Hot Dish Review

A lovely dinner….
Pour a glass of wine, sit back and relax folks….this is gonna take a while. Nine courses with wine pairings plus a couple of “gifts from the chef” spanned a solid four hours.

Finding the Quinones Room is somewhat of a treasure hunt….BB and I followed the signs, walked through the breezeway, and down the stairs to the door with the big Q. Neutral curtains parted to reveal an elegant seating area furnished in shades of chocolate and cream. The intimate dining room is to the right with only ten tables covered in white linens. Antique mirrors, Venetian glass chandeliers, and lacquered wood frame chairs with a vintage patina lent a quiet air of Southern moneyed aristocracy.

At first, the service seemed too serious for my taste. There was a selection of water and the delivery of four mini cheese bread sticks before our server, Rafael, introduced himself in a barely audible hush. We would be having the prix fixe menu with the wine pairings….a multi-course marathon that began with a kir royale.

Bread service arrived on a wooden skewer. Various sizes and kinds of bread, from sourdough to onion, complimented by soft, sweet cream butter.

Two mini cheese gougeres were devoured tout de suite, as well as a shot of celery root soup with red onion jam, both gifts from Chef de Cuisine David A. Carson. Little bites that packed big flavor.

Krug Grand Cuvee champagne was poured in advance of our first course. I knew it would be a crudo, something ultra-light. Atlantic blue fin tuna, sashimi style, and Kumamoto oysters were paired with tiny cubes of Asian pear, slivers of radish, the bowl decorated with droplets of shoyu, a type of soy sauce. This would be the only dish I didn’t really enjoy.

For lack of a better monicker, the “drink boy” came by with a 2005 sauternes for our next dish, a foie gras terrine. I commented to BB that I usually prefer foie gras seared. I also noted something peculiar….the drink boy once again short-poured my wine. Perhaps that is a standard practice in fine dining? To pour an almost imperceptibly short glass for the lady at the table.

A square plate came out with a square of the foie gras terrine, accompanied by three, questionably four, preparations of Fuyu persimmon and a little mound of spiced cocoa nibs. There was a persimmon puree, a dollop of persimmon preserves, and a slice of candied persimmon. I believe the streak of orange-y powder along the side was freeze-dried persimmon, but I could be wrong. Each little bite of the decadent foie gras was immaculate, with a smudge of sweet persimmon. What could make it even better you ask? Four baby popovers made with a mild cheese and the slightest hint of sweetness. Heaven.

A row of tiny Nantucket Bay scallops sat upon a cauliflower puree, each one topped with black pearls of caviar. Sauvignon blanc, fresh with hints of grapefruit, paired nicely. Rafael had loosened up as I quizzed him about his former employment. Turns out he has always worked for Quatrano and Harrison, the pair that own Baccanalia, Floataway, Abbattoir, and Star Provisions.

Loup de mer, a simple white fish, was made stunning with its toppings of earthy black trumpet mushrooms and baby potato chips made with fingerlings, all resting on a bed of melted Spring onions. Chardonnay was the obvious choice for wine.

Now things would take a turn for the rich, heavy, dark. Drink boy poured glasses of a 2007 pinot noir from Willamette Valley as the dance of service continued with unwavering steadiness. Truffled cabbage and Jerusalem artichoke provided the creamy base for a chunk of braised veal cheek, so tender it fell apart at the mere sight of my fork. But first BB and I sliced into the crispy veal sweetbreads that crowned the meat, lightly fried in a coating with a hint of nutmeg. He loves sweetbreads. If they were always this good and tender, I can see why. Although small, the braised veal was filling, containing quite a bit of fat. It was a very rich dish.

The menu listed loin of loin next. Huh? We chuckled…..was it loin of lion? Hilarious. Turns out it was venison. Louis M. Martini Reserve cabernet sauvignon was poured….still short. Glazed young vegetables like Brussels sprouts, carrots, and beets were scattered beneath two thick slices of roasted venison, cooked perfectly medium rare. Unlike the veal, there was not a speck of fat, yet the dense meat was succulent and smooth, the outside of the roast coated with a spice rub containing a hint of clove. A dollop of caramelized onion stole the show…I savored every sweet bit of it.

On to the cheese course, a segue into dessert. Cumberland, a medium bodied cheese with little holes, reminded me of fontina. It was paired with Ellijay apples, both preserved and cubed, and young arugula.

