Monday, April 20, 2009
Restaurants Knife's Edge: Loose medium
Posted by Richard Blais on Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 3:32 PM
I was the underdog and I knew it. There was no way, on national TV, anyone was expecting much from a young chef from Atlanta. Especially my competitor. At the end, I was sweating. But so was he, in both the literal and street definition. It was a sneak attack. When I went to shake his hand, the superstar celebrity chef, he said “You should be cooking in London or New York”.
Huh?
It was both a compliment and an insult.
This is going to hurt a bit. And, honestly, I’m a little hesitant to pull the verbal trigger. But Atlanta isn’t thought of very highly as a culinary city. Yes, we’ve had our share of press and features in national publications. We’ve had a few chefs pop through the atmosphere to show up in the New York Times, or make appearances on TV. We have Food & Wine best new chefs, James Beard award winners and there are some nationally recognized restaurants. Alton Brown even calls the Atlanta area home, I think. But I’ve traveled a lot lately. And more often than not, amidst professionals, chefs and foodies, when Atlanta gets mentioned.... well, what you get back is blank stares. Maybe the occasional mention of Seeger’s (still). And almost always the odd comment, that “I knew a guy who worked at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead”.
Now, I’m going to rip the band-aid off. We are a medium sized pond. With medium sized fish. And it’s a loose medium! It’s the perception, regardless of personal opinion. It’s cold fact. It stings, right?
I hope this doesn’t offend. And of course it shouldn’t, because it's as much a stab at myself as it is you, or that restaurant you may be thinking of. Sometimes I get offended at the lack of awareness out there. Sometimes I’ll even say I’m from New York, which I am, but that I live in Atlanta. Is that wrong? Perhaps, but it’s in response to the dumbfounded look that has haunted me for years. The look that I imagine has the questioner picturing me in overalls and a straw hat. Plucking away at a banjo and frying chicken.
For the record, I love fried chicken and hate banjos. I can even appreciate a guy like Dan Moore, rocking his straw hat. And I’ve been converted food-wise as well. Why would you make polenta here, instead of grits? Because you’re Italian? Why would you import fish from the English Channel, when we have both the Gulf and Atlantic in our wingspan? Oh, you’re French, ‘nuff said. But our peaches are better than yours. If you’re a chef and you don’t like boiled peanuts, surely, you must be allergic.
But I still hate that look. The stare.
Are we the minor leagues?
Well, as much as I’d like to just dismiss it as a prejudice, there’s validity to it. Look in the mirror. What really, as a big picture culinary community, are we pushing?
Farm to table? Great, we are, then, the San Francisco of the South.
Glitz and glamour? The New York of the South.
Celebrity chef import city? The Vegas of the South.
Quite honestly, I’d like to be the Atlanta of the World.
Atlanta will never be New York, sure. But look at cities like London and Barcelona, Chicago, San Francisco even, and tell me they were regarded the same food-wise 20 or 30 years ago as they are now. Those cities, once afflicted by the same regional food stereotypes as Atlanta, or any Southern US city, are now pioneers in refined, modern, and super creative cuisine. And they’ve done it while maintaining the traditions that once may have been their Achilles’ heel.
So, what’s the difference? What can we do?
A DIY youth movement. Full of independently run restaurants and a crowd base that appreciates, applauds, and encourages them.
We already have the framework and canvas for it. We just need more artists painting loudly.
Comments (16)
Showing 1-16 of 16
The truth hurts. Ms. Lauterbach just returned from a trip to LA, and she remarked in her latest Knife & Fork newsletter that a certain dumpling restaurant reminded her of the "limitations" of living in Atlanta. This is a B grade food town (which isn't bad!) with a smattering of A grade options. Frankly, only a provincial palate would think otherwise, IMHO.
