rockandroller

Have returned from Atlanta. It was a whirlwind trip and I didn't get out to as many restaurants as I would have liked, but isn't that always the case. I had to eat in a lot of hotels because that's where my meetings were, but overall it was a great visit. Southern hospitality is apparently a real thing - everywhere I went people were nice, friendly, helpful...even the homeless people downtown were very helpful and guided me back to my hotel when I got lost on a fitness walk (I tipped them, of course). Highlights include... - lunch at Vickery's (can't find a website but they are at 1106 Crescent Ave NE in Midtown). Very cute little patio, I had a cuban type sandwich and a margarita which were both refreshing in the very hot temps (87 most days I was there). So many places with these little patios, I wish we could get it together to offer similar options in Cleveland without having to wrack your brain coming up with 1 place with a patio AND decent food AND at a reasonable price. Simple, unassuming, friendly, with a lush patio and comfy indoor seating area. - dinner at Rosa Mexicana, which I think has to be called a chain as they had about 7 other locations listed, but I've never been and was in the mood for Mexican. It was kind of upscale mexican - lots of people get the guac as they make it at your table, mixing in a variety of ingredients, but I was so full from various business meals I didn't want to overdo it, so I just got the chicken mole enchiladas, which were very tender and delicious. They have a truly excellent tequila selection here, better than any place I've found in Cleveland and finally someone has come up with the genius idea of tequila flights for those who enjoy expensive, sipping tequilas. New love - Corazon (anejo). May be even better than Patron (anejo), I was surprised. Had to stop at Ikea afterwards, but unfortunately with less than an hour, I felt like I just got there and had just started exploring when they started making announcements about closing and shutting off lights. There isn't enough time to spend in Ikea, that's for sure. - dinner at Einstein's (no, not the bagel place). Another place with a great outdoor patio. Service was pretty spotty but that was the only weak link. We got a ton of apps to share with a couple of my local friends who had recommended the place, and I ate so much it was hard to move. My sinuses got worse and worse while I was there and I realized after putting all the symptoms together that it had been nearly 3 weeks and I must have a sinus infection. Between the heat, the exhaustion, the sneezing and blowing my nose and the mild dizziness from my sinuses, I couldn't manage any other trips here or there and couldn't smell or taste anything by the 3rd day, so I stayed in and ordered room service. I know! But it was downtown and I didn't feel comfortable stomping around trying to find something when I couldn't taste anything anyway. Some scoop in case you don't know - it's recently become public knowledge but not everyone knows - the Sheraton in Midtown has been bought by W hotels and is changing over to a W in less than a year's time. The changes are all cosmetic and will require no major construction and the hotel will stay open the whole time. Book now and lock in Sheraton rates for your stay. Unfortunately my journey home turned out to be the worst flying experience ever. I wasn't looking forward to it with my head the way it was anyway, not to mention I really do not enjoy flying even when I'm feeling well - I see it as a necessary evil to get me from point A to point B in the quickest fashion. Very, very long story short, we sat on the plane for 5 freaking hours before we finally took off, due to the storm. This included having to return to the gate for more fuel because we taxied for so long, having to de-plane briefly due to a brake problem, and just general waiting until the weather cleared enough on our flight path for us to leave. Five hours. And once we got airborne, after we reached cruising altitude, about 15-20 mins into the flight, we banked sharply in another direction. My boss said quietly to me that he was afraid we were turning around but nobody came on and said anything, so we just waited. half hour later the pilot comes on and said the weather was too bad, so we were diverted westward, and while weather is better now, we (once again) are too low on fuel to continue back to Cleveland, so we had to land in Indianapolis and take on more fuel. I finally landed home at midnight, a full 6 hours after our initial scheduled landing time. Freaking CLE was nearly shut down, with only one way to get to baggage claim (the normal way was gated up) and of course it was the furthest away door away from where we landed. I didn't get home until quarter to 1. I regret not being able to visit some of the other restaurants in ATL but there just wasn't enough time, energy or appetite to fit more in. Thx everyone who offered their help/referrals/suggestions.

Thx, I will research all this stuff. So many choices, so little time.

OOH, O.M.K. sounds awesome, that is definitely going on the list. Thx so much for these links. I will report back after the trip!

