Appetizing Aperture: Revival's Country-Fried Steak

Consider the January juxtaposition, balancing those “eat healthy” resolutions with comfort-food cravings generated by cold weather and longer nights. Thwart the lunchtime temptation to hunker down and hibernate by grabbing some sunshine and soul-satisfying victuals like country-fried steak with creamy pan gravy, cornbread and a choice of two sides, a $15 Southern blue plate special off the new lunch menu at Revival in Decatur. 

Bald Eagles are a “Soar” Subject at White Oak Pastures Workshop January 16

That bald eagle in your pocket...the one on the quarter? Our national symbol of freedom and strength since 1782. The imprint doesn’t do it justice like seeing this awe-inspiring, majestic bird in action. Here’s your chance. On Saturday, January 16, zip to White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia for an enlightening indoor/outdoor bald eagle workshop led by two eagle experts, Jim Ozier and Brad Alexander. Bundle up for a 10 a.m.-noon farm tour to view these protected birds of prey in their natural habitat. The eagles are on their own for lunch, but workshop participants will dine in the Pavilion before nestling in for the afternoon’s educational workshop. $55 per person. Sign up online, designating CSA pick up to avoid shipping charges. Find more info nuggets on our blog -- and a connecting flight over to the White Oak Pastures eagle album. 

Sunday Brunch at The Southern Gentleman Gives Permission to Pause

Sunday brunch at The Southern Gentleman inserts a breather in a week that reads like a run-on sentence. At ease. Executive chef Matthew Ridgway wants families and friends to relax at the Buckhead restaurant’s recently introduced brunch, served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. May the day’s most challenging questions be menu related -- whether to choose the traditional Monte Cristo triple decker of Southern ham, roasted turkey and Swiss cheese with bourbon barrel maple syrup ($15), the Maryland deviled crab sandwich with comeback sauce ($16), the crispy anadama toffee waffles ($13) or one of the other seductive brunch specialties. Why hurry? It would be a shame to race through that starter of smoked trout rillettes ($10), the pimento cheese-Dixie bacon soft omelet prepared in the traditional French style and served with home-fried potatoes ($15) or dessert of caramelized banana and hazelnut bostock French toast ($8). Cocktails enter the picture after 12:30 p.m., when guests may want to choose The Southern Gentleman bloody mary with Tito’s vodka, pickled shrimp and a Dixie bacon garnish; the Scarlett Belle blushing cranberry-infused vodka; or a sturdy Brunch Punch of Four Roses bourbon, allspice dram, cinnamon honey syrup, black true sea salt, hard cider, bitters and apple spice. Ridgway also has recently introduced new lunch and dinner menus at the restaurant located in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta. Make reservations online or call 404-939-9845. Valet parking is available. 

Going Gluten-Free Never Tasted So Good

Loving leaving gluten behind? No longer is that a tale of woe. You know, “Whoa! That tastes like cardboard. What else can I eat -- enjoyably?” Atlanta chefs are taking advantage of naturally gluten-free foods and the ever-growing list of gluten-free, sowing their wildly appealing “GF” oats to create dishes full of flavor yet devoid of gluten. Menus clearly designate gluten-free and modifiable options so playing the do/don’t guesswork game is a thing of the past. This list of area restaurants offering gluten-free menu items (along with yummy selections) is definitely a keeper.

Start with a toast to new dining opportunities. Revival in Decatur offers Angry Orchard Stone Dry cider, which like all Angry Orchard ciders is naturally gluten-free. Cheers!

The menus at all Bantam + Biddy locations clearly designate gluten-free options, and there’s a whole flock of dishes scattered across all menu categories, starters through dessert. Entrées such as fried chicken tenders, meatloaf, oven-roasted chicken and the Southern Breakfast (served all day) are a few tempters. Covet Bantam + Biddy’s popular jalapeño cornbread? Score. The golden, gluten-free bread accompanies all entrées and is available as a side. When only a sandwich will do, the kitchen will swap in gluten-free bread. Good to remember when dining in Midtown (Ansley Mall or Crescent Avenue), Lenox Square or Avalon.
 
