Adventurous Tastes

Nuance Kitchenware

2010-03-10T07:46:00.000-05:00

During my travels in Copenhagen, I went in search of gorgeous Scandinavian designed furniture and home goods. Those Scandis sure know how to design! Alas, everything was too expensive, so I came home empty handed, but I was smitten with one particular line we saw - Nuance - and was determined to find it stateside.

Thank goodness for Amazon, purveyor of everything under the sun. They of course have Nuance, and it's much much cheaper than it was in Denmark, which is funny because the line is in fact Danish, by industrial designer Marcus Vagnby.

Nuance's line has also sorts of useful kitchen tools, from wine finers that aerate a bottle of wine in just seconds, to trivets, to all variety of brushes. But these items aren't just useful, they're GORGEOUS. Why should you settle for blah looking tools when they can look like art on your counter? Seriously, this line makes even tongs look sexy.

Mr. AT and I promptly put a few Nuance items on our registry (my new favorite way to indicate exactly what we want for holidays, birthdays, etc. Man will I be sad when my newlywed year is over and those babies come down!) My family got us the wine finer and pastry brush for our birthdays, and I must say we are loving them. OK we haven't made any pastries, but the brush looks great, and Mr. AT is enthralled with the wine finer, so much so that he just bought one as a gift for a friend.

Granted these items are more expensive than some other options, but beauty doesn't come easy, right? If I'm going to slave in the kitchen and buy beautiful dishware to entertain with, I figure I don't want to ruin the look with some plastic piece of junk. And oh they just looks so lovely, it makes using them more fun.

And you don't have to sacrifice function for beauty. Many of these items are more functional than the norm. For instance, I always find it frustrating that most whisks are metal, which of course ruins the finish on non-stick pans, so I'm dying for Nuance's gorgeous stainless steel and nylon whisk.

The Nuance Mortar and Pestle (shown at the top) is truly a thing of beauty...kind of brings a tear to my Danish design/food obsessed eye! Yes, that is dorky, but what can I say, I love me some pretty. And the bottle opener (shown below)- wouldn't you just feel so very Nordic and hip to whip this out at your next dinner party? Selvfølgelig! (Danish for "of course!")

Want some Nuance items of your own? Check out my Amazon store at the bottom of the page or link directly to the cooking gear section here.

Top Flr team to open Sound Table

2010-03-08T23:29:00.001-05:00

My world's collided last week when Top Flr's Darren Carr turned up at a party for my day job (read: job that pays me). Turns out he and his partners are cooking up a new Street to Table restaurant, Sound Table, to open very soon in the old Over da Edge space at the corner of Edgewood and Boulevard.

I don't have full details yet, but here's what I do know. Darren, like me, is fed up with the whole farm to table shtick. Not only is that so 2008, but it's also something that should just be done without fanfare. So instead, Sound Table will focus on street food, which does indeed seem to be new "it" cuisine. Inc Street Food in Roswell and Tuk Tuk in Peachtree Hills are both new restaurants focused on that trend, too, but fortunately Sound Table will finally bring street food to my neck of the woods. Now if only Atlanta could get some actual street food!

Carr's partner has a music background, so that will be a part of the scene, too, with live music/DJs playing upstairs. Hope to have more details to share soon!

Adventurous Tastes Events: Top Chef's Eli Kirshtein Cooks Passover Favorites this Thursday

2010-03-08T11:50:00.007-05:00

Thursday, Top Chef's Eli Kirshtein will be cooking up new twists on Passover favorites at the Selig Center in Midtown Atlanta. Yours truly helped chair the event and will be there for all the good eats!

Don't forget to buy your tickets today before prices go up!

Pathways and Passover: Not Your Bubbe's Recipes

Location: The Selig Center

1440 Spring Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30309

Date: Thursday, March 11

Cocktails and Light Food:
6:30 - 7:15 p.m.

Program and Cooking Demonstration:
7:15 - 8:45 p.m.

Cost: $25* with online registration before Tuesday, March 9 or $30 at the door

Buy tickets here!

Spice Market's Bento Box Lunch

2010-03-05T14:10:00.008-05:00

Many moons ago I loved NY's Spice Market. It was dark and chic and oh so trendy...the kind of place you felt very hip for going, and the Asian street food menu was still pretty darn unique. Fast forward to today - despite my previous love for Spice Market, I still hadn't ventured to the Atlanta outpost at the Midtown W. Mostly, I think I'm a NY food snob. Anything other than the original just doesn't compel me, and Spice Market had it's moment circa 2005.Nevertheless, I was tempted by their new lunch special to finally give Atlanta's Spice Market a try. Their bento box is $16 and comes with quite an array of small Asian fusion dishes:

Thai Chicken and Coconut soup
A choice of lamb or beef skewers
A choice of salads, basically with avocado or without
A choice of salmon or cod
A choice of brown rice or jasmine
Pickled cauliflower and peppers
A choice of ice cream or sorbet.

The setting is dramatic - high ceilings, hanging ropes, and unlike the NY original, lots of floor to ceiling windows. Personally I preferred the sexiness of the darker NY setting, but this is still very cool, and probably seems more sophisticated by night.

We found a largely empty dining room, so getting a seat is no problem. Alas, service was incredibly attentive but the food still arrived slowly. So don't go in a rush. That said, if you have time linger, it was a delightful lunch and ultimately worth the wait.

Mr. AT and I both thoroughly enjoyed our soup. I'd read previous complaints about saltiness, but that was not an issue for us at all. It was creamy and full of flavor and not even a little salty. Salad was a bit of a misnomer for what was ultimately avocado with slices of radish and a tempura onion ring. Still it tasted good, so I don't really care what they call it.

Although my lamb was well prepared, I preferred Mr. AT's beef skewer as it came with a dipping sauce which made it more interesting and flavorful. My cod was well seared and moist and the chili glaze offered a different flavor from the ubiquitous miso glaze you usually find at Asian fusion restaurants. I found the rice pointless, as there was nothing that really got better when combined with rice (no sauces to sop up!), so I mostly ignored it. Still, I liked that they offered a brown rice as I find that hard to come by usually (Spoon I'm talking to you, get with the program).

My only real complaint about the bento box was the format itself. Usually bentos have a fairly low profile, but these had items of varied enough size, and it was packed full enough, that navigating it was a bit difficult. I was never quite sure where to lay my silverware, and I felt a bit like I was leaning over one dish to get to another. Nevertheless, we enjoyed lunch regardless of the bento logistical challenges!

We also sampled fresh ginger sodas which were so very yummy. Tangy and fizzy but not too much, it was a perfect way to start the meal. But it was the ending that was best of all. Our ice creams arrived in cute little takeout boxes. Mr. AT chose Vietnamese coffee flavor, and his had a very smooth, creamy consistency. Mine was banana macadamia and was thicker and chunkier. Both were AMAZING. I rarely get excited about ice cream, but my banana macadamia nut was so full of flavor - if I hadn't been full I would have finished it off completely. Worth a trip to Spice Market just for that!

