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Somewhat beneath the surface, just under the wave of pizzerias and the influx of burger joints, Atlanta’s bakery scene is seeing an infusion of new life.  With establishments like Bakeshop in Midtown leading the way, this new brand of baking is in stark contrast to what you and I may remember as the quintessential bakery.  While some of my fondest memories were youthful excursions to Rhodes Family Bakery (website) on Cheshire Bridge, the glorified home kitchens and come as you are personas are being pushed around by big budgets and treated woods.

Don’t believe me? Look what happened to Holeman + Finch Bakery.  While that no frills storefront suffered from location woes, they too were a bake first, look good second kind of a place.  Consequently, their front windows have been boarded up, leaving those of us who crave delicious goodies scampering to places like Savor Specialty Foods.

Bakeries are no longer places to pick up your favorite treats, talk to your baker about the fam, and dream of all that hippy dippy stuff.  They are now as much sandwich shop and coffee stop as they are dessert purveyor.  It is smack dab in this world that we find Bakeshop, one of the newest explorations from the gang at Concentrics.

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Good news for people looking for a chilled out dinner in Midtown Atlanta.  Noon Midtown, a gourmet sandwich shop meets breakfast joint, is now offering an “After Noon” service (cute isn’t it!).  To help make dinner a reality, executive chef/owner Katie Birmingham has brought in Autumn Benson (Go GIRL POWER!!) and Sean Telo to serve as her sous chefs.  While Benson may not be a name to you and me, her last place of employment, The Bazaar, a Jose Andres joint in Los Angeles, most certainly is.  Meanwhile, Telo was just a hop, skip, and jump away.  He cut his teeth over at Eno (now by Zaza), and comes with high regards.

As for Noon itself, the space has been slightly modified to include a full array of adult beverages.  To help keep you happy, Reggie Weekes, an artsy dude by day,  is now onboard to bring a little bit of cocktail culture to your dinner experience.

The menu is slim and trim (and all fits on a half page).  Though I expect it to change with the seasons, it appears to be a succinct sampling of farm to table goodness wrapped in reasonable prices.  The list of items includes approachably elevated versions of chicken liver mousse, a play on green eggs and ham, and some eye candy in the form of spring fettuccini (above).  That fettuccini includes housemade ricotta and sliced asparagus (good for twirling).  The real kicker is that the pasta is also made onsite.  Apps all run around five and six dollars, while the entrées start at $12 and go as high as $17.  Desserts can be had as well, so long as you have room after sampling one of three sandwiches available for dinner service.  While you’re chewing on that, take a gander at Birmingham’s visit to Inside The Chef’s Kitchen.  Reports soon after I’ve gotten my grub on.

Noon Midtown Restaurant Address & Information

1080 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 6, Atlanta, GA 30309 // 404.496.4891 // Noon Website // Noon Menu // Noon twitter // Noon facebook

Last week, on my way back from Farm Burger, I did some drive by snacking at The Crazy Cuban in Midtown.  In an attempt to fill the Grand Canyon-esc void left by the departure of Kool Korners, The Crazy Cuban has taken up residence just down the street from that shuttered Atlanta institution.  The restaurant itself is a small shop with stand at counters and walk up ordering.  Owned and operated by Aldo Ramirez and his wife, they make no bones about their little restaurant being an homage to KK.  If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then The Crazy Cuban would like nothing more than to be the Joseph Grimaldi of our city’s Cuban restaurants.

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Breaking news: On Thursday, April 22nd, Buckhead’s Souper Jenny will be cancelling their Grilled Cheese Night.  Instead, proprietor Jenny Levison will be hosting the Super Secret Underground Food Truck Extravaganza (from 6pm to 9pm).  Yes, it seems that the food truck craze that is just now inundating our daily lives is getting another big push from “fringe” to “mainstream.”

The previously mentioned Incredible Flying Soup Mobile will be there, serving up Nantucket lobster rolls and shrimp posole.  In addition, my favorite popsicle dude (The King of Pops) and Black Tie Barbeque will be on hand, fighting with The Good truck, Taqueria del Sol, and The Pickle for your stomach space.  In fact, there will be a few more vendors and FREE WINE!!!! (while supplies last).  Woot!

Most importantly, this is a street food affair – so leave your plastic at home. Get there:

Souper Jenny Restaurant Address & Information

56 E. Andrews Dr, Atlanta, GA 30305 // Souper Jenny website // Souper Jenny menu

A few days ago, in the midst of a predictably busy Atlanta rush hour, I decided to drag a friend into Nectar, a fruit juice bar and smoothie shop over in Decatur.  Though their original location is in Oakhurst, this satellite spot is over on Clairmont Rd. sandwiched between Bohjanic, Nectar’s parent restaurant, and the much buzzed about Community Q.

