New Faces, New Menu for Food 101 in Sandy Springs

Food 101, a Sandy Springs neighborhood staple and trailblazer in the metro area’s Southern restaurant scene, welcomes new senior operations director Jimmy Prince and executive chef Ryan Smith. Prince brings to the table 35 years of experience owning more than 20 restaurants and a passion for interacting with staff and diners as he focuses on revamping menus and making key hires to better serve the neighborhood gathering spot and bastion for comfort food. Executive chef Ryan Smith, formerly the chef de cuisine at 101 Steak, has developed his own culinary style over years at three different 101 Concepts restaurants (Food 101, Cibo e Beve and 101 Steak) as well as Watershed on Peachtree and Southbound in Chamblee. His penchant for clean-eating and Southern-inspired flavors freshens the menu in new dishes like pan-roasted Alaskan halibut with braised endive and ruby grapefruit ($36); grilled skirt steak with smashed potato, oyster mushroom and herb and garlic sauce ($28); smoked pulled pork enchilada ($19); sea scallop salad with avocado, grapefruit, sweet onion and citrus vinaigrette ($17); fried NC catfish and grits with green tomato chutney ($13); kale and mushroom farrotto with spring veggies, lemon and Parmigiano ($12); fried SMF chicken biscuit with garlic aioli and cheddar ($13); and house-cured and smoked salmon board served with bagel and traditional toppings ($14). Guests continue to enjoy the prominent bourbon program at the Barrel Bar, weekly Wine Down Wednesdays and weekday happy hour specials as well as counting on the restaurant’s private event capabilities. Food 101 serves lunch Monday through Saturday, dinner nightly and Sunday brunch.

It's SweetWater Time!

We all know South City Kitchen does Southern food right and now they are offering up perfect pairings with Southern brew too! Join South City Kitchen Vinings for an evening of not-so-traditional Southern fare and brews from Atlanta's own SweetWater Brewing Company on Thursday, August 19. There's a unique beer for each of the four courses, from hors d'oeuvre to dessert at the 6:30-10 p.m. prix fixe dinner.

Check out South City Kitchen's website for the full menu, but I can already tell you I am dying to try the entrée of BBQ-braised beef brisket with smashed lady peas and fried coleslaw. Fried coleslaw?! How can you go wrong?

Dinner is $50 per person (including tax and gratuity) and reservations are a must so call 770-435-0700.

The Lady and Sons (and The Women Who Loved Them)

First, I’d like to say that I tried really hard to hate it. I figured The Lady and Sons restaurant was a tourist trap, but, since I was a tourist, I felt obligated to go. Maybe that’s the best way to approach a celebrity restaurant; low or no expectations. There were five people in our party and two had been to the restaurant before. They were not impressed, but wanted to be team players. Also, as a disclaimer, I am generally not a fan of buffets. They always seem picked over and the food is usually lukewarm. Now that the formalities are over with…

My first impression of the restaurant came at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning. After a loooong Friday night in Savannah (St. Patty’s Day weekend, no less), we rolled out of bed to the revelation that we would have to leave right then to get in line to make a reservation for 1:30 that afternoon. Not a good start. We weren’t the only ones to get that memo because when we got there, the line was down the block. When we reached the front of the line, we were told that the restaurant was not serving parties of five that day. Also not good. So we reserved a table for four and went home to get some rest.

When we returned to check in for our reservation, the hostess went ga-ga for one of the crew’s boots. When she realized our party was actually (still) a party of five, she decided that since she liked our shoe game, she’s let us slide (thanks Steve Madden!).

Paula Deen and her (cutie pie) sons have given something great to Savannah! The Lady and Sons restaurant fed me the best Southern meal I’ve had outside my grandmother’s kitchen. Four of us ate from the buffet, but one of my companions ordered the fried shrimp from the menu. All of the dishes on the buffet were in small pans so fresh food was constantly replacing half empty pans.

On the buffet: fried and baked chicken, riblets (served naked with bbq sauce on the side), black-eyed peas, rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed corn, baked sweet potatoes, lima beans, green beans, collard greens, a salad bar and the richest, most succulent, cheesiest mac n cheese I have ever had.

I know, it all sounds so ordinary. I don’t know what separates this restaurant from every other place in town that serves Southern or Soul food, but there was something special going on in the kitchen here! Everything was amazing. Even my girlfriends who had been to the restaurant before were surprised with how tasty every morsel was.

Since I wanted to give a fair and balanced report ;-), I felt obligated to try everything. I was trying to be cute and sat down after I got my salad, so my food did not get cold while I ate the salad. My friends were not so discriminating and finished off the last of the lasagna that was on the buffet. It was the last batch and was, apparently, delicious (they didn’t want to share, so I guess I missed out). The chicken was juicy; the naked ribs and accompanying bbq sauce were reminiscent of grilling out with friends on a hot summer afternoon; the collard greens were spicy with a hint of Southern charm; and, as previously stated, the macaroni and cheese was TO DIE FOR!

We ate much more than our share and then continued to try to force food down; it seemed like such a waste to even leave the juice from the greens on the plate. We briefly discussed the etiquette of licking the plate, but in the end decided that although we could probably get away with it, there was just no more room in any of our bellies. Just one thing… dessert comes with the buffet! Dessert was a choice of banana pudding, peach cobbler or the rotating dessert, which, for us, was a chocolate chip gooey cake. I just wish I had room in my jeans or my shoes for another bite…

Needless to say, The Lady and Sons is a winner. A great deal of our conversation the rest of the day was devoted to justifying just one more plate. After I finished being miserably full, I dreamed that I had taken a plate to go. None of us were hungry until breakfast the next morning.

Take a bow Ms. Deen and sons, you have created a masterpiece!

*I think I actually drooled when I was posting the pictures!

Shane Tuohy of Dogwood to Cook at the Famous James Beard House

The year 2009 is already off to a great start for one of our favorite local chefs. Shane Tuohy of Dogwood has been invited by the James Beard Foundation to be a guest chef at the prestigious James Beard House. The mission of the James Beard Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, is to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence. It is an honor to have Chef Tuohy representing Atlanta when he presents his unique Southern culinary perspective at the storied house.

The April 18 dinner will be a five-course affair, complete with wine and dessert. One can only hope Chef Tuohy finds a way to incorporate his famous grits bar into the menu! Congratulations to Dogwood and to Chef Tuohy.

CHEERS!!

Dogwood Restaurant Open for Lunch

As of today, Atlanta's newest refined Southern restaurant, Dogwood, is open for lunch. The lunch menu includes starters ($3-$15) such as fried green tomatoes, a grits bar selection and smoked Georgia Trout cakes. Entrees ($11-$18) like a duck club sandwich on pecan-raisin bread, the delicious Dogwood burger and an Atlantic salmon “BLT” have my mouth watering (it's almost lunchtime!). Lastly, the desserts ($6) include grilled lemon pound cake and a classic crème brûlée. Click here for a full lunch menu.

Dogwood is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The restaurant’s dinner hours are Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Dogwood is located in the Reynolds condominium building at 565 Peachtree Street, Suite A.