Hot Dish Review

Leave it the Top Flr guys (Darren Carr, Jeff Myers, Shane Devereux) to introduce yet another new concept to Atlanta! B and I finally dined at their new restaurant, Sound Table, having been there a few times already for cocktails. Only open a few weeks now, this is the space where B and I attended the Dinner Party in February, Darren Carr’s other venture with partner Patrick La Bouff.

The Sound Table is a dual concept; downstairs is a bar/lounge with local and national DJ’s spinning, upstairs is a full restaurant. When the upstairs is winding down, the downstairs is cranking up….literally. Very New York. Jeff Myers, plus a third partner in the business, Karl Injex, are DJ’s so the emphasis on music here is natural. As their ad in Creative Loafing so appropriately states, sound is on the menu.

Their drink menu downstairs is just as detail oriented as the dinner menu upstairs, with a selection of old-fashioned spirits poured and shaken into creative cocktails like the Pink City Rickey and the White Tiger’s Milk.

Upstairs, lights are low, walls are exposed brick. Seating is mostly wood slat benches. Fine if you are wearing pants, not so good if you are wearing a mini dress. But the benches do serve to create a minimalist Asian-style vibe that diners see mirrored throughout the menu.

Our fabulous server Nick started us off with a fantastic 2007 cab, Blue Rock “Baby Blue”. He also recommended the fried sugar snap peas to snack on, calling them “addictive”. Seasoned with soy sauce, they were yummy.

The menu has a multi-culti flair, with everything from Israeli falafel to Algerian cous-cous. Everything is a la carte and reasonably priced to fit the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Four sections differentiate portion size and serving style. Bowls, for instance, are served in….you guessed it, bowls. Of the four bowls offered we ordered three; a salad, a soup, and a curry dish.

I love frisee. And duck confit. So the salade frisee, also with macerated raisins, was a given. Crispy and light.

Seeing Vietnamese pho on a menu not on Buford Highway just worries me. I’ve eaten lots of pho, on Buford Highway and in New York. With Vietnamese people. Pho has rules. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to try to duplicate it here, although the presentation was approaching correct. But the broth lacked depth. B and I both wanted more spice.

Ditto on the Kaeng Daeng pork with red curry, coconut milk, and kaffir lime. Served over perfect sticky rice, it needed more sauce, more spice.

Having drank all the cab we moved on to the 2008 Monastrell, Olivares “Altos de la Hoya” from Spain.

Oaxacan hangar steak, medium rare, came on a long plate with a spicy puree. It was tender, flavorful, awesome. I ordered the Belgian-style frites with it, a classic pairing. Hot, crispy, and served with housemade mayo, the fries were cut a bit thick for my taste but B loved them.

Chef Devereux was not there but the kitchen was in the capable hands of his Chef de Cuisine, Andrew Sheridan. As members of the Shane Devereux fanclub, we couldn’t help but be disappointed. Service, however, was spot-on. Dishes were expedited in a steady and professional fashion.

Sweet potato cheesecake (I think) was for dessert. Not made in-house, but good nonetheless. They will be making sweets there soon.

I don’t know how much wine we drank but both B and I were wickedly buzzed as we hobbled down the stairs. WTF? We are usually such pros!

B said it best when she said our meal was good, but not compelling. We are looking forward to returning to Sound Table when they’ve had a minute to smooth out some of the kinks. Good luck boys!

483 Edgewood Avenue at the corner of Boulevard

I divided the barley I made last weekend into four equal servings for experimentation. Sandy, my holistic nutritionist, suggested I try it for breakfast instead of eating so much breakfast sausage and bacon which are both full of nitrates.

Honey, cinnamon, dried figs, golden raisins, and slivered almonds make a delicious topping for Greek yogurt so I thought it would also be great to flavor the barley. I really like the chewy texture of the grain and it was actually better than I expected with the honey and dried fruits.

Unfortunately, being the reckless carnivore that I am, I ate my bowl of barley with two links of turkey sausage. (sorry Sandy!)