Though Nectar offers a handful of Panini and a number of breakfast selections, the main focus of this small eatery is their juices, teas, and smoothies.  Since we had already consumed an ample lunch over at Café Agora, this was simply a pit stop to tryout a refreshing beverage.

As with many places of this ilk, there are a handful of pre-designed beverages and the option to mix and match your own.  Smoothies run $3.99 (16 oz.) and $5.29 (24 oz) for the custom constructions or simply $5.99 for their 16 oz pre-designed options (designated as Mega smoothies).  In addition, you can always add additional boosters (“superfoods”) for a nominal charge.

I made a beeline for a 16 oz Pomegranate based smoothie of my design.  Though my wimpy camera phone shot doesn’t look great, the drink actually had a rich color.  It was prepared quickly and with a very friendly smile, something that I’ve become accustom to while dinning next door at Bhojanic. 

To be honest, their really isn’t much you can do to screw up a smoothie, but that aside … I was quite happy with my beverage.  Everything inside was clean and given the handful of exotic items on the menu (Amazonian Acai, Acerola and Cacao), Nectar certainly did enough to earn my money.

Further exploration is needed, but for now … if you’re in the area, it’s a great place to grab a smoothie.  It’s also worth a mention that their Oakhurst location does have a sampling of Indian cuisine.

Nectar Clairmont Fruit Juice Bar & Smoothie Shop
1365 Clairmont Road, Decatur, GA 30033 // 404.633.4400 // Nectar website // Nectar menu // Nectar facebook

Nectar Oakhurst Fruit Juice Bar & Smoothie Shop
707-C East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 // 404.378.4006

Late in February January, The Kind Pie opened up as Atlanta’s newest pizza restaurant.  As their tagline says, this is “pizza with a conscience conscience.”  However, their menu includes a good number of Italian appetizers, a few salads, and some inviting sandwiches.  Not surprising, you’ll find top quality products that lend themselves well to the concept.  In fact, they put out some gluten-free pizzas that appear very popular early on.  Though I have yet to actually step foot inside the restaurant, located in the heart of Buckhead, I did have a chance to sample some sandwiches for dinner (last night by the time y’all see this go up).  Though the consumption conditions were less than ideal, things are looking good for TKP, and I’m looking forward to giving them a full look-see in the near future.

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A new sandwich shop by the name of the Crazy Cuban is getting all nice and did before opening its door to customers.  Though Google maps may be off a smidge, it’s going in at 290 14th Street in Midtown Atlanta.  Steadfast and ardent fans of Cuban food may remember a place on Terrell Mill road that went by the same moniker.  I have no idea if these are the same owners.

This all comes towards the tail end of a very tumultuous time for Cuban restaurants in our city.  In reality, the Cuban restaurant scene has been a wasteland of turmoil for the past year +.  It really started back in the middle of ‘08 when the Kool Korners closed up shop and went to Birmingham.  Coincidentally, the old KK location is just a few blocks from where Carzy Cuban is going in.  Soon after that happened, Havana on BuHi was burned to the ground.  Though places like Papi’s and Las Palmeras kept on trucking, we were without our beloved flagships.  Recently, Havana returned, but in a different location and with a whole big drama in tail.  We’ll see what happens when this latest Cuban spot finally goes loco.

Café Alice is one of those non-descript restaurants that exists in every strip center in every city around the country.  In this case, you’ll find this glorified sandwich shop in the Windy Hill Shopping Center off Cobb Pkwy.  It’s probably family owned (seemingly Asian in persuasion) and the idea of being “chef driven” is as foreign to the staff as nuclear physics is to me.  They aren’t trying to win any awards or garner the attention of foodies near and far.  No, it seems instead that this is one of those business run by people who want to do the best they can without any misconceptions or false hopes.  Mind you, that statement is entirely assumptive.

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My readers are full of great info! Dianne Reinhardt and the folks behind the Magnolia Bread Company (website) have decided to launch their own food truck!  Aptly named “The Green Van,” the just launched website is chock full of good tidbits.

The truck will feature a short and sweet selection of sandwiches, seasonal salads, and desserts.  Joyfully enough, all of them will be constructed from organic goodness.  No word yet on exactly where they’ll try and set up  – but I suspect their twitter account will have the deets.

All Hail Stephanie – whomever you are!!!

After saying hello world last night, Bocado, which translates loosely to mouthful or morsel, opened for business earlier today on the Westside of Atlanta.  As mentioned previously, B to the C to the ado is the brainchild of Brian Lewis, who comes to Atlanta via the southern comfort of Birmingham, AL.  Designed by ai3 and staffed by a people I’ve previously seen working at some successful ATL restaurants, it seems there is a strong foundation in place.

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