Chick-a-Biddy in Atlantic Station also identifies gluten-free items on its lunch/dinner and weekend brunch menus. Flip over almond pancakes with ginger apples ($10) or a protein scramble ($12.50) at brunch as well as onion rings ($6), a chicken tender basket ($13.50) and Cobb, Club Med and Power House salads ($10).

Lunch, dinner or in between, Ormsby’s shrimp and grits is an all-around favorite, rocking palates with succulent shrimp, red peppers, caramelized onions and cream sherry ($16). Ask servers about more gluten-free menu options.

At Saltwood Charcuterie & Bar, a plethora of gluten-free options await. You can’t go wrong with the pan-roasted lamb sausage with creamy grits and smoked Gouda, charred okra and harissa jus ($10) or the Southern paella with Carolina gold rice, pan-seared red snapper, mussels, scallops, smoked andouille and shrimp ($21).

In Midtown, 10th & Piedmont harmonizes sweet, salty and savory for gluten-free and paleo devotees in its bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with roasted apples, currants and cane syrup crème ($6.95)

At the magic hour of 5 p.m. every evening, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern starts serving its fall-apart tender pot roast. Midtowners can’t get enough of the comforting short ribs sided by buttermilk mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and red wine gravy ($14.50).
 
Seed Kitchen & Bar generously peppers its lunch, dinner and brunch menus with gluten-free options. Smoked chicken tacos with pimento grits, chipotle-lime crema and piquillo peppers ($8.95); deviled eggs served with short smoked salmon, jalapeño cream, pickled onion and capers ($7.95); and Georges Bank sea scallops with butternut squash-Parmesan risotto, apple and pancetta ($26.95) are a few of the palate-rewarding selections at this East Cobb restaurant.

Thankfully, most wines get the go ahead. Small plates at Stem Wine Bar in East Cobb also get the green light. Everyone’s happy to share “Deviled Eggs Three Ways” -- Spanish, French and Italian ($6); shaved Brussels sprouts with warm bacon vinaigrette, apple, pine nuts and Parmesan ($9); Spanish octopus “A la Plancha” slow braised in red wine and accompanied by fingerling potatoes, chorizo and salsa verde ($14); and garlic chicken wings with preserved lemon, black pepper, Calabrian chiles and parsley ($10).

What's New on Pinterest: Crafty Crock-Pot Meals

Some of us are menu-impaired, meaning dinnertime sneaks up on us. Clueless no more. Assemble one of these Crafty Crock-Pot Meals in the morning and come home to tantalizing aromas and dinner on the table in no time flat with Crock-Pot “crack” such as honey garlic chicken and veggies, Mongolian beef, chicken and dumplings, vegetarian taco soup, four-ingredient macaroni and cheese and chicken Caesar sandwiches.

Foodgram: Sublime Doughnuts

To err is human. To eat the “best doughnuts in the world” is Sublime. As in Sublime Doughnuts, the very same doughnuts featured on the cover of January’s Atlanta magazine “Best of” issue. Cravers, your heavenly handfuls await at the 10th Street shop in Midtown Atlanta. Grab your hands on the salted caramel and reduced balsamic vinegar doughnut or “The Dirty D”, topped with milk chocolate cookie crumble.

Appetizing Aperture: Fiore di Puglia - Taralli al Peperoncino

If you’re looking for a hot topic at your next aperitivo, set a bowl of Fiore di Puglia - Taralli al Peperoncino on the aperitivo board. Red chili pepper flakes spike the crispy, curly cross between a cracker and a pretzel. Highly addictive. Luckily, there’s a local source for these Italian crunchers from the Apulia region -- The Market at Bellina Alimentari. Drop some in your shopping basket at the Ponce City Market shop or the online Mercato di Bellina, $3.50 per 8.8 ounce package. 