After our enlightening educational tour of the winery with Bill, B and I chose to be seated on the beautiful deck outside at the restaurant, LeVigne, just next door to the tasting room. Views of the vineyard provided a stunning backdrop for our meal.

Chef Steven Hartman creates a special Sunday Supper menu each week. The restaurant serves lunch and its regular menu the rest of the week. On our visit the menu was a collection of small plates, ranging in price from $7 to $14.

Me and B are city chicks. We get the small plate concept. But this place is in Dahlonega. I don’t know if most diners here understand that a menu item described as short ribs at $14 isn’t a substantial entree. Maybe I’m just not giving them enough credit. Or perhaps Chef Steven Hartman is a touch out of his element here.

For a Sunday evening, the restaurant was far from packed, but there were quite a few tables occupied, especially outside.

We continued with more of the wine we had tried during the tasting, the Tormaresca from Italy, and proceeded to order two of the smaller plates to start. B was determined to try the Columbia River salmon tartar with chicharones, Meyer lemon, and red ribbon sorrel. Fancy sounding but when it came out B was perplexed about the sprinkling of crunchy stuff on top of the raw chopped salmon. It was the chicharones. They had no flavor but did provide textural interest. The dish was heavy on lemon for me, but I am not a salmon lover anyway.

Pea soup was a vibrant green matching the lush landscape of the vineyard. It’s flavor was unfortunately mediocre, the worst part being the mitake mushrooms on top. Seems like someone forgot to reconstitute these. Have you ever eaten dried mushrooms? I have. Difference is, these have no hallucinogenic effects. Too bad!

Chef Hartman does have my favorite, foie gras, on the menu but it is unfortunately prepared au torchon so I didn’t even go there. Instead we opted for the scallop, the Painted Hills beef short ribs, and the moulard duck breast.

The short rib was the most substantial of the trio. It’s hard to fuck up short ribs but I didn’t like the sauce on this dish and it was seriously salty. The sunchoke puree, asparagus, and morel mushrooms did little to balance it out. B really liked the scallop. I let her have most of it as it too was drowned in salt. The presentation was certainly beautiful, though, with its artichoke puree, bright radishes, and rainbow trout roe to garnish (maybe the roe added the extra saltiness?).

Cooked medium and served atop creamed leeks, fiddlehead ferns, and orange confit, the duck was my favorite dish of the three. Personally I wouldn’t pair citrus with duck but rather a sweeter fruit. What I really liked was the restraint used with the salt shaker.

After the cheese and charcuterie at the wine tasting followed by the five small plates, we still had enough room for a little dessert. We ordered the pear frangipane tart and the blueberry clafoutis. Both servings were huge compared to the savory dishes.

Served warm with vanilla ice cream, the rustic pear tart was absolutely delicious! I got turned on to clafoutis at Trader Joe’s. Somewhere between a custard and a cake, with fruit, they have a frozen cherry one that you bake at home. Although three times the size of the Trader Joe’s dessert, LeVigne’s version was fantastic, topped with sauce Romanoff and some whipped cream.

The two desserts turned out to be the best dishes of the meal. I needed the sugar-high to counteract the sleepy effects of a whole day of wine so I could find my way out of the Montaluce maze. And it was dark too. They don’t believe in street lights in small towns.

With B’s navigational assistance we made it back to GA400 and back to the city!

Talk about hard to find! From Helen, B and I made our way along the mountainous twists and turns through Dahlonega, trying to follow the directions from the Montaluce website. The lack of street signs was not helpful. We finally resorted to calling for directions.

We were a bit late but no worries. Montaluce’s Tasting Room is a long, cavernous space with a bar on the left and seating groups on the right. Hundreds of wine bottles decorate the wall behind the bar where Bill greeted us while setting up some glasses and describing Montaluce’s wines.

