The Georgia Restaurant Association is presenting a food safety session during its annual meeting Monday in Atlanta.

The meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Parkway, featuring a morning session on topics ranging from alcohol regulation and employment law to wages and harassment.

During the afternoon session – 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. – Mick Miklos of Waffle House Inc. will present updates related to food safety, compliance and more.

For more information on registering, lodging, costs and details of the event, please visit the website.

Three Dollar Cafe improves to B level

After dipping into an unsatisfactory food safety range, Three Dollar Cafe in McDonough has rebounded. The sports bar and grill, located at 1000 Regency Plaza, received an 81 (B) on June 13, during its follow-up. While it returned to a satisfactory level, the inspector noted several repeat violations, according to the report. The citations included …

Continue reading Restaurant inspections, food safety session »

John Kessler is the chief dining critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The inverse rule of culinary stardom goes something like this: The more famous a chef becomes, the less likely the chance you’ll actually see him or her in the restaurant. There are events to attend, special dinners to cook, brands to build.

Perhaps this doesn’t matter. A chef with a busy schedule will tell you that he writes the menus and has full confidence in his team.

A chef who has built his brand solely on sweat equity may instead assert that he has to taste every sauce and watch every plate leaving the kitchen.

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I was thinking about this when a whole roast tuna collar ($24) landed on our table at One Eared Stag. Good grief! You should have seen this thing. It looked like some kind of double-sized scythe — a great, table-filling zigzag of sea beast, a bi-directional boomerang of bone and cartilage, fins and skin, and deep pockets of fat-bathed meat. Bracing globs of green sauce made …

Continue reading Fresh looks at One Eared Stag and Woodfire Grill »

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So, there you are, driving through suburban Roswell in your eco-friendly hatchback, 12 minutes into an epic guitar jam, when your head snaps to the strip mall on Woodstock and Holcomb Bridge Road. Dude … does that say Phish Phood Café?

Review by Jon Watson

But before you throw on your old “Summer Tour ’96” shirt and a splash of patchouli, be warned: This “Phish” has no relation to the jam band, nor is it a rogue one-trick-pony Ben & Jerry’s shop.

Rather, this cafe in Roswell is the evolution of chef and owner Dave Fast’s faith-based catering service, Phish Phood Event Services. The name is actually a reference to the fish-like Christian symbol, the ichthys. However, before the non-religious among you scoff, nothing about the atmosphere is preachy. Save for spying a cross or two on the wall, the Phish Phood experience is really about the food.

Known as “Chef Dave” to regulars, Fast brings over 25 years of industry experience to the new homegrown …

Continue reading Phish Phood Café »

Farm Burger will open its third location next to a new Morelli's in Dunwoody this fall. Credit: Farm Burger

Exciting news for those of us living outside the Perimeter…

Yesterday, Tomorrow’s News Today announced that Farm Burger and Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream are teaming up to expand to Dunwoody.

George Frangos, owner of Farm Burger, confirmed the news. Farm Burger and Morelli’s will move into a spot in the Georgetown Shopping Center off of Chamblee Dunwoody Road. According to Frangos, the two eateries should open close to Labor Day.

The size of the Dunwoody space prompted the FarmBurger/Morelli’s collaboration. Frangos says, “This is a larger restaurant for us, which dictated a partnership.” Frangos connected with Donald Sargent, owner of Morelli’s, through a real estate broker, who became familiar with both parties through their (unsuccessful) airport bidding packages.

You can expect the Dunwoody Farm Burger menu to be similar to that of the Decatur and …

Continue reading Farm Burger and Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream coming to Dunwoody »