Shell steak with fresh shaved horseradish and espresso jus (credit: Becky Stein)

Late last summer my husband and I commemorated our anniversary at one of Atlanta’s most anticipated new restaurants — which shall remain anonymous. Like many new spots, it sports the warehouse-design styling du jour, which is aesthetically pleasing but translates to pure noise. It isn’t for everyone.

“Loud” doesn’t describe our nuptial celebration that night. Talking with my husband across the two-person table was like watching a movie on mute. His mouth moved but the sound instantly swirled into the vacuum of raucous background noise. Texting or bust. Not kidding. Happy anniversary.

New restaurants walk this delicate ledge, teetering between form and function, and some do so with infinitely more success than others. Score one for KR SteakBar, Kevin Rathbun and crew’s newest venture nestled in the Peachtree Hills area of Buckhead. It navigates these waters by offering separate, distinct spaces …

Continue reading KR SteakBar restaurant review, Buckhead »

Hugo’s Oyster Bar, a new Southern seafood concept from Rich Clark and chef Jon Schwenk, the partners behind Vinings’ C&S Seafood & Oyster Bar, is officially set to open on June 8.

Expect Hugo’s to be more casual and affordable, with a menu that features seafood from the Outer Banks to the Mississippi Delta, including snapper from the Carolinas, Georgia blue crab, Gulf shrimp and bayou crawfish, plus sandwiches and steaks. Find New Orleans flavors in po’ boys and muffulettas, Southern craft cocktails, and Saturday and Sunday brunch items, like Oysters Benedict.

Located in the old Slope’s BBQ space on Alpharetta Highway, Hugo’s is decorated with New Orleans-style gas lanterns, Delta-inspired art and vintage tin ceiling tiles. Four dining areas offer seating at booths and tables covered in white tablecloths and butcher paper. Live music will  range from classic country and bluegrass to New Orleans-style jazz.

10360 Alpharetta Hwy., Roswell, 770-993-5922, …

Continue reading New Roswell Oyster Bar from C&S Seafood partners »

I’m not sure how it’s already been a year, but this Saturday brings the return of one of my favorite summer events, Slow Food Atlanta’s Ice Cream Social. The event, in its seventh year, offers samples of chef-y ice cream flavors from many restaurants around town. It’s always interesting to see what themes emerge. One year corn-flavored ice cream dominated and another year we saw mountains of tomato jam.

This family-friendly event takes place just after the Peachtree Road Farmers Market at St. Philip’s Cathedral. Purchase your tickets online. Noon – 2:30 p.m. Saturday. $15 adult, $5 ages 5-10, free for children under 5.

Proceeds benefit the Atlanta Chapter of Slow Food International and the Peachtree Road Farmers Market.

See you there? Don’t forget your spoon!

–by Jenny Turknett, Food and More blog

Continue reading Weekend planner: Slow Food Atlanta Ice Cream Social »

Someone should have taught this kid that a gentlemen never kisses and posts on Facebook.

In what Taco Bell is currently spinning as a prank, a picture of an employee dragging his tongue up a stack of hard taco shells wound up on their Facebook wall. The picture was picked up in a post on Consumerist yesterday, and just 24 hours later is has exploded online, putting Taco Bell into a full blown PR nightmare.

Supposedly taken at a location in Ridgecrest, Ca., Taco Bell has come out (in the comments of the photo, not in any sort of real announcement) saying that they “believe this is a prank and the food was not served to customers.” They are apparently conducting an investigation, and swift action will be taken. Translation – You’re fired, kid.

I’m not sure what the real lesson is here – Avoid Taco Bell? Or you can’t take things back once they are on the internet, you stupid little punk, and where is my meximelt?

- Jon Watson, Food & More blog

Continue reading Taco Bell on the defensive after picture of employee licking shells goes viral »

I received an email about H&F’s recently released series of bartending classes, and zeroed in on it as an idea for a father’s day gift. Professionals from Holeman & Finch Public House will lead the sessions, which include lunch and cocktail or wine samples. Here’s a list of upcoming classes:

• Bar Basics: Learn bartending basics during this three-hour class including the tools you’ll need plus classic cocktail recipes. Class offered on multiple dates. June 8, July 13, Aug. 10 or Sept. 14

• Tiki: Beach Classics from a Bygone Era: This class will teach you the history of Tiki drinks and provide you with recipes to make your own. June 22

• Intro to Wine Tasting: Learn about wine growing regions, varietals, tastings and food pairings. July 27

• Agave Spirits: Tequila and Beyond: Here you’ll learn to make classic and original recipes made with agave-based spirits like tequila and mezcal. Aug. 24

• Must-Have Whites & Reds: It’s back to wine with this class examining classic …

Continue reading Father’s day gift idea: H&F Academy of Bartending classes »

Popping Flan from Best New Pastry Chef 2013 Melanie Durant (Food and Wine).

