therese

I'd choose the Little Five Points location over the Midtown location of The Vortex. Harder to get to from Buckhead, true, but in this instance I'd say it's worth it. Lots of other cheap decent eats in Little Five, and you're an easy stroll to all the neighborhoods up and down that strip: Inman Park, Poncey Highland, Virginia Highland, Morningside... Maybe chefdavidrusso should just switch to a hotel in Little Five? Oh, hold it, there aren't any hotels in Little Five, are there? Atlanta's done a great job of separating the people that live here from the people who visit here.

I agree, Watershed's a good option, and nicely accessible by MARTA. South City's okay, but I don't think it's ideal for either one.

Okay, first off I'm going to have to disagree vehemently with Gifted Gourmet on her recommendation of Pittypat's Porch. Until very recently (and possibly still---I can't bring myself to visit the web site) this restaurant featured servers dressed as slaves, and the food is reportedly nasty. Do not eat there. Please. It will just encourage them to keep offering this sort of crap, and you will be embarassed. I'm also going to go ahead and tell you that my new business venture wherein I escort visitors to cool ethnic restaurants in Atlanta will not involve many stops downtown, largely because one is hard-pressed to find a decent meal of any sort downtown. This is because most Atlantans don't live there, they live in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown (like me) or in the 'burbs. The only people who sleep downtown are business travelers/conventioneers and they are the ones who keep Pittypat's open. With those caveats in mind, I'm going to make the following suggestions: Mary Mac's Tea Room: Mary Mac's has been around for a very long time, and everybody who is anybody in Atlanta eats there so it's great people watching. The food is as close to real "southern" cooking as you'll get outside my grandmother's kitchen, and there's a full bar to take the edge off the experience if it all gets too surreal for your visitors. The Varsity: the sound track to this web site accurately conveys the chaotic scene in this enormous establishment. Should you actually decide to dine there (and I don't recommend this unless you've perhaps pretreated with Prilosec) you should order onion rings and a frosted orange. Yes, you can get a hot dog, but don't say I didn't warn you. And know what you want before you get to the cashier, because they yell at you in a friendly, down home sort of way.

Nothing savory to offer, but I'll point out that rhubarb's flavor masks that of sweeteners like Splenda. A rhubarb compote would be a very nice sweet for her, served with either yogurt or (for breakfast) oatmeal. And it's the easiest thing in the world: chopped rhubarb, sweetener, a small amount of water all cooked until rhubarb the desired consistency (pretty brief, actually).

Okay, so you are screwed. Because Buckhead and ethnic aren't even on the same page. And it's a shame, because Atlanta's got great ethnic stuff. The best stuff is mostly out Buford Highway, an area that's got really crap public transportation. It's so bad that private minibus companies run by Hispanics have sprung up to fill the void along that corridor. So you're either looking at hefty cab fares from Buckhead, or might consider renting a car. If you're still up for this your best options are Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, various Latin American. Let me know which you'd like details about. I should start a business where I take visitors to Atlanta to cool ethnic restaurants and markets.

You can actually get to Watershed using public transportation if you'd like. Catch MARTA at the nearest station (I'm guessing Lenox if you're in Buckhead, but that depends on where you are in Buckhead) heading south to Five Points (the only transfer station), transferring to an eastbound train to Decatur. You'll be right on the town square in Decatur, and will need to walk back west on Ponce de Leon (the main drag) several blocks. Buckhead is actually not the best part of town for food, though there are some exceptions. Lots of restaurants, but they're generally more about glam than about food. Atlanta's absolute upper end food-wise is Seeger's, located in a bungalow in Buckhead. Dress up (jackets required I think, or at least very strongly encouraged) and bring money. The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton is also worth the money.

Gifted Gourmet's estimates of prices are about right. These prices are very typical of Atlanta upmarket restaurants that aren't quite in the nosebleed range (which we've also got). The wine list is excellent (caveat: wine director Greg Koetting is a friend) and well-priced. And on Sunday nights bottles are half price. Yep, half price, which means we go on Sunday nights and order the most expensive bottles on the list. Woodfire is only one of many restaurants in this area that emphasize use of local products, etc. Tuohy's doing a Slow Food dinner this evening if anybody's looking for a cool way to spend Friday night. Info from the Georgia Organics web site:

Thanks for bumping this topic, as it prompted me to search for local CSAs. Turns out that I've now got several great options here in Atlanta: a few are outside the immediate metro area but will bring in boxes to pick up at a market near my house, and one is actually part of a co-housing community that's also nearby. I gotta go check out my options.

The NYC girl's actually a Kentucky girl.

Good for a giggle, but rather more reality show-ish than I'd like. Though I must admit to feeling quite smug about my ability to generate a very tidy 1/4" dice out of an onion. Some of the people auditioning had apparently never actually examined the interior of an onion.

Interesting web site. Under the "Mieux nous connaitre" drop down is "A l'origine", listing French laws which require companies with more than certain number of employees to provide a place for said employees to dine away from the immediate work site. Subsidizing restaurant meals was a way of getting around that requirement. The company contributes between 50% and 60% to the value of the meal. It benefits the company, because it's a fringe benefit that will help it retain employees. It benefits the employee, because it means that his meals are half of less of the normal price. It benefits the restaurant, as it ensures (assuming that the food's reasonably tasty, I suppose) a steady stream of customers. The site lists all sorts of rules regarding use of the cheques, including prohibiting their use on weekends and holidays (because you're not at work, are you?) and redeeming them for cash (change given on leftover value from a cheque).

I use credit cards for just about everything, including tipping in restaurants. I do like the points I earn (and put to good use) but I also like the convenience. In my case a restaurant's decision to accept credit cards is an excellent one, as I am otherwise unlikely to go there. Period. Yes, the restaurant (and all other retailers) must pay to offer this convenience, but they also pay for lots of other things in overhead. It's the cost of doing business, and if you want mine you'll accept credit cards.

