Schielke

I must. I was going from memory and a three hour time gap in my head. Thanks! Ben

Howdy everybody, I have found myself in the Atlanta area this week on business and am staying up in Kennesaw. Last time I was here (short trip) I found only a vast sea of chain restaurants. Is there much worthwhile in my neck of the woods? I am staying up on Chaistlain (spelling) and I-75 I plan on making at least one trip down into Atlanta proper for a nice meal, but am looking for decent suggestions close by. Fresh, innovative food is always good. I am a sucker for good sushi. Anything you got to throw at me I would love. Prices should stay reasonable (not much upwards of 15-20 and entree if that helps). Thanks again! Ben

Any word on where Richard Blais is currently working? I happen to find myself in the Atlanta area this week and was hoping to catch a fun meal. Thanks! Ben

When I was in Charlotte on business, I ate every breakfast at the Coffee Cup, it is stupendous...the coffee does suck though. I had lunch there one day and Holly is right. Dont miss their mac and cheese. Ben

Find out what method is used to sharpen the knives. There are some automatic mechanical ways that are no good.

Katie and I went to Lampreia Saturday night to celebrate our 6 mo. of Wedlock. We had a really great time and am glad to see a restaurant such as Lampreia in Seattle. I am planning on writing a full review and dont have my notes with me so it will have to be delayed. FYI, they are currently offering an "All about apples" tasting menu that looked pretty good! Ben

Kyle, Say hi to Steve Vick! He and I went to college together. Ben

Somebody call Mistral to check. I heard it from the Chef de Cuisine, but perhaps he or I was wrong.

Yeah, I got an email from him last night and my previous estimate was way off. He said that general knives cost 1.25 /inch and serrerated or special knives 1.50/inch he also confirmed the 24hr turnaround. I know he sharpens them in his own shop on japanese waterstones and probably some other crazy bladesmith gear. I doubt anybody would be disapointed with his work. If Katie didnt get me my own waterstones, I am sure I would use this service regularly. How did your knives turn out Anita? Ben

Thai Tom is always great, but expect a wait if you go at normal dinner hours. I am a sucker for Aladdin Falafel down south on the ave. I dig their Gyros. I doubt they are very authentic though. Ben

I just sent an email to Daniel O'Malley at The Epicurean Edge to get the real info on prices at his place.

I dont recall the exact rate, but I want to say it is something like 50 cents and inch or something. I might be horribly wrong. It is affordable though.

If you do wine, expect to pay much more than $75 pp. My previous estimate is based on food cost only. Mr Toast, I am suprised you only got one more course, the ME should have been 9 courses to the Chefs Menu of 7. Perhaps everybody else got one more?

The Epicurean Edge in Downtown Kirkland across from Sur La Table. He will hook you up.

Pudding Pop Fun at X-Entertainment

I cannot compare it to Rovers (I wish I could and hope to do so sometime soon), but price-wise you are looking at about $75 per person for food. Wine as you know can vary all over the board.

I want to say that they talked about doing it, but the club ended up not wanting to. The details were fuzzy as they were relayed to me but I know for sure they never actually did it.

Oh, also FYI Mistral is not providing food to the club next door. The club next door was not too bad, I could barely hear the music when the dining room got quiet. This might have been a problem a year ago, but the packed dining room provided enough general background noise so it was not noticed at all. Ben

I have been horribly remiss in describing our dinner at Mistral. Katie still has the notes, but I will try to get started. We were seated by the new Dining Room Manager, Rene. He is very professional and handles everything quite smoothly. The place was absoutely packed when we got there. The place was completely full. They even had to use the table that is normally for staging wine, wine glasses, etc.... I am glad they are doing such great business! The sommelier, Kevin, took our orders (7 course chef's menu) and suggested a bottle of wine over the pairing. It was a 2002 Pride Merlot that he was very excited about. It was really great. Huge fruit and it stayed interesting throughout the meal. Thanks Kevin! Olive oil poached shrimp w/ green gazpacho, fennel, pine nuts, pancetta, and green apple sorbet- This was a huge winner. It is one of the best openers I have had from Chef William. It was an incredible combination of flavors, textures, and temperature. The shrimp were slightly warm, sweet and fragrant from the olive oil. The gazpacho was cool and fresh; the added pancetta and pine nuts added a heartiness to the dish. Finally the green apple sorbet had a slight tang and elevated the dish another level with the texture and temp of the sorbet. That dish rocked. Red Snapper w/ Pea "Stew" The "stew" was a very light pea broth with rice, fava beans, basil, herbs, and cherry tomatoes. It was nice and fresh tasting. The snapper was the most moist I have ever seen a piece of fish. It did not leak juices either, it was just really really moist. This achievement combined with the impossibly crispy skin was quite the testament to the skill in the kitchen. Halibut w/ figs, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, passion fruit sauce, and vanilla oil. I had been admiring this dish go by our table for other diners for some time. The color of the fish was so beautiful. The top was a crisp golden brown and there was a distinctive line that switched to a creamy white. The dish was a very nice blend of rich sweetness and the exotic vanilla/passionfruit flavors. The halibut had a nice complimentary sweetness and also the nice salty crust. I loved the addition of the onions and mushrooms to enhance the savory side of the dish. Foie gras w/ apricot sauce and crispy apple Yum, this dish would have even been good without the crispy apple. The apple was great! It offset the smooth textures of the sauce and foie. I want more. Oregon Lamb w/zatar and tarragon; potato puree, red peppers, cauliflower, cherries, and olive praline Wow. William generally does a version of this dish and it is always very very good. This was the best yet. They really amped it up with the addition of the cherries and the olive praline. The olive praline was off the hook. It was this incredible crunchy texture; with a huge savory burst. He keeps imporoving on this and I love it. Cheese! I love cheese and Mistral always has a very nice interesting selection. Unfourtanetly, I did not bother to take notes on what we had. Yum, though, Yum. Molten Chocolate cake w/ hazelnut caramel sauce; strawberry sorbet, mint ice cream, and vanilla ice cream. (comic book guy voice) Best dessert ever. I still don't know how they get this dessert so perfect every time, but it is so good. The ice cream as always was so bright and clean tasting. I loved every bite. One interesting thing about dessert though, is that every time I have been to Mistral, we get the same dessert, albeit in different variations. That cake, however, is always there. Before dinner, I was thinking about this and sort of wishing that Chef William would do something else. The problem with that wish though is that the dish is so perfect. When I am eating it, I never want to eat anything else...ever. It is a nearly impossible act to follow. I feel as if I received anything else that I would run back into the kitchen and search around for hidden molten chocolate cakes. I actually spoke with the Chef de Cuisine, Charles, about this after dinner. He did indicate that Mistral is looking to step up their game in the dessert field. I dont even know if I want them to change it...I fear change. But if they can make a molten chocolate cake that frigging good, god knows what else can come out of that kitchen. Overall, If you havent guessed already, I had a fantastic time and cannot wait to return. They certainly seem to be improving and it is great to watch the evolution. Ben

More details to follow, but I'll just go ahead and say my meal was kickin' rad!!!! Ben

Mama's is ok. The food is Tex-Mex, but not bad. The service can be across the board. Ben

The store in Houghton Market in Kirkland has tons of stuff. I think that the one downtown is not too shabby either. Ben

Reservations are set for Friday! Yay!

I cant wait to try them again!