All in all, I was impressed. For an outpost of a restaurant and an Asian fusion trend past it's prime, it was pretty darn good. You can imagine this being a sexy scene at night, and if you work in midtown $16 for a satisfying and varied lunch is worth the splurge. I could do without the $6 valet service, though. If you're eating at the restaurant, can't they offer something a bit more reasonable (read: free). I guess I'll just never feel good about paying for parking in Atlanta, especially not for lunch. Barring that annoyance, though, venturing to Spice Market to test out the bento lunch special is definitely worth it.

Pros: tasty and varied lunch for $16, amazing ice cream, dramatic atmosphere, no trouble getting a table
Cons: food slow to come out, expensive parking

Spice Market
in the Midtown W
188 14th Street, NE
Atlanta, GA 30361
Tel: (404) 549-5450

Yelp Gate at Lunacy Black Market

2010-03-03T19:50:00.008-05:00

I learned this week that a friend of a friend was embroiled in yelp-gate with longtime Atlanta restaurateur Paul Luna. The gist of the scandal is that Jeff D, a yelper, wrote a 2-star review of Luna's newly opened Lunacy Black Market. The review was certainly not good but didn't say anything too shocking. What was shocking was the reaction that ensued from Luna himself. His retort on Yelp was pretty darn defensive and seemed to criticize the reviewer himself rather than the review, writing that Jeff D was a "two star reviewer." He even suggested he was going to post the yelp review and Jeff's photo at the restaurant, and he indeed posted both on the restaurant's site.

This reminds me of when NY Restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow took out a full page ad to feud with NY Times reviewer Frank Bruni. Craaaazy, but at least he was arguing with a professional review. Yelp is a great resource for people, but it's not exactly the NY Times.

Listen, I'm all for restaurants responding to criticism. It is their right just as it is ours to publish our opinions, but there is a big difference between criticizing an enterprise and slamming an individual. More than anything though it has served to make Luna look crazy and to highlight a bad review people might have never noticed otherwise. Silly, right? For what it's worth, my own Mr. AT didn't have much nice to say about his experience at Lunacy Black Market, so I doubt I'll be trying it anytime soon...

The full exchange below:

2/8/2010 Ok...I'm going to be the 'odd-man-out' on Lunacy Black Market by saying this place is WAAAAY over hyped. Is it kitschy/quirky? Yes. Is it in the middle of nowhere downtown? Yes. Is the food mind-blowingly unbelievable? Hell no!

Look, I'm all about the random underground spot to chow, but to make this place out to be the second coming of restaurant fare is just regurgitating the already undeserved hype (Yelpers) surrounding this place. First of all, just cause they serve 'slider-like' sandwiches doesn't give them an automatic thumbs up from me; quite the contrary considering I think sliders are the biggest crock perpetrated on restaurant goers since tapas. But I digress.

The decor is...well...it's like eating in an Anthropology store. A mish-mash of random pieces of furniture, silverware, plates, etc. and I get it...it's intentional, but anyone can go to the thrift store and say "give me all your kitchen related stuff for $100" which it appears is what they did at Black Market. Dynamic Dish somewhat goes for the same thing, but has a bit more success I think in coming off as if the 'random' decor/cutlery is completely intentional and contrived.

So now to the food, which supposedly makes up for all of the above. I wasn't blown away. Probably the easiest way of putting it into a concise statement would be to say: salt is not a spice. Most chefs already know this; the day I went to Lunacy Black Market their chef did not. Everything from the collard greens to the sweet potato fries were way too salty. The sandwiches were good; not great. And for $11 and still feeling a little hungry, I didn't think it was such a great deal either.

Maybe I'm not taken enough with the whole 'secret spot' fever of this place to stick my taste buds in the sand, but for me they're plenty of other fresh and edgier places in town with better food and better prices. Sorry.

Hello Jeff –
Our review of our restaurant is our middle finger down. I am so glad that you had the opportunity to buy into the hype. As you seem unaware, the cuisine is “uninspired”. I suggest that you find a place that you enjoy where the food, the decor and the neighborhood fit your style–and rave about those restaurants (not that you commenting on our restaurant is unappreciated).
Two stars from a two-star opinion is a great review! When you open your restaurant, I would love to try some of your food. Since you’re so up-to-date with decor, ambiance, neighborhood, your place will surely be a success and I will give you a ten-star review for ten fingers.
I did not invite you. You invited yourself. And now you know that our establishment is not to your liking. I ask you to send us your picture, so we can post it by the entrance of our restaurant along with your review. (I only post great reviews and yours is our first!)
Jeff– I appreciate that you understand what uninspired food is.
Sincerely, Luna for Atlanta Mayor.

New review from Jeff D on yelp:

Apparently "Lunacy" is the operative word at Lunacy Black Market as you'll see from their response to my original review. Apparently the 'Bush Doctrine' is in effect here regarding your dining experience (i.e. you're either with us or against us). Apparently, they've also taken it upon themselves to post my review on their website while trying to personally slander me with comments that would make any junior-highschooler proud. Hope that works out for you...

Last time I checked, food and dining experiences are still subjective. Given that fact, sites like Yelp offer the opportunity for "Real people" to give "Real reviews" (look up and to the left). So for a proprietor to come onto to such a forum and write what they believe to be a clever and snide comment about a review of their place that wasn't as glowing as they'd hoped, yet not all together vicious or out of line by any stretch either, is not only a little pathetic and immature, but it shows a lack of professionalism to the craft they're supposedly there to showcase.

The fact the owners and/or chef at Lunacy Black Market are so obviously offended and put off by one 2 star (now 1) review of their establishment, on Yelp of all places, shows that the confidence level over there isn't where it needs to be. Confident people who believe in what they're doing don't feel a need to defend themselves when criticized; especially when the critique is not even that scathing and coming from an everyday person. Not to mention that chefs are used to taking criticism (or should be). No person or business ever grew, progressed and developed into something better from being pig-headed and arrogant...something to think about.

From Luna's blog:
My Last Words on Yelp-gate Lunacy

Given the heated response to my response to a two-star (now, a one-star) review on Yelp!, I would like to take a moment to express my views on my site about the review. As a chef of more than 25 years, I have enjoyed many an opportunity to respond to individuals who did not enjoy my food. Over the years, I have developed these two simple conclusions: we all have opinions, and we all enjoy the right to express our opinions (whether in a public or a private forum).

I don’t expect to be liked by everybody. We are all no different from each other; our differences lie in our thoughts. We love; we hate; we envy; we laugh; we cry; we eat. As much as folks enjoy reviewing/critiquing my food and my restaurants, I enjoy reviewing/critiquing their reviews. Some people thought I shouldn’t have highlighted this review with my own response. Some people think I was “personal” and that I “bashed” the individual for his review. I disagree. I don’t know the individual and I hold no animosity toward him, nor do I hold any anger toward any of the others who so honorably stepped up to his defence.

As of this moment, I will be removing the post from my website. With it will go the photo of the individual and the additional comments from site visitors. Let me be clear that I don’t expect this move to change anybody’s opinion about my restaurant or my food; however, I do hope that people will understand that my original intent with the rebuttal was not to wage a personal attack, but to respond to an opinion with my own.

