gwilson

Both have been around forever. Neither are 'off the path' geographically, but I'm not sure how much that matters to you. I'm sure the old-timers know about them, but the younger generations probably don't even notice them as they drive past. I'm pretty sure that they are both only open for breakfast and dinner, and they're actually fairly close to one another. Silver Skillet is actually down the road from Kool Korners. -Greg

About Atlanta: If you want fried chicken for one segment, I think that you will want to go for one of the meat and threes. There is a bit of a fried chicken heirarchy in Atlanta, but none of the places would really fit your show. (See Watershed, Colonnade, Greenwood's, Mary Mac's, Restaurant Eugene, etc. None are really 'off the beaten path', and some have already been featured on FTV.) There are a ton of meat and threes to choose from. As far as choosing a best one, it would be hard. In the short-lived 'Atlanta research' thread, Gifted Gourmet and others gave a good list for you to choose from. Another that I would like to add is Marie's Cafe. They have some of the best collard greens that I have ever had. And all of their food is exceptional. (To be fair, the owner is a friend of mine. But I feel I can put that aside in evaluating the food there.) And I'm still working on more information about Atlanta fried chicken for you. I have a question about the show. Geographically, how far are you going in each city? Atlanta is pretty spread out, especially for a city of its population. We have a beltline (285 - locally referred to as the Perimeter) that encloses Atlanta proper and other surrounding cities. But metropolitan Atlanta spreads quite a bit past the Perimeter. Maybe to put it in better terms - for the L.A. show, would you include, for example, Torrance or Long Beach as part of L.A.? In Atlanta, if you stick to just inside the Perimeter, your choices will be significantly reduced. That's good to cut down on the possibilites, but also bad as you're cutting out some really good options. One more thing for you to consider. Atlanta, like any other large town, has an abundance of non-American cuisines to choose from, in varying degrees of 'authenticity'. Besides the obvious (Chinese, Italian, etc.), off the top of my head I can think of Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Australian, Indian (both North and South), Persian, South African, Ethiopean, Moroccan, Brazillian, Mexican, Columbian, Guatamalan, Cuban, Jamaican, and Peruvian. And most of these options are quite cheap. And I remember someone mentioning Kool Korners grocery. That (from how I understand your show) is exactly what you are looking for. The outside really doesn't look like much at all - neither does the inside come to think of it. But the cuban sandwiches are incredible. It's been around for a very long time. As has the owner - he's in his eighties, I believe. Would make a great story. Ah! Knew I forgot something... How long are you going to have in each city (Atlanta anyway)? Or is it not planned out that far yet? Chris, again, good luck with this whole thing. Let us know if you need any help at all. -Greg

You're going to be on Feasting on Asphalt? Cool! And major congratulations on getting your own show. That is truly an awesome opportunity. And if you need any help with anything in Atlanta, just let me know. -Greg

You are quite welcome. The exact criteria? I just kind of pick and choose randomly. lol No, it's not quite that loose. It's just my opinion as to what the magazine's main point is. Certainly, Southern Living has a lot of food content in each issue. Despite that, they are more of a general magazine. (At least to me.) If food isn't the primary content source, then the magazine doesn't qualify as a 'food magazine'. One way I decide about some magazines is by just looking at their cover. If the cover is a photo of a closet full of clothes (Real Simple) or a vase full of flowers (Martha Stewart Living), then it's not a food magazine. -Greg

Alton Brown's method doesn't seem to be too complicated. (Although I haven't actually tried it yet. And I'm not sure if it was covered in the egullet 'how to make' yogurt thread.) And if you want to read his thoughts about making yogurt (he adds powdered milk to make the yogurt thick - if I remember correctly), here is the transcript of his the Good Eats yogurt show. -Greg

