Hot Dish Review

Last night, a group of food bloggers descended on four Midtown restaurants that will be dishing up samples at the 10th annual Taste of Atlanta, October 22nd and 23rd.

When I was contacted by event founder, Dale DeSena, I was excited, not only to be invited to participate, but also because my company, Cooper Global Transportation, was chosen to provide the luxurious chauffeured transportation to drive us eaters around town!

Our group of 25 bloggers, Brave PR staffers and Dale herself, started at JCT Kitchen, welcomed with a couple of signature cocktails that captured the essence of Autumn. The scarecrow was made with pumpkin ale, spiced rum, brown sugar chai and orange. Myself, and a few others, found it heavy on the cloves. But everyone seemed to enjoy their signature martini the JCTea, a mix of tea infused gin, Grand Marnier, lemon, Fee Brothers orange bitters.

Two big platters of delectable morsels were placed on the communal tables, photographed like starlets by the hungry (literally) blogger paparazzi, as Chef de Cuisine Brian Horn described the selections. Then we each grabbed a plate and a bite of each….the pork belly appetizer I was hoping to try and a taste of pasta from their entree selections. Crispy chunks of pork belly sat upon fried slices of banana and frissee, dressed with peanut sauce. Amazing! Even better was the sweet onion and fontina agnolotti, dressed with crumbles of Humboldt Fog and shitake mushrooms, wittily described as “expensive” on the menu. A great start to the TOA Tweet-Up!

On to our second restaurant, Ri Ra, an Irish pub in Midtown. The enormous space is striking, constructed with pub salvage from County Wicklow near Dublin, including ornate crystal chandeliers and intricate woodwork.

Our server took drink orders, so I tried a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. Platters of beer battered fish with two dipping sauces were placed on each table. After a few photos we were ready to dig in but the platters were inexplicably taken away to another table for serving. It was curious that they served us fish without the chips. One of the bloggers’ companions….not even a food writer, mind you….noted that there was no seasoning on the fish. Indeed, it was apparent in the first bite that salt was omitted. The sauces did little to perk up the flavor.

We boarded the Cooper minibus and made our way to Tuk Tuk Thai Loft, owned by Dee Dee Niyomkul, who’s family owns Nan Thai and Tamarind Seed. The space is gorgeous. Inspired by the street food her grandmother used to sell in Bangkok, Dee Dee recreates these dishes with great success. Our group was served lychee mojitos, which I skipped but heard was great.

Servers appeared with platters of tastes, many of them disappearing before we could get our cameras out. Chicken satay and Thai vegetable samosas to start, then a platter of miniature spinach leaf wraps filled with minced chicken, peanuts, onions, and ginger. My personal favorite was the Thai beef jerky with sticky rice and cilantro. Chef DeeDee came out to chat with us after we had sampled many delectable dishes, making for a memorable visit.

Everyone was feelin’ good, and having a great time getting to know each other! Our last stop was The Barrelhouse, a new gastropub on 5th street. Tennessee barn wood covered the walls, making for a warm and casual atmosphere. A cocktail called fruit cup was offered, made with vodka, simple syrup, cherries, pineapple, mint, and soda.

A tiny hot dog bun was delivered, filled with meltingly tender beef short ribs. It was a little dry, but the flavor was fantastic. I gave my little cup of banana pudding to a fellow blogger, anticipating a sweeter dessert as I texted LC, who was arriving from Texas via the Marta station nearby. Perfect timing!

Don’t miss this year’s Taste of Atlanta on the streets around Tech Square….with more than 80 restaurants participating you won’t leave hungry!

Hard to believe my only visit to ESS was for lunch shortly after it opened. Having gained notoriety in Athens, Georgia, Hugh Acheson’s Atlanta baby was born about the same time as a multitude of similarly styled restaurants, all boasting their locally inspired, organic, farm to table philosophy…blahblahblah.

Yes, we love Miller Union, and 4th & Swift, and all the little cousins with a Southern drawl, but after a while, the mere mention of a farm sent me squealing like a stuck pig. However, good food is…well, it’s just good!

So when AD said we were meeting friends there for dinner, I was excited to return. After nineteen months of travelling the world, she is back in the states, visiting friends and generally causing mayhem.

BG and his wife AR, AD’s former colleague BK, me and LC were all late, finally being seated around 8:45pm, each of us ravenous. But first, we needed something to calm our frazzled nerves….a bottle of Cote du Rhone perhaps? Vodka martinis for the guys were in miniature glasses that looked more appropriate for after dinner cordials….I guess that’s why they ended up having five each by the end of the night!

Not as evident in Executive Chef Ryan Smith’s lunch menu, what sets ESS apart from its Southern counterparts is the intensely creative, if not somewhat bizarre pairings. Shrimp with Benton’s ham, okra, crowder peas, and bourbon sour cherries?

BG suggested we start with the steak tartare, a perfect choice since it is AD’s favorite. Not usually a fan of raw beef, I chimed in with the pork belly starter to share. A plate of bread and rolls were served with fig butter that was grainy and utterly flavorless, a sad condiment for the fantastic crusty artisan bread.