Time for dessert wine, what appeared to be a Spanish tawney. Our first dessert (yes, there were two!) was a glass cup layered with cranberries, brown sugar streusel, then toasted meringue, providing intense tanginess, crunchy sweetness, and fluffy chewiness, a crazy combo of textures.

Our final course was two dense cubes of Valrhona chocolate ganache with a small scoop of frozen chocolate custard on the side. The best part of the dessert was the thickened sweet potato puree, sprinkled with crispy chocolate nuggets.

Quinones Room lived up to the hype, the seamless execution a study in precision, both in service and in the food itself. Was it the best meal I’ve ever had? Quite possibly.

1198 Howell Mill Road 404-365-0410

What to do…laugh or cry? LC and I had planned a little beach getaway for his birthday. We were ready to deal with the Labor Day crowds, the heat, the traffic. Yes, we were prepared for just about anything….except a tropical storm.

The cloudy skies and brisk winds were pleasant the first afternoon. We walked across the street from the condo to Sharky’s, a somewhat famous (or infamous) beach bar and restaurant, and ordered margaritas to start off our vacation. Despite LC’s request for no sour mix, it is pretty unlikely that fresh limes were squeezed to make our drinks since they came in enormous plastic souvenir mugs complete with lids and straws. Good for the beach, not so good if you just want a decent drink. It’s hard to put salt around the rim, then put a lid on it…duh.

The majority of the menu was fried, catering to the low-brow crowd that frequents the area. Wings, quesadillas, burgers, fried seafood, fried pickles, onion rings….it would become the standard selection for the next few days. If the weather had been beautiful I’m sure we would have met our annual quota for men with mullets wearing tight denim shorts. But with the storm approaching, the few we saw were forelorn, just trying to hold on to their hats in the 60 mile an hour sustained winds.

Once we made peace with our sub-standard drinks, we ordered an appetizer of crab stuffed oysters, baked with cheese. A trendy salad of field greens, blue cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, grape tomatoes, and a raspberry vinaigrette caught my eye, but it was $14.99, exhorbitantly high for a dish with no protein. So I inquired why it was so expensive. Our belligerent server responded by saying “the manager said so”. Brilliant.

So I ordered it anyway, to share. LC added a chicken quesadilla onto our order….an obvious accompaniment with our margaritas. Soon, the oysters arrived, drowned in melted cheese, with Saltines (in their wrappers) laying on top. Too much cheese. That’s OK, I don’t care much for oysters anyway and the crabmeat stuffing was pretty tasty.

Our salad arrived with grilled chicken. Checking out the menu online, it was clear that the regular price was $9.99, with an extra charge of $5 for chicken. And the kitchen was generous, topping the salad with handfuls of expensive ingredients, which explained the price with more tact than our idiot server. Worth every penny.

The quesadilla came out too, with salsa and jalapenos in to-go containers and a squeeze packet of sour cream…classy. It was surprisingly not greasy, and not surprisingly, lackluster. Chicken, cheese, tortilla, repeat. Is there a spice shortage?

Our subsequent visit for dinner, in the midst of the storm, found us seated at the bar, listening to the cover band’s solid renditions of rock classics from Led Zeppelin to Journey. We decided to get our hands dirty with a half pound of Old Bay steamed shrimp and a full pound of steamed snow crab legs. We couldn’t resist throwing in a basket of onion rings.

Twenty napkins later, we had cracked and peeled our way through the huge plates of shellfish, washing the sweet crab and plump shrimp down with ice cold Corona Lights.

Walking back to the condo was a chore, our bellies full, the wind blasting our faces with sand. Gotta love beach vacations!

15201 Front Beach Road, PCB 850-235-2420

LC and I have made a habit of dining at Goin’ Coastal. It is easy, the staff is extra friendly, and the food is always satisfying. More often than not we sit at the bar and get a pound of steamed shrimp, seasoned just right, ready to peel and eat.

We’ll also get a side or two….the jalapeno cornbread pudding is my favorite. One time, LC ordered the fried pickle chips with chipotle cream sauce….he loves pickles! However, he’s on a bit of a health kick so when we stopped in last week, he got a salad special, a simple yet vibrant combination of greens, grape tomatoes, roasted yellow beets, and avocado with a delicious jalapeno vinaigrette. We split an order of sweet and buttery corn on the cob with our shrimp.

