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August 2008
Labor Day Shouldn’t Be Laborious
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
STEW: AS GOOD AS ‘CUE
Photo: Becky Stein/special to the AJC
The round up of BBQ joints in this week’s dining review poses — yet again — an opportunity for us all to crow about our favorite ‘cue.
And in the old days, that’s what BBQ was about: the ‘cue and only the ‘cue. These days, if you don’t offer up some amazing mac-n-cheese and a new twist on cole slaw, you’re not a competitor in some folks’ books. Heck, some of the newer ‘cue joints are actually cute: Rolling Bones looks like Edward Hopper merged with Mayberry RFD. Sam & Dave’s BBQ2 is so nice you’ll feel obligated to not only use a napkin, but to put it in your lap.
So let’s veer for a moment and think about it: What goes best with ‘cue: is it grape soda and potato chips (like the old days), or pineapple cole slaw and three-cheese mac-n-cheese at Sam & Dave’s? Is it those incredible biscuits (with honey!) at Swallow at the Hollow?
And what about the near-forgotten Brunswick stew? This mix of tomatoes, pork, chicken and corn used to be as much a reason to get ‘cue as the meat. Who makes the best Brunswick stew?
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Do You Pay Attention To Restaurant Awards?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WHAT DO RESTAURANT AWARDS MEAN TO YOU?
We’ve all seen them at the hostess’ desk or hanging in the bathroom: the various and sundry awards that a restaurant can accrue, from community outreach to James Beard.
But what’s behind winning one of these seemingly coveted commendations?
In my Dishing column today, I take a look at a hoax played on Wine Spectator by author Robin Goldstein, who submitted credentials for a fake restaurant in Italy to the famed wine mag. It promptly won Wine Spectator’s award of excellence (admittedly the lowest on the mag’s tier and pretty easy to get, apparently).
Even the James Beard Award — the highest given to restaurants, chefs and food writers — has had its share of scandal; the Foundation rattled several years back with mismanagement of funds.
So what do you think when you see one of these plaques hanging on the wall? What does it mean for you, the customer? Is it a marketing scheme, or do you think most restaurant awards mean something to the average diner?
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Top Five …. Cupcakes!!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CUPCAKES ARE HOTTER THAN HOTCAKES: and red velvet tops my list…
Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC staff
How wonderful to open this month’s Bon Appetit to find Buttersweet Bakery in Hapeville featured.
The little bakery that could, Buttersweet owner Charlita Varner’s Key lime cupcake with cream cheese frosting is featured in a piece that’s all about the best of the bake shops across the United States. Atlanta is home to lots of “cupcakeries,” where smallish is best and flavors from funky monkey to plain old vanilla will make every day seem like your birthday.
Here are five spots that bake up cupcakes better than best:
Buttersweet Bakery’s red velvet cupcake is the moistest, reddest, most luscious version of this Southern favorite ever.
Little Cake Bakery in Buckhead’s chocolate cupcake with sweet chocolate frosting has the old-fashioned buttery goodness of something homemade, but with pretty, fat swirls of chocolate frosting and fairy-like sprinkles.
Sweet Pockets Cupcakes’ (Old Fourth Ward) lemon cupcake with velvety lemon frosting is a hands-down best alternative to chocolate and vanilla.
Atlanta Cupcake Factory makes a mean “sugar cookie dulce de leche” that’s sweet enough to make your teeth hurt. My only complaint about this place is that every time I go by, they’re never open. Dang.
Order Sugar Mama’s toasted coconut cupcake filled with vanilla cream and expect to get a creamy, dreamy sugar rush.
Who bakes your favorite cupcake? (and don’t say your mom…)
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Scent and Savor Dinner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AUTHOR CHANDLER BURR: “The Perfect Scent” and “The Emperor of Scent” author will be putting his olfactory where his mouth is in Decatur this Thursday, August 28.
Photo: Bloomberg News
Scent and flavor go hand in hand, and it’s actually close to impossible to taste without your sense of smell (a condition called anosmia). The Dekalb Library Foundation is hosting a benefit dinner at Sage restaurant in Decatur on August 28 a t 7 p.m. to benefit the Dekalb County Public Library. The subject? Smells.