The Fat is Back: Bolognan inspired menu at La Tavola now through March 13

2010-03-03T10:23:00.004-05:00

From what I hear, Bologna, is increasingly THE place to eat in Italy. Alas, previous travels have never brought me there, but it's definitely on my list of culinary must-go's. Something tells me that my beloved Italian hubby and I will have plenty of excuses to return Boot-side over the years...

Can't get to Bologna just yet? La Tavola is the next best thing, at least for the next 10 days!

LA GRASSA RETURNS MARCH 3-13
Celebrate Italy's culinary capital, Bologna, with this special, limited-time-only menu.

Appetizers
Dandelion greens with roasted pears, walnuts, shaved Parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette 6 Beet and farro salad with hazelnuts, watercress and beet vinaigrette 7
Crispy sweetbreads with chestnut cream, blood oranges and roasted cipollini onions 12
Garlic soup, smoked croutons, pumpkin seed oil 4.50 cup / 6.75 bowl

Entrees
Spinach gnocchi with porcini mushroom sauce and prosciutto ribbons 16
Bollito Misto—slow cooked beef brisket and veal tongue with new potatoes and salsa verde 18 Braised pork belly with balsamic vinegar glaze, smoked potatoes and Savoy cabbage 18 Lasagna with lamb Bolognese, béchamel, Parmigiano-Reggiano served over roasted peas and baby carrots 17
Pasta Imbottita—tiny dumplings filled with ricotta cheese and lemon zest served in a capon broth finished with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 16

Dessert
Castagnaccio—chestnut cake with fig jam and housemade crème fraiche 7

Restuarant Review: Cafe L'Alsace

2010-03-01T21:33:00.014-05:00

Hearty fare, cozy environs and transporting atmosphere...that's what I dream of in a French restaurant. And that's almost exactly what I got from my first ever trip to Decatur's Cafe Alsace. Mr. AT and I have long talked of heading eastward for some German-influenced Alsatian cuisine, but it was only just this weekend that we finally tried it...and oh we're so glad we did!

The atmosphere is charmingly European at first glance with saffron walls and charming clutter, but the effect is somewhat marred if you look up. Decidedly un-French cafe exposed ducts and blah ceiling tiles detract from the coziness factor, but as long as you don't look skyward you can stay in your adorable petite french bubble.

Service is prompt and relaxed, just what you'd expect in an actual French cafe, without the eternal wait to get a check when you are ready to leave.

The menu balances fairly heavy German-style Alsatian fare with more traditional French classics, with several dishes actually being called out as "inspired by Julia Child." Some of the German influenced dishes would be quite heavy were it summer, but in the cool winter weather, they were just what we craved. We opted to split the Pate du Chef as a starter. Composed of homemade chicken liver, bacon, shallot and port pate, and served with baguette slices and cornichon's, this pate was heavenly. It looked like far too much to eat, but we were so entranced by it's creamy goodness that we ate every last bite. It's probably an ideal size for four to share, but for two gluttons like us, it was no match.

After such stick to your ribs fare, you'd think we'd slow down, and we did but we still put a pretty solid dent in our two entrees - Spaetzle a l’alsacienne and Choucroute Garnie. The former was an ooey gooey mix of soft egg pasta, ham, onions, cream and cheese. So creamy in fact that it looked like fondue more than a pasta dish. Suffice it to say, it was decadently rich and delicious but impossible to finish.

The Choucroute, a combination of three types of sausage, sauerkraut, red potatoes and mustard was somewhat less successful. It definitely evoked the region for me, but the sausages were a bit more hot dog like than I'd have preferred. That said, we finished off all the leftovers of both dishes the next morning for breakfast, so we certainly weren't turning up our noses at any of it!

Not only was the food lovely and the atmosphere relaxed, but the price was also incredibly reasonable for the experience. For $100 we split a lovely bottle of Alsatian Riesling, an appetizer and two entrees that lasted us two meals. Certainly not cheap, but in a world of $25 mediocre entrees, this place felt very reasonable for such a great night out.

The only thing that disappoints me is that I didn't go sooner. Cafe Alsace is a perfect relaxed date night kind of restaurant or a spot for quiet conversation with friends. We will most definitely back as this spot has the makings of a regular haunt. Mon Dieu, I'm in love!

Pros: delicious, hearty food; charming service and atmosphere (if you don't look up!), reasonable prices. Pate is a must try!
Cons: ugly ceilings!

Cafe Alsace
121 E. Ponce De Leon
Decatur, Georgia 30030
(404) 373-5622

Brunch: Mission Aborted

2010-02-28T22:49:00.004-05:00

In NY, brunch is a spectacle. No one gets up particularly early, but by 11 am, an entire city has poured out into the streets, and most restaurants serving brunch are packed to the gills. Huge groups of people spill onto the sidewalk just outside the restaurant's door, and waits are epic. It is not unheard of to wait an hour or more for brunch.

In fact I remember a cold January Sunday years ago when a friend and I waited something like and hour and a half to eat at Friend of a Farmer, and truly stellar brunches like Clinton Street command waits of upwards of 2 hours. All of that said, waiting an insane amount of time for brunch was one of the things I most definitely did not miss when I moved to Atlanta.

When we first moved here, we used to wander into Food 101 at primo brunch time and be so thrilled that there was no wait for such a great brunch. It's been a while since we've been back to that restaurant, now called Rosebud, but today we decided to forgo our normal weekend bacon and eggs routine in favor Chef Eyester's hearty fare.

Imagine my dismay to arrive and find the wait was 45 minutes for brunch. Seriously? There is simply no brunch food that merits such a wait in my book (OK maybe Clinton Street pancakes, but that is where I draw the line.) We decided to wait a bit to see if we could snag at seat at the bar. Fifteen minutes in, some lady who's face was painted with Canadian maple leaves starts stalking seats at the bar, and we realize that despite being there before her, we were going to get screwed if a seat came open, so we gave up and headed home. (Note to the aforementioned lady from the Great White North - hockey games are no excuse to step outside of the confines of your home or a bar dressed up like a flag).

Now I'm thrilled for the team at Rosebud that they're doing so well now, but I feel like I have to mourn the passing of a beloved brunch. To me, the key prerequisites for weekend brunch are that it be both relaxing and somewhat flexible. I don't want to make brunch reservations, and I certainly don't want to wait a crazy amount of time. It just defeats the whole point of a lazy Sunday for me. Figure by the time I've gotten to a restaurant, I've already been awake for at least an hour, so I can't very well go another hour without food, right? You do not want to be around me when I'm that hungry, I promise you!

So alas, I guess I need a new standby brunch option - the kind of place I can walk into on a Sunday, unplanned, and enjoy some coffee and a paper and still get really good food. Sigh...am I living in a dream world? Are Atlantans becoming brunch freaks who overrun any restaurant with great breakfast options? I've always been shocked by the crowds who wait endlessly for Highland Bakery, but I thought that was an anomaly. Are there still hidden gems out there where I won't have to get in a fist fight with a Canuck for a seat?

