gyp7318's Profile
Atlanta without attitude
Can you provide more information like what part of town he lives in and what types of food he likes/doesn't like? I've really enjoyed Serpas, a newish place that opened in Studioplex off Auburn Ave. in the city. I've recommended this place to about 5 people from my gym and they all come back raving about it. Around the corner from Serpas is the Rathbun empire---Kevin Rathbun Steak, Rathbun's, and Krog. I had an amazing roasted bone marrow appetizer and brown butter cauliflower mash there a few weeks ago. It's a cool place, upscale, but not pretentious. My friends and I chatted w/the pastry chef while there on a fairly busy Sat. night. I had an AMAZING meal at Abbatoir, the newest dining establishment by the same owners as Bacchanalia. Loved, loved the meal.
You and your friend may enjoy KR Steak. I hear they have a great wine list, delicious steaks (locally sourced I think---don't quote me on that). That would be my recommendation :)
Mediocre Italian at Dolce Vita-Fairfax
My friend and I are in town for a conference being held at the Fair Oaks Marriott this week. We hopped in the car tonight, pulled up restaurants for the Fairfax on the navigation system of the car, and came across Dolce Vita as a listing. In hind sight, we should have eaten at Five Guys down the street and called it a day. Our service was HORRIBLE (I'm not one to normally type in all caps but in this situation it is warranted). The bread that was brought to the table initially seemed stale b/c it was really hard on the outside to the point that it started to hurt my jaw while chewing. When I asked the waiter to bring another batch of bread out b/c of this, he looked offended and then annoyed and tried to argue with me. I smiled and insisted upon a new loaf. The next one was much better, fresh out of the oven and much softer. I asked him if there was olive oil to dip in the bread instead of the pre-packaged butter packets that were already on the table before we were seated. He again looked offended, brought over a bottle of oil, wanted to pour it directly on the loaf of bread. When I asked for a plate, he rolled his eyes, walked to the back, and then got another bread plate. At this point, my friend and I should have just walked out of the restaurant.
The food was mediocre at best. We ordered an antipasto type appetizer. What came out was a pre-arranged and refrigerated plate of grapes (yes, you read correctly), 4 tiny kamalata type olives, 3 huge green olives, huge wedges of low quality parmasan, some slivers of stale provolone, 1 half slice of proscuitto, and 2 thin slices of salami-esque meat. All this for 13$. We left over half of this small plate uneaten. For entrees we ordered spaghetti and meatballs and the cavatelli special w/aurora sauce. The cavatelli came and I swear it looked just like Chef Boyardee's Beefaroni. There were maybe 5 small nuggets of 'ground veal and beef'. It was cooked al dente but after a few bites, it hurt my jaw to chew it (notice a theme?) I actually would have preferred to open a can of pre-processed pasta in a generic tomato sauce to the $15 dish that was presented in front of me. My friend did enjoy her spaghetti and meatballs though.
I would high recommend AVOIDING this place. Our meal, including 2 glasses of wine, was over $60 and we couldn't leave there fast enough. The server along w/the over-priced and very mediocre food both left a bad taste in our mouths.
Ideas for Nutella and Marshmallow Cake?
Hi Everyone,
In Atlanta, Flip Burger Boutique (Richard Blais is the chef/consultant) has this amazing nutella and burnt marshmallow milkshake. A dear friend of mine craves this shake on a near daily basis. It is her birthday on Friday and I thought it would be fun to make her a cake based on these flavors. I was originally thinking of making a yellow cake, folding in some nutella into a chocolate buttercream recipe, piling on mini-marshmallows on top of the frosted cake with crushed, toasted hazelnuts, and drizzled with chocolate. I was also going to try to torch the marshmallows but thought it maybe hard to cut into the cake if I did that.
Questions:
1) Would a white cake be better than a rich, buttery yellow cake?
2) Can you think of any problems w/folding nutella into a typical chocolate buttercream frosting? I was wondering if it would affect the texture adversely.
3) Thoughts on the marshmallow topping to try to mimic the burnt, caramelized flavor but not make it impossible to cut into?
Thanks in advance!
Gina
Korean Pizza Recipe Ideas-Got Any?
Hi Everyone,
I'm in the mood to make a Korean inspired pizza. The dough (Alton Brown's recipe) is aging in the fridge as we speak.
Here are some of my thoughts as far as toppings/flavors:
a) Bulgogi
b) Sprinkle w/thinly sliced kimchee after the pizza is cooked
c) shredded nori flakes
d) marinated mung bean sprouts (spicy or not)
e) scallions
f) A gochujang glaze
g) Sauteed spam and kimchee
Obviously I would not put all of these ingredients together on a single pizza. I was thinking bulgogi w/scallions and a nice gochujan glaze drizzled on top; the spam and kimchee on another. Other than that, I'm kind of stumped on how to let the flavors come together.