ESS pastry chef among F&W best

Food & Wine magazine editors recently named Melanie Durant, the pastry chef at Empire State South in Midtown, one its Best New Pastry Chefs 2013.

Durant is included among “the five most exciting up-and-coming talents in America’s restaurant pastry kitchens.”

“The majority of Durant’s desserts start with a vegetable or herb,” F&W said in explaining why she won. “She builds from there, using old-fashioned techniques (no hydrocolloids) to achieve fantastic flavors and combinations.”

Durant took over the ESS job from Cynthia Wong last year.

All the winners will be featured in the July issue of F&W on newsstands June 14: www.foodandwine.com/bnpc

Hopkins Headed to ESS

Executive chef Ryan Smith confirmed that Joshua Hopkins will take over the kitchen at Empire State South. Smith plans to leave ESS at the end of August to head Staplehouse, the restaurant that will help fund …

Continue reading Empire State South in the news »

Two malfunctioning machines caused the health score to drop at Mandarin Palace in Tucker.

The restaurant at 4073 Lavista Road received a 53/U because the dishwasher and a cooler were not working properly during a recent routine inspection. The dish machine wasn’t dispensing sanitizer, and the cooler wasn’t holding foods at 41 degrees or below.

Manager Bronson Sung said the dishwasher is a rental machine which had been serviced two weeks prior to the inspection. When called back in, the service workers discovered a busted line, Sung said. It has since been repaired.

As for the cooler, ice bags were placed inside to lower the air temperature until it could be repaired.

There were a few other code violations. Cooked noodles were not properly separated from raw chicken and raw shrimp. Some hot foods were not maintained at the proper temperatures and needed to be placed on a heat lamp.

Also, the ice bin needed cleaning to prevent mold, and the facilities were not being cleaned as …

Continue reading Restaurant inspections, Mandarin Palace »

Julian Van Winkle at 2012 Atlanta Food & Wine Fest

The Atlanta Food & Festival opens this morning in Midtown with a toast and the promise of a long weekend of Southern-flavored eating, drinking and learning.

If you didn’t buy advance tickets, there are still Tasting Tent tickets and Day Passes available at the Welcome Center at 11th Street and Juniper Street, open at 8 a.m. today, and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Tasting Tents ($100) – includes all you can eat and drink during the three-hour tent session each afternoon, with a variety of Southern food and drink, and a different lineup of chefs in the tents each day.

Day Passes ($185) – includes three Learning Experiences (classes) plus one Tasting Tent session.

I’ll be back moderating a couple of the beer learning experiences this year, including a Saturday brewers round table and tasting called Southern Craft Brewers Spill It, and a Sunday tasting panel called Exotic Evolution, where we’ll explore the wilder side of beer in …

Continue reading Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Weekend »

AJC staff

It seems that I’m not the only one that is hopping on the juicing train.

It was only a matter of time, I suppose, before the whole juicing fad, of which I’m unabashedly a participant in, gets turned into a new franchise. And I know what you are thinking….yes, Arden’s Garden and a few other juicing chains have been around for years. But, when the yogurt shop guys are getting in on it, you can bet this fad is going to go full-cupcake faster than a craft burger shack slinging Neapolitan pizza.

Rol Shlomo, the entrepreneur behind the Sandy Springs-based Yogli Mogli, is set to open the first Kale Me Crazy in Inman Park this Saturday.

After taking the yogurt chain, first opened in 2009, to 25 locations, Shlomo believes that the juice bar is poised to be the next big thing in Atlanta. He tells the Atlanta Business Chronicle, “The market here really needs it…just like it needed yogurt four years ago.”

Don’t misinterpret my sarcastic tone…I’m actually down with the juicing. …

Continue reading Kale Me Crazy to open in Inman Park this weekend »

Chef Kevin Gillespie shows off some of his creations (credit: Becky Stein)

This week I visited Gunshow — the unusual new restaurant from chef Kevin Gillespie, where the chefs hand deliver their dishes like dim sum offerings.

You may recall I wrote about the ways that Gillespie and design firm ai3 managed to pull off a radical design on a tight budget.

Subscribers can read my account of my first visit to the restaurant here.

Everyone who’s planning to visit Gunshow might consider these 11 observations I had about the experience:

1. There’s no bar, though you can sit and wait for your party in a cordoned-off area that makes you feel a bit like you’re waiting for the 8:20 train to Hoboken. Someone will offer you a glass of wine or a bottle of beer.
2. The beverage program is pretty basic. Then again, you can get a perfectly nice, food-friendly drink for a decent price. If you’re a wine geek and want something special with this food, you might consider bringing a bottle from home. …

Continue reading Dinner at Gunshow »