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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > August > 17 > Entry
Va-Hi’s Sala getting new name, Shaun help
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fifth Group Restaurants has penned a deal with chef Shaun Doty of Shaun’s in Inman Park to turn Sala, its hip space in Virginia-Highland, into the Original El Taco, to open in mid-October.
Doty is developing recipes for funky Mexican fare, including tacos and tortas. He will work with an as yet unnamed chef de cuisine.
So was the single-dad chef getting too much shut-eye these days?
“You know me, man,” Doty told Buzz Friday while taking a break from slicing fish. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I adore the people at Fifth Group. They’ve been friends and clients for years. When the opportunity happened to do a fresh, healthy, affordable-but -chef-driven Mexican concept with them, I took it. The creative part is just so much fun for me.”
But don’t fret, Shaun’s fanatics, Doty will remain the executive chef and owner at his namesake.
“I’ll be in my own kitchen every night,” he assured us. “I know what’s important.”
Interior designer William Peace of Peace Design has been hired, meanwhile, to change the look and feel of the restaurant.
“The Original El Taco will be lively, bright, open and — most of all — fun,” Fifth Group co-owner Robby Kukler said. “We have known Shaun for years, and when we found out he had been thinking about doing Mexican, too, we knew it was a great partnership.”
“I love Mexican food and have wanted to do a restaurant like this for a while,” Doty said. “To have this opportunity to work with the pros at Fifth Group Restaurants is great.”
“We are going to create an easy, approachable destination for great Mexican food,” Kukler added.
Doty will work with a chef de cuisine at El Taco when the restaurant opens, while remaining executive chef at Shaun’s.
The Original El Taco will be located at 1186 N. Highland Ave. N.E. and will be open for dinner nightly.
Jurrjens hits Jezebel
More than a few single ladies were no doubt disappointed Friday night when they learned that Jair Jurrjens was the starting pitcher as the Braves took on the Giants at Turner Field. The 22-year-old native of Curacao is one of the sexy singles saluted in the 2008 Most Eligible Bachelors and Bachelorettes issue of Jezebel magazine. This year’s inductees were feted at a party in their honor Friday night at Tongue & Groove in Buckhead. When he’s not pitching, Jurrjens tells Jez that he hits the PlayStation pretty hard. Oh, and ladies, he routinely calls his parents back home to catch up on family matters.
But don’t expect an express trip to the Shane Co.
Said Jurrjens: “I’m just trying to date right now. I’m 22. I’m not trying to settle down right now. My dad would kill me!”
Prize-winning periwinkle
A Legendary Event owner Tony Conway needed some extra space on his recent flight home from Philadelphia. Conway’s catering company scored two prestigious industry awards presented by the National Association of Catering Executives in Philly. The NACE has about 800 members worldwide, and Conway and company were up against the likes of high-end caterers from New York and Los Angeles. Legendary scored the award for “Best Catered Off-Premise Event of the Year” for the wine-inspired menu created for the High Museum Wine Auction Gala. It also won “Best Table Presentation of the Year,” which was awarded to Legendary creative director Steve Welsh, who dreamed up the winning “Periwinkle Fantasy” table top design. There was one minor hiccup: The NACE unintentionally put Legendary publicist Dawn Brewer’s name on the award since she sent in the paperwork during the nomination process. “Dawn was mortified,” Conway told us Friday. “But it’s been fun to give Steve a hard time about. Plus, the entire team did earn those awards, and Dawn’s a part of that effort. I was so happy that the entire Legendary team got recognized.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Today: Actor Fess Parker is 84. Sportscaster Frank Gifford is 78. Singer Eydie Gorme is 77. Actress Julie Newmar is 75. Director James Cameron (“Titanic,” “The Terminator”) is 54. Actress Angela Bassett is 50. Singer Madonna is 50. Actor Steve Carell is 45. Country singer Emily Robison of The Dixie Chicks is 36. Actor Shawn Pyfrom (“Desperate Housewives”) is 22.
Sunday: Actress Maureen O’Hara is 88. Actor Robert DeNiro is 65. Actor Sean Penn is 48. Singer Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block is 39.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Rapper DMX was arrested this week in Miami on a warrant for failing to attend a Phoenix court hearing. Lawyer Charles Kozelka says DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, checked into a Miami hospital the day he was to appear in Phoenix and was planning on entering a rehab facility afterward. Kozelka says the warrant stopped those plans, and that he had been trying to arrange for DMX to turn himself in at the airport. A Phoenix judge issued the warrant for DMX on Tuesday after he didn’t appear for a pretrial conference on four counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of marijuana. The case is one of several Simmons is facing in Phoenix, including several animal cruelty and drug possession counts.
Contributing: News services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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