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i have to say that i agree w/ you ~ atlanta gets the almost-as-good-as-whatever-city thing ~ but at the same time, i feel like our chefs feed it instead of fighting it... i swear to jeebus i will scream if i see another "collard green egg roll" on someone's menu! my former exec chef at the ritz downtown thought he "understood" southern food just b/c he slapped a coca-cola glaze or peach bbq sauce on a burger... our culinary history doesn't get taken seriously in the community b/c i feel like WE don't take it seriously. in that way, you are completely correct that it has to be a DIY, grassroots movement. unfortunately, who is there to learn from or inspire young chefs? other than "repast": i think they get it right a lot of the time. i would like to say that what i am about to type is my opinion even if i WEREN'T commenting on blais' blog ~ richard blais was the first person to take southern cuisine and simultaneously respect the hell out of it AND be playful with it. it makes me sad that the market for intelligent southern food is so small.
Well stated, Richard. I am embarrassed to admit that for almost ten years I have been saying "I'm from California ... but I live in Atlanta." I'd love to be proud of this place. But perhaps Atlanta is just not ready. The city needs a city identity before it can have a culinary identity. Atlanta does not know what it is or where it's going, and is slightly embarrassed about where it came from. London, Chicago, and even Las Vegas had solid identities before they broke onto the culinary scene.
Hi, I love banjos and fried chicken. I know well the reputation we have (I've received those same blank stares), but my travels out of the South have ironically reinforced my pride about this place. It's fun to travel and experience the things that make up the unique place you are visiting, but also I look around other places and don't see the dishes that give US a unique stamp on the country's map. Or when people try to cook Southern food for you to make you feel welcome, it's so sweet of them... and kind of funny (Once in the northeast, I had the cleanest dirty rice). And then I feel proud again. It's a personal enjoyment though, not concerned with what the outsiders think or perceive. Do we really give a damn?
Lorenzo, you've actually articulated Atlanta's identity quite well. It is a southern city, no escaping that! A fact that bequeathes a fantastic culinary tradition, but saddles us with some uncomfortable social/political baggage. It is a product of the expansion of the 50s and 60s, which brings us the rapid development that allows us to have the kind economy to support upsacale dining, but also left us with the out-of-a-can, franchise, chain restaurant, nuke it culinary landscape that we are only now attepting to shed (I think we're doing an excellent, if not a speedy, job). So yes, we're currently short(but growing) in cosmopolitanism, but we're long in tradition. Where does this leave us today? I would say we're in an exciting time for Atlanta, on the cusp of our culinary renaissance. This is when we begin to shape our identity out of the historic and contemporary forces at work in our city. It won't be a seemless process, it never is. In fact, it is on a backdrop of a few rouges and visionaries do amazing things that full blown movements are born. Yes, we have our shortfalls, but I think it's a great place to be for diners and chefs alike!
I think the first thing that is required for Atlanta to further its culinary scene is for an actual customer base to develop. My impression is that Atlanta inhabitants largely just don't give a s* about quality food and do not have the mentality and lifestyle that puts food and cooking at the center of the social and entertaining landscape. This is what distinguishes great food cities like SFO, NYC, Chicago, etc: eating and finding and exploring the culinary scene is core to the inhabitant's lives - across all demographics. It is what they do for fun. There is an appreciation for diversity, premium ingredients, innovation, and the right ecosystem to support the creative culinary cycle. Unfortunately I would not be optimistic about this kind of mentality to develop in our lifetimes in Atlanta. It takes generations and the right mix of 'ingredients' in terms of entrepreneurs, chefs, and customers. I just don't see what will cause the demand to materialize if it hasn't to date. I'll close by stating that I feel that Blais cannot achieve his potential by making his home base where he does. I'm sure there is good reason for it, but I can't see him making a world class statement without operating out of one of the major global food hubs. Top chef gave you the platform but you are at risk of becoming a traveling show that could soon be forgotten unless you spread your wings and establish a mecca for followers to come get the religion.
If you're embarrassed to say you're from Atlanta, leave. Being that your operations rend to close within a year anyways, you will not be missed. Atlanta is not NYC, LA or Chicago for that matter and every true ATLien knows this; ur population isn't 10 million plus. You're just as pathetic as all the other Atlanta residents who don't support the home team because they're too embarrassed. Grow up and learn how to stand on your own two and stop dick riding every other city.