National Cassoulet Day Dishes at Gypsy Kitchen, The Southern Gentleman and Revival, January 9-15

Oh say, do you cassoulet? This French meal in a bowl, resplendent with rich meats, pork skin and white beans all slow-cooked in earthenware “cassole” bowls, has climbed the social ladder from peasant to haute status. It’s so revered that American restaurants now celebrate National Cassoulet Day on January 9. Three Atlanta restaurants are moving cassoulets to the front burner on their menus for the entire week of January 9-15. The Southern Gentleman pleases hearty appetites with a tender cassoulet of Heritage Berkshire pigs head with braised Southern collards, benne seed and garlic bread crumbs that satisfies two guests for $40. Gypsy Kitchen simmers a Catalan-style chorizo and rabbit cassoulet with a garlic migas topping. Sweethearts, don’t worry about the garlic as this cassoulet is couple-perfect, feeding the two of you for $40. Revival’s executive sous chef Rémi Granger channels his Blois, France roots with his Southern cassoulet with confit duck legs and lamb shank finished in hot coals for $22. Hold on to the bread basket for sopping up every drop of the cassoulet’s luscious liquids. 

Resolve to Eat Mindfully for a Healthier New Year

Holiday excesses propel desires for new year successes. Perhaps that involves de-cluttering closets and desktops, hitting the gym, unrolling the yoga mat -- and cleaning up your plate. Atlanta restaurant menus prove mindful eating doesn’t mean monastic. Break from those push-ups and take a look at these healthier choices.

An invigorating stroll through Virginia-Highland leads to a savory square meal at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar. Focus on every tender morsel of the herb-roasted Springer Mountain Farms chicken, dried cranberry and Brussels leaf salad, and creamed corn mashed potatoes ($16).

In Poncey-Highland, Café Highlands does a makeover on that faithful friend, falafel on warm pita. Their recipe uses black-eyed peas instead of garbanzos and adds a fried green tomato, cucumber and za'atar-yogurt dressing. Served with fries; we won’t tell if you sneak a few ($9).
 
Ormsby’s on Atlanta’s Westside plates an heirloom beet salad guaranteed to reboot your resolve to eat more veggies with its vibrant palette of arugula, Brussels sprouts, hearts of palm and tangy citrus vinaigrette ($9).

At FLIP burger boutique in Buckhead and West Midtown (as well as Birmingham and Nashville) simply request lettuce wrapping a favorite burger to “leaf” the bun carbs behind. More power packers: the turkey burger with Monterey Jack cheese, crushed avocado, pomegranate ketchup, tomato and alfalfa sprouts ($8); raw tuna tartare patty with Asian pear, pine nuts, compressed veggies, mango sphere and avocado purée ($14); and the seared chicken-topped, veggie-loaded FLIP salad with pickled cukes, cauliflower and red onion ($10).

Pasta has its place on Italian tables, equally so, the fresh, crisp insalata di bietola at Bellina Alimentari in Midtown’s Ponce City Market. The colorful salad of roasted beets, escarole hearts and ricotta salata is punctuated by red wine vinegar dressing ($8).

Follow a power walk through Piedmont Park with the Mother Nature Salad at HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern in Midtown. Grains and veggie gains are yours in this mix of quinoa, cucumber, edamame, avocado, garbanzos, tomatoes, pickled onions, cranberries, candied pecans and HOBNOB basil vinaigrette ($11.50).

Tipping toward tapas in Midtown? 10th & Piedmont’s coconut scallop ceviche kicks blah days to the curb and jazzes taste buds with coconut, cilantro, spicy pepper, avocado and tortilla chips ($7.50).

Pulling up to Guy Wong’s Le Fat in West Midtown for a Vietnamese fix won’t weigh you down. Opt for Goi Cuon/summer rolls ($6), Goi Du Du/papaya salad ($10), Cai Xoan/kale salad with mango chickpea dressing ($7) or Bún/chilled vermicelli bowl with herb salad, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot, crushed peanut and crispy spring roll and choice of sliced pork, chicken, shrimp or lemongrass beef ($16).

