FoodieBuddha.com

On the last season of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, Atlanta made some real headway.  We were fortunate enough to have three local chefs make it on to the hit reality TV show.  Since then, the city hasn’t stopped buzzing.  Many moons ago, Kevin Gillespie, pork tats and all, was kind enough to make an appearance on our weekly series, Inside The Chef’s Kitchen.  Now, thanks to Hector Santiago of Pura Vida, we welcome the second of those three chefs.

Stupidly exiled from Top Chef after a French themed challenge (in which the one French chef on the show represented suck-tastic), Hector is back in our city and doing his thing.  Puerto Rican through and through, you can find him slinging pans most any night at his tapas restaurant in Virginia Highlands.  Appropriately located just off Ponce De Leon Ave (Ponce de León himself played an important role in Puerto Rico’s history … he brought them rum amongst other things), Pura Vida is one of the long standing Latin restaurants in the city.

What better way to end this beautiful week with a mojito and some light reading.  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

This news is actually a bit outdated, but it’s still worth a mention.  Chef Jay Clark, who previously served as the Executive Chef at The Bureau, has found a home at Fox Bros Barbecue in L5P.  This news brought on a “Well how bout that” moment.  The move is a distinct departure for Clark as his previous stints include time at NYC’s Babbo and some of Shaun Doty’s restaurants.

Regardless, it seems like a needed move from Fox Bros, as their food has always been highly inconsistent.  In fact, it’s that inconsistency that was the main culprit in the review a few months back.  All that aside, with the Bureau now a thing of the past, it’s nice to see Clark resurface.

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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Overall:

Folks in these parts tend to have very strong feelings about their barbeque.  I guess that rings true throughout the South.  Whether you find yourself in Kansas City, Memphis, the Baby Blues (Carolina country), or the great state of Georgia, you are likely to find a bevy of opinions as to which style reigns supreme.  While I am far from an enthusiast, I have spent my entire childhood in the Deep South. Consequently,  I am well versed on this traditional American food.

Though the impetus behind our recent visit came from another member of the team, it was ultimately my direction that led us to Fox Bros. in the Little Five Points/Candler Park area of town.  When it was all said and done, I felt like I had let my friends down.

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From the archives (10.03.2008)

Overall:

This is what a breakfast joint should be.  It’s nestled in that hopping little intersection of McLendon & Clifton, across the street from the evil empire that is Flying Biscuit.  Nearby, there are a handful of shops/boutiques as well as the Fellini’s/La Fonda combo.  I’ve visited Gato Bizco more times than I can remember; I’ve never left disappointed (or hungry).  The food is inexpensive and the portions are HUMONGOUS.  It’s almost too cheap for the amount of food you get.  It is hard to make a really stand out breakfast; but, Gato does without fail!

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In case you missed it, the Travel Channel’s Man v. Food debuted their Atlanta Episode on January 7th.  If you were unable to catch it, fear not!  The show will be rebroadcast this Sunday at 8pm (that’s Sunday January 25, 2009 on the Travel Channel).  Details after the jump.

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