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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)

                                                                                                  Photo by David Naugle via MU

A recent dining excursion took me to the ever bustling Miller Union, a Westside eatery that has become one of the “it places.”  MU is a restaurant that showed up on the scene roughly two-months ago and is currently in the middle of a love fest not uncommon around these parts.  Some heavy hitters love it and judging by the packed house we witnessed, so too do the lay folk.

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Pizza is the hot-button topic of Atlanta’s food scene.  Walmart is the hot-button corporation of the American business scene.  Now, these two have come together for surprisingly pleasant results.  The mega-chain is now a ubiquitous fixture on our country’s landscape, they don’t really take care of their own, and they seem to suck up most any small business … then promptly spit them out.

So while they have a reputation for being the end-all, be-all of corporate greed (next to Enron perhaps), the company should be recognized for the things that they do right.  One of those things is in regards to the all to important issue of sustainability.  Walmart is actually making incredible strides towards being a sustainable organization.

Why the weekend notation here?  Because one of the sustainable items in their cache is their pizza box … and that’s something we should all get behind.  So here’s a little vid that chats up the box … when you’re done watching, you can actually check out all sorts of info from their yearly “Sustainability Milestone Meeting.”

[via kanarick]

Atlanta’s newest buzz restaurant said hello world early last week.  Miller Union, a freshly designed (by ai3) Westside restaurant, features ever trendy farm fresh food from Steven Satterfield, formerly of Watershed.  With the help of GM Neal McCarthy, by way of Sotto Sotto, and the assistance of mixologist Cara Laudino, the group is hoping that M+U becomes Atlanta’s next “it” restaurant.

Though their menus and vibe are extremely disparate, I could not help but draw some immediate connections between M+U and the nearby Abattoir.  First and foremost, just as Abattoir borrowed its name from the history of the building within which it resides, so too does Miller Union.  Next, the two both share an affinity for finely styled country decor.  Third, there is a particularly acute focus on freshly sourced ingredients.

While my introduction to M+U was not the runaway success that I had hoped, there are a number of reasons to smile after taking the time dine there.  A man date with Savory Exposure (website) turned anniversary trio, it seemed that all the members of “Team Buddha” walked away from our meal smiling and content.

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If you don’t know that most anything can be proven in a study, now is the time to realize that seemingly absolute truth.  Keeping that in mind, I do love it when people basically stick a fork in some popular ideology, belief system, or movement.  The latest group to do this is a team of researchers from Victoria University in New Zealand.  The topic at hand: sustainability.  Sustainability extends well beyond the themes of farming and food and into everyday life.  However, food culture is a huge portion of the sustainability movement.

The study, conducted by professors Brenda and Robert Vale and published in the New Scientist, says that the eco-pawprint (cute – but not mine) of a dog is roughly equivalent to that of a Toyota Land Cruiser driven 12,500 miles in a calendar year.  There are many more interesting tidbits pointed out in the article I read, which is a summary of the Vales book entitled Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.  So all you sustainable people – say goodbye to Rover and replace him with Clucky, the family chicken.

Now there are PLENTY of legitimate contrarian points to this angle; however, I just think it’s important to show people that there are two sides to every story.  Don’t get caught up in the PC friendly subculture without first understanding the scope of the problem at hand.  And oh yeah – sustainability has real benefits.  Alright … discuss

[via /dot]

Late last month, writer Tom Keane contributed a piece to the Boston Globe.  The topic at hand was the effect of the local food movement and some of the adverse consequences when one’s dietary constitution is heavily reliant upon nearby products.  The article, entitled “The Bitter Reality,” sparked an awful lot of backlash from people who found his premise to be bunk.

Part of the problem, according to those commentators, is that Keane is not qualified to speak on the topic.  Further to the point, there were claims of short-sighted and poorly conducted research.  While I will agree that Keane’s background does little to put him on par with the likes of Mark Bittman, I’m not as ready to cast aside his perspective.  While I am as down with sustainable food as anyone, don’t forget that local and sustainable aren’t the same thing.