I'm assuming I would probably go light on the cheese, maybe just a simple mozzarella/provolone shred on top of the the pizza?
More importantly, any thoughts on how to do the sauce? I can't imagine a regular tomato-based pizza sauce would work.
Thanks in advance!
Gina
Atlanta-Is Miso Izakaya Open?
I drove by this afternoon and saw employees milling about inside. They said that they have opened but are only serving sushi until Thursday. They're waiting on certain supplies from Japan to arrive before they do the full menu. I think I'm going to wait a couple of weeks before I try it out.
Atlanta-Is Miso Izakaya Open?
I'm reading conflicting information on whether Miso in Inman Park is open. The opening seems to have been delayed multiple times but this article listed below by John Kessler makes it appear that they did open last night:
http://www.accessatlanta.com/restauranta/content/restaurants/stories/2009/02/02/izakaya_japanese_restaurant.html?cxntlid=sldr_hm
Miso's website doesn't appear to have been updated since December when the owner stated that construction was finished and they were just waiting on inspections and the liquor license. I can't seem to find a listing for their telephone# either.
I was hoping to check it out this week.
Does anyone have any info?
Thanks!
GYP
Making Cheetos At Home
I almost choked on my breakfast as I read your 'Showgirls' analogy. It was priceless!!
Chocolate Chip Cookies (NYT 7/09/08)
If I were to make the make the dough, roll them into balls, and then freeze them individually, would I need to thaw them before baking them again? Would I change the oven temperature? I've never baked cookies from a frozen dough before. It would be most excellent to be able to bake delicious chocolate chip cookies on demand!
Chocolate Chip Cookies (NYT 7/09/08)
I made these cookies over the holiday weekend. I let the dough rest in the fridge for 40 hours. They were quite amazing, had the right hint of chewiness on the outside and a good crumb on the inside.
Question-I followed the recipe to the letter, including where it did not state that the 2 1/2 sticks of butter should be room temperature. I creamed the sugars and the butter w/the butter straight out of the fridge and my KitchenAid mixer moaned and groaned but it did finally mix it but wasn't very light. I want to retry the recipe and have the butter softened. Does anyone know if that adversely impacted my cookie? It was still delicious but I'm just curious.
Atlanta Taco Truck-Taco L 1000000
It's next to a convenience store right near the corner of Pell Mell and Favor Roads in Smyrna and Marietta. I'm still new to Atlanta and don't know if I can give a better description on how to get there. I will say that it is a food service truck that is backed into a building where you can eat inside and also use the bathrooms.
Atlanta Taco Truck-Taco L 1000000
Hi Atlanta 'hounds,
My brother stumbled upon this taco truck on the border between Smyrna and Marietta last weekend. We had a very simple but amazingly delicious lunch there of carne asada and pastor tortas. The meat must have been braised but was so incredibly tender and very flavorful. The bread was really soft, with a hint of sweetness and a bit of a delicious chew to it. I recommend it highly. Each torta was $4 and made for a hearty lunch.
The menu is pretty limited to tacos, quesadillas, tortas, and menudo. There was something called ((I think) mirda or murda but I wasn't sure what it was. The meats are pastor, barbacoa, pollo, spiced beef, and spiced pork (don't remember the spanish names).
It located near the corner of Pell Mell and Favor Roads. Also, some of the Mexican sodas they serve are made w/real sugar and not HFCS.
Run and don't walk to this place. I know I'll be a regular!
Lynn-lato! Sweet Tea Vodka Article
I didn't care for it at all. When it was mixed-with sprite or club soda, can't remember-it tasted like instant/bottled Nestea. I took a couple of sips and then returned it to the bartender to make me something else.
Flip burgers (richard blais)
Has anyone been yet? I'm quite interested to see how the burgers taste, if the flavor combinations work.
Anyone tried Rockwood Filling Station in Durham?
I went last night with a friend, excited about having a casual restaurant with a good wood-fired oven near work. Maybe my expectations were out of line or maybe the food and the overall experience was just underwhelming at best.
We arrived around 6:15pm. Only 2 tables at most were filled. We were seated in the front of the restaurant near the retractable garage door. Though it was the 2 of us, we were sat a corner restaurant with a tiny bistro-sized table. We placed our drink orders, and then tore into the menu. We split an order of wings, a ham and egg, and a white pizza. The server was not necessarily rude but definitely will never win a Miss Congeniality award. We did not have prompt service and her answers to my questions about the wine and the pizzas were very canned and not very informed. She obviously hadn't been properly trained on the menu.
Back to the food. The wings came out and looked very promising, with bits of caramelized onions and parsley scattered on top of nicely charred and sectioned wings. However, they were incredibly greasy and the flavor was lacking. It needed a great deal of seasoning. We ended up salt and peppering each wing and it made it okay but definitely wasn't great. 2 dipping sauces accompanied the dish--a sundried tomato and a homemade blue cheese. Both were also lacking in seasoning and didn't do anything to the wings. Incredibly messy appetizer and not in a good way.
