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Holeman & Finch’s foundation is in the craft beverages they mix up; however, their food is no slouch.  Actually, H+F is most well-known as “that place with the 10 o’clock burger.”  But beyond their nationally acclaimed burger, this gastro pub offers a constantly changing menu that has more than a few dishes worth talking about.

One of the latest additions to their current menu is a pork skin ramen.  Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup that’s going through a renaissance not unlike the current burger and pizza craze.  While not as prolific of a trend as burgers or pizza, ramen has been getting a lot of love from all sorts of restaurants who are adding this dish in a one off setting.  H+F is just the latest to do so.

Holeman & Finch’s ramen actually reminds me more of phở than it does of traditional ramen.  It’s absolutely loaded with garlic and ginger, and the murky soup seems to elicit the characteristics of lemongrass (though that may just be my imagination) perhaps on account of the abundant inclusion of coriander leaves.  But regardless of what traditionalists will say, this packed with flavor “ramen” will no doubt get your tongue to move.

The base of the broth is of course pork, it’s touched with a hint of hot sauce, topped with a huge slice of H+F’s housemade bread, and comes in at $12 per order.  The fun little twist is the chopped bits of pork skin that hide like mines beneath the sea surface and detonate in your mouth with a soupy crunch.  Cutting through the five-minute egg floating in the center might take a little effort, but that’s what happens when you try and wrangle a free floating cocoon of gooey yolk.  Pop that sucker open, watch the yellow spill like oil, and  comprise your bite of a good helping of all the little ingredients the ramen offers.

It’s not the greatest ramen ever to land in Atlanta, but Holeman & Finch’s newest creation is certainly worth an order … it’s packed with flavor and that butter toasted bread is the ultimate dipping tool.  Check it out and let me know what you think … I most definitely dig it.

FOR THE FULL ALBUM, VISIT

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Fresh out of the groomer, The Thirsty Dog Tavern is now open in Peachtree Hills.  A hot mess of Olive Garden meets The Titled Kilt plus Park Tavern with a touch of Taco Mac, it’s a reworking of Vita, the previous tenant at 2100 Peachtree.  While it’s location is ideal for the nomad in you and me, I was able to coax Deez from his real world responsibilities so that we could enjoy a little lunch at Atlanta’s newest pet friendly establishment.

The restaurant itself is conceptually all over the map, but the food is most similar to those nationwide chains that try their best to serve basic Italian fare.  If memory serves me right, the vast portion of the menu at TDT is a holdover from the previous restaurant.  That is no surprise when you consider that Vita’s Tony LaRocco, as noted by John Kessler, is one of the proprietors.  Along with Dave Heany, formerly of Star Bar, LaRocco has driven out one failed concept and replaced it with a straw-grasping alternative in the hopes of righting the ship.  While little there was horribly wrong, save for the fried food, there wasn’t a single aspect of the meal poking at me for further inspection.

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As I work through my full First Impressions review of The Kind Pie, I thought now is as good a time as any to mention that Varasano’s Pizzeria is getting ready to go late night on the weekends.  Starting this weekend, V’s will keep their ovens running until 1 AM on both Friday and Saturday nights.  Also, you’ll find pizza guy Jeff Varasano is in the process of putting some Sicilian pies on the menu.  Things keep on trucking for Atlanta’s most talked about pie man … we’ll see what else comes out of this Peachtree Hills pizza oven!

Varasano’s Pizzeria Restaurant Address & Information:
2171 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 // 404.352.8216 // Varasano’s reservations // Varasano’s website // Varasano’s twitter

The Thirsty Dog Tavern is set to open on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 in the Peachtree Hills/Brookwood Hills area.  Located at 2110 Peachtree Rd, the Thirsty Dog is taking over the old Mick’s space (via the defunct VITA).  If that doesn’t help you place TDT, maybe this will: It’s essentially in the same strip center as the Houston’s on Peachtree and just south of Varasano’s Pizzeria.

I wasn’t able to look inside, but judging by the “salacious” pictures and sparse text on their website, this seems like a close cousin to The Tilted Kilt chain.  What I do know is that there is a strong emphasis on being pet friendly and sports, as there are 15 flat-screens on site.

Thirsty Dog Restaurant Address & Information
2110 Peachtree Rd. Atlanta, GA, 30309 // 404.367.8482 // Thirsty Dog Tavern website

On an early afternoon scamper from Buckhead back to the Westside, I found myself looking for sustenance.  As I was heading right past the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, I decided to swing by Zoës Kitchen, a fast casual franchise with a focus on health conscious and sustainable grub.  I wasn’t looking for something quick, cost effective, and relatively tasty.  At the end of the day, that’s basically what I got.

The decor reads straight out of a manual.  The tables are clean, the chairs are “futuristic,” and there’s a lot of orange going around.  The menu looks like it’s a sandwichized version of Moe’s (both in form and factor).  Though I haven’t double checked this, they are supposedly gluten friendly, so that should make at least one blogger very happy.  Thankfully, nobody yelled “Welcome to Zoës when I entered!

As I wasn’t terribly hungry, and I was hopping to spend under $5, I went with a small container of chicken salad.  Alas, the bill was closer to $6 … so that was a bit frustrating.  Anywho, upon opening the container, I found a straightforward sampling of shredded/minced chicken salad.  It’s the type they use on the chicken salad sandwiches at The V.