New York Times perfume critic Chandler Burr will be on hand to talk about perfume scents and raw materials used in the perfume industry that will be highlighted in the dinner. So if you’ve ever had the notion of smearing yourself in vanilla or tucking a little cinnamon and chocolate behind your ear, this $200 per person event is for you. Go to scentandsavor.kintera.org or call 404-370-8450, ext. 2238 for more information.
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Pop! Popcorn Truffles
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SWEET SUCCESS: Karyn and Jeff Schwerzler own and operate Frosted Pumpkin Gourmet in Alpharetta. Is Atlanta a hot bed for gourmet start ups?
Photo: Kimberly Smith/AJC
The sweet and salty mix of popcorn and chocolate is a crash-your-diet temptress, and Atlanta-based 3 Sisters Creative Specialty Foods, LLC (aka business women Jaie Benson and Tanisha Joy Lofton) are making sure you don’t have to go to the movies to get it.
Pop! is a selection of bite-sized goodies of popcorn with white chocolate caramel filling, coated and drizzled in white chocolate or Key lime with white chocolate, graham crackers and Key lime juice, plus lemon, peach and strawberry flavors. All come in boxes of 15 each in packaging just right for chilly perfection. Go to Pop! to order.
Lots of special ladies have started food business from the bosom of the ATL: Bella Cucina, Via Elisa and Frosted Pumpkin Gourmet all started in the the Atlanta area. Do you have an up-and-coming gourmet food business? Now’s your chance to crow…
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Where’s Your Favorite Italian?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE MUSSELS FRA DIAVOLO AT VITA: NOW THAT’S ITALIAN!
Photo: Becky Stein/Special to the AJC
I’ve never gotten used to the fact that Atlanta really has never embraced Italian food. I’m from here, but having lived in New England for so long, I got used to everything being Italian, even when it wasn’t (I’m not kidding — restaurants in New England serve a side bowl of pasta and red sauce even if they’re a hamburger joint).
But in actuality, we have several spots that ring true to the red, white and green: this week’s review of Sotto Sotto is proof positive. I also enjoy Antica Posta, Baraonda, Fritti, Vita and I always get a kick out of Nino’s and Alfredo’s for some old world goodfellas charm.
Where’s your favorite Italian?
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Wednesday’s Top Five: Super Food Spots
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WANT TO BE LIKE WONDER WOMAN? Better eat more meat and beans…
Illustration: Alex Ross
As part of the monthly ritual involved in writing for a newspaper, one of the perks is getting magazines for free. This is a particularly good thing when the only thing you want to read in Oprah is the article entitled “are you too busy for your life?” or when, in the supermarket line you don’t catch that Cosmo’s monthly sex tip is the same one they gave last month, only with different models. It’s nice not to have to shell out the few bucks it takes to get these gems on the news stands.
And since it’s so involved being moi, my colleagues usually dump copies of Self on my desk so I can check out “look divine from behind!” This month’s issue, though, actually had me reading an in-depth (well, as in-depth as Self gets) look at 20 superfoods that, for one reason or another, can help you lose weight (my favorite subject besides chocolate).
Tops on the list? Eggs. Why? The protein in these white-and-yellow orbs is super dense and super groovy. Steak. Why? Protein, baby. The protein in red meat helps retain muscle mass. That explains South Beach in a nutshell. In addition to steel-cut oats and kale, there’s also lentils, blueberries and almond butter (which apparently lowers the glycemic index of the bread you just spread it on — making your blood sugar dip less).
A trip the light fantastic through Atlanta with superfoods as my parameter brought me to the following five spots that can deliver the power:
Bones — dang it all these steaks are good. The bone-in ribeye is a South Beach and Atkins fever dream. And you can get 22 ounces of it.
Holeman & Finch — try your egg poached with roasted bacon over a johnny cake with sorghum syrup. That should get your blood sugar going.