The pizzas were very lackluster at best. The white pizza looked, emphasis on the word looked, good. However, one bite in it and it tasted flat. The crust had a nice char, not overdone, but lacked flavor. After 2 more bites, I added a pinch of salt (noticing a trend?) and it made it a little better but definitely not worth ingesting anymore un-fulfilling calories. My friend had the same comment and we left our first pieces uneaten. The Ham and Egg was better--the sauce had more flavor, and the flavor combination was pretty tasty.
After the waiter came back to our table a good 10 minutes or so after our pizzas had arrived to check on things, we told her the white pizza lacked seasoning. She could obviously see that 90% of the pizza was left uneaten. She had a non-chalant look on her face and said she didn't know why we felt that way, that it's not supposed to be a zesty or spicy pizza. We told her that wasn't the issue, the issue was that it lacked a proper amount of seasoning. We were quite perturbed that we had to get in a debate with her over this. She finally offered to take it back and get us something else. We choose a build our own with proscuitto. When that pizza came, it was okay but not great.
My friend and I will not be coming back. The overall dining experience even with the unsatisfying food rendered this place as not even being worthy of a second chance. We were still eating the wings when the 2 pizzas came. With 4 glasses (1 glass of wine, 2 glasses of water, 1 glass of diet coke), red pepper shaker, salt and pepper shakers, sweeteners, 2 app plates, and a bowl of wings, the table was way too full to hold anything else. That is another pet peeve. I can't imagine what it would be like eating there when the place is bustling like I would imagine it would on the weekends.
Momoyama sushi in Durham (near Southpoint)
I went there last night on my way home from work. I was craving sushi and was curious to give this place a try.
First of all, the neon sign above makes it seem like it's a bigger space, like Kanki or another Benihana type of teppan yaki grill. It's just as described by Durhamois---a lunch counter or a noodle bar. No fuss, no muss. I walked in, sat at the sushi bar, and ordered the sushi deluxe special, 9 pieces of nigiri (the menu says sushi) and 1 california roll. It came with a bowl of miso soup (white miso, unremarkable) and salad (cucumber, iceberg, and a pretty standard but tasty ginger dressing). The owner/sushi chef gave me a couple of amuse bouche gratis which were pretty tasty---a shrimp tempura dressed w/shredded radish, carrots, and a light but spicy dressing (I think I tasted gochujang-the korean red chili paste) and two pieces of 'sushi', which was crab meat in a cucumber wrapping and rolled. It was very tasty and would be perfect in the summer when the heat is stifling.
My dinner was really, really tasty. Probably the freshest quality fish I've had at any sushi places in the triangle, even more so than An in Cary for a fraction of the price. I had 2 yellow tail, 2 tuna, 2 salmon, 1 shrimp, 1 giant clam, and 1 other that I can't remember along w/the california roll. I have been scarred by really fishy yellowtail and was a little tenative about going there again; however, these pieces were delicious. The salmon was beyond buttery and just melted in my mouth. I like that he does not put too much rice in the pieces. I've found myself more often than not cutting off more than half the rice in my nigiri b/c it just seems too much and interferes with my enjoyment of eating it. I also think it's a cheap filler.
I also ordered a cup of hot green tea. Pass on it, not worth the $1.95 or whatever I paid for it. It was tepid and weakly flavored and had been brewed in a big batch prior to being served.
I will definitely be back. I got a chance to talk to the proprietors during my dinner and they are super nice. They are uncompromising in the quality of the fish they use and I was very impressed by it. Choeng Oak, the wife/hostess/manager (you know how mom and pop places are) said they are taking a loss on the uni b/c they can only keep it for a very short period of time before it goes bad. They'd rather throw it out than serve it. I'm impressed that they even serve it but furthermore that they will lose money rather than compromise on quality.
This place doesn't have the hip/slick feel that Shiki Sushi has but if you're looking for really delicious and fresh sushi in Durham, I definitely recommend this joint. Besides, you don't have to worry about that 'buy one get one free' crap where they don't ever split checks. I know I'll be back, maybe even this week for lunch.
Birmingham - Southeast Asian Grocer
The one on Greensprings is called "Asian Market". It's owned by koreans and tends to have that kind of leaning in terms of food products, although they're starting to have more variety of hispanic food stuff w/the growing latino population in the area. I have never seen fresh galangal and kaffir there. Have you?
They do have fish sauces there b/c it is a staple in many korean/asian dishes, including kimchee. There is a brand that my mom uses but I can't remember what it is. You could ask the owner which fish brand sauce he recommends. He speaks fairly good english although his wife really doesn't.