But first, an order of baked oysters in two flavors started off our casual meal. Three oysters Rockefeller topped with spinach, bacon, and parmesan cheese and three stuffed with blue crab meat and cheeses. Generally, I love seafood, but I can live without oysters.

LC loves Goin’ Coastal’s dirty vodka martinis, made with Webster’s special mix of olive juice and herbs, garnished with two blue cheese and bacon stuffed green olives. I often try one of their signature cocktails, like the awesome watermelon jalapeno margaritas we were addicted to last Summer (we still miss them!).

Lobster, crab legs, sustainably caught fresh fish and shrimp….it’s all good at Goin’ Coastal!

1021 Virginia Avenue 404-941-9117

B and I went on a roadtrip to Florida last weekend. It was more like a drive-by, arriving Saturday for a show featuring JB from Widespread Panic, then heading back to Atlanta on Sunday, but we did manage to eat at a seafood restaurant in Orlando called Landry’s.

On the main drag where most of the buildings take on the cartoonish nature of the theme parks nearby, Landry’s is no exception, boasting a kitschy marquis like an old movie theater. The decor inside, however, is best described as “regular”. B and I chose a table in the bar area since we were in a hurry.

Landry’s is the kind of place that has every kind of seafood prepared in every possible way…..grilled, fried, broiled, steamed, stuffed, and covered in special sauces. There are a few trendy dishes like the blackened sashimi, which we ordered, but the menu is mostly old standards like fried shrimp and stuffed flounder.

B ordered a Corona with salt and limes. Every time she does that I follow suit….just sounds too good to resist. Perusing the extensive menu we fixated on the appetizers. She had a hankerin’ for oysters and ordered a half dozen.

The blackened sashimi was a pretty display of rare ahi tuna with wasabi and ginger, the plate dotted with a mystery sauce that tasted oddly of petroleum. Looking at the menu now I see that it was mango sauce. Really? Otherwise, the fish had little flavor except the heat of the wasabi.

We also tried the shrimp stingers, an appetizer of jumbo jalapenos stuffed with whole shrimp and pepper jack cheese, then fried and served on a bed of onion strings. So much for eating light. Like fried balls with tails, these things were spicy, cheesy decadence. I devoured most of the onion strings as B was savoring her raw oysters.

Our fourth item was called oyster bar trash. Blackened shrimp and jumbo lump crab meat with a helping of white rice. Tasty, but certainly not worth the $13.99 price tag.

I ordered a second Corona. The tally for our seafood snack, before tip, was $60. No worries. We had purchased lottery tickets in a small town called Cecil, so we were assured of a windfall!

Landry’s appeared to be an old-fashioned family-owned restaurant so I was disappointed to discover that it is a chain, with 22 locations across the Southern U.S, from Vegas to Myrtle Beach.

We bummed cigarettes for dessert and headed to our hotel to pretty up which didn’t take long. One Dixie cup of cheap red wine and we were lookin’ sharp!

8800 Vineland Avenue, Orlando

Ladies! Save the big bucks for Botox! Atlanta offers a variety of fun and inexpensive activities, here are a few of my favorites coming up:

Foodies & Fashionistas on Wednesday August 25th at Market at the W Hotel in Buckhead features some of Atlanta’s best boutiques showcasing the hottest Fall fashion trends while guests nibble on tasty morsels provided by Market. RSVP at rsvp@thereynoldsgroupinc.com by August 24th to receive a complimentary bellini when you arrive!

Piola in Midtown offers an on-going “apertivo” at their bar Monday through Friday from 6-9, with delicious Italian appetizers to get your evening off to a great (and free!) start. On Wednesdays only, starting at 7pm, ladies receive a bottomless glass of house red or white wine or sangria included in the purchase price of an entree or pizza.

Bluepointe’s Tuesday martini specials are practically an Atlanta tradition, but now they have stepped it up a notch with their new Half-Price Happy Hour Monday through Friday 4:30-7:30. Enjoy half-price appetizers and select wines and specialty cocktails for only $5.

If you can’t wait until next week, jump in your car right now and head over to Fontaine’s in the Virginia Highlands for half-price oysters, crab legs, and shrimp until 7pm tonight (Friday August 20th).

