Eating and drinking in Alpharetta is getting better all the time.

Hop Alley Brewpub opened last week on Main Street serving lunch and dinner. Look for a limited opening menu, with a bigger menu and a grand opening party in the coming weeks.

Right now, owner/brewer Brandon Hintz has four house-brewed beers on draft, including his saison, IPA, ESB, and blonde. There’s also a selection of “guest” craft and import offerings, including Liefmans Cuvee Brut, Ayinger Brau Weisse, Weihenstephan Helles, Fullers Bengal Lancer, Ommegang BPA, Boulevard Coffee Ale, and Rince Cochon.

25 South Main Street, 770-696-2097, www.hopalleybrew.com.

Roswell’s popular Salt Factory Pub is set to open a second location in Alpharetta in mid-July.

Signature menu items include Prince Edward Island steamed mussels, seven onion soup, London broil and pulled pork tacos. Look for burgers made with prime beef sourced from Chicago butcher Meats by Linz, 24 draft beers and a sizable scotch and bourbon …

Continue reading Hop Alley open in Alpharetta; Salt Factory coming soon »

While researching CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs and resources, I had the good fortune of connecting with Sheri Castle, author of “The New Southern Garden Cookbook: Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers’ Markets, Roadstands, & CSA Farm Boxes.” (The University of North Carolina Press, $35)

Castle, a food writer and professional cooking instructor, wrote this book to help people to “respond to what they have.” The recipes in the book are organized by ingredient so you can find ones tailored for your weekly vegetable haul from the local farmers market, your CSA share or your own garden. Castle says one of her largest recipe sections is devoted to the cooking of greens, which can be intimidating for home cooks.

Castle agreed to share the recipe for her squash and pasta salad from the book. She suggests serving it with crispy chicken thighs, another recipe in the cookbook.

If you have a garden with a productive squash plant, you’ll want all …

Continue reading Summer squash salad recipe »

Those of you that follow the blog know that I’m a big fan of low country boils (see my previous recipe/post here).

Well, this past week I spend some time down on the Atlantic coast of Florida, and while picking up some veggies at a local farmers stand on the side of the highway, I got a tip that has changed my boil recipe forever. I’d mentioned that the lemons and onions I was picking up were going into a boil, and the farmer handed me his last head of green cabbage and said “Take this on the house. Cut it up into quarters and drop it into your boil with about 10 minutes left.” And then he went back to packing up my peaches and tomatoes (not going into the boil.)

I was a little surprised, and intrigued. Cabbage? In a low country boil? Heck, I get enough sideways looks for including snow crab in mine, might as well try something else off the beaten path. So, despite the fact that I was cooking for my in-laws and had a reputation to uphold, I threw in this wild card to …

Continue reading How do you boil? »

Using beets from your CSA box. (AJC file photo)

I recently wrote a story introducing CSA programs for those who are unfamiliar with them. Participants in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program own a portion of a farmer’s garden. They pay to support the farm throughout the growing season through memberships or subscriptions and receive a weekly share of the farm’s bounty in return.

Rise ‘N Shine Organic Farm provided us with a list of what a typical CSA box might include this time of year as we transition from spring to summer crops:

• 1 Pint of Strawberries
• 2 lbs of Beets
• 2 lbs of Squash and Zucchini
• 1 lb of Onions
• Cabbage
• Cilantro
• Pink Beauty Radishes
• 1.5 lbs of Slicer Tomatoes

Chef Kevin Gillespie shared a recipe for a One-Pot Hog Supper to use the cabbage, onions and tomatoes from the vegetable share.

To use the beets, he also shared the recipe for Pickled Beet and Charred Broccoli Salad from his new cookbook, “Fire in My Belly” (Andrews McMeel …

Continue reading Seasonal recipe: Kevin Gillespie’s pickled beet and charred broccoli salad »

'The Burger' by Todd Brock, Serious Eats

I’ve been working on a Food story about burgers that go beyond the usual ground beef patty topped with cheese.

Recently, I spoke with barbecue champ Chris Hart, who has a new cookbook with his team partner, chef Andy Husbands — “Wicked Good Burgers: Fearless Recipes and Uncompromising Techniques for the Ultimate Patty” (Fair Winds Press, $22.99) — that includes burgers made with everything from salmon belly to beets.

During our conversation, Hart professed his love for Atlanta’s famous Holeman & Finch burger, calling it “awesome.”

And last week, the Serious Eats “A Hamburger Today” feature had an online review of the burgers at The General Muir.