I haven't personally tried it, but I trust Alton Brown. -Greg

Atlanta is horrible as far as public transportation goes (in case you didn't know). But if you don't mind walking a bit after getting off your stop, some things are reasonable. Watershed is very good - great Southern food. Also, someone mentioned Taqueria del Sol, which is awesome cheap food. And one location is across the street from Watershed. Also in the area is the DeKalb Farmer's Market (the website seems to be down for some reason) which is really aweome. It's not a true farmer's market - it's more like an international market. Even if you can't buy stuff, it's great to look around and people watch. And they have a little cafeteria, too. I haven't eaten there, but I have heard good things about it. Also in Decatur (which is where all of this is), is Figo Pasta. Probably not the best pasta you've ever had, but it is good and you can't beat the prices. Personally, I wouldn't go to Ted's. The food is really good, although not exactly cheap. (And whoever mentioned it above, the Friday clam chowder is awesome! They use bacon in the soup. ) But it's a chain. If there isn't one close to where you live, at the rate they want to expand, there will be soon. Landmark Diner is open 24 hours and has a pretty big menu. They have multiple locations, one of which is downtown close to Georgia State. There food is pretty good, but not incredible. But I've never had a good dessert there. If you want dessert, I would suggest Cafe Intermezzo (the Peachtree street location is closer to downtown, although the Dunwoody one may be close to a Marta station). The dessert selection is huge, and usually very good. Not mindblowing - but good. They also have a full bar (their drink menu is very cool - lots of European liquers, sodas, etc.) and serve food until late (3 am?). Diagonally across the street from Cafe Intermezzo is R. Thomas, which is open 24 hours. The food here is really good (in my opinion), but it can be on the strange side. They have macrobiotic stuff (or something like that - I forget what it's called - but a lot of their menu is based on some 'wholistic' diet), lots of vegetables (including Japanese things like wakame), unusual grains like quinoa. And it's an awesome place to people watch - you get all kinds of people in there, especially late at night. Lastly, I love playing 'tour guide' and would be willing to do it for you (and friends/colleagues) if you want. Driving to the DeKalb Farmer's Market, late night chauffeur, going to a restaurant that isn't close to downtown, whatever. (I have met a few people here, and they can vouch that I'm not a serial killer.) Just let me know if you're interested. -Greg

Luke (but with a French accent - haha). It's named after a variety of French olive. And I would like to reinforce my suggestion of Suzanne's restaurant. I've met her and was a guest at her Chef's School program at Blackberry Farm. She is an incredibly talented chef and a wonderful lady in general. -Greg

Sorry that I'm a few days late to the party. In a little bit of self-promoting, I would suggest you check out the Ultimate Foodie Magazine thread. But I take no responsibility on bankruptcies. (Oh, and Rebecca263, don't show your daughter the list. lol) And for the record I subscribe to Gourmet & Bon Appetit (free subscriptions!). And I regularly buy a bunch of others. Should renew my subscription to Wine Spectator since I buy it a lot anyway. -Greg

I saw that when it played here in Atlanta. I really liked it. I don't want to give away anything, but the cannabalism is actually a minor point. It's basically just a plot device. I thought the movie explored the relationship between the two friends (and girlfriends, etc.) very well. That's really what the movie is about. And some parts of it were really quite funny. -Greg

Most places, the law is that you can not serve people under 21. It's up to you to make sure that happens, so if they look well above 21, you take the chance that they are. But there are some places that require you card everyone by law. Alpharetta, GA (basically a suburb of Atlanta) years ago passed a law that restaurants had to card every single customer who was going to consume alcohol. It didn't matter what they looked like, if you personally knew them, if they were a regular who had been there from the beginning. Every guest drinking alcohol had to have a valid ID with them that said they were 21 years old or older. Personally, I think it's another example of the ridiculous alcohol laws in America. -Greg

It's probably a franchise of this, which started here in Atlanta. It's a great concept. They have small plates of food (tapa type things mostly) that you can have while you drink. No other alcohol than wine. Their wines are divided into 10 categories - 3 for white and 3 for red in increasing body. Category 7 is dessert wines & 8 is sparkling (or vice versa). 9 and 10 are by the bottle only - their 'reserve' list. Everything is by the half-glass, glass, and bottle. Plus they have a retail license - so you can go next door and buy something if you really like it. (They don't sell anything that's not on the list though.) For people who want to learn more about wine or who are intimidated by it, it's a great place. If you see something on their list that you like, you try something different from the same category. They've been around less than two years (if I remember correctly and have really taken off. There are a ton of them now. A couple of things I don't like though - one is their staff can be bad. I've been to a few of them here in Atlanta. And one was horrible (though has since improved). The bartender really didn't know much about the wines and was very unattentive. The only reason I went back was because I was starving and in the neighborhood one night. But, of course, the staff will vary a lot from location to location. The other may only be true for Atlanta locations; I'm not sure. But the ones here only deal with one of the major distributors (and maybe one little one). So their wine selection is a bit limited. Also, they use central buyers for all of the shops. So the management of each location has no control over what they carry. I don't like that at all - mainly because I can't imagine managing there and having so little control like that. Overall, they've become very popular here in Atlanta. It really depends on the neighborhood as to what type of place it becomes. It can be a singles/meat market type place - or it can be a laid back place to get a bite to eat with friends. Hopefully, you'll like the new one. -Greg