I kinda enjoy this alternative to the chunky salads that seem to permeate our restaurants.  However, at more than $4 for a simple container of it, I wasn’t in love with the price.  Meanwhile, the spice mix was your basic mayo, salt, and pepper.  They said they use “spices” on the bottom label, but i didn’t get anything special.  I would have liked a little more salt and pepper … and something to help with the texture.  In the absence of bread, some more celery would have helped make it a bit more substantial.  Still, it was pretty fresh and not too sweet, so it would definitely work for me if push came to shove.

In the scope of fast casual, Zoës seems likely to fit right in.  Further exploration is a must before any semblance of a true commentary can come out.

FOR THE FULL ALBUM, VISIT

Atlanta Foodies On Zoës Kitchen

• The Quick and Dirty Dirty on Zoës (08.27.09)
• Georgia Green Dining Guide on Zoës (08.19.09)

Zoës Kitchen Restaurant Address & Information

2333 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30305 // 404.233.9637 // Zoes Kitchen website // Zoes Kitchen menu (pdf)

Later today, Atlanta’s best bar meets restaurant (a.k.a. Holeman + Finch) is set to be a location for an upcoming episode of the Food Network’s Chefs Vs City.

The premise of the show centers around a challenge from the show’s hosts (one part Aarón Sánchez and one part Chris Cosentino).  They find two local foodies chefs and dare the challengers to eat some of the more adventurous dishes from the city they call home.  While I’m not one of the challengers (good thing – cuz I’ll put most any dish in my tummy), it’s no surprise the H+F showed up on the schedule.

The gastro pub is best known for their burger, their hot dog [it is freakin awesome], and their cocktails.  However, true fans know that the establishment serves up what most people would call “exotic” parts of the animal.  Chances that the veal brains and/or the rabbit livers show up? I’d say strong to very strong.  More later as the details leak out.

Hot on the heels of the much more fashionable, Fünke and I took a little ride to the just opened Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft, a Thai restaurant in the former Taurus location.  Backed by the familial lineage of Nan and Tamarind Seed, daughter DD Niyomkul has taken the helm of the kitchen (and the restaurant) in an attempt to offer a “casual” experience powered by authentic Thai food via small plates.

You may have noticed the quotation marks encompassing the word casual.  Most every press piece and notation that I’ve seen on Tuk Tuk mentions the casual nature of the restaurant.  While the vibe here is far from the tie-wearing atmosphere of Il Mulino, it’s not any closer to that of the flip-flop and jeans places that dot our cityscape.  What you have is an elegant room that banters back and forth between the intimate date night and the more friendly “scene” spot.  To put it another way, Tuk Tuk is Buckhead casual, not BuHi casual.

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Holeman & Finch is my favorite watering hole here in Atlanta, hands down and bar none.  Though I think the food has slipped just a smidge since Adam Biderman bolted for the Big Easy, the drinks are as killer as always and the food is still quite good.  After Biderman departed back in May, Jason Paolini was brought in to run the kitchen.  For all practical purposes, he has made the transition seamless for the patrons.  Yes, I did say the food has slipped a smidge, but I do mean that emphatically.

As expected, the menu has morphed ever so slightly since Paolini’s arrival, and the new additions have gone over quite well.  As Tony continues to put his footprint on the restaurant, the food is gradually returning to normal.

Of the additions, the house made hot dog is far and away the gold medalist.  Ladies and gents, I’ve had hot dogs upon hot dogs upon hot dogs in my lifetime – and this hot dog is breathtakingly awesome.  Mind you, it’s a bit gourmet, as is everything at H&F.  Of hot dogs of this ilk – it might be the best I EVER had.  Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this ground round of beef town has hit my lips only once to date.  It’s possible that this was an aberration, but I seriously doubt it.  After all, I’m not the only one to dig this pup!

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Now this is a dagger to my culinary heart.  As reported by the venerable Cliff Bostock via his twitter and on Omnivore,  Elisa Gambino is shutting down Via Elisa, her Westside pasta shop, in a couple of weeks.  She penned a long and detailed response, so you should head over and read that post.

Via Elisa has long been my, and my families, go-to stop for pasta.  It is without a doubt the premier pasta producer in and around the city of Atlanta.  This totally sucks balls!  Not all is lost as Gambino will continue to produce her sauces, many of which are available at your local Whole Foods.

I’m pissed … very very pissed.  I actually have a draft in progress on this place … i don’t know what I’ll do with it now!  That is the least of my concerns.  Best of luck to Gambino – she’s friendly, talented, super awesome, and just AWESOME.  For those of you who have never been over to Via Elisa, GET THERE POST HASTE!!!

Via Elisa Pasta Shop Address & Information

1750 Howell Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 // 404.605.0668 // Via Elisa website

The hits just keep coming.  Though this actually happened a few weeks ago, I somehow managed to miss it.  Wolfgang Puck Express pulled an Emeril’s and said buh-bye to Atlanta.  This leaves the city with one less celebrity chef restaurant and the ground floor of the Brookwood Place complex dangerously close to empty (at least in the south building).  While the signage is gone and a closing note hangs in the window, the interior has remained pretty much intact.  Maybe another restaurant will go in … maybe not … only time will tell.  I have a few snapshots, but they are held hostage on my camera until a little later tonight.  I’ll throw them up when I have the chance.