Restaurant Preview: Saskatoon

2010-02-24T20:49:00.008-05:00

When I first heard about Saskatoon, a wild game heavy Pacific Northwest inspired restaurant opening in Buckhead, I was excited. I love game, and the cuisine is that region is certainly not well represented in town. Granted Buckhead is out of my typical eating radius, but still it seemed worth a trip.

So it was with high hopes that I headed out into the wild blue yonder with Mr. AT to kick off our birthday weekend at Saskatoon. It's newly opened, so I'll reserve final judgment, but for now I can at least share my initial impressions.

The old Harry Bissett's location has been transformed with the accouterments of a Canadian lodge - think mounted heads and lots of antlers. It's certainly a unique look buy Atlanta standards, but it still isn't 100% coming together. Perhaps it's the entry area that still looks more like its previous incarnation as a bar.

The staff is so earnest that you definitely want them to succeed. Eager to please at every turn, we got visits from management as well as the chef checking on our satisfaction . Aw shucks, how can you not root for them?

That said, Saskatoon is definitely a work in progress right now. Food pacing is still off, appetizers were less strong than entrees, and dishes like elk tenderloin were light on seasoning. My hope, though, is that with such a unique fish and game oriented menu that they can get their footing and stick around. Mr. AT's buffalo ribeye was both cooked and seasoned well and topped with a delectably crunchy onion ring, and the gooey bread pudding and fairly traditional cheesecake (complete with birthday candles) were highlights, so I hope they can just get their execution on every dish up to this level.

Saskatoon
360 Pharr Road,

Atlanta, GA‎

(404) 891-1911‎

Great American Bake Sale Baking Contest March 11 at Cook's Warehouse - Midtown

2010-02-23T21:07:00.006-05:00

A great cause, the Great American Bake Sale, is holding a baking contest on March 11 at Cook's Warehouse - Midtown. Professional, amateur and child bakers can enter, and now have until March 5 to enter to win the title of Atlanta's best dessert. Alas my most recent confection, a molten cake I'd made many times before to much success, bombed, so guess my baking isn't quite up to snuff!

Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale® Whips Up
Great American Baking Contest

Pastry Chefs, Adults and Children Compete to Bake Atlanta’s Best Dessert in 3rd Anniversary Event

Atlanta, Ga. (February 23 2010) - Share Our Strength® invites Atlantans to tie on their aprons and join the fun for the Great American Baking Contest on Thursday, March 11, at The Cook’s Warehouse – Midtown. Emceed by Q100’s Jenn Hobby, this kickoff event for the seventh annual Great American Bake Sale presented by Domino® Sugar and C&H® will feature professional pastry chefs, amateurs and children vying to win the title for “Atlanta’s Best Dessert.” All proceeds will benefit Share Our Strength, the leading national organization working to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Guests will have the opportunity to sample confectionary creations of some of Atlanta’s best pastry chefs, sip flavorful wines and participate in a silent auction. At the end of the evening, contestants in each group level will be judged on originality, taste and appearance. Atlanta Journal-Constitution food writer John Kessler and Mary Moore, founder and owner of The Cook’s Warehouse, will judge the professionals’ desserts, while Pastry Chefs Jonathan St. Hilaire, chef and owner of Bakeshop and last year’s professional first place winner, Alon Balshan, chef and owner of Alon’s Bakery and Market and Cocoa Barry Chocolate Ambassador and Kathryn King from Aria, will judge the amateur and children’s confections.

The festivities will continue from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Great American Baking Contest general admission costs $25 per person and begins at 7:30 p.m. VIP admission costs $35 and includes a champagne reception at 6:30 p.m. with Q100’s Jenn Hobby and a sampling of her own special baked treat. Tickets are also available at www.strength.org/bakingcontest.

Contestant entry fees are $25 for children and amateur bakers and $95 for professionals. First, second and third place bakers will be recognized with prizes including $500 for the first place professional winner and $250 for the first place amateur and child baker, courtesy of Domino’s Sugar. Deadline for all entries is Friday, March 5, 2010, and all entries must include contact information, detailed recipe summary or recipe and the non-refundable, tax-exempt entry fee. To see the full contest rules or to enter, visit www.strength.org/bakingcontest or contact Amy Crowell at acrowell@strength.org or 770.436.5151 for additional information.

Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale®, presented by Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar, is a national campaign that mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales in their communities. Funds raised through Great American Bake Sale support Share Our Strength’s efforts to make sure no child in America grows up hungry. Since 2003, more than 1.7 million people have participated in Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale, raising nearly $6 million. Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale is supported by national television partner Food Network and national print partner Family Circle.

Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength® is the leading national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. By weaving together a net of community groups, activists and food programs, Share Our Strength catches children at risk of hunger and ensures they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. Working closely with the culinary industry, Share Our Strength creates engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation®, the nation's premier culinary benefit; Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale®, a national grassroots effort; Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit®, a touring dinner series; Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out ®, a week-long program involving thousands of restaurants nationwide; and Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline®, a cooking-based nutrition education program. Visit Strength.org and learn more about our goal of ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.

Quick Monday Night Dinner: Italian Sausage, Spinach and Cannelini Beans

2010-02-22T20:38:00.002-05:00

On my drive home tonight I was mentally cataloging what we had in our pantry and fridge to work with for dinner. At first I thought I was screwed, but then I recalled that my mother made a trip to Patak's this week and was kind enough to hand over some of the delicious spoils of her visit. Spinach, cannelini beans and tomato sauce were just things we had on hand, but they worked perfectly together and snuck an extra serving of veggies into our meal.

So here is one of my first ever self invented recipes. Suffice it to say it actually turned out amazing (or else I wouldn't be mentioning it!) I actually high-fived Mr. AT after dinner was done, so proud of myself I was!

Italian Sausage, Spinach and Cannellini Beans

Servings: 2

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 spicy Italian sausages
1 can of cannellini beans
4 oz tomato sauce
handful of spinach

Directions

Cook crushed garlic over medium heat until golden. If your range, like mine, starts browning garlic too fast, you can remove it from the heat and set aside. Otherwise, add the sausage to brown once garlic is golden. Brown for 5 minutes. If you removed garlic, add it back in once sausage has cooked for 5 minutes.

Add liquid from can of beans and tomato sauce, simmer 5 minutes. Add beans and spinach, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove top and simmer for another 15 minutes, turning up heat slightly if needed until sauce is reduced and thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

It was shocking, shocking I tell you, how tasty and easy this was. I had to add very little salt and pepper, and it was still full of spicy, hearty flavors. Once the sauce is reduced, the beans actually transform into something so creamy and wonderful. Better yet, several main ingredients came out of a can, which although not the most gourmet way to do this, it certainly was the easy, after a long day at work way to cook! This will definitely be a new favorite at our house!

Pathways and Passover: Not Your Bubbe's Recipes

2010-02-22T12:41:00.004-05:00

Sharing food has long been a part of Jewish culture, and Passover is probably the single biggest foodie day of the Jewish calendar. On Thursday March 11, I am co-hosting an event at which Top Chef and Atlanta's own Chef Eli Kirshtein will prepare modern twists on Passover classics. It's a YLC event at the Selig Center in Midtown - 1440 Spring St. NW, Atlanta

6:30-7:15: Cocktails and light snacks

7:15-8:45: Program and cooking demo

Cost: $25 online before March 9, $30 at the door. Price includes beer/wine, light food before event, samples from cooking demo.