Korean Walnut Cakes - Hodo Kwaja
Thanks for the recipe. I had these for the first time in Toronto last fall and they were quite tasty. I got the potato and walnut cake. The filling was a mashed potato type mixed w/little bits of chopped walnuts. Kinda savory but w/just a little bit of sweetness.
Truffles taste/smell like garlic?
If I'm not mistaken, a lot of truffle oil does not have any truffle essence in it at all but relies on artificial/natural flavorings to produce a truffle-like aroma and taste.
Food and Divorce in the NY Times
While I've never been married or lengthy relationship, I definitely know the heady days of the beginnings of a romance where food somehow moves to the back of my mind. Earlier this year, I completely lost my mind over this guy I was seeing and while dining out in nice end restaurants, I ended up losing 4.5 lbs in one week alone. When things ended badly not long afterwards, I gained back those 4.5 lbs and then added an extra 2 for good measure. :)
Food and Divorce in the NY Times
I actually enjoyed the article. I thought it was terribly bittersweet and showed in albeit great detail how a relationship that started off w/such enthusiasm slowly declined and the couple ended up as complete strangers. I also thought it was an interesting premise, to show this through a food slant.
An Cuisines Cary, NC
I've had one absolutely spectacular meal there, one that was great, and one good. The good was when a date and I went specifically for the sushi/raw bar. We were disappointed w/the raw bar selections. I thought there would be a selection of raw oysters to chose from but didn't see ANY mention of it at all on the menu. The server didn't know anything at all about the sake selection and just seemed very inexperienced. We ended up w/a selection of rolls and nigiri and a bottle of sake. The total was over $130 not including tip. The salmon really stood out---it was really fresh and buttery. The rest were really good but we didn't leave stuffed nor all that particularly satisfied. We would have been better off just dining in the main dining area and eating from the dinner menu.
I would still definitely recommend An but I was a bit disappointed in the sushi experience especially for the price.
Birmingham - Hotdogs? Hot damn!
Mike and his wife tried Saturdays about 5 years ago; however, there just simply wasn't enough business for them to do it on an on-going basis. It was a shame b/c it is impossible for me to go since I work out of state during the week.
Birmingham - Hotdogs? Hot damn!
I love Mike and his wife. I haven't been there in a while but there's nothing like a slaw dog, a bag of Cajun Crawtater Zapp's, and a Milo's tea. However, the dogs are steamed/boiled and do not have that snap to it. It's still good though.
This year's James Beard Awards [moved from CA board]
Kudos to Frank Stitt (Best Chef in America) and Chris Hastings (regional) for their nominations!!! Go Birmingham!!
How Has Chowhound Affected the Way You Travel
I think it has definitely had some influence on my leisure travel, not only Chowhound but other sites as well. For instance, I knew I wanted to take a long weekend trip by myself last fall but wasn't quite sure where. I ended up choosing Toronto b/c a) there was a direct flight from Raleigh/Durham where I work during the week b) I could redeem airline miles for the ticket and c) it was a city I had not been to before and I could feel safe there as a single female traveler and most importantly d) all the food options I discovered by using Chowhound. The Ontario board was incredibly helpful, especially in finding nicer places where I could go as a single diner and not feel out of place.
I peruse the other boards and make mental notes of some of the places that I definitely want to visit b/c of the food---San Francisco, Los Angeles (never thought I'd say that), NYC, Anguilla.
chewy croutons?
I think they are Ruby Tuesday's croutons as well. I haven't been there in ages, especially since I've become a chowhound. I've always loved that they were kind of soft and not typical of other croutons.
One night in Birmingham
Is it on a weekend night? What are you looking for--food, ambience, ethnic?
no reservations tv show best one yet
I saw this show twice as well. I loved it, especially the interaction between AB and ER in the kitchen. They acted like two teenagers, trying to see what the other was doing, and then trying to do a one up. I laughed out loud so many times it was too funny.
In addition to my crush on AB I now have one on ER. Who knew he had such a great sense of humor?!
Korean in Birmingham?
I've had the bulgogi and the bibimbop there. They have some americanized stuff like chicken wings but I wouldn't go there for that type of dish. FYI-she doesn't speak much English so I wouldn't ask too many questions. The menu is also fairly limited from what I remember.
Korean in Birmingham?
There are 3 that I know of--Ginza Sushi and Korean BBQ off Valleydale Road, Seoul Restaurant on Greensprings Hwy, and the little lunch counter type of place in the back of the Asian Market on Greensprings as well. Ginza is a new restaurant that is casual but a more upscale than the other 2. Really good korean bbq that is cooked on a gas plate on the table. They have other dishes as well that are non-bbq as well as sushi. I haven't been back to Seoul in a while. After the original owners sold to a new family, the food just isn't very good. The last one is definitely more of a hole in the wall. The market owner's wife cooks and runs it. It's like eating at a korean aunt's house--good and no frills.
