King + Duke Named to Esquire's Best New Restaurants List

Courtesy of Andrew Thomas Lee Photography

So, the King asked the Duke, "Did you see that we're included in Esquire magazine's list of Best New Restaurants of 2013?" With Joe Schafer at the helm of King + Duke's  24-foot hearth and Chrysta Poulos dishing out the desserts, we're sure the Duke and guests can both agree that this award is well-deserved. Add in a beverage program under the direction of Lara Creasy and you have a formidable team that Ford Fry has put together. Fry is no newcomer to this restaurant list -- The Optimist made last year's roster and was named "Restaurant of the Year." Congrats to the team at King + Duke!

The King said to the Duke, "We're Opening Monday, May 13!"

Crown Chef Ford Fry marvelously mischievous. King + Duke, his new Buckhead outpost opens Monday, May 13. Turns out Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" inspired the naming of this fun and welcoming restaurant resplendent in classic American themes and bold, wood-fired cooking on a 24-foot open hearth. With Executive Chef Joe Schafer at the helm, slower cooking methods, woodsy smokiness and locally sourced ingredients come together at the hearth. Pastry Chef Chrysta Poulos' desserts can be paired with wine or cocktails. Top mixologist Lara Creasy runs with Fry's American history and literature inspirations in the beverage program that includes 35 wines by the glass and a "library" of more than 200 selections from around the world, including our original 13 colonies. Coffee roasted by Counter Culture in North Carolina fills cups. Located at 3060 Peachtree Road, King + Duke serves dinner nightly and lunch on weekdays, and offers a dining room, garden patio with a bar and lounge. Valet parking is available. Reservations: 404-477-3500.

Appetizing Aperture: Mixologist Lara Creasy's Farmer Tom's Collins Cocktail at JCT. Kitchen & Bar

Shop for your cocktail glass as well as for your plate at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. At 10 a.m. this Saturday, June 9, JCT. Kitchen & Bar Mixologist Lara Creasy demos how to concoct garden-fresh libations. Bet you want to reach into the screen and pluck out her Farmer Tom's Collins cocktail, a refreshing mix of Farmer's Organic Gin, lemon, herbsaint, fresh herbs and soda.

2, 4, 6, 8, No. 246 Has Been Worth The Wait!

Ford Fry, owner/executive chef of JCT. Kitchen & Bar, and Chef Drew Belline, previously the chef de cuisine at Floataway Café, are opening No. 246 -- their new Italian-inspired, locally driven restaurant in easy-going Decatur next week! Stay tuned to their Facebook page to get the scoop! No. 246 (twofoursix) takes its name from the original number of the plot of land where the restaurant sits. Through their joint venture, Fry and Belline share their passions for using seasonal, local ingredients, simple preparations and wood-fired cooking -- key strengths of both Californian and Italian kitchens.

The No. 246 menu veers off the Southeast's meat-centric path, setting forth more vegetables and dishes driven by local farm produce. Dinner dish examples include "start" of wood oven-roasted razor clams with salsa verde and lemon. Among the "flour & water" selections are garganelli with soffritto-braised rabbit, sultanas, broccoli rabe and pecorino and a cherrystone clam pizza with grana padano, parsley butter, garlic and chilies. "From the hearth" items include wood oven-roasted Springer Mountain chicken with hen-of-the-woods, roasted young carrots and a sherry-bacon vinaigrette or a whole wood-roasted fish of the moment. As a "finish," dessert options include lemon balm buttermilk panna cotta with lemon marmalade and brown butter blueberry croustade with crème fraîche. Lunch features entrée salads and sandwiches including the No. 246 burger with Teleme and house pickles and a BLT featuring Belline Farm's tomato, fior di latte, backyard basil and prosciutto.

