Milt

When you say Northside, I assume you are ITP. My only experience has been with the Kroger Cooking School in Crabapple. I took several classes there when they first opened. At that time, they brought in numerous chefs from successful restaurants in the metro area. Kroger now has competition from Viking, Cook's Warehouse, and others and Kroger seems to be using more in-house staff and less outside chefs. Just the same, cookbook author Debbie Moose (who Gifted Gourmet and I met at an eGullet cookout in Raleigh a couple of years ago) will be at the Kroger School in October. It appears to be a book signing only - with no instruction or demonstration.

We visited Lawrence, where my daughter has lived for the past eleven years, in early June. We took her, along with her three children, to Free State Brewery for lunch - as we have on our last few visits. It is a great place to eat when there are a wide range of tastes and ages in the party. Just the same, it is obvious that Lawrence has several other places worth a visit. Her, in no particular order, is her admittedly incomplete list of places we should consider on our next trip: Teller's, Massachusetts Ave.; Vermont Street BBQ, 728 Mass; La Parilla, 814 Mass, Zen Zero, 811 Mass; Indo, 125 E 10th; India Palace, 129 E 10th.

We have eaten at MelBee's once - on our next to last visit to KC. Last month, we tried several other places. I too cannot remember just exactly what we were served, but we three had the prix fixe meal. My adult son is very limited in his taste, but he thoroughly enjoyed his lamb chops. The rest he picked at. My wife and I both were very impressed with our meals and plan on returning on a future trip. On our trip, we shared our three desserts and (as I recall) all liked the same dessert best. Just the same, our one experience was very positive.

No one has ever taught me how I should dice an onion. It is amazing, to me, how much time and thought some of us have put into the task. I cut off both ends and then slice the onion in half from root to stem (usually). Then - while laying flat on the cutting board - I make a series of cuts each direction. The number of cuts is determined by the size of the onion and the recipe. If some of the pieces remaining are larger than I care to have - I cut them again. It's very imprecise, but it works. I am far more comfortable having the onion laying on a flat side so that I am always cutting downward on a cutting board.

That is exactly why I tried it. I had received a couple of free 20 oz. coupons for Coke Plus and brought two bottles of Diet Coke Plus home. My son drank one (He just saw Coke on the bottle and that was enough) and I drank the other. Perhaps my tastes buds aren't very sophisticated, but I couldn't tell the difference in Diet Coke Plus and Diet Coke. My son had similar thoughts.

For southern roadfood, you must try Collonade on Cheshire Bridge Road or Mary Mac's on Ponce de Leon. The diversity in customers is better at Collonade. Collonade's fried chicken and yeast rolls are what they do best. Excellent southern roadfood is also available at Chip's Southern Cooking on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. If you get to the north metro area for BBQ, I would suggest that Sam & Dave's (2 locations - Lower Roswell Road near Parkaire Mall and Whitlock Avenue west of the Marietta Square) or Swallow at the Hollow on Green Street in Roswell.

The last time we were in Beaufort, we planned to eat at Sgt. White's. They were closed, so we then went to Plum - which was very good. Be sure to take the street address. We had a hard time finding it. Plum's is located on the back side of the development - facing the marsh. It is reached by walking around the developed property to the marsh side, or by going down a narrow open passageway from Bay Street - which is what we did.

Zing! The OTP'ers felt that one. ← Well, not really meant to be a zing, but it does speak to just how very large the Atlanta metro area is, and how that shapes our dining habits. Plenty of food for everybody. ← Absolutely! I live in NE Cobb. It takes us 30 minutes to get to Alpharetta, 45 to midtown, 40 to Buford Hwy, an hour to downtown Decatur, over an hour to downtown Douglasville, an hour and fifteen minutes to East Atlanta. That colors our choices. Fortunately, each of those places is close enough occasionally - because they each have some excellent places to eat.

My two cents worth - prompted by the above. East Pearl (near I-85 and Pleasand Hill Road) is in Gwinnett County. A number of us from AtlantaCuisine went there recently for dim sum, which several have said is currently the best dim sum in metro Atlanta. This was my first dim sum experience, and it was an hour's drive each way for us. I was very impressed. The food was very good - and was ordered by one of our group who was much better qualified than I to make the choices. Pure Taqueria is much closer for us - only about a half hour's drive. We have been several times. My wife is more impressed than I, but the food is very good. This is Mexican food for Americans - nothing wrong with that. It is just very different from Mexican food for Mexicans. Metro Atlanta has excellent places for each. Pure Taqueria is part of the Sedgwick Group, whose several restaurants are all well received. Their original - Van Gogh's - was recently redone and is now VG Bistro. After 16 years or so, Van Gogh's needed redecorating, at least. The quickest we have ever gotten a table at Pure Taqueria is 30 minutes. The wait has been as much as 75 minutes. That suggests they are doing something right.

Welcome to eGullet Bunny Man. Great first post. You stated quite well what I tried to say some time back - only better.

In my experience, the interchange with the instructor and the students is a major advantage. You can ask for clarification, about substitution of ingredients, or even ask "What was that again?". This is not possible while watching television. Visiting afterward, which is sometimes possible, is also a pleasant aspect of the class.

I gather that you feel offal is awful.

McEntyre's Bakery in Smyrna (between Atlanta and Marietta) does a tremendous business with their cinnamon fries. The father and sons running the business are third and fourth generation bakers. Greenwood's on Green Street in Roswell (just north of Atlanta) is a restaurant that is as noted for their desserts as they are for their entrees. I am in love with their coconut cream pie. All of their desserts are made in house.