Tasty China — the dan dan noodle soup in chile sauce should make it easy for you to get your daily quota of chiles, which will spike your bloodstream with capsaicin, making you burn extra calories for up to 20 minutes after eating it (I’m not making this stuff up).
Sotto Sotto — as part of the Inman Park Italian spot’s app list, you can eat your way through a tasting of estate-bottled olive oil (this “healthy” fat tames hunger and has anti-inflammatory properties). Drizzle away!
Yoforia — this rockin’ hip that’s so 70s joint serves up a sweet yogurt trio of fat, protein and carbs (a triple threat!) — staving off hunger and helping to prevent that horrible mid-life belly fat. Go ahead and splurge with a topping of Captain Crunch. You ate all that olive oil, after all.
Where do you go to rev up your diet?
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What’s the BEST Restaurant OTP?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BISTRO VG: INTOWN CHARM OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER
Photo: Bita Honarvar/AJC
We may as well admit it. You know, the rivalry between OTP and ITP.
I ventured OUTSIDE this past weekend to visit with my sis, who lives in Kennesaw. We celebrated my dad’s 83rd birthday at Aspens in West Cobb. Besides portion sizes that were, frankly, ridiculously large, it was a fun meal with exceptional steaks. Chris and Michele Sedgwick have built quite an empire OTP — Bistro VG and Pure Taqueria I would list among the best in the area. And Acworth was home to one of the best — Seasons de Provence — before it closed two years ago. Cartersville has lovely D Morgan’s, and College Park has the funky Brake Pad and the Feed Store (and Oscar’s, before the IRS shut it down four years ago.)
But Windward Parkway and the like is littered with chains — and those restaurants that aren’t often have the cookie cutter look of a chain, anyway. Every fancy strip mall in Alpharetta looks exactly the same. Yet I hear from readers often about the restaurants they love.
So CHAINS EXCLUDED (unless it’s a local one, such as the Sedgwick Group), what’s your favorite restaurant OTP?
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Are Chefs Spreading Themselves Too Thin?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DO WE WANT ANOTHER EMERIL’S? OR ARE CHEFS SPREADING THEIR POPULARITY TOO THIN?
Photo: ©1999 Universal Studios Escape
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, is it okay to imitate yourself?
The announcement last Friday that Shaun Doty, exec chef and owner of Shaun’s in Inman Park, will be expanding to head up Fifth Group’s Original El Taco in Sala’s old space got me to thinking about something I spend a lot of time worrying about: Once a chef makes it with one restaurant, why do they always want more? I guess for the same reason we all want more, and who could fault them?
It’s just that bigger doesn’t always mean better — and expanding can often dilute a brand as easily as it makes for more of a profit center. Look at what happened to Emeril’s — the restaurant here never had the feel for Atlanta, and the super chef was never around to check on things.
Rathbun’s has grown from one to three — though Krog Bar and Rathbun Steak clearly have different concepts from the original. Riccardo Ullio expanded from Sotto Sotto and Fritti to Beleza and Cuerno with no problem. The Sedgwick’s have expanded into a mega OTP empire, with duplicates of Theo’s and Aspens, plus Vinny’s, Bistro VG and now their popular concept, Pure Taqueria, which will be franchised all over the SE. Why didn’t I think of that?
Bob Amick’s Concentrics keeps growing — and now the group is opening concepts in Chicago, too. Tom Catherall will open Aja in Emeril’s old space this fall — that makes three new openings for Here to Serve in the last year (roughly).
When reviewing Spice Market, I interviewed Jean-Georges Vongerichten. This super dude chef is EVERYWHERE. But the whole time I couldn’t help but wonder how he manages to, well, manage it all.
It’s the way of the modern chef, to be sure, to duplicate, expand and grow. But can we get too much of a good thing?
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This Just In …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DOTY DOES THE FIFTH GROUP DANCE WITH TACOS AND TORTAS IN VA/HI
Photo: Sean Drakes/special to the AJC
Doty does it again …
Fifth Group has penned a deal with chef Shaun Doty of acclaimed 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, most likely someone from within the company, while remaining executive chef and owner of Shaun’s.