Come see Eli, learn a little about Jewish food culture and get your nosh on!

News Roundup

2010-02-19T17:50:00.003-05:00

Happy weekend! Is it just me or was this a super long week? Now we have actual sunshine to enjoy and birthdays to celebrate (mine and Mr. AT's!) Hurray for an excuse for good food, wine and friends all packed into one action-packed weekend!

Manly cupcakes take the shame out of miniature cake eating.

Comfort food comes to the old Caribou location.

From jersey shore and the closing of El Bulli, these guys discussed it all.

The meta-critic of eating - NBC launches Feast. Now if they could just expand to Atlanta!

Ok off to get ready for birthday dinner part 1 tonight at Saskatoon!

Two Urban Licks Sunday Splurge

2010-02-18T22:31:00.003-05:00

An ad for Two Urban Licks Sunday Splurge hit my inbox this week. what a fun idea - a Sunday Roast and bottomless beverages! Sunday Roast has long been a part of British culture, and always something I loved when living in London. You rock up to a cozy bar with your newspapers and just while away the day eating hearty fare and sipping on pints. Clearly the vibe at Two Urban Licks isn't quite the same as some warm little pint with a fire roaring, but still, a fun sounding event with good prices!

Brody just pointed out in the comments that the menu is hard to find on the website. Here are the upcoming roasts:

Feb 21st: Pig Roast
Feb 28th: Lamb Roast
March 7th: Poultry Roast (Chicken, Quail, Turkey, Duck)
March 14th: Seafood Roast (Salmon, Shrimp, Mahi, Oysters)

Quick Bites: Copenhagen's Madklubben

2010-02-17T22:54:00.006-05:00

Recently I returned for another business trip to Copenhagen. I learned the hard way last time that the Danes are nutso for dinner reservations, so I didn't make that mistake again. This go around, I pre-booked a spot at Madklubben, where my previous efforts to dine had been thwarted by reservation-crazed throngs of Scandinavians. Their website is all in Danish but it's not too hard to find your way to their reservations page.

photo credit: Susan Serra, The Kitchen Designer

It may come as a surprise, but I have other interests besides just food, and as of late, I've become a Scandinavian mid-century design fanatic. I can wax poetic for ages on the glories of Wegner wishbones and Arne Jacobsen swan chairs, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say, I was thrilled to find that Madklubben is choc-a-bloc with gorgeous chairs - eiffels, and pantones, and navy oh my!

Even better, in a land of sky-high dinner bills, Madklubben, which translates as Food Club, is actually quite reasonable. Diners select 1-4 courses which are at fixed prices, ranging from 100 to 250 kroner (~$20-50), and then you just pick from a limited list of course options. I opted for a veal starter and lamb main. Considering a burger and beer can sometimes run you $50 there, this was quite a bargain for really good food. My veal didn't knock my socks off, but the lamb, no longer on their current menu, was tender and full of flavor.

The gracious staff didn't complain or look miserable even when we were the last people in the restaurant by a long shot. I'm sure a table of giggling American ladies was not exactly their ideal table, but still they were lovely. My kind of service!

All in all, when you consider atmosphere, price, service and quality of food, Madklubben was the best meal I've had in Copenhagen by a land slide. Not sure if work will take me back there any time soon, but if I return, I have a feeling Madklubben will be a great sure thing to have in my repertoire.

Wine and Wings Pairing

2010-02-17T13:12:00.001-05:00

Spotted this in Thrillist today. What a fun idea!

Wine Beneath Your Wings: RuChDa Wings & Wine Tasting

6:30pm Friday, at Wine Shoe: 339 Nelson St; Downtown; 404.577.2000

A ten-spot sneaks you into this wing/wine pairing dinner, where vino experts'll classily match reds and whites with six flavors of Buffalo's finest from RuChDa's menu (Hot Pepper Teriyaki, Honey Cajun, Russy Hot...), all claimed to be "the best wings since sliced bread", then again, the 3rd Century BC was when wings made the greatest of strides.

Check the calendar and learn more about the event at RuChDaWings.com

La Grotta's Stimulus Menu

2010-02-15T21:23:00.004-05:00

As I've said before, the one perk to the bad economy is the wide variety of deals restaurants come up with the lure us in. My tall, dark and handsome hubby happens to be 100% Italian, and he has long lamented the dearth of good Italian food in Atlanta. He heard La Grotta was one of the best, so we had to try it. Even better, they're running a Stimulus Menu deal, now extended throughout February that offers a glass of wine and 2 courses for $23.95.

I didn't know what to expect, so I was charmed if not completely surprised to find that it's decor is high end Buckhead Italian circa 1985. Located in a nondescript condo, of the pre-boom variety, it's exactly where you'd expect Buckhead Betty's to wine and dine on a Friday night. Envision white linen table clothes with heavy floral upholstered seating, wood paneled ceilings and a 50-something crowd, including one lady actually wearing a full length mink at the bar. I must say I enjoyed my visual flashback, and it was fun to have my own personal Gordon Gecko moment, Atlanta style.

Service is just as obsequious as you might expect in such environs. In other places this might be annoying, but here it fits right in, and anything less just wouldn't work. Best of all, the food was much, much better than I anticipated.

I started with Cozze al Vino Bianco e Crema al Curry (Mussels Sautéed in White Wine, Garlic, Shallots & Curry Cream). Curry is an intriguing choice for an Italian restaurant, but even so, they were some of the best mussels I've had lately. Most often, I ended up with a so-so broth, but this creamy broth, redolent of curry, was oh so dippable, that I scarfed down several pieces of bread solely for the sake of indulging in more. Once I was done, Mr. AT, never one to miss a great dipping opportunity, dug in, too.

Now is the part where I admit I'm a remiss little food reviewer. It was a date night for Mr. AT and I, and my note taking was non-existent, so to be honest, I'm not sure what my entree was. From what I recall, it was a tagliatelle that is no longer on their current menu. It was served with either lamb or veal in a red sauce. Lest you think that being forgettable is bad, here's what I do know, it was actually quite good, but in a more "typical of most good Italian places" kind of way. What was really memorable, though, is that there was a spice in the sauce that caught me quite off-guard. It had a vaguely Middle Eastern taste to it, and I was certain it was something obvious, and yet I couldn't quite place it. Cumin perhaps? What it said to me is that, although totally old school, this place isn't afraid to tweak dishes and surprise diners.

All in all, we had a lovely, upscale feeling date night for around $70. That's my kind of stimulus dining!

La Grotta
2637 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30305

Snow promos

2010-02-12T16:57:00.005-05:00

Brave enough to head out tonight? Check out these snow promos:

ONE (559 Dutch Valley Rd/404-892-4111)
Mention "snow promo" and receive 1/2 off ONE's hanger steak.

TWO (820 Ralph McGill Blvd/404-522-4622)
Mention "Frosty" and receive the following promos: Hungry? Buy any two entrees and get any appetizer free Thirsty? Imbibe in the following drink specials $5 Absolut Martini, $3 Numbers Ale, and Lucky Star Pinot and Chard for $4.

