Highlight #201: Salty and sweet - Restaurant: Stella

I couldn't wait to get to Stella when I read on Creative Loafing that the fig and prosciutto pie is back. We made it this past weekend for brunch, not knowing that the pie is a dinner special. As you can see, they gave it to us anyway. :)

For a light lunch, two can share this special, which also comes with an arugula salad. Salty and sweet is the ultimate combination in my book. On top of that, I am completely smitten with fresh figs. These were small, but still fresh and sweet. The light drizzle of balsamic vinegar is right up my alley, but I could do with just a little less of the olive oil used to finish the pie. Not really a complaint though, it did make the prosciutto quite moist.

Stella
563 Memorial Dr
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 688-4238

Highlight #200: Good wedding food - Caterer: Dennis Dean

Alexis and Craig got married and looked wonderful doing it. Reflective of the happy couple's style was their wedding food, which, unlike most wedding food I've had in this country, was actually simple, elegant, and tasty.

We started off with a minimalistic arugula salad very lightly dressed. The best thing about this salad was the freshness and the fact that all the extra components, the goat cheese, the watermelon, the green tomato slices, and the candied pecans were all in balance and did not overwhelm the arugula or each other.

The plating of the main course, a fillet, impressed. It actually looked as if individually prepared in a restaurant kitchen. Again, all the elements were well executed. Unlike the withered skinny asparagus spears often found on buffet tables, these were plump and with a tender snap. The roasted tomato had char flavor. But most impressive of all, the fillet was actually cooked to medium in the center and deeply flavored. I mean after eating quite a few chunks of chewy gray meat at various weddings, the pink center was a very pleasant surprise.

Unexpected good meat makes happy girls.

Dennis Dean Catering
http://www.dennisdeancatering.com/base.html

Highlight #199: Girls with drinks - Restaurant: RA Sushi

I am not a chain hater. Some chains do very well simply by catering to one specific need of their target audience. After a media dinner at Ra Sushi last week, I am sensing that this first Atlanta outpost of an Arizona chain is here to give midtown a nice airy happy hour spot away from the congestion of 14th street.

Across the street from the marble federal reserve building and just off of busy Peachtree street, RA sushi's cheerful red umbrella dotted outdoor seating looked mighty inviting. Walking inside, we found an airy space with very high ceiling separated from the outdoor by a bamboo fence, which let in both light and a comforting breeze.

Both the bar and a communal table on the wall side of the large dinning area were populated with happy hour people. In short, this place was cheerful, something we were definitely in the mood for on a weeknight.

We didn't come here to be food snobs. We wanted a happy place to drink and have girl talks and that's what we got. Here is my beautiful friend Amanda happily sipping her saketini.

With drinks, we must snack. Experiences taught me that successful chains tend to have solid appetizers that are crowd pleasers, so we ordered along those lines. And we were proven right. The pork gyoza was of the thin wonton skin kind and boast juicy innards with plenty of pork flavor. The outside, browned in butter, was very pleasantly crispy.

We eat sushi often, but mostly at small Japanese run joints that serve fish unadorned. The most we do is dipping the fish in a bit of soy. We didn't come to Ra Sushi for that, which, to me, is not what this place is about. We came open to experiment a little with its American twists and combinations. For that, our server recommended the yellowtail appetizer showing off some texture and taste variations brought on by a mix of jalapeno, cashew, and a sriracha based dip. I know what sushi snobs would say about this, but I am a believer that food doesn't need to follow any specific format as long as it pleases the senses. This combination worked. A little spicy, a little nutty, a little creamy, it was fun to nibble on with drinks. Again, just because sushi is in the name doesn't mean that it is here to compete with MF Sushi or my favorite sushi house hayakawa on Buford highway. I wouldn't think of going to these two for happy hour drinks with raw fish, but I'd be happy to snack with drinks again at Ra Sushi to start a summer evening.

For sweets, we ordered the cinnamon tempera ice cream and the green tea ice cream not knowing that the former is large enough to fill a large dinner plate. The tempura portion was actually yellow cake lightly battered and fried, so a bit lighter than other versions that are pure tempura batter. We both noticed the unusually deep green tea flavor of the green tea ice cream. This may sound silly, but most green tea ice creams do not show off the slightly bitter true green tea flavor. While not very sweet, I enjoyed it.