Back to work Monday got you stressed out? Grab a friend and go to Noche for all-u-can-eat tapas, only $10 and chill out with their dangerously inexpensive margaritas for just $3 each. Then call in sick on Tuesday!

Driving through my neighborhood a few months ago, I noticed a new restaurant had quickly taken over Figo’s old location. It would have been hard to miss, with its red awning sporting a catchy name and tagline, Goin’ Coastal….a sustainable seafood joint.

My curiousity piqued, I googled it. The original location is in Canton. Happily, I do not know exactly where that is. I’m a city chick and easily develop amnesia regarding suburbs, not to mention my direction dyslexia.

I love seafood, primarily shellfish. And the promise of super-fresh seafood fished from environmentally sound waters is certainly appealing! LC accompanied me, ready to do some serious seafood sampling.

Black and white photos of fishermen adorn the pale turquoise walls. Reddish wooden chairs with black leather seats and solid black wood tables sit upon concrete floors. The open kitchen and bar sit a few steps above the main dining room in the multi-level space. Pendant lights emit a soft glow, illuminating the blackboards with daily specials. Brown paper table-dressings add a casual flair to the fishy theme but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a chain. Almost too clean, it felt like it was a concept being groomed for franchising.

Starting in on the specials before taking our drink order, our server was clearly nervous. Perhaps it was her first day but as the evening wore on she proved to be quite competent. Water please.

She brought out a basket of what can best be described as corn muffins. Too cakelike in texture, straight-up cornbread would have been better. I needed a drink. For a seafood joint their cocktail list was quite intriguing. I ordered the coconut lime rickey and LC tried the watermelon jalapeno margarita.

We started off with sweet potato chips with a blue cheese dip, a bowl of she crab soup and a baked oyster sampler. I don’t know what I was expecting but the chips were just like the ones you can buy in a bag in the health food section at the supermarket. I guess I was hoping they would be very thickly sliced, or perhaps spiced with cayenne or black pepper or something. On the plus side, they were not at all greasy, just nothing special.

Our cocktails, however, were special! I enjoyed my rickey but it was LC’s watermelon jalapeno margarita that stole the show. Only mildly sweet with the fruit juice and slightly tart from a dash of fresh lime, it finished with a swift kick in the pants from the jalapeno. A salted rim was icing on the cake.

My only experience with she crab soup is, again, from a can at the supermarket. Called she crab because it is made using cream and the roe from the female crab (obviously), it has a distinct, rich flavor. LC and I agreed, Goin’ Coastal’s rendition of this seafood classic did have good flavor but there was something off about the texture.

I’m not an oyster lover but if I must partake, at least I’d rather have them cooked. So we ordered the baked sampler with two Rockefeller, two crab stuffed, and two parmasean garlic. On our order of six, some were huge, some were tiny. Of the three, the crab stuffed were my favorite.

Chef and co-owner Zach Kell brought out a plate of steamed side-striped shrimp from Alaska. Especially sweet, they required no seasoning at all, not even a dip in the drawn butter was necessary.

Along with the peel ‘n’ eat shrimp, our server placed a white ceramic dish on our table with three little white dots inside. Then, from a tiny metal pitcher, she poured water onto the dots, making them expand right before our eyes. They were like freeze-dried towelettes! I was very impressed.

By this time we were on our third watermelon jalapeno margarita each. They packed some heat but clearly not much alcohol. For an entree LC chose the freshly caught swordfish with cheese grits and collards on the side. Despite having tomatoes in it, I ordered the low country boil with scallops, shrimp, crab legs, and mussels plus a side of the jalapeno corn bread pudding.

Simply grilled, I thought the swordfish looked overcooked when it came to the table, but LC loved it. His grits were fantastic. He liked the collards because they weren’t cooked to mush, but they would have benefitted from a liberal dose of vinegar.

My low country boil was good, but not stellar. Fish stews are challenging due to the varying cooking times of different shellfish. The scallops were perfectly cooked leaving the shrimp a tad tough. Crusty bread that came with it was awesome. Although submerged in a tomatoey broth , the crab legs had to be cracked by hand. Thank goodness for the magic towelettes!

The savory and spicy jalapeno corn bread pudding, baked in its own ramekin, turned out to be my favorite dish.

There are many dishes on the menu we didn’t get to taste. I was interested in the fried Creole salad but our server would not endorse it. Lobster and peekytoe crab cakes sound delicious. And I wouldn’t turn down a duo of roasted and fried shrimp served on grits with andouille sausage gravy.