TAP (1180 Peachtree Avenue/404-347-2220)
Mention "snow promo" to enjoy buy one get one free with all "Shares" & "Plates."

PARISH (240 N. Highland Avenue/404.681.4434)
Congrats to PARISH on a glowing review! Buy an entree and get a free appetizer if you reference "3 stars." Offer is limited to a max of 4 entrees per table.

Murphy's (997 Virginia Avenue/404.872.0904)
Mention "snow promo" and enjoy half priced appetizers at the bar or heated terrace from 9:30pm to close.

LOBBY at TWELVE (361 17th Street/404-961-7370)
Mention "snow promo" and receive 1/2 price reserve wine bottles.

ROOM at TWELVE (400 W. Peachtree/404-418-1250)
Mention "snow promo" and receive 1/2 price reserve wine bottles.

STATS (300 Marietta St/404-885-1472)
Say "snow promo" and receive 20% off food only- 5pm-close.

Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria (300 Marietta St/404-974-2941)
Say "snow promo" and receive 20% off food only- 5pm-close

30 Tables (110 Marietta Street/404-469-0700)
Mention "snow promo" and receive 30% off any food item on 30 Tables dinner menu. Also, receive a free cup of soup to anyone that says "Rubber Biscuit Please" to our bartenders tonight.

Park Tavern

$1 Drafts

Cypress Street

1/2 off apps from 5-7

Slider Night at the Shed at Glenwood

2010-02-10T21:49:00.007-05:00

I've been meaning to go to The Shed at Glenwood's Wednesday slider night for ages. Not only are the folks at the Shed friends of the site, but these sliders are creative, fun and a helluva good price.

So after my 10 hour flight back from Copenhagen yesterday (which accounts for me being AWOL this week- sorry!), I couldn't bare the idea of cooking so it was finally time to indulge in some miniature sandwich deliciousness!

For those of you not familiar with the deal, each week cutie chef Lance Gummere comes up with a new list of sliders, priced at $3 bucks a pop. Now these aren't just the typical mini burgers you might expect, last night's list included everything from oyster po'boy to veal parmesan sliders in addition to the traditional beef.

On their regular menu, they offer a ridiculous deal on oysters, too, with each one costing just a dollar, and you can order as many or as few as you want. And despite some mean-spirited commenter suggesting you're a rube if you eat your oysters with any sauce or crackers, I personally like it that way, so I was glad to have the accouterments.

Mr. AT and I opted to share eight gulf coast oysters. They were fat and luscious and gone all too soon. I could easily just make a whole meal out those, but I was there to try sliders, so I had to save room. We split the chili dog, a new addition to their repertoire, as well as the veal Parmesan, pork schnitzel and the Reuben. All four were yummy and gone in a flash!

My two personal faves of the night were the veal and the chili dog. Often veal can be kind of blah, but the Glenwood's version was well seasoned and flavorful. It had enough umph from the sauce and cheesy bread that even after though my last bite had no meat in it, it was still great. Chili dogs have long been a guilty pleasure of mine, so I was super excited to try their version. I can easily eat a full sized one in a couple bites, so it was little surprise that this miniature version disappeared in a blink. Now if I could just have had a frosted orange, it would have been just like my much loved childhood trips to the Varsity.

As always the staff was lovely and brought out popcorn to nibble on while we were ordering. And for $40 for 8 oysters, 4 sliders, a beer, and a glass of wine, that's a pretty awesome and cheap date night. I might just have to become a regular...

The Shed at Glenwood
475 Bill Kennedy Way
Atlanta, GA 30316

Is the Serving Size Game Coming to an End?

2010-02-08T00:30:00.001-05:00

As anybody who has ever read the side of a box of Corn Flakes knows, you’re about as likely to eat just one serving of cereal as you are to eat breakfast on the moon. According to the New York Times, the FDA is finally considering forcing food makers to get real about the serving sizes listed on food packaging.

While the change would not make junk food any healthier, it might help consumers realize that those potato chips are even worse for them than they may have thought. The current standard serving size for snack chips is one ounce, which works out to about 150 calories. Depending on which brand you’re eating, that 150-calorie serving could be as few as six chips. I doubt many of us have ever opened a bag of Tostitos and stopped after six chips (unless it was those bland baked ones).

I’m not convinced that this labeling change will make much of a dent in America’s obesity epidemic – after all, those who are filling up their shopping carts in the snack food aisle on a regular basis probably aren’t too concerned about serving sizes -- but the move certainly can’t hurt.

Read the entire article here.

Food Entrepreneurs: Académie: Quality Wines for Cooking

2010-02-05T18:52:00.005-05:00

I love cooking with wine. It adds such great flavor for dishes and gives me an excuse to drink wine with dinner (but who needs an excuse, really?) Usually when Mr. AT and I are cooking with wine, we just use a bit of what we plan to drink that night. But what about when the recipe calls for something you don't plan to serve or for so much of a bottle that you hate to waste your good wine?

Académie has the answer. Based out of Concordia, CA, they produce wine made specifically with cooking in mind, but unlike the swill that passes for cooking wine, this wine is good enough to drink. An FYI in case you didn't know, cooking wine is usually loaded with salt, making it undrinkable. Why would you ever cook with something not good enough to drink?

According to their website Académie 's mission is to remove the barriers that prevent people from cooking with quality wine. We aim to produce a fun, innovative, cost effective, and conveniently sized brand of wines to your supermarket shelf.

Blend #1: Red Sauces & Meat Dishes, 375ml (Red Wine) - $7.99
This dry red wine blend will add depth and complexity to your red sauce or meat dish. Expect hints of black olive, truffle, ripe cherry and French Oak.

Blend #2: Seafood, Poultry & Pork, 375ml (White Wine) - $7.99
This dry white wine blend will add a citrusy brightness to your white meat or seafood dishes. Expect hints of white pineapple, lemon, and grapefruit.

Blend #3: Beef & Poultry Marinades, 375ml (Red Wine) - $7.99
This dry red wine blend will enhance the savory and spice components of your beef and poultry marinades. Expect hints of strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant, and spice.

Blend #4: Game Bird, Fish & Lamb, 375ml (White Wine) - $7.99
This dry white wine blend will add a refined sweetness and soft fruit character to your white meat and fish dishes. Expect hints of white peach and candied pear. This wine goes great in desserts as well!

You can buy it on their website or if you're in their neck of the woods at select retailers. Their site is also loaded with recipes that use their wines. I'm currently on the lookout for a good, hearty and simply pasta dish I can serve up on my birthday, so the one below caught my eye. I don't think this is what I'll be making but it's nice to see what you can do with their products.

PASTA IMPROV

We've all heard that there's no such thing as a free lunch, but there IS a delicious and easy pasta dish that can be improvised with whatever you happen to have on hand! This example, below, was put together in just 10 minutes -- the time that it takes to boil the pasta -- on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's a hearty weekend lunch for two that's wonderful served with olives and fresh mozzarella on the side. Add a green salad if you're feeling extra ambitious!