Not to worry. Most people in Atlanta generally don't care enough about barbecue to have any strongly held opinions about it one way or the other. It's just not a big part of the culture here.

The three seatings part of it may be the confusing point. If you're told that there are three seatings, one at 6:30, one at 8:00, and one at 9:30, it's not much of leap to assume that the tables are actually turned twice. So if somebody had made plans to go to a movie after the 6:30 seating, or had a promised a babysitter that he'd be home by midnight after the 9:30 seating that might lead to an early (and tragic) departure. The night we were there included some lengthy pauses between courses, and eventually several of the courses were served out of order.

Well, I'll see what I can do. Really? One would have to be clueless indeed after having had the whole thing explained in detail when making reservations (obligatory, at least 24 hours in advance), and then again when you're seated, and then again in writing, as you're given the menu at the beginning of the meal. I didn't find the amount of food to be overwhelming, actually, and I'm not a fan of large portions. More than I'd usually eat, true, but not so much that I was uncomfortable, or would have turned away more food. Pacing the meal over hours (ours was 4 hours) certainly makes it reasonable.

No. Or at least none was described or offered at our dinner there last Saturday. I think that one of TheFoodTutor's courses came with sake, but none of ours did. Based on the experiences I've heard so far (not just here on eGullet but from others in Atlanta) you'll likely see many dishes already described here, possibly a few new ones.

Oriental Pearl recently closed (or in the process of closing).

Dim sum is mostly a weekend thing in Atlanta, and just about anywhere that serves it does it cart-style here. Happy Valley in the Plaza Fiesta (or is that Fiesta Plaza? whatever, the one that has or used to have a Burlington Coat Factory) does very good business on weekends. Right next door to Atlanta Farmers Market. My most recent dim sum in Atlanta was at First China. Overall very good. Right next door to Mozart Bakery, so additional draw there as well.

Well, nothing. Because Atlanta doesn't have a much of a barbecue tradition. I like barbecue, but have it maybe twice a year. Dusty's (in town, near Emory University) is our local, and it's fine, but I'm sure as hell not eating it every day, or even every week. Barbecue places are not as common as you might think, and many of them are not particularly great. Lots of other great food here that reflects the actual ethnic diversity in the community.

Had dinner there (or at least I think it was there---things get a bit confusing with the various Bookbinder's) about two years ago (for a convention, of course) and was seriously underwhelmed: expensive and not great food, and yes, we did get very straightforward preps. A bit embarassing, as I was dining with a German colleague and I had to apologize for the food. It was not, however, the worst meal I had on that visit to Philadelphia.

Exactly what comprised a "heart healthy" diet is by no means settled, but your no red meat/lots of fish/fruit for dessert formula works well. I can't quite get my mind around the saffron/liquorice root chicken soup, and might switch that out for something more vegetable-based. Fiber's important, so whole grains should appear somewhere in the meal (and may well---you don't menion accompaniments to any of the course).

Soto for dinner with my husband Saturday night. TheFoodTutor and nhconner have already described many of the dishes we tried, so I'll only mention a couple not already described: Steamed monkfish liver pate with shiitake mushroom: lovely monkfish liver wrapped inside the mushroom and skewered. This was part of a multi-dish course called "Hasson dish". Steamed Maine lobster: steamed lobster served with an uni mousse, wrapped in thin slices of lotus root. This was one of the eight choices offered in the "Soto's Popular Item" category (three courses on this 12 course menu call for the diner to make a choice: this one, the fish tartare, and sushi). These items were previously available back when Soto was doing conventional (well, sort of conventional) sushi and a la carte dishes, and I'd had a number of them. This was my favorite, so I got it. Best lobster, hands down, that I've ever eaten. A few things to bear in mind if you're planning a visit: Three seatings are offered so as to stagger the crowd a bit, 6:30, 8:00, and 9:30. If you choose the 6:30 seating you will most definitely not be finished by 8:00---the meal takes four hours, and many of the 12 courses are comprised of more than one dish. We took the 8:00 seating and finished at midnight. No turning of tables whatsoever. As per one of our servers, Soto's doing as many as 30 covers a night (and all of the tables were booked during the peak while we were there), but that depends to some extent on the composition of the parties. Lots of two tops easier to handle than a couple of large parties. A bit of price creep---our dinners were $80/head, and because dinner's over four hours you may consume more alcohol than you normally might. We drank two (yes, two) bottles of champagne (in addition to sparkling mineral water), such that our final bill with tip came to about $360. Service is excellent (though not flawless) but not stuffy. Staff are happy to answer questions about pretty much anything, and Soto (and a female assistant) works right in front of you (our table was closest) the entire night. Lighting brighter than usual for upmarket dining, and classical music plays in the background. White synthetic tablecloths need replacing with the real thing (in no small part because they're so slippery against the table that one is in real danger of sweeping one's dinner onto the floor, and then I'd cry for sure) or they could be abandoned entirely. Nice black cloth napkins (so no lint on my black trousers) that are replaced with new when you visit the WC (which you probably will, given the length of the meal). All in all a really great meal. Book for sure if you're in Atlanta, or visiting, and if you've got some spare frequent flyer miles around the house you might even consider making a special trip.

Bravo, Bill. Thanks for sharing.

Okay, looks like I'm going to have to go back to Bologna sooner that I'd anticiptated. Thanks for pics.

Just as well, frankly. Because otherwise I'd surely have managed to talk Fi into DreamBagsJaguarShoes or some other similarly disreputable boîte, and then have had to face the world's worst transatlantic flight the next morning. Economy class is bad. Economy class with the spins is very bad indeed.