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Buford Highway Crawl
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HOW ‘BOUT A HOAGIE? Bhan mi thit at Lee’s Bakery on Buford…
Photo: Mikki K. Harris/AJC
It’s no secret that Buford Highway has become the corridor to all things culinary for Atlanta foodies. Today’s review takes a look a one of my favorites — Penang, a Malaysian wonder just south of Shallowford Road.
Others that have long been on my list are the Korean tofu soup house So Kong Dong, El Rincon (a Salvadorean pupusa house), Chinese dumplings at Chef Liu, the bhan mi thit at Lee’s bakery, the La Suprema Bakery behind Plaza Fiesta (there are many other locations in the area), the food court inside Plaza Fiesta, Mozart Bakery, and Rexall Grill. These are but a few.
Where’s your favorite place to eat on Buford Highway?
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Is Atlanta Losing Its Greatest Chefs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GUENTER SEEGER WAS ONCE OF THE CITY’S GREATEST CHEFS … until he left for NYC
Photo: Allen Sullivan/AJC
This from reader Michael Morgan in an email yesterday in reference to the piece I wrote on Michael Tuohy;
“Antunes - gone. Soto - gone. Seeger - gone. Tuohy - gone. I’m 41 - born and raised here and a self-declared foodie. This city should be ashamed of itself.”
Should we be ashamed? Or is this a natural progression of the way things are/always will be? We have so many great restaurants, and still we lose top names like these to cities that seem more “culinary friendly.”
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Tuohy’s Last Supper — Will You Be There?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ALWAYS THE FIRST TO START FROM SCRATCH: Chef Michael Tuohy will be missed.
Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC
Tonight is the last night for chef Michael Tuohy at Woodfire Grill. A San Francisco Bay-area native, Tuohy has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement in Georgia. Before he opened Woodfire Grill six years ago, he chef-owned acclaimed Chefs’ Cafe on Piedmont.
Will you be going to the last supper at Woodfire Grill? What do you think will happen to the sustainable movement in Georgia without Tuohy at its helm?
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Profiteroles are Pleasing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AS LIGHT AS AIR: cream puffs are all the rage
Photo: Becky Stein/Special to the AJC
The “paste” that makes them is called pate a choux, which roughly means “cabbage paste” in French, since when the hot air of the oven hits them it creates steam, and these pastries puff up to twice their original size, resembling a small cabbage.
Even the name cream puff takes on connotation beyond what you see and taste: light, airy and filled with creme patisserie or ice cream, they are like clouds we can eat.
Pipe this mixture of egg, cream (or milk), butter and flour into tiny versions of cream puffs, and they become profiteroles — tiny, itty bitty cream puffs. What could be more fun for dessert?
They seem to be showing up on lots of menus at the moment, and for good reason — light and airy, they take on deeper meaning when filled with a flavored cream or ice cream, and are even more perfect when drizzled with a warm chocolate ganache. I’ve tried them on the dessert menus at 4th & Swift, FAB (where they are filled with pistachio-flavored ice cream), The Shed at Glennwood, and filled with hazelnut cream and dipped into chocolate as part of the fondue at Room at Twelve.
Have you had a profiterole experience? Where?
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This Just In
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CALIFORNIA HERE HE COMES: Chef Michael Tuohy’s Woodfire Grill has been sold; his last day at Woodfire will be August12
Photo: William Berry/AJC
Michael Tuohy has sold Woodfire Grill and new owners Nicolas Quinones and Bernard Moussa take over ownership today. Tuohy’s chef de cuisine, Kevin Gillespie, will serve as the iconoclastic restaurant’s chef, and the farm-to-table vision Tuohy has been so lauded for, as well as the restaurant’s name, will remain intact. Quinones and Moussa worked together for four years at Loca Luna as manager and assistant manager.
Tuohy’s last day at the restaurant before leaving for his homestate of California will be August 12.