So, in short, we are happy to see another airy place pop up in midtown, where one can sit away from the traffic congestion, have a drink, and nibble on some gyoza. Maybe we were lucky that day, but we actually found the adjacent parking garage open and free.

Ra Sushi
1080 Peachtree Street, Suite 8
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 267-0114

Highlight #198: Thick and fluffy - Bakery: Alpine Bakery

I try my hardest to avoid going OTP during rush hour, but sometimes I fail. After my necessary errand, rather than rejoining the traffic to come back to town, I took a detour to visit Alpine bakery, a place I heard many good things about.

Because most things I heard in connection with the bakery involved some kind of bread, I was surprised to find primarily cakes and pastries on offer. The selection of bread was restricted to a basket set on top of the large display case showing off some pretty tantalizing looking cakes. I picked out a medium sized garlic loaf and asked it sliced (I like to freeze my bread sliced for easy toasting through the week). Rather than using a machine, the guy serving me took a knife to it and gave me hefty slices. Nice!

Rather than the crusty and holey type I was expecting, I found fluffy and squishy slices. With a little toasting, the first slice was perfect for easy spreading. I am thinking this would be great for a artisanal twist on the classic soft tomato sandwich. I bet it'd press well for pan toasted sandwiches too. An idea that I should test out soon.

Alpine Bakery
295 Rucker Rd
Alpharetta, GA 30004-6678

Highlight #197: Second breakfast - Restaurant: Ria's Blue Bird

I don't know about you, but this nibbler needs to nibble immediately after rolling out of bed. So when I make plans to meet friends for breakfast, I am really just arranging to eat for a second time in the AM, which, during the weekend, is perfectly acceptable. :)

My first at home breakfast was sweet from honey, so when I got to Ria's, I was ready for salty. Our server never told us about the brunch special, but because I happened to check the website before our 9:30 meet up, I asked for the lamb Benedict special and a biscuit as my side. At first, I was a little disappoint that there were no English muffin bottoms, which I love. When I heard potato cakes, I thought hash brown. I know many out there love hash brown, but it's just not my thing. But no, what I got were pan fried cakes of creamy mashed potato! Now, that's cool. :) Above that, there were the plentiful tender lamb slices, savory from a light pan gravy. Everything really hit the salt spot. The only less than stellar component of this plate was the biscuit. Perhaps my standard rose dramatically since the excellent biscuits I've recently indulged in on our trips to Charleston and Asheville, but this one was just not flaky or fluffy. Then again, I had more than enough food to keep me happy.

Ria's Blue Bird
421 Memorial Dr SE
Atlanta, GA 30312

Highlight #196: Small town charm - Restaurant: Smith House (Dehlonega)

Spending this past weekend without the darling husband really made me miss our fun day trips. It's simply impossible not to have a good time with the man when he is the kind to suggest a large bowl of ice cream right before dinner. With folk music in the background, lazy late afternoon sunlight on our faces, it was easy to imagine living a quiet small town life during our recent trip to Dehlonega.

After ice cream, we were hungry for salty stuff and headed to the subterranean Smith House inside a large residence that also is the site of a deep gold mine, which can still be viewed through protective glass in a room next to the dining hall.

Food is served family style here. Arriving at 7pm, we were considered late diners (the place closes at 8pm) and got to start a brand new table. As soon as we sat down, we were asked by the super nice server to order our drinks. No sodas or alcohol here, just variations of ice tea and lemonade. While we waited for our sweet tea, a basket came hot with dinner rolls and cornbread. The cornbread was crusty and salty in the proper southern way.

Then some company arrived at our table. A jolly party of four retirees enjoying life away from the city. They were funny folks and got us laughing quickly. I still remember one joke that came up after a short discussion of whisky between one of the older gentlemen and my husband. "My uncle drank so much in life, when he was cremated, the fire burned for three days before it could be put out." Doesn't sound so funny now, but it was seriously laugh worthy at the time.