We started with sparkling Adami prosecco. (Hey, I’m not gonna turn down a glass of bubbly!) Bill recommended we try an assortment of cheeses and charcuterie….perfect with the reds we were about to sample.

Montaluce grows a variety of wine grapes including chardonnay, voignier, and cabernet sauvignon. Bill poured B and I a big taste of their viognier, a delicate white with hints of peach. I usually go for whites in the summer, usually a grassy sauvignon blanc or sweet riesling. The viognier wasn’t my style.

Regarding white wines, I am a snob. I will not even consider drinking a pinot grigio or a chardonnay…..too pedestrian. Naturally, Montaluce makes a chardonnay. Described as having aromas of green apples, pear, and lemon zest with nuances of smoke, walnut and honeysuckle. Damn, it was pretty good.

Montaluce’s Risata, Italian for “laughter”, is an aromatic rose, another light option for warmer months. Bill quipped “Rose is making a comeback” as B and I commented on its nearly-forgotten status among wines.

Our server, Desiree, delivered our selection of cheeses and charcuterie. Four cheeses included one of my new favorites, Cana di Cabra, a Spanish goat cheese with a crumbly center, semi-ripened near the rind, reminiscent of Humboldt Fog (without the ash). Paired with fennel jam, B and I loved it! The Pleasant Ridge Reserve was a semi-hard cheese, delicious accompanied by pickled golden raisins.

Sweetgrass Green Hill was a smooth soft cheese resting on a smudge of plum jam and topped with chopped Marcona almonds. Valdeon blue was the most pungeont of the group, accompanied by caramelized shallots and celery leaf….odd and good.

Two of the three meats are made in-house….the chicken liver mousse and the coppa di testa, otherwise known as headcheese. Not a lover of chicken livers, I actually liked it here. Not nearly as unctuous as it can often be, I found the pairing of pickled green tomatoes a wonderful compliment.

The headcheese was seared, ridding it of any unpleasant gelatinous goo one often finds binding the unidentifiable meats. It was, in fact, chunky with hunks of smoky pork. Topped with apple mostarda, it was a real winner!

Benton’s country ham was drizzled with vin cotto, a sweet red wine reduction. Awesome. Although I prefer bread and butter, crispy crackers and breadsticks were served with the cheeses and meats.

The red wines we sampled with the cheeses were Montaluce’s merlot and cabernet. I honestly could not tell them apart. Both were good but neither stellar.

Featuring many Italian wines, Bill poured us a glass of the 2005 Brandini Nebbiolo from the Piedmont region of Italy. Next we tried the 2008 Tormaresca “Neprica” from Puglia. My knowledge of Italian wines is very limited, mainly due to its ridiculously complicated system. Bill educated us on the categories and regions, although I think I would have to take a few more classes to be comfortable ordering Italian.

Next we toured the winery. Another glass of Neprica in our hands, B and I checked out the room where the grapes are de-stemmed and crushed. Then they are ready for two weeks of fermentation in the stainless vats on the lower level. The juice is pressed out and the resulting wine is pumped into oak barrels to age…..it all reminded me of the wineries I visited in Spain exactly a year ago (although some claim I wasn’t even there).

Bill was an encyclopedia of wine trivia. For instance, blends called “meritage” (derived from “merit” and “heritage” and pronounced like heritage) must meet strict standards, containing wine from at least two of the bordeaux grapes (merlot, cab franc, cab, malbec). That moniker, however, isn’t earned, it is purchased.

Our wine adventure was nearing an end. Dinner at Le Vigne, the winery’s restaurant, was next on our agenda. Desiree showed us to a table outside overlooking the gorgeous green vineyard.

Another glass of Tormaresca please. Would we ever be able to find our way home? Stay tuned and find out…..

I kept the bag of Bob’s Red Mill Pearl Barley from my mushroom barley soup recipe in the freezer for future experimentation. My nutritionist is vegetarian so she is a big advocate of barley, quinoa, any grain really. Combined with vegetables, fruit, and tofu, this is the basis of her diet.