At Midtown’s Saltwood Charcuterie & Bar, choose a healthy Moroccan couscous with Israeli pearls and squash in harissa broth ($14) -- or achieve that goal of trying more locally sourced charcuterie meats and cheeses.

Check off the salad and seafood boxes on the “eat more” list at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill in Buckhead and Roswell. The Mediterranean quinoa bowl with Meyer lemon vinaigrette and the tropical salad with toasted macadamia nuts, tropical fruit salsa and Key lime mango dressing are consummate salad choices, and guests can opt in on healthier blackened or grilled cooking methods for salmon, mahi-mahi, grouper and ahi tuna.

Lighter side tapas at Smokebelly BBQ in Buckhead won’t derail your diet plans. Try piquillo pepper hummus with carrots, celery and house-made crackers ($6.50), gluten-free and vegan jalapeño-cornbread cakes ($7.50) or chilled farro and green bean salad ($4.95). Smokebelly’s “skinny fixin’s” menu has even more options.

In The Shops Buckhead Atlanta, Gypsy Kitchen power plays tapas and snacks to eat solo or share including pickled beets ($6), marinated octopus salad with citrus and fennel ($8), roasted cauliflower and quinoa salad ($6) and grilled Spanish octopus ($15). Neighbor The Southern Gentleman knows there’s no sleeping on the job. Stay alert with lunch choices such as Boston bibb lettuce salad with pickled shrimp ($12) and roasted kabocha squash salad with Georgia pecans and onion vinaigrette ($10).

Jogging by one of the 27 Willy’s Mexicana Grill locations in Atlanta (or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)? The Southwest chicken salad recharges the weary with crisp greens, chargrilled chicken, black beans, pico de gallo, corn salsa, Jack cheese, homemade guacamole and tortilla strips ($7.75).

White Oak Pastures Adds Westside CSA Pick-Up Location

The farm just moved a little closer to the house for those on Atlanta’s Westside, thanks to White Oak Pastures. The USDA Certified Organic farm in Bluffton, Georgia is adding Doguroo as a second metro-area pick-up location for weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) deliveries and online farm store orders. Now CSA shareholders can gather their goods on Thursdays at Doguroo, located at 1456 Northside Drive, NW, from 1-7:30 p.m. and at East Atlanta Village Farmers Market from 4-8 p.m. White Oak Pastures adds freedom from shipping charges to its produce, meat and product freebie list of freedoms from GMOs, hormones, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides when shoppers specify delivery to these two locations. A limited number of CSA program memberships are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up online to secure your spot.

What’s the Doguroo-White Oak Pastures connection? The West Midtown full-service dog care destination sells White Oak Pastures dehydrated duck and chicken gizzards and lamb and beef liver treats in its store, every day.

Use your Noodle at Bellina Alimentari Classes Covering Kids, Pasta, Bread and Wine

Ingest useful and delicious new culinary skills this month by participating in one or more Culinary Club cooking or wine classes at Bellina Alimentari in Ponce City Market. 

• Pack kids’ lunch boxes, Italian-style, after absorbing easy and fun children’s meal ideas for balanced lunches from Bellina owner and mom Tal Baum during a 10 a.m.-noon class on Thursday, January 14 ($45 per person).
• Youngsters and tweens will have a ball mixing and shaping pasta with mom or dad and chef David Berry during an interactive Kids Kitchen class on Tuesday, January 19 from 4-5 p.m. ($45 for child age 8-12 and adult).
• Find out what makes natural wines so appealing -- and why Bellina loves their honesty. A guided wine tasting traverses Italy’s regions and offers guests five samples accompanied by Italian nibbles, all on Wednesday, January 20 from 6-7 p.m. ($45 per person).
• Rise up and start making your own bread, inspired by chef Berry’s hands-on bread-making class and an accompanying breads and spreads tasting on Tuesday, January 26 from 6-7 p.m. ($45 per person).  
• At “Aperitivo Time,” learn how to host your own aperitivo, or Italian happy hour, when people come together for a drink and simple bites before dinner. Learn how to make a Spritz Campari and aperitivo board, eat what you’ve made and receive 10 percent off any market purchase right after class ($45 per person).