The truth is that many of his points are valid (for example: high cost).  However, like most things in life, there are valid points no matter which side of the issue you find yourself on.  If you have the time, jump on over and give it a glance.

Originally, I was simply going to make this a “follow up” post on Food, Inc., that recently released food-centric documentary.  However, director Robert Kenner recently showed up on the Daily Show and  word has spread about a neat little event going on right here in Atlanta, Georgia.  So before I get going with the drivel, let’s ramp up a bit and talk about the film that has everyone talking about sustainable food and sustainable farming .

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Word travels these days.  Recently, I was turned onto a relatively new supper club by the name of A Prelude To Staple House (alternatively: staplehouse.com).  Run by Atlanta chef Ryan Hidinger and his boss (echemm… wife) Jenifer, Prelude popped up in early January.  With roughly six meals under their belts (as of the 31st), it looks things are moving along well.

I have yet to make it to one of these events (they keep filling up), but I still think it’s worth mentioning.  With some hard work and a little bit of luck, the couple is hoping to open a restaurant of their own in the near future.  More after the jump!

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Interior & Location: They’ve completely overhauled the interior space. It’s opened up nicely, flows well and is designed to create a calming atmosphere. It’s a much more pleasant interior than the former restaurant (the globe) that occupied the space. 

Food: As expected on a soft opening, the kitchen is still working out it’s kinks. The fried green tomato appetizer was good. It featured goat cheese, roasted red peppers and a sunflower seed pesto. Subtle flavors, but good. The tomato soup was rich and had a good kick of spice. The soup was probably the most pronounced flavor we tasted all night. The trout entrée was a bit disappointing. It was a beautiful fillet of Georgia trout with a bacon topper, but didn’t live up to it’s appearance. Amazingly it needed more seasoning, particularly more salt, as the bacon was very mild. Some sort of acid, lemon perhaps, would’ve helped as well.

The side of mushroom lasagna was very rich. Overall the dish had potential, but it could’ve used a contrast in texture to go with the mushroom lasagna and stronger flavors for the trout (in my humble opinion). The side of macaroni and cheese had great texture, but was once again a bit bland. It used the same bacon as the trout, so I think the kitchen was afraid to add additional salt to any of the dishes containing this amazingly mild bacon. The halibut was well executed. It was perfectly cooked and featured subtle flavors. It was served with cannellini beans in a mild broth with capers and roasted peppers.

The first dessert was a medley of fresh berries with liquor and whipped cream. Deliciously simple. The other dessert was a classic crème brûlée. The custard was a bit runny and the flavors a bit off.

Service: Overall the service was top notch. The kitchen was a bit slow, but that was to be expected on a soft opening. The server was really knowledgeable and truly excited about the restaurant concept (farm to table with dash of environmental friendliness).

Overall: The menu plays it pretty safe. It’s features contemporary takes on classic and trendy dishes. The combinations aren’t new (beet salad with goat cheese for example), but the ingredients are fresh and the execution mostly on par. For a soft opening they handled themselves incredibly well and all the dishes showed potential for improvement as they have a chance to refine. This restaurant should do well. It reminds me of JCT or Dogwood in terms of type and quality of food. It’s a welcome addition to Technology Square and should turn into a good option for midtown diners.

WaterHaven Restaurant Address & Information

75 Fifth Street, Suite 170, Atlanta, GA 30308 // P: 404.214.6740 // WaterHaven Website // WaterHaven Menus

About The Author

This guest post was written by Adam Harrell, a local foodie and interactive marketer. You can find him at www.neboweb.com/blog/

I’m a huge fan of sustainable, farm-to-table ecosystems (and bad rhymes).  But let’s be honest, who isn’t a fan of the movement?  On paper, most everyone is.  However, one of the big problems with the sustainable movement is that people fail to recognize that more esoteric methods of the food system are often unsustainable.  I’m about balance and proper understanding of subject matters.

Enter Louise Fresco, a jet-setter with an eye for sustainability.  Recently, she spoke about this issue and how it pertains to bread.  While I’m not quite into the spiritual aspect of the discussion, this is certainly worth a watch.