So I thought I would give a vegetarian dish a try last weekend….a combination of the barley plus a veggie recipe I started making last year. A savory combo of zucchini, squash, onion, scallions, carrot, and poblano pepper, I cut the veggies julienne giving them a spaghetti-like texture and season them with black pepper, celery salt, and a dash of cayenne.

I made a batch of barley according to directions on the bag….3 cups of water to one cup of barley. It said to simmer for 50 to 60 minutes, however, after just 20 minutes or so I had to add more water, which I continued to do to prevent scorching, cooking it for a total of 45 or 50 minutes.

Then I divided it into four equal servings, the first of which I flavored with a few drops of hot sauce and a handful of cilantro. I spooned half of the veggies over the top…..tasty! I really like the toothsome quality of barley.

Remaining veggies made a satisfying lunch today with another portion of the barley. And a third portion will be a breakfast experiment!

What to do with the fourth serving?

Me and B must be the most optimistic bitches on the planet. Enduring 12 hours of trauma and drama, barely escaping injury, we still managed to laugh our asses off and made it home alive.

On our way to Helen to meet my Mom and go to the Taste of Sautee this chick opened her car door as we were driving by, effectively ripping off my passenger side mirror and scraping the shit out of my car doors. Awesome. Great start to the day!

I called the police to make a report. Her neighbor, who was not even a witness, kept trying to imply that I might be at fault. Ugly lesbians vs. hot blondes….guess who won. After obtaining a police report that clearly showed her at fault, B duct taped the mirror back on so it wouldn’t be flopping around as we drove north on GA400.

No more than ten minutes later, some dude had a blowout and was swerving out of control almost rear-ending us. We finally got to Helen and made our way to the Taste of Sautee.

Like a mini version of Atlanta’s many “taste of” events, Sautee’s weekend of food and wine featured tastings from several local wineries and restaurants.

Yonah Mountain Vineyards, Habersham, and Sautee Nacoochee each offered tastes of their white and red varieties. I really liked Habersham’s muscadine and I always enjoy their reisling. The best red was Yonah Mountain’s Genesis, a heavy spicy blend of merlot, cab, and mourvedre.

Entrance to the festival was only $15. We were hoping small bites were included but they were not. In fact, full-size sandwiches were for sale from Sweet Breads Bake Shop, tapas-size dishes from Bernie’s and Nacoochee Grill.

My Mom got the bean salad and pasta salad with cheese, olives, and bread from Bernie’s. B started off with a pasta salad from Sweet Breads, and I ordered the BBQ duck tacos from Nacoochee Grill. I didn’t care for the flavor of the sauce and there was too much of it, not to mention they were served in what seemed like store bought hard white taco shells. A dollop of slaw drenched with mayo topped the shredded duck. A smattering of cheese and lettuce was lost somewhere in between. My Mom’s plate looked like the best choice of the three.

Me and B sampled every wine, then we all shopped a bit. SS was blowing up my phone which was a bit odd. Turns out his 4 year old son had passed away the night before. He was crying and I was miles away sweating my ass off in the blazing hot sun in Sautee, of all f*ckin’ places.

A bit more food and we’d call it a day. B got the bean salad dish my Mom had earlier, while I tried a steak and caramelized onion sandwich on a mini baguette. Problem was the bread was hard and the plate was slippery. Each bite was a disaster, squirting the beef with copious amounts of sauce (seems to be a theme here) all over my hands, then to top it off the beef was hard to chew. Again, the bean salad dish had more flavor although it didn’t blow me away.

There were lots of artist booths with everything from jewelry to wooden birdhouses. B got one of those for her sister-in-law.

We had to pace ourselves on the drinking since B and I would be visiting Montaluce Vineyard for a tasting and a tour later in the afternoon, then dinner at their restaurant, LeVigne.

Sautee was just the beginning of our food and wine adventure….here we come Dahlonega!