Register and pay for classes online (8 percent sales tax will be added) or call 404-330-9933. 

Veg Out on FLIP’s Burger of the Month

FLIP burger boutique is keen, or make that quinoa, on piling on the veggies in the new year. The Shrubber, January’s Burger of the Month, nixes a bread bun in favor of Parmesan-fried eggplant slices. A quinoa patty hunkers down in between, capped by cucumber threads, pickled yellow beets, orange gremolata mayo and crispy shallots ($10.) Wait, there’s more on the plate -- zucchini fries underscore the veggie theme. Consider it a beverage or dessert but do consider tangoing with a mango and vanilla ice cream milkshake topped with pine nut crumble, cherry foam and candied jalapeños ($5). Mangos make the shake count as a fruit, right?

What’s New on Pinterest

Watch out for flying corks, it’s New Year’s Eve! Time to Break out the Bubbly. Set aside a bottle for traditionalists and entice the rest with sparkling cocktails such as Bubbles & Smoke, The Countdown and Champagne mojitos. Elderflower, cranberry and pear-ginger-sage flirt with healthy-sounding botanicals while a cotton candy sparkler exudes frivolity.  

#Foodgram

J. Kenji López-Alt is a handy man to have around the house and kitchen. The busy guy, who cooks at SeriousEats.com, has a new cookbook out – “The Food Lab:  Better Home Cooking Through Science” -- and he finds time to dabble in another kind of carving, carpentry, on the home front. 

Appetizing Aperture

Love me tender? We sure do. Ormsby’s braised short rib pot roast is the meat dreams are made of, cradled on a pillow of Idaho mash (all the better to soak up the red wine demi-glace) befriended by baby carrots and cipollini onions ($17).

Who Do You Love? The Communitas Loyalty Club Woos 10th & Piedmont, HOBNOB and G’s Midtown Guests

Love you more, and it’s not even Valentine’s Day yet.Communitas Hospitality Group is introducing the Communitas Loyalty Club (CLC) as a way of saying, “Thank you for your support” to friends who frequent their Midtown restaurants --10th & Piedmont, HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and G’s Midtown. To join, pick up a card at any of the three eateries, register it here and start earning points toward house cash with no limits or expiration dates. Gotta love it!

Espresso Bars Featuring Batdorf & Bronson Caffeinate Bantam + Biddy Lenox and Crescent Avenue

Wake up, Atlanta, to some steaming hot scoop that’s sure to start coffee fiends frothing at the mouth: Bantam + Biddy Crescent Avenue and Lenox Square locations boast espresso bars featuring Batdorf & Bronson coffee. The dark side, a.k.a. Batdorf & Bronson smooth roasted, can be good. Really good. Crescent Avenue Espresso Bar opens at 6:30 a.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends; Lenox Square Espresso Bar opens daily at 8 a.m. 

Gunshow “Hired Guns” Takes Aim at the 2016 Calendar, Tags Bryan Voltaggio for January 31 and February 1

Offset winter chills with some of the hottest seats in town, those for the first “Hired Guns” dinner in the 2016 series at Gunshow, Kevin Gillespie’s Glenwood Park restaurant. Acclaimed guest chef Bryan Voltaggio flies south from Washington, D.C. to take on the season-opener role on Sunday, January 31 and Monday, February 1.  Voltaggio’s family of restaurants, which includes VOLT, Lunchbox, Family Meal, RANGE and AGGIO, spreads his passion for local ingredients and hospitality across the Mid-Atlantic region from D.C. and Baltimore and Frederick, Maryland to Ashburn and Richmond, Virginia. Tickets, $95 per person (plus drinks, tax and gratuity), are available via Xorbia beginning December 31. Space is limited for these intimate dinners, and seats are sure to go quickly, so make reservations ASAP. For those who want to attend all six dinners in the series,season tickets are available for $75 per person per dinner through December 31 and for $85 per person per dinner starting January 1, 2016. New in 2016, Gunshow will open its doors for these exclusive dinners on Sunday and Monday, nights the restaurant is usually closed, and tickets will be sold and mailed prior to each dinner.