Then our food came on a big cart and everyone got down to serious business. There were large platters of fried chicken, fried okra, green beans, sweet potato, mashed potato, Brunswick stew, collard greens, country ham, and a bunch of other stuff I can't recall now. The photo shows but a very modest first plate that I gathered in an attempt to pace myself. There was so much food, modesty soon went out of the window. My definitely not food focused husband was the first to comment on how good everything tasted without excess use of butter or other grease. In fact, nothing was overly salted either. It just all felt fresh and wholesome, like eating at my mom's house, even though my mom cooks nothing but Chinese, the philosophy of clean cooking is most certainly the same.

Even though we've already had dessert, who can say no to warm yellow cake topped with fresh strawberry sauce and homemade soft serve? Unlike most strawberry sauces, the berries in this one were not cooked to obliteration and still retained texture. The slight tartness was super with the soft serve. The yellow cake was decidedly simple but quite eggy, the way I like it.

The sun was still out when we finished, perfect for enjoy a bit of quiet time on the porch rocking away.


The Smith House
84 South Chestatee Street
Dahlonega, GA 30533
706-867-7000

Highlight #195: sweet source close to home - Bakery: Desserts by Latrell

Somehow I lost my typed text to this post. Too lazy and mad at myself to redo, I'll just say that this red velvet slice was light yet moist and the icing was not leaden while tasting distinctly of cream cheese. Simple and good is what I am saying.

Desserts by Latrell
581 Edgewood Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30312

Highlight #194: what's not to love

Normally I am not a fan of Godiva. But how does one resist such cuties? Check out these smile inducing ice cream parlor truffles the next time you pass a Godiva counter. Better do it quick though, they are limited editions. I have tried two out of three and the mint chocolate is pretty great.

Highlight #193: Great lunch spot - Restaurant: Waterhaven

The name sounds funny. It makes me think of Kevin Costner's horrible all brown movie Waterworld. But waterhaven is not brown and there are no men covered in fishscaled leather walking around. There are, however, plenty of seating outside in the shade of tech square. We parked ourselves there and got an excellent lunch.

What you can't see that well in the back of the above photo are the fried green tomatoes. I am always wary when ordering it because it so often turns out soggy or bland. These were none of that. Super crunchy and salted just right, even the one that grew up on fried green tomatoes loved them.

In the foreground is the daily flatbread. While it looks slightly thick in the photo, it was in fact rather thin and crunchy throughout. Evenly covered with cheese and olives, it was easy to put away despite the large size for an appetizer.

Here is a perfect example of lost perspective in photos. This salad was, in life, the size of my head, but appears puny here. The dressing surprised me. The menu said only buttermilk, at least that's what I read without reading too carefully. What I didn't expect was the powerful dash of curry powder in the buttermilk. It wasn't a problem as I love curry and have used it on my own seared salmon before. It was only surprising because my first bite was of an apple chunk and I had not thought about pairing apple with curry. Once I got acquainted with the curry, it was a pleasure to eat.

I was had at the first utterance of "icebox pie." I love that term! Something chilled and old fashioned, perfect for a summer day lunch. As the name promised, the little wedge was cool and light, anchored by a denser cookie crust. It was the perfect ending to enjoy while watching the lively square that never got too noising to disturb our lunch.

Waterhaven
75 5th St
Atlanta, GA 30308-1019
(404) 214-6470

Highlight 192: Lowcountry charm - Restaurant: 82 Queen (Charleston)

Michael and Jane Stern wrote a few of my favorite books on road food. Back in the 70s when "foodie" was a term foreign to most Americans, the Sterns were already driving across the country tasting and writing about their beloved "American" food along the highways. Today, they have a website roadfood.com dedicated to these eats. Most of what they seek out and recommend are specialities from diners and other hole in the wall establishments. So when I came across this "too fancy" recommendation and read Michael's review that claimed 82 Queen's shrimp and grits as the "best," we had to go there. I mean it beat out the highly regarding Hominy Grill and Jestine's Kitchen, both Charleston favorites.