Bellisima! MS, my fabulous artist friend has been telling us about Piola’s happy hour for months and we finally had the chance to meet him there on Friday for drinks and complimentary appetizers at the bar.

Piola is an international franchise with US locations in Miami, New York, Naples, Chapel Hill and more. Atlanta’s store is on 11th and Peachtree with convenient parking off Crescent Avenue. Monday through Friday they offer complimentary nibbles at the bar from 5pm to 8pm.

The nibbles are substantial including bread sticks and dips, mini pizzas, olives, bruschetta, gnocchi, and mini sandwiches with copa and cheese. Drinks are yummy including the Brazilian favorite caipirihnia and a delicious kiwi caipiroska.

Piola is a great first stop on a party night. Next door is Ra Sushi (the atrocious, lame, and flavorless chain sushi spot) and Ri Ra, the Irish pub (which I have not yet visited). All in all, this block off Peachtree has become somewhat commercial.

Stop by Piola for a drink and a quick bite before a night out on the town!

Driving home from Rosemary Beach on Sunday, ST and I were determined to eat at Phil’s. Our lovely hostess JS had recommended it after making a killer breakfast spread for the second day in a row for her husband’s college buddies and their girlfriends.

Their house is amazing, located just off the trendy 30A near Destin. Fully equipped for a rowdy bunch of frat brothers. Difference between then and now? Twenty plus years and lots of money. Kegs have been replaced with micro-brewery beers and bottles of wine, the rowdiness reduced to civil gatherings reminiscing about the rowdiness.

Back to the Q. Growing up in the South you would think I’ve had lots of BBQ. Not so much. I’m far more familiar with Thai food than BBQ. SS and I used to go to Daddy D’z on Memorial quite often back in the day but I’ve never even stepped foot in Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

But JS said to get the Q at Phil’s. And Phil’s is in Eufaula, the only point of interest during the entire 5 1/2 hour drive between Atlanta and Rosemary Beach. Once past the divided lanes with Spanish moss and antebellum architecture, ST and I had our eyes peeled for Phil’s.

I spotted the sign and we pulled in, anticipating some pretty darn good Q, appropriately served in a dive complete with rolls of paper towels on the tables. Guests order at the counter. With an unfamiliar menu, this always puts me in a mini-panic….I like to study a menu before making a decision.

There was a meat plate with two sides that I thought we could share, after all, we were there for the meat. But ST ordered the smokehouse special sandwich, a double fister that included cheese, ham, turkey, and pork….a very meaty sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and their own special sauce (not BBQ sauce, I’m pretty sure it was mayo).

Griddled and greasy (not a complaint), we downed the scrumptious meat sandwiches, trying a variety of BBQ sauces on the table. Their sauces were mustard based and didn’t have a hint of heat, unfortunately. A bottle of Texas Pete’s provided the only kick, but I would have preferred a homemade spicy BBQ sauce.

If I was hungover, this would have been the perfect cure! Great recommendation, thanks JS.

Under normal circumstances I don’t care for re-runs. Here’s an exception: Saturday at the beach was practically a re-run of Friday, but even more fun! MM and I set up camp as the others gathered beers and supplies. The beach was followed by a brief pool visit, then intoxicated showering.

Seafood was in order and George’s was the place. A brief walk, again in heels, brought us to a quaint yet trendy restaurant in a renovated house. We waited a bit for a table since our group was large and ended up seated on the patio, complete with umbrellas decorated with tiny white lights. Cute.

JS and KS had mentioned their colossal frutta di mare quesadillas the day before, big enough for a meal for two. But for a group of nine, KS thought two would be perfect for appetizers. At $29 each, we could barely polish them off. Drizzled with a spicy aoili and topped with pineapple salsa, each quesadilla was filled with lobster, shrimp, crab, and cheese. Really tasty!

MC and KC, who live in a neighboring town, joined us. They ordered a couple of bottles of Shug pinot noir. ST got a glass of chardonnay and I also opted for white with a semi-sweet reisling.

