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The love affair with Frank Ma South has come and gone in this city.  Late in 2008 when Frank Ma moved in with the gang at Chopsticks in the Emory area, all hell broke loose.  Most everyone got all giddy at the idea of a seemingly authentic Chinese restaurant located somewhere other than BuHi.  I was never all up in that … shocking I know.  At the time, I recapped my thoughts on “THAT SITE” during my pre-blog days.

Suddenly, like a fart in the wind, Frank up and vanished.  In his wake, chef’s have come and gone and the crowds have thinned.  However, the menu remains basically the same.  I’ve been diving in and out of there intermittently since Frank’s departure with the latest visit being yesterday for the Chinese New Year.  While the restaurant still satisfies my urging for non-nationalized Chinese grub, it’s still unable to compete with our cities top dogs.

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Ron Eyester is a longtime fixture of the Atlanta restaurant scene.  The one time chef of Food 101 in Morningside/Virginia Highlands now serves as the owner of the restaurant.  Renamed and rebranded as Rosebud, Eyester continues to pump the city full of love from his headquarters of worldwide domination.

A huge deadhead in his own right, the musically inclined chef loves to take his polished neighborhood restaurant and open it up to fun times.  Case in point, Eyester is turning Rosebud into a sea of white on March 3rd.  That night, he’s hosting “The White Dinner,” a tribute the the cult classic Beatles album of a similar name (aka The White Album).  Full details are are up on the Rosebud website, so go have a look-see.  Meanwhile, I’ve included a copy of the menu after the jump.

So back on point, Eyester is a social dude, so you should definitely check him out on twitter via @TheAngryChef.  Meanwhile, keep reading to see what he things of my take on Proust.  And with that, welcome to ITCK!

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Recently I had the opportunity to try out Two Urban Licks, a restaurant owned by the same folks that run One Midtown Kitchen and Trois.  Self described as ‘fiery American food,’ Two Urban Licks offers a diverse menu that changes daily, and offers hearty seasonal dishes with options that even fill up gluten-free bellies.

I went with a group of friends on a Friday night to Two Urban Licks and it was quite a happening place.  With high ceilings, live music, full tables, and the kitchen located in the center of the restaurant, surrounded by glass, there’s action everywhere.  Being that it was a weekend night, it was particularly loud and I was glad that our table was far away from the band.  (Does that make me old and lame?)

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(photo Courtesy of Steven Eubanks)

Got a very cool email yesterday.  Unfortunately, my throbbing head prevented me from putting together a coherent sentence, much less a full post.  Anyway, here’s the deal.  Playboy.com has a habit of putting together top lists, and Atlanta has a habit of showing up on them (Clermont Lounge anyone?).

This time around, they put together a Top 10 Diners List, and guess who made it? (The title didn’t give it away did it?).  That’s right … the Majestic Diner, a 24-hour drunken food haven on Ponce.  No word on whether or not P’boy took into account the new digs … which took the place from comfortably trashy to surprisingly clean.

Anywho, here is what America’s favorite … cough… Men’s Lifestyle Magazine had to say:

This Atlanta institution has been serving “food that pleases” under its Art Deco-style marquee’s blazing neon glow since 1929. The Majestic serves everything from cholesterol-threatening omelets and fist-thick burgers to blue plate specials and gyros. Red stools complement a red counter, while squeaky vinyl seats are well worn, providing cushy support for a multitude of derrières. The Majestic is located along a stretch of “Hot ‘Lanta” that’s resisted urban renewal, so the freaks do come out at night: college students, clubbers and other locals.

Be back with some more posts tomorrow, including the next installment of Inside The Chef’s Kitchen.

Majestic Diner Restaurant Address & Information

1031 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, Georgia 30306 // 404.875.0273

As time goes by, I am presented with the opportunity to head back to some of the restaurants I’ve already chatted up.  Since my initial visit to DBA Barbecue, there have been a number of changes.  Doug Morgan has moved on, and in his place, we have Drew Kirkland.  Kirkland, who was previously stationed at The Albert, spent four years under celebrity chef Kevin Rathbun.  According to Matt Coggin, one of the three owners, Kirkland has brought with him a Lang Smoker.  I’m not sure if that’s a big selling point or not – my knowledge of smoker producers is definitively lacking.

After a fairly lackluster blind date, I was hopping to see an improvement from the restaurant.  Unfortunately, the food seems lost in the doldrums of barbecue mediocrity.  Given the high price point and the extended opportunity to fix the problems, I would say this return visit was far more disappointing than the first.

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Firefly is the shizzle.  For anyone who hasn’t had it: it’s sweet tea vodka that is dangerous good.  My preferred serving: splash of water + lime juice.  It turns out that Firefly Distillers, the gang behind the beast, has a handful of other “flavors.”  When Ron Eyester and the gang at Rosebud caught wind of this, they decided to organize a brunch event.

For $36/person, you get a five courses, each paired with a signature Firefly cocktail.  All this drops on November 21st at 12:30, so I’m suspecting a little early planning might be a good idea.

Believe it or not, I haven’t actually made it over to check out the former Food 101 in Virginia-Highlands since Eyester promoted himself via a little purchase power.  So while I can’t comment on the food or the experience there, I can say that this is one hell of an idea.  Mmmm … sweat tea flavored vodka …

Rosebud Restaurant Address & Information

1397 N. Highland Ave, Atlanta, GA, 30306 // 404.347.9747 // Rosebud website // Rosebud menus

This is one of those post-meal scribbles that makes me scratch my head.  Mind you, this has nothing to do with the topic at hand.  Instead, I’m wondering how it is possible that all these restaurants keep opening when heavyweights like The Dining Room and corporate backed endeavors like the ESPN Zone are shutting their doors faster than you can say “cheeseburger, cheeseburger.”

Who knows what this means for Fuze Burger, which opened its doors this past week.  All that aside, for me it’s about the food.  Early in, I’m not sure that the food at Fuze is good enough to draw customers from outside the Midtown adjunct of Poncey-Highlands.  Right now, they need to pick things up a bit just to draw people from the ‘hood.  Before we get our hands dirty, I must apologize for the poor pictures, I’m not very savory, and I was never spoon-fed.

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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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Ron Eyester, the dude behind Rosebud (formerly Food 101), is a self-admitted deadhead (wiki).  It is therefore no surprise that he decided to have a few people over to his shop for some Jerry love.  To explain, Rosebud recently hosted a Jerry Garcia Tribute Dinner.  The event spanned two nights and included a five course meal.  While most people pair their meals with wine, Eyester paired it with some live covers of Dead songs.  Word on the street is that the chef gathered his balls of steel and hopped on stage to unleash some mean vocals.

While I have yet to visit Rosebud, and I was lukewarm to the experience at Food 101, this looks and sounds like it was a great event.  I’m sure I’ll get over to the Vi-Hi at some point.  In the meantime, check out the video that Eyester posted on Rosebud’s blog.

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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