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What’s the Best New Restaurant for 2008 (so far)?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
IS HOLEMAN & FINCH PUBLIC HOUSE YOUR PICK FOR BEST NEW RESTAURANT IN 2008? Photo: Becky Stein/Special to the AJC
The review this week in today’s Living section takes a look at an impressive new restaurant from Jay Swift, formerly of South City Kitchen. He makes his mark subtly, unlike the cooking he did at SCK. You can read the review here.
The opening is truly one of the most memorable for the year. And that’s saying a lot: Parish, Home, Spice Market, Straits, Holeman & Finch Public House, Cakes & Ale and more have all opened this year — and all are impressive standouts in a city that is proving it truly loves its restaurants.
What’s your pick for best new restaurant in 2008?
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A New Chef At Serenbe’s Farmhouse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CHEFS HILARY WHITE AND NIC BOUR: AS AMERICAN GOTHIC AS IT GETS Photo: Joey Ivanso/AJC
The Farmhouse at Serenbe has announced a replacement for chef Nicolas Bour, who left just weeks ago to head for the Willard Intercontinental in Washington, D.C. The Farmhouse is noted for its strong sense of place and a farm-to-table approach that starts in Serenbe’s own back yard (and the sequestered community’s own organic farm). The lucky winner from oodles of candidates is chef Nick Melvin, a New Orleans native whose most recent activity behind the kitchen line has been as sous chef for Concentrics Hospitality’s Tap in Midtown (he also worked for that group’s Room at Twelve and Murphy’s). “I can’t wait to create the menu each week while literally walking through the farm, checking to see what’s ripe,” the chef said via press release. His first night in the Farmhouse’s kitchen will be August 28.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
JOLI KOBE MAKES A MEAN MATIGNON
Photo: Phil Skinner/AJC
My Dishing column in today’s accessAtlanta takes a look at one of my favorite subjects: some of the city’s best bakeries.
I was a pastry chef for nigh on to 14 years, so my love of all things sugar and spice comes naturally. And I have a a real sweet tooth when it comes to desserts and dessert presentation, which was on my curriculum at Johnson & Wales for the majority of the time I taught there.
We have many talented pastry chefs in the city (my faves are Jonathan St. Hilaire from Concentrics Restaurants and Kathryn King from Aria). And we have bakeries popping up and sticking around — which is a good sign of life for a city.
Where’s your favorite bakery— better yet, what ONE thing does your bakery or restaurant make that you love? Is IT the red velvet cupcakes like those at Buttersweet Bakery in Hapeville? Is it Kat King’s incredibly smooth and warm chocolate cheesecake at Aria? Is it the chocolate almond croissant at Parish? What about the fruit tart at Joli Kobe? Or the sweet potato cheesecake at Sweet Auburn downtown? I’d love to find a place that serves really good, old-fashioned, Southern chess pie — do you know of one?
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Top 5 I Take for Granted
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AND THERE’S THAT FUNKY CHANDELIER …. ARIA SHOULDN’T BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED
Photo: Kimberly Smith/AJC
I dined at Aria this past week for the first time in a year — and it was absolutely wonderful. It made me wonder why this restaurant doesn’t spring to mind as often as it should: Do we take some of our city’s finest establishments for granted?
In Aria’s case, I certainly do. Not that they need the business. They were running on all four during an early part of the week — not crazy busy, but happily steady. Gerry Klaskala continues to wow with even the simplest of dishes — from perfectly fried soft shell crab with a tangy napa slaw to smoked salmon served with classics of capers, minced red onion, creme fraiche and a crispy, light potato pancake, everything was perfect. Wine by the glass from wine director Andre Loaiza was perfectly poured, and the desserts from Kat King — a light lemon panna cotta with bing cherries and her signature warm chocolate cheesecake with its familiar swirl of chocolate through the center were precious and wonderful — easily the best in the city.
So why do I take Aria for granted? For shame…
Here are four others not to forget about when making reservations:
Tamarind Seed Thai Bistro — it’s easy to forget that this Thai fave - now in its gorgeous Bill Johnson-designed space - used to be across from the Shell station on 14th Street. But the food has never been better — or hotter. This is the best Thai in the city.