The two appetizers arrived, promptly attacked by twelve hungry hands. Crisp pork belly was served atop a generous helping of creamed kimchi rice grits. A sprinkling of peanuts and pickled daikon completed the unexpected, yet perfectly balanced composition. And it was awesome, but not nearly as awesome as the steak tartare.

With an equally weird description containing preserved lemon-caper emulsion, crisp egg (what is that?) and cheese puffs (Frito Lay?), I found myself wishing we had ordered six of these and nothing else. Turns out the “cheese puff” was a white crispy thing that resembled chiccarones. The “crisp egg” was a breaded and deep fried quail egg that oozed its lovely golden goodness over the creamy, sensuous steak. Raw meat is kinda sexy.

In a remarkable twist of fate, (almost) each of us ordered a different entree….trout for AD and BG, chicken and dumplings for AR, prime New York strip for LC. It was a difficult choice for me….duck or pork? Since BK chose the duck and promised to let me try it, I went for the Riverview Farms pork loin.

We coerced the last drop of wine out of its bottle and proceeded to reds by the glass, carefully selected by award winning sommelier Steven Grubbs, which could have contributed to the blurriness of the entree photos, but I can’t be certain.

All meat dishes were presented thinly sliced, like my pork loin with its eggplant puree. I didn’t notice any butterbeans or maitake mushrooms….perhaps they added heft and flavor to the puree, which I don’t remember at all. I do recall the pork’s smoky flavor, paired perfectly with a sweet chow chow made with burgundy wine.

I sampled two other entrees. LC’s steak was underwhelming, mainly due to the flavorless parslied farroto that was served with it. However, the pickled ramp jam that reminded me of delicious caramelized onions redeemed the dish. The best plate of the evening was BK’s duck, wisely paired with apricot mostarda, celery root puree, pak choi, and the unusual hominy….again, cooking outside the box.

We went to Vanquish for liquid dessert, drama and debauchery.

999 Peachtree 404-541-1105

With all the buzz surrounding Hector Santiago’s sandwich shop below Pura Vida, I finally got there for lunch on Friday to see what all the fuss was about.

Rumor has it that Hector himself is making the sandwiches at Super Pan Latino. When I arrived he was indeed there, just not behind the counter. The staff was super friendly as I made a couple of inquiries about the selections.

Having studied the menu and read the reviews, I already knew I would order either the serrano ham and manchego or the pork belly. It was a chilly day so the latter won out because it was hot sandwich.

I knew what I was getting into even without the reviews proclaiming this particular sandwich’s greasiness. It’s pork belly for God’s sake!

For the uninituated, pork belly is bacon before it is sliced, layers of fat alternating with layers of porky goodness. Hector smokes the meat which is tucked inside two little steamed coconut buns drizzled with tamarind sauce, aji coban sambal and topped with shaved cabbage and cilantro.

My first bite of the crispy end yielded both meat and fat with half of the cabbage and cilantro. I didn’t get any of the fiery sauce until I was almost finished with the half since it was at the bottom of the bun. I would have liked a copious amount of the crunchy cabbage and there can never be enough cilantro. It came off a little plain due to the minimal amount of sauces and toppings.

I continued working on my sandwich, pulling the tender strings of pork away from the fat with my greasy little fingers. It was a messy but delicious task.

The quirky space is only open Tuesday through Friday 11:30-2:30. Diners place their orders up the stairs to the left, and can find a table in the dining area downstairs. Super Pan is clearly a labor of love for Hector.

I cringe to even say this, but just in case you’ve been living in a cave in Guatamala for the last two years, Hector Santiago was a contestant on Top Chef a couple of seasons back….the same year Woodfire’s Kevin Gillespie almost won it.

Hector stopped by to say hello and sent a cupcake to my table. Nice. I will surely return to sample more of the menu!

1057 Blue Ridge Avenue 404-477-0379

Hello again, old friend! We sure did miss you, with your elegant good looks and playful staff. B and I finally made a long-overdue appearance at our old haunt, the Bar at Livingston.

A couple of glasses of A to Z’s Night and Day got us off to a lively start. Sous chef Zeb came over and said hello. He would send out a couple of dishes for us to try. Lovely! I was craving the short rib ravioli, but alas, it was gone from the menu.

Duck sausage accompanied by seared foie gras, which I’m assuming was also duck, came with cubes of fennel dressed in a slightly sweet black pepper gastrique rather than the standard toast and marmalade that often show up with foie gras. Zeb Stevenson, Mennie’s sous chef, has become bored with that presentation (and so have I). There was just enough sweetness to pair well with the rich meats without being cloying. For sausage and foie gras, the dish was surprisingly light.

A crispy cube of pork belly sat upon a puree of apricot and was served with two big Spring pea raviolis topped with chopped peanuts for crunch. We really liked this starter but would have liked it more had we not been spoiled by the short rib raviolis on prior visits. As we told Zeb over more wine on the patio, that dish was orgasmic! We begged him to put it back on the menu….please.

B and I lingered for a while, having an entirely inappropriate and entertaining conversation with Zeb. We’ll be back for another visit soon to reclaim our regular spots at the bar!

659 Peachtree Street @ The Georgian Terrace 404-897-5000