We ran through what appeared to be a monsoon to get inside the cozy bar of 82 Queen. An excellent dirty martini almost got us to forget about our wet clothes before we came to the realization that to get to the dinning room one must cross the courtyard, which is of course uncovered. While we sipping on our drinks, we watched the dripping servers make trip after trip delivering food covered in trays in the pouring rain, looking completely calm and unaffected. Crazy!


When our turn came, the hostess walked us out into the wetness and slowly up the stairs to the 2nd floor dining room. I was getting drenched so quickly, I almost shoved her along to move as fast as possible. Once inside, it was all much better, especially when the she crab soup came.

Full of cream and heavy with roe, it was heavenly on its own, but was even better with a liberal splash of dry sherry, which came on the side. Luckily I got my fill before Jason went too far with the sherry. Perfect for dipping were these Cheddar chive mini biscuits.

After the soup, we split a crab cake. Having grown up in Maryland, where crab cake is a religion, I'd say that this is pretty up there in terms of quality and percentage content. The "cake" was short on bind agents and fell apart easily to show off lot of big crab chunks. What really put it over the top was the creamy sauce. Again very rich, a theme of this cuisine.

We got our mains in half portions, but looks didn't reflect that fact at all. Without me saying you can probably already tell the cream and butter content in that grits. It stayed soften and loose for quite some time. The shrimp surprised me. They looked and tasted of bbq sauce, a very very good one, but nonetheless different from the transitional preparation. Had I not expected a comparison with my favorite in the atl from JCT kitchen I would probably have fully embraced these. But the slight sweetness got me off guard.

Now here is what really blew my socks off. This jambalaya was so full of shrimp, crawfish, sausages, etc., I couldn't even get just a bite of rice by itself. The best part was that the sausage, rather than being added in chunks, were cooked into the rice, so every forkful was imbued with intense sausage flavor. We ate so much to only find the plate looking almost exactly like it arrived. The leftover went back to the hotel with us and became breakfast when we really saw the binding Cajun butter in its solid form. Let's just say we were glad that the dish didn't come with a nutritional chart. :)

According to the server, the owner's wife used to be the pastry chef at the restaurant, but now only makes a single thing on the dessert menu and that is this peach cobbler. Let me first say that I am no huge fan of cobblers, but I do love ice cream and found this topper very pleasing. The warm bottom was good, but not something I would dream about like the jambalaya.

82 Queen
82 Queen St.
Charleston, SC 29401
1-800-849-0082

Highlight #191: The dependable - Restaurant: Aria

Despite the economy, a fair number of new places have opened, some with much buzz. We are all for trying the new, but when a true occasion comes up and nothing short of a great meal would do, we head to the old dependable. And there are only a handful of those. This time we wanted a bit of privacy and not too much meat, so we ended at Aria.

Aria is not our normal hunting ground. Not that the food isn't good. It's just that we don't normally mingle with the Buckhead crowd. But it's perfect this day when we showed up late without a reservation and just wanted a cozy table in the corner.

Having just ate a big snack, not knowing that this dinner was coming up, I picked out the lighter items from the menu. The above appetizer starter was fantastic despite the difficult to maneuver vessel in which it was served. I particularly liked that the lobster meat was slightly warm, rather than chilled, which complimented the equally warm and intensely umami pea puree.

The main of seared scallops echoed the sweetness of the lobster earlier. Really good scallops don't need much else and not much were done to them in this case. Great showing of restraint.

Between the two of us, Jason is the chocolate dessert fan. Without looking at the menu, he asked for the Valhorna chocolate creation that used to be served there. Our server suggested the chocolate dome instead, but brought us one more, the mousse. I ended up liking the freeby much better for its lightness and hints of hazelnut. The dome was somewhat difficult to eat due to the hardness of the shell. Both desserts were more or less predictable, but were all tasty.

Aria
490 East Paces Ferry Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 233-7673

Highlight #190: We have caught the weekend travel bug - Restaurant:

Ever since I finished up the case that occupied all of my weekends, we have been going places. This time Greenville, on a whim. The cute downtown was vibrant on a Friday night. There was even an outdoor concert between buildings with a beer stand in front. A great idea!