Nam — tucked away to the farthest corner of Midtown Promenade, it would be easy to miss Nam, the Vietnamese angel from MF’s Alex and Chris Kinjo, if you didn’t know it was there. What a shame: it’s the best Vietnamese food around — the rice flour tamales in banana leaf with fiery fish sauce; the Vietnamese crepes; the shaking beef.
L’Thai — if you can’t make it to Tamarind Thai, then this gem in Tucker should be on your list. Fresh, mostly organic ingredients make for bright, splendid-tasting food. The thom kha soup, rich with coconut, makes me happy.
Sotto Sotto — how can we take the best Italian in the city for granted? Riccardo Ullio’s Inman Park beauty serves fresh, honest Italian with NO American influence. The risotto will make you see God. And what a wine list.
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What’s Your Favorite Taco?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TACOS ROCK: THESE ARE FROM CHIPOTLE. Where’s your favorite taco? Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC
Just checked out a new Taqueria on the outskirts of Decatur called Taqueria el Vecino. In addition to the standard fish taco and an excellently seasoned and scrumptious carne asada taco, chef Javier Romero serves up something I haven’t tried on other area menus: a relleno taco made with a small, roasted poblano filled with Chihauhua cheese, then batter fried and wrapped inside a soft corn tortilla. It is a lesson in smokey goo flavor, and a menu highlight.
Romero also serves some mean salsas from a buffet table, plus guacamole and dressings for the fish tacos (which come without), as well as non-taco goodies such as enchiladas and bebidas para los mayores. Yes, drinks for adults containing alcohol. Which is always fun when chomping on a taco.
My favorite taqueria is La Oaxaquena Taqueria in Jonesboro. Where’s yours?
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What Restaurants are the Worst for Kids?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE CHICK-FIL-A COWS CAN RELAX: THE FAST-FOOD CHAIN IS TOPS FOR KIDS ACCORDING TO A NEW BOOK
Photo: David Tulis
A new book, “Eat this! Not That! For Kids,” from two of the top editors at Men’s Health magazine, takes chain restaurants to task for the nutritional value of their offerings to kids (or lack thereof).
The authors, editor-in-chief David Zinczenko and food and nutrition editor Matt Goulding, graded 43 national chains, calculating the calories, fat (trans- and saturated) and sodium, as well as the average number of calories, in a child’s entree. They also took a look at healthier adult options that might appeal to children. (You can view the full report card here.
Chick-fil-A, with its offerings of low-cal sandwiches and solid side offerings of fresh fruit and soup scored an “A.”
Burger King gets graded a solid “C” and Chipotle gets applauded for its “pristine” ingredients, but knocked to a “D” for those gargantuan portion sizes.
And the “Fs” are …. Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback and TGI Friday’s — all get slammed for not providing nutritional info to the consumer.
The authors give tips they call “survival strategies,” that help you steer towards the right choices at each place. The book, published by the “Live Your Life” imprint of Rodale, Inc., will be available nationwide August 19, 2008.
So, how would you grade these chain restaurants for kids? Do you have healthier options for eating out?
By the way, my colleague, Liz Lee, is blogging similarly and her results for Chick-Fil-A rank a little differently. Check it out here.
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Does Straits Shoot Straight?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ASSAM FISH AT PENANG: Where’s your favorite Malaysian restaurant?
PHOTO: Kimberly Smith/AJC
Today’s dining review in the Living Section takes a look at rapper Ludacris’ first foray into restaurant ownership, Straits. You can read the review here.
I’m not much on celebrity-owned restaurants, although a few — especially Nobu, in NYC — are real gems. And frankly, I wasn’t expecting much from Luda. The guy wrote “P-Popping” for Pete’s sake.
But guess what? Straits, with chef Chris Yeo in charge of all things food, is pretty darned good. Definitely as good as JGV’s much touted Spice Market — maybe better.
My favorite Malaysian is Penang, on Buford Highway — the assam fish is a thing of great beauty and flavor, and the roti canai needs to be administered via IV drip — only then it would miss my mouth, so what’s the point?
Where’s your favorite Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant in the area? Have you been to Straits? What did you think?
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