Thursday, January 31, 2013
Travel Down in Thomasville: Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop
Posted by Brad Kaplan on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 10:30 AM
- Brad Kaplan
- Cotton in the window at Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop in Thomasville
Unless you're on your way to Tallahassee, you probably have to go out of your way to get to Thomasville. It's a little town just north of Georgia's border with Florida, about 40 miles due west of Valdosta and I-75. And even though it was a bit out of my way when I was driving home from Florida with my family in early January, I knew I wanted to make my way to Thomasville for one reason: Sweet Grass Dairy.
You've probably heard of Sweet Grass Dairy's cheeses, but there's a good chance you didn't know that they operate a cute little cheese shop/wine shop/cafe in the historic heart of Thomasville. I had heard about the shop, but didn't know what to expect as we drove into town. The road from Valdosta is an immediate jump from the interstate into agriculture country, ringed by fields and farms, then mills and farm supply shops as you get closer to Thomasville. There's a brief stretch that makes clear that the area has seen better days, but then you hit Broad Street and the quaintness factor kicks in.
Restaurants First Look: Seven Lamps
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM
- James Camp
- BALONEY: Seven Lamps' pistachio "macaroons" filled with mortadella mousse
It's been six years since the masterful chef Sotohiro Kosugi left Atlanta and seven since we lost the visionary Guenter Seeger. The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead closed in 2009, and Joël followed suit in 2010. The gradual decline of fine dining in Atlanta even claimed a class of well-loved and well-remembered upscale leaners like Shaun's, Repast, and Dynamic Dish.
While the city's culinary community lamented the loss of these great chefs and restaurants, the ones who remained continued to adapt and evolve. Soon, a new, more casual fine-dining model emerged as restaurants like Empire State South, Octopus Bar, and the Lawrence bridged the gap from old to new. With a focus on well-sourced chef food (offal, housemade charcuterie, craft cocktails) these innovative hybrids - often driven by the talented cooks who trained under those master chefs of yesteryear - are what dominate conversation today.
Drew Van Leuvan is one of those chefs who, by Atlanta standards, came up in the old school. He worked under some of the city's most respected chefs: Seeger (Seeger's) and Antunes (Joël), Michael Tuohy (Woodfire Grill) and Tom Catherall (Here to Serve Restaurants). In the mid-2000s he helmed the kitchens at Toast, Spice, and SAGA, and even ran his own handmade pasta company before joining Concentrics Restaurants Group. He eventually landed at One Midtown Kitchen. In early 2012, the journeyman chef left One to focus on his solo venture, Seven Lamps, which opened in mid-December.
News Several changes at STG Trattoria
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 9:09 AM
New developments at STG Trattoria:
In case you missed it, former executive chef Josh Hopkins recently left STG to helm the kitchen at White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails. STG's new executive chef Sean Telo took over last Sunday, rolling out a few new dishes - mostly salads and pastas - on the menu this week. Prior to STG, Telo worked as the executive sous chef at STK.
Additionally, owner Brian Lewis has hired pastry chef Sarah Dodge to oversee the dessert programs at both STG and sister restaurant Bocado. The self-taught Dodge has spent the last several years honing her skills at H&F Bakery and Little Tart Bake Shop. (She is also in charge of desserts at Octopus Bar.) At STG and Bocado, Dodge hopes to develop desserts that reflect the unique personalities of each restaurant. "Cakes work well at Bocado," Dodge says, where her new dessert menu includes a chocolate layer cake, a vanilla crumb cake with maple drip icing and Ga. pecans, and a salted caramel bread pudding made with brioche. "At STG, Sean [Telo] and I talked about doing one Italian-related and one more locally-inspired dessert," Dodge says. So far, she's settled on a ricotta cake with citrus honey and a chocolate hazelnut pot du crème with espresso whipped cream.
Changes at STG extend beyond new personnel. The restaurant will start serving lunch on Feb. 19. Lewis also plans to add a 12-seat bar to STG's dining room.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
News The General Muir opens today
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 11:31 AM
The General Muir opens today in the Emory Point development at 1540 Avenue Place. Billed as a "loving tribute to the New York Jewish deli" from West Egg owners Ben and Jennifer Johnson, the General Muir is helmed by chef Todd Ginsberg, formerly of Bocado, and pastry chef Lauren Raymond, of Miller Union and Empire State South. For breakfast, diners can expect bagel platters with smoked trout salad or lox ($18-$21), a selection of handmade bagels ($1.75), and breakfast plates ($8-$10) like smoked salmon over latkes, hazelnut crusted french toast, and plenty of pastrami and eggs. For lunch, poutine (add chopped pastrami for $5), soups (matzoh ball, of course) salads, and sandwiches ($8-$12) like roasted turkey with portabella and lemon crème fraîche, reubens, and lamb sausage with eggplant spread and harissa slaw.
The General Muir is currently open for table service: Breakfast: Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-11 a.m. Lunch: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: Sun.-Thurs., 5:30-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5:30-10 p.m. Brunch: Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
For quick, grab-and-go options, The Deli at the General Muir is open daily till 7 p.m. and serves bagels and sandwiches, salads by the pound, and pastries.
CL Culture Editor Wyatt Williams included the General Muir in his list of Five restaurants to watch in 2013:
Restaurants If you go to R Thomas, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
Posted by Cliff Bostock on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 10:05 AM
Richard Thomas opened the restaurant after moving here from California, where he had a lot of success in several ventures. He festooned the dining room with objects reminiscent of the psychedelic era. He planted a garden around the periphery of the building and installed cages occupied by exotic birds.