A couple more watermelon jalapeno margaritas went down as we chatted, finishing it all off with a mini chocolate cake with blueberry sauce.

I wanted to love it, I was hoping it would wow me. I think they take great care in their sourcing and I appreciate that but in the end, what works in a small town might not fly smack in the middle of the trendy Virginia Highlands. After all, we are food snobs.

1021 Virginia Avenue 404-941-9117

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.

I’m a Southern girl. Sorta. My Mom is German, my Dad is American and I grew up in a small town in Tennessee.

Although my Dad’s family was poor, they ate remarkably healthy. They grew what they ate….green beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, everything. The chickens that ran around the coop could easily end up on the dinner table, having already provided their eggs for breakfast.

Fast forward to my childhood. My Mom was a health nut, always looking for ways to modify Southern favorites. She substituted low-sodium chicken broth for regular in my Grandma’s cornbread dressing. Later, she started using Egg-Beaters instead of whole eggs. Just suble changes, the same great flavor, better nutrition. We ate from the garden in the Spring and Summer, canned green beans for the Winter. I loved okra, poke salad, fried green tomatoes, and sweet taters….and still do!

So what most folks consider Southern cooking is somewhat unfamiliar to me (by most folks I mean yankees). There were no grits or casseroles in my house, no fried chicken or macaroni and cheese.

What I’m getting at is I don’t like typical Southern food….the artery-clogging butter-laden Paula Deen fare. I tend to avoid any restaurant that is even remotely Southern. However, ST had a nice gift card for Dogwood. I had been wanting to go since they opened, having perused the menu, despite its Southernish pedigree.

The space is beautiful with big photos of Dogwood blossoms, white tablecloths, and soft, romantic lighting. I started with a glass of the peppery Hullabaloo zin and ST got a Negra Modelo.

Their specialty is the grits bar. Not a bar at all, but rather specifically Red Mule yellow stone ground grits from Athen, GA topped with one of three toppings: Brunswick stew, pimento cheese and Benton’s fried ham, or braised mushrooms and shaved parmesan. ST likes grits and I felt compelled to try them so we got the Brunswick stew topped bowl. Super creamy, they seemed to have some cheese in them. I could eat a ton of this stuff!

Another Southern thing I don’t like is biscuits. Dogwood’s bread service was reminiscent of biscuits….kudos for creatively making that connection without serving actual biscuits. The crust was crunchy and it was hot out of the oven, admittedly pretty good, although it would have been better with unsalted butter.

We split the grilled baby romaine salad with smoked bacon, blue cheese, Fuji apples, dressed with a creamy red wine vinaigrette. It was awesome, probably my favorite dish of the evening.

My starter of roasted Georgia quail with cornbread-andouille stuffing with country ham butter and mushrooms was really good. The skin was somewhat crisp, a solid flavorful dish.
ST ordered the crispy gulf oysters with caramelized fennel-onion jam, and fried shiitakes. I’m not a big fan of oysters but tried one of the four. I was a big fan of the sweet caramelized onions.

For our entrees ST ordered the Painted Hills NY strip, medium, served with duck fat potatoes and I had the (no surprise here) local honey glazed Ashley Farms duck breast with sweet potato and poached pears.

His steak was huge and delicious. The leftover meat became steak and eggs for breakfast. My duck was the best I’ve had in a long while and as you all know, I eat a lot of duck. Cooked medium, the skin was crisped, the thick slices displayed atop pureed sweet potatoes and poached pears. The best part, however, was the surprise of a bit of honeycomb. Fucking awesome!

Our dessert was a modern take on s’mores…..chocolate creme brulee with a dollop of torched marshmallow, and a graham cracker biscotti. I didn’t taste much graham flavor in the biscotti, it would have been better with just plain ol’ graham crackers like the ones Grandma used to keep in her cupboard.

Ingredients like Georgia mountain trout, pecans, hominy, pimento cheese, peanuts, and grits sound Southern but don’t let the menu fool you. This is upscale dining. My Grandma never made blood orange fumet or sauternes sabayon.

If Atlanta restaurants keep blowing me away with modern comfort food (like Miller Union) and kickass “Southern” fare, I may just consider myself converted.

565 Peachtree Street 404-835-1410