Stay tuned in to Gunshow’s Facebook page for future additions to the “Hired Guns” lineup, including James Beard award nominee and executive chef Vishwesh Bhatt of Snackbar in Oxford, Mississippi on March 13-14; Brian Baxter of HUSK in Nashville, Tennessee on May 22-23; Kenny Gilbert of Gilbert's Underground Kitchen in Fernandina Beach, Florida over the dates of June 12-13; Vivian Howard of Chef & The Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina in October; and one more surprise chef to be announced.

Shop Italian -- Bellina Alimentari’s New Online Mercato di Bellina is Open

One doesn’t have to be in Rome to shop like the Romans or Tuscans or Americans hankering for the best Italian ingredients. Mercato di Bellina, the online market for Bellina Alimentari in Ponce City Market, is now open for internet shopping. Browse through a tempting array of gift sets, vinegars and olive oils, pastas and sauces, seasonings, sweets, savories and even recipes and cooking tips. Colossal help when searching for ingredients or gifts for friends who also have an endless appetite and appreciation for authentic Italian foods. Allow those friends to shop for themselves by purchasing a “Dine-in & Shop-in” gift card or Mercato Di Bellina gift certificate online.

Good Eats Pave the Way into 2016 -- Across Atlanta and the Southeast

2015 is (almost) in the rearview mirror, and 2016 spreads out before us, crisscrossing Atlanta and the Southeast to welcome newcomers and share good news from favorite friends. Peer into our crystal Champagne flutes for the latest info on these new arrivals. 

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar opens February 2016 at The Avenue East Cobb in Marietta. Chef/restaurateur Doug Turbush of Seed Kitchen & Bar and Stem Wine Bar in Marietta envisions a lively atmosphere, casual and welcoming, where groups can gather around the raw bar over big platters of oysters or settle in for a bounteous showcase of expertly prepared fresh Atlantic and Gulf Coast seafood. 

A spring 2016 opening for 5Church Atlanta connects the dots between three Southern culinary queens -- Charlotte, the restaurant’s hometown; Charleston, home to the second location in the family tree; and Atlanta, where a third 5Church will put down roots at Colony Square. Restaurateurs Patrick Whalen, Ayman Kamel, Alejandro Torio and Jamie Lynch credit the name to their original restaurant’s address at the corner of 5th and Church in Uptown Charlotte. Atlantans can anticipate casual-yet-refined lunch, dinner and weekend brunch experiences touting 5Church favorites from executive chef Lynch such as the “60 second” NY strip steak and 5Church lamb burger with red onion marmalade and Gorgonzola fondue. A 200-bottle wine list, specialty cocktails and craft beers complement the menu. A good neighbor from the get-go, the Midtown restaurant will feature new, locally sourced dishes original to the Atlanta restaurant as well as artwork created by local artists. Follow 5Church on Facebook.

The Katharine Brasserie & Bar opens this winter on the ground floor of the renovated R.J. Reynolds building at 4th and Main in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Executive chef Ed Witt, previously of The Partisan in Washington, D.C., forecasts a traditional brasserie menu combining French techniques and classic Southern cooking with modern polish and seasonal ingredients. Namesake Katharine Smith Reynolds would be proud, and Winston-Salem residents as well as guests at The Kimpton Cardinal Hotel will be delighted, whether sitting down to breakfast, lunch or dinner or to a selection from the bar’s extensive wine list and menu of craft beers and creative cocktails. Follow The Katharine on Facebook and Instagram.