Atlanta’s Todd Brock came to praise chef Todd Ginsberg’s new dinner creation that’s simply called The Burger but is loaded with house-cured-and-smoked pastrami, Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, Russian dressing and pickles on an onion roll:

Continue reading How Do You Like Your Burgers? »

Los Tortas Ahogadas Jalisco #2 has had its east Atlanta location open for about three months, but there are still kinks to work out with food safety issues.

A Fulton County health inspector said the person in charge needed more training in controlling risk factors in the restaurant. Employees weren’t washing their hands when switching from handling raw foods to ready-to-eat foods. The cook was observed preparing sandwich wraps without wearing gloves. There were no paper towels at the hand sink.

Los Tortas, 1645 Moreland Avenue, was given a failing score of 43/U on its first routine inspection.

Among other code violations, foods were not separated properly in storage or preparation. Raw chicken was above tomatoes and cooked rice, and raw ground beef was stored above cooked breaded chicken.

Food was uncovered inside the coolers and on the cook line. Equipment, counters and utensils were not sanitized. Prepared food was not marked with a dates of preparation or disposal. There …

Continue reading Restaurant inspections, Los Tortas Ahogadas Jalisco #2 »

For those who lost power during  Thursday’s tornado and thunderstorms, you have very short amount of time before the food in your refrigerator has to be tossed.  If your power is still out, that window for the fridge has already passed.

If you keep the door closed, the fridge will keep  food at a safe temperature of 40 degrees for about  four hours.  Meat, eggs and dairy, including milk and cheese that gets above this temperature should be thrown out after two hours.

The freezer, again, if kept closed as much as possible will keep food safe up to 48 hours, according to the USDA. Here’s their fact sheet on keeping food safe prepared by their Food Safety and Inspection Service.

You can use dry ice to keep your food fresh.  It can be purchased by the pound at area grocery stores.

If you have meat in freezer, take it out and cook it after it begins to thaw. If you power comes back on and the package still  has ice crystals, it may be safe to refreeze, but you might want to …

Continue reading If the power’s still out, empty your fridge »

There are two big anniversaries this weekend where beer will be the life of the party.

Thinking Man Tavern in Decatur celebrates its 10th anniversary on Saturday at 6 p.m., with a lineup of special craft beers, cask tappings, giveaways and retro pricing.

Owners Carl Rappold and Hunter Franklin met at nearby Druid Hills High School and went on to work at pubs like Melton’s App & Tap before opening Thinking Man in 2003.

Since then, their easygoing little place has become neighborhood favorite, distinguished by serving only American-made beer, wine, spirits and food.

537 W Howard Ave, Decatur, 404-370-1717, thinkingmantavern.com

Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Inman Park celebrates its second anniversary all weekend, beginning today, featuring all sorts of good stuff owner/brewer Bob Sandage has been stashing away in kegs and barrels all year.

Sandage and his wife Kristine extensively renovated a historic house near Little Five Points to open a brewpub in the basement and an event …

Continue reading Thinking Man and Wrecking Bar Anniversary Parties »

Video by Ryon Horne, rhone@ajc.com

If there’s one theme that runs through Ford Fry’s restaurants, it’s a kind of nostalgia. JCT Kitchen pays tribute to the freight trains that rumble past its doors to capture the spirit of a historic depot bar. No. 246 — set on Decatur’s prettiest downtown block — refers not, as many assume, to the restaurant’s address but rather the plot number from the town’s first land survey. The Optimist was named for the kind of dinghy Fry took out as a kid at the beach.

This yearning for the past helps explain the enigmatic but appealing stylings of King + Duke, Fry’s latest restaurant, which opened in May at the prominent Buckhead corner long occupied by Nava. Its components include a clothbound drinks list stuffed with a surfeit of obscure literary references, an open-air dining space set under striped canvas awnings that makes you feel like you landed in the Hamptons, and a front bar designed to look like someone’s …

Continue reading Joe Schafer of King + Duke shows off the hearth »

Lemon cream cheese crab fritters (credit: Becky Stein)

A brass band marched through the restaurant playing a lively rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In” at full tilt, the musicians weaving through the tangle of tables and motioning for diners to join the impromptu parade.

This New Orleans Flavors dinner was presented by chefs Scott Serpas, John Besh, John Currence and Donald Link, sons of Louisiana, during the inaugural Atlanta Food & Wine Festival more than two years ago. My lasting memories from that experience include the parade, long waits and surprisingly dense beignets.

The meal cemented my firm association of Serpas with New-Orleans-inspired fare. But, upon my return to the restaurant, which originally opened in 2009, I found the menu more reflective of Scott Serpas’ entire culinary career. In the food that Serpas calls “approachable with an edge,” you’ll see hints of Southwestern flavors from his time at Nava and Asian touches from Sia’s.

Read …

Continue reading Atlanta revisit: Serpas restaurant review, Atlanta »