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Zuffy’s resurrecting memory of Fuzzy’s
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Starting Monday night, a slightly dyslexic version of a 40-year-old Atlanta favorite re-opens. And the hugs are on the house.
Zuffy’s Place, the rebirth of the old Fuzzy’s Place on North Druid Hills Road, will debut around the corner from the old location at its new space at 1860 Corporate Blvd. The original joint closed last year after the untimely death of namesake and owner Fuzzy Cawthon.
Buzz was invited to pop in during a soft opening for old Fuzzy’s regulars last week. And the hugs were as plentiful as Cajun chef Joe Dale’s classic shrimp and grits.
Yup, co-owners and former Fuzzy’s staffers Keirsten Alexander and Montie Henderson have retained the use of Dale’s old Fuzzy’s favorites at the new location. Alas, something looked amiss.
The shrimp is now fresh, not frozen, and the grits are stone-ground, not instant.
“We wanted to raise the bar a bit with Joe’s classic recipes,” Alexander told us. “They’re such great dishes. They deserved ingredients that are top-notch. People always came to Fuzzy’s for the music, the drinks and to see their friends. We wanted to highlight Joe’s menu a bit more.”
The late chef’s son Paul Dale is on hand to oversee the cuisine as well. And while the family has graciously allowed Zuffy’s to continue spotlighting Dale’s dishes, Paul still comes in himself to create the Dale salad dressing and the secret ingredients in the seafood patsy appetizer.
Pointing to her temple, Alexander laughed and said: “They’re up here and Paul’s not telling.”
As for the fanciful take on the Fuzzy’s name (various legal hurdles were involved in using the old name for the new business), Alexander says she doesn’t quite recall who came up with it. For months, she’s been too busy squaring away permits and licenses with DeKalb County. Oh, and delivering her now 7-week-old daughter Lily.
Pointing to the infamous strip club across the street, Alexander cracked, “I didn’t care if we called it ‘The Place Across From The Pink Pony’ just as long as people come and bring their wallets!”
The owners were also able to lure back 11 former Fuzzy’s wait staffers, bartenders and kitchen employees.
On hand to celebrate the business’ rebirth tonight: two of Fuzzy’s main-stay musical acts, The Mike Veal Band and Java Monkey.
CLASSY EVENING OF CLASSIC FILM MUSIC
Movie film scores haven’t always gotten a lot of respect. But they still resonate decades later.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Turner Classic Movies stitched live music and the magic of film together on a mild Saturday evening at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, playing clips from classics such as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “North By Northwest” and (of course) “Gone With the Wind.”
The always impeccable TCM film guru Robert Osborne provided the commentary, and Hollywood music supervisor Richard Kaufman conducted.
Osborne noted that films provide separate tracks for dialogue and music so the dialogue can be dubbed in foreign countries. By happenstance, that enabled the symphony to play the soundtracks live while the audience could hear the dialogue while watching the film on a huge screen above the orchestra.
This platform also gave Osborne a chance to appreciate how integral music can be in capturing the mood of a scene, especially in a film such as Alfred Hitchcock’s spy thriller “North By Northwest.”
“You don’t recognize the music,” he told the audience, “but the music gets you caught up in the story.”
Osborne salted in amusing trivia before each song, noting for instance that MGM burned down the set of “King Kong” to portray the burning of the Atlanta Depot during “Gone With the Wind.” And dance genius Gene Kelly, self conscious of his relatively short height, made sure clever choreography with dancer Cyd Charisse during “Singing in the Rain” disguised the fact she was taller than he was in heels.
“I had a wonderful time,” Osborne told Buzz after the concert. “It’s definitely a change of pace from what I normally do.”
MAYER’S, ANISTON’S ‘CHEMISTRY’ ISSUES
Though former Atlanta resident John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston were decidedly mum about their romance, the singer is opening up about their breakup.
“There’s no lying, there’s no cheating, there’s no nothing,” Mayer told reporters Saturday about his split with Aniston after working out at an Equinox Gym in New York’s SoHo neighborhood.
If anything, Mayer had only praise for his ex, saying: “Jennifer Aniston is the smartest, most sophisticated person I think I have ever met.” So what went wrong?
“People are different, people have different chemistry,” said Mayer, who appeared emotional, nervous and sad.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Movie director Roman Polanski is 75. Actor Robert Redford is 71. Actor Patrick Swayze is 56. Comedian-actor Denis Leary is 51. ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff is 47. Actor Christian Slater is 39. Actor Edward Norton is 39. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 38. Comedian Andy Samberg (“Saturday Night Live”) is 30.
COUPLING
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi tied the knot Saturday in a small ceremony at their Los Angeles home, a spokeswoman confirmed to People.com on Saturday.
The couple have been dating since December 2004. DeGeneres announced her plans to wed de Rossi during a taping of her talk show in May after California’s Supreme Court ruled a previous ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and 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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