My personal favorite is ENO. It's on Peachtree Street a couple of blocks North of the Fox Theatre. I've always been impressed by their selection, and their night bartender (whose name escapes me at the moment - sorry) is very friendly and really knows his wine. Their food is pretty good also. -Greg

Thank you for correcting me - I didn't realize. And thank you for the recommendations. I'm actually going (window) shopping this weekend. -Greg

I finally made it to ONE a couple of nights ago for the first time. I had seen a movie at Tara and decided to get something to eat afterwards. I obviously didn't have a reservation, but didn't need one. Being right after the holidays, I expect most restaurants are a bit slow. First off, I really liked the restaurant. The 'vibe', even though there weren't many people there, was nice. I can definately see how this would be a good place to be on a crowded night. The service was good also. And the food was good - although not exactly great. My first dish was the Kobe beef tartar. It was awesome. A raw egg yolk on top of the round of tartar. There were cubes of asian pear (if I remember correctly) and cubes of Worchestershire 'jelly'. The Wor. jelly was awesome - you could barely taste it at first, but as it melted, you got this explosion of aroma in the back of your nose. I'm totally stealing that idea. And there was some type of herbed-ketchup type sauce on the side that was very good also. My main course was the Irish salmon. Each bite just melted away after a couple of seconds in my mouth. And the skin was soooo crispy. I love crispy skin. It had a sweet foam and bacon on top, which was delicious. And the whole thing was served on a bed of lentils. That were cold. I'm really not sure what to make of that. The lentils were not even luke warm. It would seem odd for them to be served at that temperature on purpose. But I really wouldn't expect a mistake like forgetting to warm up an ingredient from this restaurant. Although I enjoyed it, the dish left me a bit perplexed. For dessert, I had the 'signature' Kit Kat bar. It was quite good, and at $6, worth the price. It was served with two ice creams. One tasted just like chocolate milk - I liked it quite a bit. There was also chocolate ganache smeared on the plate in an 'X' shape - the second ice cream had the exact same color. So I'm assuming that it was a chocolate ganache ice cream. But it tasted, well, cold. That was about it - just cold. I was surprised about this too, so I paid close attention to the second and third bites of it. And the same result. It really tasted of nothing at first. When it was almost completely melted in my mouth, I got the faintest hint of chocolate. But the taste was still 95% nothing. Odd. And, no, I didn't say anything to the waitress about any of this. It's my first visit - it's late - and I wasn't really upset about any of it. I'm sure I could have gotten some explanations, but the thought of bringing up my issues with the staff actually didn't occur to me at that moment. It was nothing glaringly wrong - like a steak ordered medium rare, but cooked well done - so it didn't really bother me. Although I am really curious now. I guess I should have spoken up, just to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else. But I'll be back (at some point) regardless. -Greg

So some friends recently had their first brat - er, child. (heh heh - just kidding) I want to get them a vintage port so they can put it away and drink it on her 18th, 21st (or even 2nd) birthday. I was going to wait a couple of years and get one that says 2005 in real big numbers. But I've heard such good things about the 2003 vintage that just came out, that I think I should buy one now. (And it does say 'bottled in 2005' on the label.) What do you think? Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to houses/wineries/whatever I should look for? The local store that has one of the best port selections has a couple 2003s for $80-$90. One is Quento de yourez or something like that (I think). The other one is one of the big labels - Warre's maybe? Price isn't much of an object, but I would like to stay under $100. (Also just picked up the new Wine Enthusiast which has three ports in their top 10 wines of the year. Fonseca 2003 Vintage - 97; W & J Graham's 2003 Vintage - 96; Sandeman NV Royal Ambrosante Aged 20 Years Old Solera Pedro Ximenez - 93.) Thanks for the help. -Greg

