Main dish

John Kessler called it. Back in October, he wrote a piece about Decatur’s emerging dining scene and named it “the city’s top new dining destination.” Now, Southern Living magazine echoes that sentiment by naming Decatur one of the top ten “Tastiest Towns in the South.”

In the January issue, already on newsstands, all 10 towns are revealed. Decatur stacks up against places like Charleston, New Orleans and Houston. The magazine says that Decatur is “an emerging mecca for foodies who relish DeKalb Farmers Market and destinations like Cakes & Ale, Feast and the Iberian Pig.”

Southern Living editors considered the following factors when selecting the 10 contenders:

• Food as cultural identity
• Growth of a culinary-minded community
• Diverse cuisine at a variety of price points
• Local, sustainable food practices
• Hot chefs on the rise
• Abundance of buzz-worthy food events

The magazine will choose one winning town, which will be revealed in the April issue, along with profiles of each area. You can vote for your favorite once a day until January 31 at www.southernliving.com/tasty.

Read Kessler’s article on Decatur, in which he details some of its restaurants, on the AJC’s Food and More blog. Look for the October 31 post entitled “Decatur: Best emerging restaurant nabe?”

And don’t forget to vote for Decatur!

Bites

• On Jan. 5, Cardamom Hill opens in the Berkeley Heights district of West Midtown. The restaurant will serve family-style dishes from Chef-owner Asha Gomez’s native Kerala, a southwestern Indian state positioned on the ancient spice routes between Europe and Asia. Gomez entered the food scene with her underground dinner series, Spice Route supper club, which blossomed and inspired her to open Cardamom Hill. The restaurant, one of the first to explore regional Indian cuisine, will feature items such as masala-rubbed kingfish roasted in a banana leaf, spiced goat chops and pork vindaloo. 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. and 5:30- 10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. and 5:30-10:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. 1700 Northside Drive N.W., Atlanta. 404-549-7012, www.cardamomhill.net. $$-$$$.
• Midtown’s Tierra Restaurant announced recently that it will close on Feb. 17, 2012, just a day after its 13th anniversary. In a newsletter written to customers, the owners of this Latin American bistro, Dan and Ticha Krinsky, cited several reasons including a “serious rent increase” and the economic climate as factors in their decision to close. The main reason, they said, is because Dan accepted a teaching position with Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. 6-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 1425 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-874-5951, www.tierrarestaurant.com. $$$.

Gravy

New chef . . . Abattoir, www.starprovisions.com

Tyler Williams, previously of Bacchanalia, has been named the new executive chef at Abattoir.

SFA Taste of the South . . . Blackberry Farm, www.blackberryfarm.com

The Southern Foodways Alliance will host its eighth annual celebration of Southern food at this event held at Blackberry Farm in eastern Tennessee on Jan. 12-15. Miller Union’s Steven Satterfield joins other chefs including Joshua Hopkins, formerly of Abattoir, to lead cooking demonstrations and prepare meals with wine, beer and whiskey pairings. $450-600.