s recap of last years event. When you’re done with that, go check out Running With Tweezers flickr set. Tickets are $45 for Georgia Organics members and $50 for those of you who are not. However, prices go up this Saturday (to $65)… so I suggest you buy them now! Full details just after the jump!
Last night, I posted on a troubling website that was trying to sell reservations to some of Atlanta’s most notable restaurants. Well, a lot has happened since then. Thanks to some amazing internet word of mouth, 911Reservations.com went offline within a few hours. Then, the owners tried to get another scam site up under a sub-domain at mybigcommerce.com, but that too was soon killed off. Not be be deterred, the owners still have a another site up, but it’s thin on the reservations (see below). However, the story isn’t done there.
Seeing as I’m actually in town, I figured … what the heck … I might as well post something. As luck would have it, today is Friday! And that means, it’s Inside The Chef’s Kitchen Day. Today’s participant is the longstanding executive chef/partner of JCT Kitchen & Bar.
Ford Fry has been a fixture on Atlanta’s culinary scene for some time and comes backed by several noteworthy awards and accomplishments. While JCT Kitchen and I haven’t always mixed well, it’s a restaurant with a solid reputation. Besides, you don’t end up on the Food Network for being a slouch.
In another one of life’s strange coincidences, I ended up at JCT for dinner last night. It was a strong meal highlighted by some impeccably fresh Otter Cove oysters and killer pork sliders (yes … those same sliders that I was so cold shoulder about).
There is no doubt that Fry is a skilled chef, a hard worker, and someone who focuses on making his restaurant and food a success. Three things this community should not overlook. So welcome Ford and welcome to ITCK!
Looking for something to do this weekend? Head down to Grant Park for the 7th annual Corks And Forks event. The event runs Saturday, August 29th and Sunday, August 30th (1-5pm both days). For $45/day, you have an opportunity to taste a lot of food and drink from a number of Atlanta restaurants. When you show up, you are given a bag of color-coded chips. The chips give you an opportunity to sample each eatery. However, food is limited, so get there early. Complete list after the jump!
On tonight’s episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate, you’ll get a chance to see the “Angry Mussels” from JCT Kitchen. [Yes … the same dish that I recently said “squeaks by meekly”] While I’m not really a huge fan of JCT and yes, I’m over the whole bacon craze, it’s nice when any local restaurant gets national attention. For all you homebodies, foodies, dvr freaks (that would be me), and anyone else with cable … tune in tonight (that’s June 30th) at 9:30 PM EST for some local love.
If you happen to miss it, the show will air again at 12:30 AM on the 1st (just a few hours later) and again on the 11th at 6:00.
JCT Kitchen just donkey punched me… alright, just had to get that out of the way.
I’ve been all up and over the Westside recently. In that spirit, it’s no surprise then that I found myself dining at JCT Kitchen yet again. It’s time to throw some more stars out, and so JCT gets the nod.
It’s a restaurant I’ve dined at a number of times over the last couple of years; early on, I felt the food drifted toward decent and solid. The unfortunate fact is that the more I visit JCT, the less I like it. In fact, elements of my last couple of meals have ping ponged back and forth between passable and horrendously terribly unforgivably bad (take that senior English teacher!). Alright peeps, no pictures for this one (crushing I know), but plenty of things to discuss.
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.