Several years ago, I saw a recipe in Taste of Home for an oatmeal mix. I tried it, enjoyed it, and have tinkered with it a few times since then. I mix regular oatmeal with dried fruit, white and brown sugar, cinnamon and salt and store it in a plastic container. I microwave it with skim milk and pour a little more milk on after it has cooled a bit. Just this week, I have added a few fresh blueberries to the bowl before microwaving it. I'm still deciding whether I like this addition or not. Before finding this recipe, I only ate oatmeal occasionally. Now I eat it about four to five times per week. For me it is the right combination of healthy, tasty, filling, and convenient.

I live in NE Cobb County and find interesting places to eat all over the Cobb, Cherokee and north Fulton area. Alpha Soda is a worthy stop. Pure Taqueria is also. Midway Meal House on the way to Cumming a one of the best meat and vegetable places around. I have not yet visited their new restaurant (the original place was destroyed by fire last year and took about a year to be rebuilt), but reports are that MMH is as good as ever. Rhae's is a very small local chain with very good burgers. Silos Grille in Crabapple is quite good. Just a couple of miles south of Silos Grille is Van Gogh's, for an excellent upscale meal. A block east of Van Gogh's is Slope's BBQ, which is one of the better bbq places. I would suggest the rib plate with okra and black eye peas and sweet tea - to make you feel that you are really in the south. Sometimes around Alpharetta you won't realize that you are in the south. Mr. Taco is a fast food place on Holcomb Bridge at Warsaw Road (midway between GA 400 and Alpharetta Hwy) and is quite good. It is directly across Warsaw from Olive Garden - behind a CVS Drugs. Azteca Groceria on Alpharetta Hwy a quarter mile south of Holcomb Bridge and Taco Mas (across the street from Azteca Groceria) offer excellent sandwiches, burritos and tacos. Carniceria San Miguel on Holcomb Bridge at the first traffic light west of GA 400 is also worth a visit. English is limited in these three, but generally is not a problem. harry & david's is just east of GA 400 on Holcomb Bridge and is another upscale opportunity. Zola Italian Bistro is on Alpharetta Hwy just north of Alpharetta on the right in a shopping center. I always miss it and need to make a U-turn to return to it. The only entrance to the shopping center is on the south side of the center and Zola is the northernmost tenant. There are more, but this is enough to get you started. If these sound of interest, I would be happy to continue with suggestions.

My favorite way to enjoy rhubarb is a strawberry rhubarb pie. I made one last week, from a recipe found on the net, and it was very good - not too sweet and not too tart. Straight rhubarb, in anything, is a bit too tart for me - and I love tart foods.

Doe's Eat Place is a worthy candidate for a visit - whether you order one of their steaks or their equally famous tamales.

Should you get called back to Roswell in the future, I would suggest you try Greenwood's on Green Street for southern cuisine and Swalow at the Hollow, which is directly across the street, for barbecue. Both are very good. I would suggest fried chicken at Greenwood's and ribs at SATH. The veggies at both places are way above average and Greenwood's pies (which I seldom have enough room for) are very tasty.

IKEA's Swedish meatballs are certainly the way to go if dining at IKEA - for lunch or in the evening. Great value, rather than great food. The small order of meatballs has been enough for me. It allows me to order something else if I am very hungry. It is enough to fill me satisfactorily, if I am not.

Your experience reminded me of an observation I have made numerous times. Ethnic eateries are less popular - therefore much likelier to serve you quickly. This has especially been true around the Atlanta area aon Valentine's Day. Popular restaurants raise their prices and are fully committed long before the special day arrives. We can go to any one of a number of wonderful ethnic eateries without a reservation - be seated immediately - and have a wonderful meal at regular prices. The next time we are through Columbia (probably this summer), we will try Okii Mama. It sounds like my kind of place.

Any chance this might be suitable for a group (30ish people) dinner? I'll be subjected to one of those, and the last few haven't been anything to write home about. MelissaH ← I have only eaten at Rolling Bones at lunch time. I have no idea how busy they might be during the evening hours. Perhaps you would want to ask them specifically about a particular number of people, time of day, day of week, etc. Rolling Bones Barbecue, 377 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, phone 404-222-2324

One place worth a vist, and convenient to downtown, is Rolling Bones BBQ on Edgewood Avenue. You will have a modestly priced meal that you would probably never find around home. This is definitely one of the better bbq places in metro Atlanta - and it is convenient for you.

Since Tonic is only a couple of blocks (.3 miles, according to MapQuest) from my son's home - I do believe we will stop in for a meal on our next visit. Is their location where a coffee bar/breakfast restaurant was located? We ate in such a place on our last visit and it seems to be almost exactly where Tonic is now located.

Since I retired and closed my retail store, I have been working out of my home by selling my remaining inventory on eBay. Occasionally, I join some fellow AtlantaCuisine participants to explore a new restaurant - but most of the time I fix lunch at home. Yesterday, I had a ham and provolone sandwich on wheat bread and a peanut butter and grape jelly on wheat bread along with two lemon stuffed green olives and one mild pickled okra and a can of Diet Rite tangerine soda. A golden delicious apple for dessert rounded out the meal.

Once again, I find evidence of two people separated by a common language. What is a tuckerbox?