Monday, November 5, 2007
Restaurants Back to the Glenwood
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Mon, Nov 5, 2007 at 11:00 PM
OK, all of you concerned that I'm in league with Besha Rodell to advance a nepotistic agenda should read on. Besha's husband, Ryan Stewart, is chef of the Glenwood, which I reviewed recently here. I had no idea he was the chef when I filed my positive review.
I returned to the restaurant Saturday night — you know, just to enjoy a good meal. It's really the best cooking in the Grant Park-East Atlanta Village area. Go try it yourself if you think I'm just trying to get Besha, my editor, to stop moving my commas around.
Our meal Saturday night included the best she-crab soup, laced with fennel, I've tasted in memory. As usual with she-crab soups around town, I couldn't find any roe in the bowl, but there was a generous amount of crab meat. We also ordered a plate of pimento cheese, fried pickles and candied pecans.
My entree was chicken-fried "filet mignon" over mashed potatoes and collards that actually tasted a lot like sauerkraut. There was gravy with caramelized onions on the plate, too. It was a quick transit to Texas where I used to eat chicken-fried steak constantly.
Wayne's entree was pasta with wild mushrooms, slick with porcini oil.
But here's what I really wanted to report. As any foodie in the city knows, there is no really good, serious German food in Atlanta. On Monday, Oct. 29, Stewart prepared a five-course Oktoberfest menu, each dish paired to a German beer. Here's the menu I'm sorry I missed: appetizers of munster and oysters with apple-bacon mignonette; pastrami-cured salmon with pumpernickel and coriander creme fraiche; rabbit and rye gnocchi with butternut squash and hazelnut foam; duck schnitzel with scalloped potatoes and onion gravy; pork chop encrusted with pretzels and grain mustard on ricotta spaetzle; gingerbread pudding with pumpkin ice cream and caraway-lemon sauce.
Apparently, Stewart creates these menus without notice. If he keeps it up, the restaurant needs to develop an e-mail list.
The place was packed Saturday night — so noisy you could barely hear the blaring music. I'm not complaining, though, because Janis Joplin was among the selections played.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
i was lucky enough to have attended this dinner...and i have to say it was one of the most memorable meals i've had in a long time. the food itself was pretty spectacular. that duck schnitzel was one of the best things i've consumed in ages. it was also very enlightening to have beer paired with the food - the choice of a dark beer with that gingerbread pudding (which was to die for, btw) was really eye-opening. allegedly, they are going to try to do more of the tasting dinners and creative experimentation from the kitchen. i can't wait!
like
dislike
I would like to see the Glenwood or some other intown place put some German items on their regular menu. There's a pretty nice German place in Asheville we went to a couple of years ago and it made me wish that there was a good place in Atlanta for German food. There's only a couple of spots in the area I can think of where I've had some, but both were pretty low quality.
I probably should have mentioned the Basket Bakery in Stone Mountain, which does some simple and good German fare. I haven't checked it out in a few years. Also, of course, the Petite Auberge does German food regularly, or used to. But neither does the kind of creative stuff on Stewart's menu. Years ago there was a good German restaurant here called (of course) Olde Heidelberg. It was where Joe Dale's is now. They were a frequent sponsor on WABE and it was my first taste of German food as a kid.
If you're willing to venture south of the airport, you should try City Cafe and Bakery in Fayetteville. http://www.citycafeandbakery.com (215 S. Glynn Street , Fayetteville GA 30214 770.461.6800) Their German menu is here: http://www.citycafeandbakery.com/restaurant_menu_dinner.htm
Can't get enough of that pulled-pork sandwich, although I learned the hard way not to have too heavy a hand on the vinegar/BBQ sauce; it can overwhelm the pork, which already has plenty of flavor. And those hush puppies... mmm. But yet another caveat: I took them home for takeout, and not to state the obvious but there's such a different between takeout and eating on the spot. It ALWAYS tastes fresher when eaten on the spot. Lesson learned. Hey, and the music didn't kill my ears this time...
Latest in Omnivore
-
The Montauk Grifter: How to con your way into the kitchen 1
How Dan Kaufman conned his way into a big name in the food industry.
-
Weekend Food Events, Feb. 17-19: Pet parade dinner, Atlanta Chef's Expo, and more
Restaurant events for the weekend of Feb. 17-19.
-
Mardi Gras restaurant events in Atlanta: Where to eat, party and les bon your temps 1
Break out your multi-colored beads!
- More »
Author Archives
-
Drinking with monks
NPR visits Tokyo oddity
-
Starbucks goes all capitalistic 1
Coffee prices going up
- More »