Lara Creasy directs the beverage program, pouring wines from Italy and California and providing a revolving list of "house wine" values by the glass or half-carafe. Cocktails contain numerous traditional Italian ingredients -- vermouths, amaros, aperitivos, digestivos, seasonal fruits and produce, Italian sodas and house-made mixers. Coffee also will be a priority at No. 246 -- perfect to enjoy in a place where the front doors spill out onto the sidewalk while the backdoor opens into a yard green with an herb garden, shuffleboard court, and a deck built around a tree where live music will be played on Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner daily and will not accept reservations. So, what comes after No. 246? Ate, of course.

No. 246: 129 E. Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur; 678-399-8246.

Saturdays Are Looking A Little Greener On Peachtree Road

See all of those green shoots poking up?   As azaleas and dogwoods are perking up landscapes, local farmers are eager to brighten our tablescapes with arugula, asparagus, bok choy, spinach and a host of other tender spring greens.  Time to toss the market basket over your arm and head to the opening of the Peachtree Road Farmers Market's fifth season!  Bring a kazoo and be a part of the first morning buzz at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 9 in the parking lot of The Cathedral of St. Philip. 

Twelve vendors peddled locally grown food when the market opened in 2007, and 65 vendors are anticipated to rotate through during the 2011 season.  The Peachtree Road Farmers Market has blossomed into the largest producer-only market in metro Atlanta. Buy from farmers, Savannah shrimp sellers, meat and dairy purveyors, chefs and prepared food specialists and artists.  And if you forget your shopping bags, the market now uses biodegradable and compostable biobags.  The market accepts Georgia food stamps and doubles the value in partnership with Wholesome Wave Georgia to help make healthy food more accessible to all.

Chef demos, music, kids' activities and other special events are more reasons to trade muzak and fluorescent lights for the outdoor market's festival atmosphere.  We're looking forward to seeing JCT. Kitchen & Bar mixologist Lara Creasy in the demo tent on May 21, to poring over kitchen finds at the Les Dames Culinary Yard Sale on June 11, to licking up the Slow Food Ice Cream Social on June 18, and to witnessing chef demos by Attack of the Killer Tomato Fest chefs on June 25 and July 2, 9 and 16.  And there's still half of the summer left to shop after that! 

Open 8:30 a.m. - noon, come rain or shine, through December 17.  Visit the market's website for chef demo recipes, in-season calendars, a vendor listing and much more.

Peachtree Road Farmers Market:  The Cathedral of St. Philip, 2744 Peachtree Road, NW.

JCT's Take on National Lemonade Day: Shandy-O, I Need You So

Be sure to squeeze National Lemonade Day into your agenda today! Leave the lemonade stands to the under-21 crowd and shake up a couple of Shandy-O cocktails. JCT. Kitchen & Bar Mixologist Lara Creasy starts with two ounces of lemonade -- after that, it’s all adult-only ingredients.

Thank goodness the recipe fills an adult-sized glass and not one of those little lemonade stand kiddie cups! Of course, you're welcome to cool off with Shandy-O and a full menu of cold beverages at JCT.

Shandy-O

1 oz. Wild Turkey American Honey
2 oz. Allagash White beer
2 oz. fresh lemonade

Combine all in a tall glass with plenty of ice. Toss briefly in a cocktail shaker to mix and serve with a lemon wedge for garnish.  Delicious!

Thursdays at JCT. Kitchen & Bar Feature Live Music, Cheap Eats and Patio Punch

Westside Urban Market is filled with fun on Thursdays, thanks to JCT. Kitchen & Bar. Chef/Owner Ford Fry prepares goodies for $1, including oysters, JCT. deviled eggs and pimento cheese toasts with pickled sunchokes. The restaurant's mixologist Lara Creasy prepares $24 carafes of Patio Punch, a potent libation with fresh fruit juices from local farms. A large selection of wine and cocktails including $5 special martinis, margaritas and sangria are also available. The rooftop bar at JCT. is an excellent place to unwind and start the weekend early, especially when the live music cranks up at 6 p.m. on Thursday nights. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, but the bar keeps going from 5 p.m. until midnight.

JCT. Kitchen & Bar: 1198 Howell Mill Road, Suite 18; 404-355-2252.