We walked around some and then looked for the all important food. Soby's was described to me as modern southern. I used to be skeptical of that term until Watershed was coined as such. I can certainly do with more fresh looking greens and less grease. The ultimate plus was a two top bar table right in the middle of these french doors that opened into the busy street. A perfect spot to enjoy the breeze and people watching.

What you see above is my favorite plate of fried green tomatoes. I am normally not the biggest fan as I find the breading soggy and the tomatoes bland. These were super crispy and the sauce was awesome. A little tangy and maybe a little mustardy? Also perfect were the fried sweet potato curls. Pretty and tasty.

We were told that the hush puppies are their best seller. They were indeed quite good. a little sweet with a good rough texture and big kernels of corn. Butter on the side makes everything better.

While beautiful, these non-southern seared tuna things weren't the best. Mostly it's because the pita pieces were hard enough to chip a tooth. The pea puree, however, was very nicely seasoned.

These deviled eggs started Jason's new obsession with this egg preparation. A good dose of mustard in the very smooth filling distinguished these from primarily mayo laden versions. The ham also gave them a nice salty kick. These were the perfect snacks for a summer evening. Happy days.

Highlight #189: Asian bakery desserts can also be sufficiently rich - Bakery: Maun's

Finally an Asian dessert pastry that is creamy and rich.

Cafe Maum
3182 Steve Reynolds Blvd. Ste 110
Duluth, GA 30097

Highlight #188: the one that everyone likes - Restaurant: Red Bar

Every time I asked for a must go place on the emerald isle, the red bar came up. So here I was, but not during the most popular drinking hours. I was there bright and early for breakfast.

From my quiet table on the back patio, I enjoyed the house special shrimp and crab omelet in the morning breeze. Plenty of shrimp and crab coexisted in this omelet and the red bar had no problem melting plenty of cheese onto the seafood combination. Equally cheesy grits stood up to the omelet and the very buttery biscuit. It's amazing that I didn't go promptly back to sleep after this loaded meal.
The sad truth is the little town of watercolor had much more fabulous macarons than the whole of Atlanta. These were found at Fabrice, a french bakery newly relocated to a charmingly street corner across from the Watercolor Inn. I had a hard time deciding between the raspberry/lemon and the lemon/chocolate bags. In retrospect, I should have just gotten them all. These were wonderful because of the perfect filling to macaron ratio. Delicate and delicious, they reminded me yet again why macarons are my hands down favorite.

I also took a slice of chocolate cake back to our guest condo for our afternoon coffee. Very intensely chocolaty, the flavor was spot on, but the cake layers were slightly too dense, bordering on being dry. Nonetheless, it made good accompaniment for a cup of black coffee.

Highlight #187: Beach and fish - Restaurant: Bud & Alley's (Watercolor)

I so needed a quiet beach, a place to forget about people and work. Despite the summer high season, such a place was found away from the crowd at the brand new Watersound resort on the gulf. Miles of white sand and blue sky were ours and ours alone for most of the weekend, one of the unexpected benefits of the horrible economy.

We had plenty of room to hang about in our suite and a very nicely outfitted kitchen in which to cook. But we were in a lazy mood, so mostly just assembled our lunch with the exception of pan frying some potatoes and mushrooms for the salad. Looking at this photo makes me happy. Champagne and snack food just shout out vacation.

At night fall, we ventured out to where the people are and found us a two top in front of the band at Bud & Alley's, a local favorite. One glance around the room and we had no doubt that we'd be getting seafood (that's what everyone is eating.) The menu confirmed our observation. Of the short list of eight entrees, six were fish.

We started things off with a crab salad of sort. The presentation was impressive and the tomatoes weren't all for colors either. They were bursting with brightly flavored juices. Most lovely, of course, was the crab meat. Translucent and firm, the tasty morsels needed no extra flavoring and were indeed treated with a light hand.

I was told that grouper is the fish of the gulf, so naturally I ordered it. This B&A special was pan seared and still showed the bright colors on the skin side (unfortunately blocked by the mango cubes in this photo). The meat was moist, but firm. This I learned is not a fish that flakes or falls apart easily. I liked everything including the plump shrimps that came along for the ride, even though they weren't exactly needed on this plate.