Around 1990, Thomas bought a commercial juicer and threw all the tables and chairs onto the patio. It was and remains kind of strange to walk through the gloomy, undecorated former dining room to the restrooms.
Next, Thomas joined the raw food movement and the menu was overtaken by "healthy" food. I'm no fan of this method of food preparation. It always turns into a gut bomb for me. Many raw-food chefs also overuse spices in an effort, I guess, to add flavor to otherwise bland goop.
The restaurant has returned to more conventional dishes, most of them made with sourced ingredients. There's no red meat on the menu, so there are no burgers.
What does remain intact is the hippie garden, the aviarium, and mural art. There's nothing like the place in our city...and never has been.
Daily Hash Daily Hash 1/30/13: Hugh Acheson's favorite Atlanta restaurants, Vortex gets internet famous, and more
Posted by CL staff on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 6:50 AM
Hugh Acheson lists his favorite Atlanta eateries over at Food & Wine: Gu's Bistro, One Eared Stag, Antico, and more.
Early eaters lose more weight than late lunchers, study says.
Vortex matches, with their "Instant Therapy" inscription, got internet famous last week.
In hot pursuit of a social media life, online restaurant reservation giant OpenTable acquires Foodspotting for $10 million.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Restaurants Ten More Things You Might Want To Know About: Watershed on Peachtree
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 12:50 PM
- James Camp/CL File
- Watershed's scallop schnitzel
Not everything can make it into a restaurant review. That's where the joy of the Internet comes in - there's plenty of room to add some finer detail here on Creative Loafing's food blog, Omnivore. So, without further ado, 10 more things you might want to know about Watershed on Peachtree:
1. Lunch is, no surprise, a less expensive and more casual meal than dinner at Watershed. The veggie plate is a great way to go - $14.50 for five vegetables with five different preparations: fried, grilled, roasted, etc. (It's $18 at dinnertime.)
2. I'm normally averse to the presence of white truffle oil, but the white truffle chicken salad sandwich at lunch actually makes it work well, thanks to playing it off the sweetness of golden raisins.
3. The bar is stocked with some very interesting artisan spirits, and the cocktails show nice creativity - my favorite is the Southern Manhattan Martini that mixes bourbon, Cynar, maple syrup, lemon juice and barbecue bitters into a surprisingly well-balanced and nuanced affair.
4. The wine list offers a number of interesting and eclectic wines by the glass - most around $10 - and Watershed is usually happy to let you taste something first if you're curious about a wine.
5. Corkage is $20 if you want to bring your own wine, which is not such a bad route for the winos among you, given that the markups on many of Watershed's wines by the bottle approach the range of three times retail.
Review Restaurant Review: Watershed on Peachtree
Posted by CL staff on Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 9:51 AM
- James Camp
- REGIONAL RIFF: Watershed on Peachtree's corn griddle cake topped with duck confit and radicchio slaw
The story of Watershed and its move from Decatur to Buckhead calls to mind the classic question of nature versus nurture. Would Watershed's nature, its simple Southern roots, prevail? Or would its new neighborhood nurture it into something entirely new? It's been almost nine months since Watershed was reborn, and the nurture side is winning.
In the 2000s, Watershed flourished thanks to chef Scott Peacock's sophisticated, contemporary take on Southern classics. It was the jewel of Decatur's casual but increasingly ambitious dining scene.
But now, Watershed has literally moved on up, to a high-rise condo building on Peachtree Road. The Buckhead transformation encompasses almost every aspect of the dining experience. In place of the chaotic little Decatur parking lot, there's a sleek corporate valet. Instead of a homey feel, there are vast street-facing windows, expansive dining spaces, and stark elegance. It's now Brooks Brothers instead of Birkenstocks, Westminster rather than Paideia, and, well, Peachtree instead of Ponce.
Continue reading "Restaurant Review: Watershed on Peachtree"
Monday, January 28, 2013
News Jam-a-Lam to close (until further notice)
Posted by Lauren Geisser on Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 1:41 PM
- James Camp
- Jam-a-Lam to close their breakfast sandwich delivery service
Since October, breakfast delivery service Jam-a-Lam has been serving sleep-deprived and hungry Atlantans in droves. Unfortunately, Jam-a-Lam founders Kandis Owens and Nicole Macey say they cannot keep up with demand and have decided to close the operation until further notice.
"During our time off, we will be working with a fellow colleague in hopes to revamp our business model and re-emerge with...well, with a JAM!" the duo said in an e-mail.
Owens and Macey hope to expand their current delivery area and will be meeting with prospective franchisers around the Metro Atlanta area during their time off to improve and develop their concept.
Quick Bites Quick Bites: Josh Hopkins heads to White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails, Big Kahuna opens, and more
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 1:10 PM
- James Camp/CL File
- Josh Hopkins named executive chef at White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails
Big Kahuna, a new Cali-Mex restaurant from Tom Nahas and Rahim Kaba of Twisted Taco, opens today in SunTrust Plaza at 303 Peachtree Center Ave. Big Kahuna is open for lunch 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Storico Fresco Pasta has opened up shop at 3210 Roswell Road (apparently around the back of the building) in Buckhead. The store is open Mon., noon-6 p.m.; Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sat., 2-5 p.m.
Brewed to Serve Restaurant Group has named Josh Hopkins (STG Trattoria, Abattoir) as the new executive chef of White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails. The restaurant is located downtown, on the ground floor of 270 Peachtree St.
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