If you're going on a Sunday, I would suggest Lucques. It's 3 courses for (I think) $35 a person. -Greg

deibu, Blue Marlin! That's it. My friend and I ate there for lunch one day. I wanted to try different places while we were there, but I was tempted to go back there the next day. (Of course the really cute waitress had something to do with that.) Thanks for refreshing my memory. -Greg

Have you been to Columbia before? It's very much a college town, but there are good eats to be found. I was there earlier this year visiting a friend who went to college there. Gervais & Vine is a nice little restaurant. I would also recommend Goatfeathers. Although they may be better suited to after dinner drinks. It's a very cozy place, good wine list. Like your 'artsy' college bar, but not pretentious. And if you're into beer, go to the Flying Saucer while you're there. Very nice beer selection. And the staff is great. (Well, their uniforms are great. ) And Monday night is 2.50 pint night. There is also another restaurant that, if I remember correctly, was down in the Point. It was across and up the street from Julian's. And almost directly across from the old mill place. It's kind of upscale. Steak/seafood type place sort of. We ate lunch there one day, and it was great. Their grits (an heirloom variety similar to Anson Mills and milled across the street) were awesome. Does anyone know where I'm talking about? -Greg

Wendy, thank you for posting about the magazine. Earlier this year I compiled a 'complete' list of food magazines, but hadn't heard of that one. But I have added it now. If anyone is interested, I posted the entire list (split up into 'trade' & 'civilian' lists) in this thread. -Greg

One more that I saw while browsing the Baking Forum. (Thanks Wendy DeBord.) Pastry's Best - http://pastrysbest.com/magazine.htm (US - Trade) -Greg

andiesenji, thanks for the link to the other thread. Lots of good info in there. And thank you to everyone else for their input. I do have more questions though. In the Good Eats vinegar show, Alton visited a vinegar maker. (Mendocino I think.) In one scene, he and the vinegar maker were looking at the mother which was in a large glass jug. If I remember correctly, the mother was laying on the bottom. The winemaker said that it was doing that because it was through converting the wine to vinegar (or something like that). And that if you add more alcohol, the mother would rise to the top. Will that be true for home batches also? And I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but can you put a mother in 'suspended animation'? If you want to stop making vinegar for a while, how do you 'store' the mother? -Greg

Okay, so how do I get a mother? I think that's my main question. Is it possible to just set some wine outside and let it 'catch' some bacteria or does it have to be a certain kind? (I actually think it does, but I'm not sure.) Also, I have some raspberries that aren't so good anymore. But they smell incredible!! I started to throw them out, but I then I though that maybe I could use them to make vinegar. Can I do that? (I actually really want to use them. So if there's some procedure that I need to follow instead of using the ones I already have, I'd be willing to do that.) Thanks for the help. -Greg

Is that what happens when I eat apples? Sometimes when I eat raw apples my mouth kind of puckers up (like with wine tannins) and itches badly. It doesn't always happen, but usually does. And it depends on the type of apple - I assume since it doesn't always happen. Also, I remember reading a long time ago about something in pineapples that acts like, well, like knives sort of. I don't think it's the enzyme thing, but it might be. It was something to the effect that if you eat quite a bit of pineapple at one time (a whole one would certainly qualify), that you're lips and mouth would get tiny cuts on them. This actually did happen to me one time - after eating a few slices, I noticed curious red splotches appearing on my pineapple. Has anybody else heard of this? -Greg

Thank you. I know; I'm not obsessing or anything. (Well, not anymore. lol) I don't search out new magazines on the internet or anything now. I only post new ones that other people tell me about or that I run across in the bookstore. Thank you. *looks at list* *tilts head to one side, like a dog who is being taught calculus* *checks list again* Me too! How in the world did I miss that? And not notice it for so long? Jeez! Even though I can't edit the post that contains the main list, I have added all the magazines mentioned in following posts to my 'master list'. (And if you ever want/need that list without having to copy & paste yourself, you can find it here at the Good Eats Message Board.) Which, just to clarify, is different than The Wine News, which is consumer oriented. Do either of you have more info on (no The) Wine News? Everything I can find points to The Wine News. And thank you again to everyone for their kind words. I didn't really do this for any adulation, but it is good for the ego. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my wheel. -Greg