INGREDIENTS:

2 chicken (or other) sausages, sliced into rounds (or the shape of your choice)

5-6 small to medium mushrooms, sliced

1/4 - 1/2 small onion, sliced

4-5 small roma or other flavorful tomatoes, sliced or quartered

A healthy splash of ACADÉMIE Blend #1

3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

A small handful of parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

A hard cheese such as Pecorino to grate over the top

Olive oil to drizzle over the top

Red pepper flakes, optional

Enough pasta for 2 (use whatever is in your cupboard; I had farfalle)

Buy the wine for this recipe by clicking here

DIRECTIONS:

Put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta. After that's on, heat up a sautee pan (cast iron is always a good choice) and put in a pat of butter or a splash of olive oil. Sautee the sausage with mushrooms and onions until browned. Check the pasta water -- if boiling, put your pasta in the pot -- it will need to cook about 7-10 minutes, depending on the pasta. Toss the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, and a big splash of Blend #1 into the sautee pan with your sausage and cook on medium for another minute or two. Turn off the heat and check your pasta. When it's al dente, drain and put into a serving dish, then top with the sausage, mushroom, onion melange. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, grated cheese and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

TIME:

20 minutes

YIELD:

Serves 2

SOURCE:

ACADÉMIE Kitchen Creations

Restaurant Review: Honey Pig

2010-02-03T15:52:00.011-05:00

I've been meaning to try out one of Gwinnett's many Korean BBQ joints for ages, but something always keeps us from making the trek. That finally changed this week when my darling hubby found the best deal on a our new Blu-ray at the Gwinnett Place Fry's. Perfect excuse for dinner at a far flung location, right?

So Honey Pig on Monday night it was. I always envisioned this place being a total hole in the wall Asian joint, a la Buford Highway. Turns out I was way off base. The space is open and industrial in a trendy, could find this in the hippest intown neighborhoods kind of way. It definitely has a stylish interior that would make it appropriate for special occasion dining, like a fun Korean style birthday bash.

Mr. AT and I were pretty clueless about how things work at a Korean BBQ, but our gracious waiter told us to just relax and eat and he'd guide us. We picked the namesake Honey Pig (pork belly) and bulgogi (marinated beef). I had read that some people find Korean food expensive because you in fact need more than 2 meat portions per person, but in our case, this was more than enough food, and in fact we couldn't even finish it all.

Once you've chosen your meat, your work is done. The waiter places some of the raw meat on the grill in front of you as well as bean sprouts and kimchee. You also get a variety of accoutrement - soybean and chili paste, raw garlic, cold kimchee soup, and scallion salad as well as rice cake sheets, daikon sheets, and lettuce leaves for making little Korean tacos. If you're going to try a new cuisine, it's a pretty sweet deal to just have to make one simple choice (the meat) and get everything else just served up with it! The meat grills, and then the rest is up to you. Take things off and make up little wraps when you're ready.

Of course with all that cooking for yourself, you get awfully smelly, so definitely don't go wearing your dry clean only clothes! Much like the trips to Benihana I so loved as a child, this kind of interactive cooking is a lot of fun. I enjoyed my little self-made Korean tacos, but some combinations were better than others. I found the honey pig a little blander than I'd have liked, but add on enough soybean paste, sesame oil and kimchee, and those little piggies were more much more compelling. For me the tender little slices of bulgogi actually the stars of the show as they packed more flavor punch on their own.

Ultimately Honey Pig for me was much more about the experience as a whole, rather than any specific dish knocking my socks off. It's a greasy, smoky, very fun mess and totally the kind of place I'll head back with friends. And for $50 we got more food than we could eat and two glasses of wine (which goes surprisingly well with honey pig and kimchee!), so in my book it was a pretty darn good deal, too!

Pros: Unexpectedly hip decor, helpful staff, fun experience, tasty bulgogi and plentiful food
Cons: You will stink when you leave, very hands on so not for those afraid to get their hands dirty!

Honey Pig
3473 Old Norcross Road
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 476-9292

Extreme Foods

2010-02-02T11:57:00.002-05:00

I came upon this article below today from Lonely Planet in which they list 10 extreme foods, i.e. foods that sound pretty darn disgusting to your average Americans. It got me to thinking, what are the weirdest/grossest things I've ever consumed?

A bucket of milky white "beer" in Swaziland - It was a hot day hiking through remote villages in Swaziland. Our guide promised us a cold beer at the end of the hike at a local shebeen (an unlicensed bar common in Southern Africa). I'm not sure what I expected since there was no electricity as far as the eye could see, but somehow I envisioned a friendly clean bar, a sort of African Cheers if you will, serving up cold brews. Turns out the shebeen was a dingy hut in a tiny village, more like a storage shed than any bar you'd imagine. And the beer? It was homemade, served up in a dirty bucket and passed around for everyone to share. It was opaque and smelled vaguely of beer, and I must admit I was turned off that the guy who had a TB-like cough had first dibs. Not wanting to offend, I tried a sip, but that's all I was able to stomach.
Rocky Mountain Oysters Soviet Georgia style - Technically I didn't actually eat these, but I'll never forget being a little girl on my first big trip. Our hosts on the Georgia to Georgia exchange (locals, remember that, circa early 90s?) took us out to the countryside outside of Tbilisi, and we sat around a large farmhouse table that would charm me were I to visit today. But at 12, I was dubious of any food that I couldn't immediately identify. Imagine my surprise when they passed around a tray of pig balls. No thanks, not then, not ever. My adventurous nature only extends so far.
Pig Head - Soviet Georgia dining strikes again. I told my hostess that I liked pigs. Oddly enough, at 12 I meant I like the animal. They were a personal favorite in some odd precursor to my current pork affinity. She took that to mean she should serve up an actual pig head at dinner. Yikes.
Crocodile, springbok, kudu...I love me some wild game. To some odd, but to me these meats without fail taste either like fish, chicken, beef or venison. In this case, it's fish, venison, beef. Kudu was my personal fave, served up oh so yummy at the game reserve in South Africa.
Uncooked hot dogs and dog bones- for reasons unknown to me, I used to like to eat raw, cold hot dogs fresh out of the fridge and from what I hear I also ate the odd dog bone. I was a small child, don't ask me!

Any weird foods you've tried?

Extreme cuisine: top 10 ‘exotic’ tastes
From Lonely Planet

January 28. 2010

Witchetty grub: Australia
These chubby grubs have been a vital staple food for indigenous Australians for thousands of years. They grow to be about 7cm long and you can find them across central Australia in the root of the witchetty bush or gum tree, where they gorge on sap before metamorphosing into a moth – assuming you haven’t eaten it first. So what does it taste like? Imagine biting into a small water balloon. The juices spread around your mouth like a swig of red wine, but the flavour is the essence of egg…or is it chicken?

Testicle: Afghanistan
Edible testicles come in all sizes – bull testicles (also called Rocky Mountain oysters) are larger, rooster testicles (’rooster fries’) are smaller. The Chinese like rooster fries in a hot pot, Afghans skewer sheep fries and grill them as kebabs, and there’s a whole festival dedicated to bulls’ balls in Texas. To prepare them, just slice the testicle (your eyes may water in sympathy), peel off the membrane and sautee with lemon and sumac for a soft, spongy result.