Entrees were mostly seafood dishes like wild salmon with a cinnamon soy glaze or cioppino, the fish stew of mussels, clams, shrimp and fish in a tomato based broth (that I often find revolting due to my distaste of that combo). MC ordered the seared coconut scallops and gave me a taste. Three ginormous orbs atop a bowl of orzo. Although very nicely done, there were three. It was $27.

I opted for the lemongrass curry shrimp, hoping for 7 or 8 huge prawns since we were on the gulf, but was served about 15 smallish shrimp instead, along with lots of green and red peppers. Disappointing, but the flavor was passable. Again, not a bargain at $24.

Strangely, there were lots of Asian notes to the menu and with my relative expertise on Asian cuisine I should know to stay away from it unless I’m on Buford Highway or at an authentic Asian restaurant. But I rarely listen to my own advice.

Also on offer were lamb chops, spicy Mongol beef tenderloin, Kahlua pork tenderloin for strict carnivores.

Then there was the section of seafood bowls, all of which could be ordered grilled or fried. ST got the fried combo…..shrimp, grouper, and oysters. Served with, what else? Fries. Oh, and don’t forget the fried hushpuppies. The crunch of fried foods is practically irresistable, but it bores me after a bite or two. Batter just masks the flavor. I had an oyster and a fry or two (and maybe a bite of a hushpuppy).

A couple of folks got the grilled grouper bowl. My bite, from KC, totally lacked flavor.

They serve a full lunch menu as well with healthy wraps and spa inspired dishes like the toasted macadamia tofu on a bed of soba noodles which I bet has twice the calories you’d think. Soups, salads, sandwiches, all come in around $13.

No room for sweets, thankfully me and ST had dessert before we left the house!

Portions at George’s are big and so are the price-tags. But the food is solid and certainly worth a visit.

Sun, sand, beer, boys. A perfect day at the beach! After numerous Corona Lights with lime the topic of dinner came up. JS and KS own the fantastic house where we all stayed so they know the local deals….half price sushi from 5-7 on Fridays at Destin Chops. We all agreed, it sounded like a brilliant plan!

I accompanied ST to Rosemary Beach for a reunion with some of his college buddies last weekend…..five guys, four with wife/girlfriend in attendance. We had a blast!

JS was a great hostess, with a whole turkey and ham in the oven Thursday night when we arrived. Buffet style dining was the rule, our dinner leftovers making awesome sandwiches for the beach the next day, with plenty of chips and peanut M & M’s. SS (BW’s girlfriend) picked up some dill pickle Pringles which were yummy, although no one was wild about the ketchup flavor (OK, I ate them after 6 beers).

We set up camp on the beach and as I mentioned, proceeded to inhale beer. ST’s new passion for IPA’s in evidence with Sierra Nevada and Long Hammer in the cooler, along with our old stand-by, Miller Lite, and, of course, the Corona Lights.

A sticky day in the sand called for a lengthy afternoon shower, after which ST and I had worked up an appetite for sushi! I wisely decided to put on a pair of 5″ platform shoes to walk the 2 miles to Destin Chops on 30A.

As the name implies, Destin Chops specializes in steaks, however, in keeping with our half price theme we ordered five rolls to share. I only remember the 30A with salmon, avocado, green onion, and spicy crab salad on top. There was another with eel, perhaps the crunchy eel, and I believe the spicy tuna was among the assortment. The rolls were enormous and at half price, ran about $6.50 each.

When BW and SS arrived we ordered three starters for everyone to share….crab cakes, calamari, and seared diver scallops. BW ordered a steamed lobster which he clearly was not planning to share (see photo).

Our group carried on multiple (and from what I understand) boisterous conversations much to the delight of other diners. Sushi was quite good as were the appetizers we sampled. One glass of red wine was my only beverage and most folks were limiting their alcoholic consumption at this point.

But it was only day 1.5 so a little more eating and drinking would surely be in order….immediately following JS’s delicious egg casserole the next morning!