Seriously, Your post seriously highlights my point. We are what we are, and if you don't like it, then leave. That doesn't stimulate progress. rB
This may sound like a rant/rhetorical question, but it's not. I'd really love to hear Mr. Blais' answers (or anybody else's). I don't understand why people continue to try to "elevate" Southern food. Real Southern food is cheap and mostly bad for you, the ingredients are usually foundational (blackeye peas) and the vegetables are cooked to death. Period. Why do Atlanta restaurants keep trying to make it into something it's not? Why don't Atlanta restaurants try to excel at making Food (no adjective)? Why does the "cuisine" of Atlanta HAVE to be defined by its food history? Grits are grits, even if you call them "Grits Bar" and charge 10 bucks b/c you put some lobster on top. Dogwood's grits are delicious, but they're still just grits. I'm not picking on Dogwood in particular; it was just the example that springs to mind. I am clearly unusual in my thinking, given the plethora of "new southern" places in town, including award-winning ones. However, I would really like to know why everybody keeps trying to gild the pansy. If I want southern food, I'll cook it myself or go to a meat-and-three. Who can explain to me why Atlanta's chefs keep messing w/Southern food instead of creating something unique? Sorry if that sounds ranty...it's really not meant that way.
I'm not sure why anyone would pigeonhole any one type of cuisine to high or lowbrow. Italian food was originally peasant food (some of the best of it still is). I love cheap Southern food, but some of the best restaurants I've eaten at in my life have been upscale and Southern influenced (Highlands in Birmingham, Magnolia Grill in Durham, etc etc). There's no doubt that chefs paying attention to their regional cuisine is a step forward - history, agriculture, everything comes together when a region is respected by its chefs. Southern chefs will have grown up eating and loving Southern food - that's inspiration at work. Look, the trendiness of Southern cooking annoys me sometimes too. But it will take a really stupid idea for me to ever want to say "No, let's never experiment with that type of cooking, let's have it be one thing and one thing only, forever."
martha, you are correct in noting that atlanta may be overdoing its southern heritage right now, but a couple of years ago, besides places like wysteria, atlanta was ignoring it. i think it is an important step for atlanta to take in order to get past its roots- they need to be firmly in place. as for elevating southern food. don't forget the ingredients of the south are not bad for you. grits and collards are very healthy. the thing with these foods is that they need love to make them good. soul in the food as one might say. southern food has more to do with technique than ingredients. Poor people and slaves had to transform what they had into something delicious, just as the poor in europe had to find a way to make pig feet edible centuries before. that's creativity, love, desperation. technique,technique, technique. thats the real southern heritage and can be applied to pig brains and foie gras. god bless bill neal and edna lewis.
"And more often than not, amidst professionals, chefs and foodies, when Atlanta gets mentioned…. well, what you get back is blank stares." It has been my observation that often, those who consider themseleves the most cosmopolitan are actually the most provincial.
Martha, I agree with your point of view, but we might keep in mind that the elevation of humble regional cuisines is not unique to Southern food. It's happening all over. In London, tarted-up takes on traditional British workingman's foods are all the rage. Offal is popping up on fancy menus the world over. I hate it, too, but it's not just Atlanta and not just Southern food.
michelin 3 star restaruants in france usually have items on the menu that were french peasant dishes that are elevated by care and precision. When in france cook with what france has to ofer, When in italy cook with what italy has to offer, and when in atlanta cook with what Georgia has to offer.
If you're a chef and you don't like boiled peanuts... you might have bought them in south Georgia (along I-16) instead of north Georgia (at Jaemor Farms or David's Produce in north Decatur). Or maybe they were awful at Fancy Southern restaurants, bars, and Asian food courts in Boston, Brooklyn, DC or LA... Or in streets of India, Indonesia, the Phillipines or Zimbabwe for that matter. There are delicious boilers and disgusting ones. Roadside guide at www.global-boiling.com
rB, I really liked your point "Why would you make polenta here, instead of grits? Because you’re Italian? Why would you import fish from the English Channel, when we have both the Gulf and Atlantic in our wingspan?" It’s so true... use the ingredients in your backyard!! It doesn't get fresher than that!!! So many chefs try to be something they're not and they miss the mark. Great blog!!! Sorry I'm late to the party.
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