Stingray: Iceland
This relative of the shark is equipped with a venomous barbed stinger at the end of its whip-like tail. The meatiest part of the stingray is the fins; Icelanders like their stingray rotten and fermented, while it’s more popular fresh , spicy or barbecued in Malaysia and Singapore. Stingray meat is flaky yet dense and chewy and tastes like a mix of fish and lobster.

Sea cucumber: China
Okay, so it’s not an actual cucumber, it’s a sausage-shaped sea creature that you’ll find in almost every Chinese seafood restaurant. You’ll find the dried versions in markets and Chinese medicine shops. Rehydrate the dried ones in water for 12 hours, then braise it for two hours and serve it with vegetables. The flavour itself is pretty bland and the texture is slimy with a capital S so don’t even bother with the chopsticks.

Scorpion: Thailand
Seems insane to willingly eat something that could send you into a mess of convulsions, but a lot of Asian countries like to look on the bright side, seeing scorpions as a good source of protein rather than a good source of, well, death. In Beijing you can get them on skewers, in Thailand they’re fried or soaked in whisky. So what do they taste like? Well, a little like popcorn, with crispy outsides and light and airy insides as the organs are evaporated by cooking.

Pig face: China
Hole-in-the-wall Chinese barbecue restaurants display their wares of pork and duck in the window, hanging from hooks without disguise or apology. Pig face is just that. Snap off the ear and eat it like a thick, chewy, greasy potato chip. Offer the eyeball to someone special. Eat the tender part of the cheek. Try not to think about if the shoe was on the other hoof…

Guinea pig: Peru
Most people know them as cute, squeaking little cartoon creatures, but in Peru, most homes have a few dozen guinea pigs (called cuy in Spanish) scampering in the backyard until they are barbecue-bound. When roasted they look like rat but taste like rabbit and the younger the cuy, the crispier the skin.

Grasshopper: Mexico
Forget peanuts or popcorn with a cold beer – in Oaxaca, Mexico it’s all about chapulines (grasshoppers). Oaxacan restaurants will throw together tacos or guacamole with grasshopper as the main ingredient. The younger grasshoppers are preferred because of their tender texture and lack of wings. They are boiled, washed and then dry fried with lime, salt and chilli. They’re light and crispy with a grassy, earthy flavour.

Fugu: Japan
A pinhead’s worth of the toxin in fugu (puffer fish) can kill 30 people. The poisonous parts of the fugu need to expertly removed by a licensed fugu chef. Fugu flesh is sliced tissue thin, so thin that the ornate design on the platter shows though when it’s plated, but the taste? Well, it’s virtually flavourless. But at least you’re still alive. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster.

Chicha: Latin America
This fermented drink is traditionally made of corn, cassava or fruit, chewed and moistened by Inca women. The key ingredient must have its starches broken down and converted to sugar. Some chicha utilise human spittle as a catalyst. Others just boil the ingredients then ferment them after cooling. Flavours vary depending on whether it’s fermented or fresh, not to mention the source of the spit, but it’s generally sweet.

Has your stomach turned at the sight of the more ‘exotic’ foods of the world? Let’s hear all about it.

Restaurant Review: Bocado

2010-02-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been feeling a bit blase about Atlanta dining. I just haven't gotten excited about much I've eaten. Fortunately that's not the case at all for Bocado on Atlanta's ever-developing westside. Lunchtime at my office often sends me into fits of dismay and indifference. I simply can't get enthused about the very few restaurants in walking distance, and getting in a car seems like a hassle when everyone just eats at their desk any way. (Sidebar, but whatever happened to fun lunches with your office mates? I used to have that at Bain many years ago, and now I haven't seen people leave their desks in years!)

Fortunately, Bocado is just a short drive away, and I've popped over for lunch a couple of times with little sister and Mr. AT. Their menu is short but manages to pack a whollop. It's the rare menu where nearly everything sounds delicious. Last night I returned again, this time for my brother-in-law's birthday dinner. The menu was largely the same for dinner - heavy on hot sandwiches, with the addition of some creative cocktails.

Everything sounds so good, so the last couple of times I went, we chose 2 entrees and split them both. The hamburger is divine - simply prepared with American cheese and housemade pickles. The beef is juicy and full of flavor and small enough that you can feel sated but not stuffed. On previous visits the garlic herbed fries with ranch were equally heavenly, but last night they seemed to lack salt, a pretty major fry necessity. On a previous visit the roasted poblano & pimento cheese sandwich with bacon, fried green tomato and spicy sauce was a messy, decadent success and the grilled ham and cheese is taken from ordinary to sublime with Dijon sauce, caramelized onions and apples. Seriously, yum, yum and yum.

Other than the fries last night, my only other complaint is that the appetizers were a bit skimpy. Our local berkshire prosciutto appetizer was rather stingy with the pork, making it mostly bread and arugla. The crab fritters were a toothsome combination of crab, apple salad, chiles and apple salad but were a bit on the small side for $14. But these complaints are small - you can get away with some missteps when your entrees are so damned delicious and well-priced.

Much like everything in the burgeoning neighborhood, the restaurant's vibe is industrial and hip. Perfect for lunch for all the surrounding design and creative agencies.

I'm thrilled that Bocado has so impressed me thus far. It's finally a new place I can get excited about, and it's a perfect escape from Spoon/Thumb's Up Diner overload.

Pros:
Creative, compelling menu that is as delicious as it sounds
Stylish interior
Reasonable prices

Cons:
Appetizers not as strong as entrees

*Photo credit: Heidi Geldhauser, courtesy of Bocado

Special occasion dining

2010-01-28T17:08:00.003-05:00

Oddly enough, Mr. AT and I have the same birthday, and it is just around the corner. For the big day itself, we'll be cooking dinner at home (more on that another time), but I can't let a milestone pass without using it as an excuse for some top notch restaurant dining.

I recall with a whistful longing, NY special occasion dining, when I had a plethora of never before tried, world-class dining options to choose from. Atlanta is certainly a good dining city, but NY it's not, and there simply aren't as many options in this much smaller town. So that being said, as I tried to start thinking about where we should eat for our annual dutch treat (it is both of our birthdays after all) birthday dinner, I was stumped.

Where haven't I eaten yet that is worthy of birthday dinner status? I can't think of a thing! Where have I eaten before that's good enough to merit special occasion status? Alas, our plight is not helped by our desire to be frugal these days, so places like Bachanalia, which I haven't dined at in something like a decade seem to be out of the running.

Hmm...Holeman and Finch? Love it, but it's so crowded, and duking it out for a table on my birthday doesn't sound that fun. JCT or Serpas? Like 'em, but have been so much that they don't scream "birthday" to me. Miller Union or Sauced? Just tried them recently. Rathbun's? That got me excited but Mr. AT seems to have nixed it. Oh the quandary I'm in. I'm an alleged Atlanta foodie, and I can't think for the life of me where I want to go for a birthday dinner.

So I open it to you...anyone have suggestions? Special enough to be worthy of an occasion, delicious food (natch!) and prices that won't blow the bank?