Jason's pan fried flounder knocked it out of the park. Lightly coated with panko, the fried fish combined an extremely satisfying crunch with very flaky white flesh. The homemade tartar sauce did a great job of introducing just the right amount of tartness.

When in Florida key lime pie is a must for me. I took this photo to show the cool way that Jason learned from his mama to squeeze juices out of a slice of lime. First he cut the slice so it is only attached on one side of the rind, then he stabbed the halves with forks and twisted in opposite directions. I was amazed that he was able to get every last drop of juice out of the single slice without breaking it. Very cool! Mama really knows!

The extra tang from the lime juice elevated this already very good dessert to awesomeness. Creamy middle and buttery crust, what's not to like?

An exception meal to end a great beach day!

Bud & Alley's
2236 E County Highway 30A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

Highlight #186: Don't hate the chain - Restaurant: Ted's

I am not a chain hater. There are some chains that do what they do very well and the fact that they bring good food to the masses is nothing but a plus. I have a particular soft spot for Ted's Montana Grill. My husband and I ate there quite a bit when we first moved down here to start his business up in Kennesaw. It was a part of my life changing experience, going from busy law firm life in NYC to hanging out with Suburban families on Barret Parkway, but I loved all of it.

Look at that plate. It's pure comfort and makes me sign every time. Nothing is extraordinary here, but it just warms the insides. The mashed potato is competently made to border chunky and creamy. The gravy is savory but not too salty. The pot roast is not pretty, but homey. And the green beans, well, there are green and crunchy. Good stuff, all of it.

We are finally off to the beach! I so needed this after not having a weekend off for over a month now...

Highlight #185: dreamy hummus - Restaurant: Olive Bistro

Continuing with the theme from the previous post, here is a shot of my favorite hummus in Atlanta. It looks much better in this to go container than it did in the dark displace case. In fact, nothing in the dim Olive Bistro display case looked especially good, but all were much more appealing in appearance once viewed in proper light.

I love this hummus for two simple reasons. One, it's incredibly creamy, probably from a good dose of tahini that ups the calorie value, but also the delicious factor. Two, it packs a punch of great tartness without going too far. Considering how many styles of hummus are out there, I am sure everyone has got their own favorite. On my scale, this one is as close to the top as I've found.

Olive Bistro
650 Ponce de Leon Ave. Suite 680A
Atlanta, GA 30308
404-874-5336

Highlight #184: potential revealed - Restaurant: Cafe Antalya

Jason orders yaprak sarmasi or stuffed grape leaves at every restaurant he could find them in. I always try one and then leave the rest to him. Mostly they are too chubby and overstuffed. Sometimes the content is too mealy. Sometimes the rice is too hard. And often times, the stuff is too sour. So when he ordered these at Cafe Antalya, I half expected the same. But the other half hoped to be proven wrong, since I have heard much good things about this place.

These were a revelation. The size of small cigar, each piece is sufficiently but not tightly stuffed. I tasted lots of wonderfully subtle flavors of pine nuts, currants, well cooked rice, etc. that were often covered up by sourness. I can eat these all day!

The hot borek also far exceeded expectations. Incredibly crunchy and flaky, the almost greaseless shell gave away to a slightly more chewy center perfumed by ground lamb and onion. Lovely lovely stuff.

We love lamb, so also ordered it in the form of kofte or spiced and ground lamb chargrilled on a stick. Jason likes to comment on how unappetizing it tends to look. I don't see it that way. Food generally looks good to me. In any case, looks aside, this is a mighty yummy dish when done well. Here the spicing is very controlled, so the meat is neither too salty or too herby. If you like the natural flavor of lamb like we do, this is a great way to experience the lightly herb enhanced taste of it.

We'll definitely be back for more of the grape leaves and try some other meats. This is a great little spot worth the drive up Roswell Rd. for. When we were there, almost everyone else in there spoke the language of their homeland.

Cafe Antalya
8290 Roswell Rd.
Sandy Springs GA 30350
Phone: (678) 527 0900