I'm sure there are past threads someone can post for me, or recommendations if you want to post those? I will be in Atlanta Monday-Thursday next week and am looking for good dinner locations each night. This is a business trip and my boss is not a seafood fan so no seafood/sushi-heavy type places. Love healthy/organic but it's not a requirement, would also do steak/chop type places, any cuisine including Thai, Mexican, whatever. Have never been to ATL before so am up for anything. Will be staying at the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton and close by would be great, but isn't required. Thanks!

I second the recommendations of City Roast in the WSM and Civilizations in Tremont.

I've heard of that place too. Sounds like it's time for an eGullet dinner.

Mmm, toad in the hole. I will have to get over there soon. It's so far out of my way but continues to sound like it's worth the drive.

What a great thread. I just wanted to point out that all of you should move here to the midwest, where we don't even HAVE MDs or captains in 99.9% of our restaurants. I can't think of one place I've been in Cleveland that has an actual MD or captain as opposed to your regular old hostess stand. At the nicer places, the hostess stand is staffed by someone older who has been in the business a bit longer, but here, greasing is something you'd almost never have to do because the only place there are insane wait times are, unfortunately, the chain restaurants. Cheesecake Factory has been open for over a year on one side of town and I hear they still have a 2 hour wait for dinner on a weekend, over an hour on a weeknight. Crazy! And the teenagers staffing the hostess stand would look at you like you had 3 heads if you offered them money to move you ahead. They'd either not know what to do with it or would be afraid to take it as the corporate structure in those chain restaurants can be pretty unforgiving and there are multiple managers with eyes in the back of their heads. I know greasing can make it better and I don't do it, not because of a morality factor but because I can usually barely afford the dinner out, I can't go tipping (or bribing, whatever you prefer) everyone in sight on top of it. I just experienced this kind of snubbing in DC where there was a lovely area in the front where all the tables were occupied and lots of lovely people sipping wine & eating. We were told by the hotel concierge that this place was "very, very casual" and of course DC casual and Cleveland casual turned out to be different things. My dining companion (my boss) had on jeans and a nice, white button down and I had on a designer T-shirt, black pants and comfy shoes and we were taken into the back room - the only people there during our entire meal except a (God forbid) family of 4 that came in midway through the meal. Did I mind? No. If I wanted to, I'd have asked to be moved and I know they'd have accommodated me, but as it was I was fine with the quiet and the dedicated attention of our very nice and attentive server. If I lived in a place and/or had the money to regularly frequent places nice enough to have an MD and I thought it helped, I might do it for either a special occasion or particular circumstances, as was mentioned earlier ala theater or other engagement, people dying of starvation or exhaustion in my party, etc. But even if I were rich and it were the regular custom, I wouldn't do it, because I know I'll get a perfectly nice dining experience as a regular jill, so whybotha. If I don't, I ask nicely for whatever to be done that would rectify the situation, and if that doesn't happen, I don't return and send a complaint letter, which thankfully doesn't happen all that often.

I just had the heritage pork a couple of weeks ago during a business dinner (I got to pick the location, yay) and it was absolutely amazing. Crispy on the outside due to the marinating in duck fat, which sounded sort of unappetizing but was so tasty I could chew my arm off just thinking about it again. This was also my first "main dish" visit and while I couldn't resist the spanakopita small plate, I was glad I saved room and went with this entree. I don't know how long this will be on the menu but it was absolutely magnificent.

Made it to Ray's during a recent business trip to DC. The concierge at my hotel swore they were closed. We had stopped to ask her if Jaleo or another restaurant close by would be a good back up in case we couldn't get in, and she was certain they were still closed and offered to call. She did, and Michael himself answered and she told him we were coming over, he said no problem. We didn't have to wait at all - this was a Tuesday night around 7 or 7:30 when we got there. Funny what "casual" means in a big city vs. the midwest (I'm in Cleveland). I bet that the women would be more dressed than the men so I suggested my dining companion (boss, male) wear khakis and a plain shirt and I wore black pants and a fun top. While there were a couple of men there in jeans, the women were all slightly more dressy, so I guessed right. Boss trusts my judgment on restaurants but was really thrilled when he read the hand-out from the server on how they age and cut and trim their steaks, etc. Very good sign. Nice but small selection of wines by the glass. I ordered the pinot noir for boss and got the cab for me, both were excellent. We decided we'd be getting large steaks and so skipped salads and bread. I got the 12 oz strip, med. and boss got the 16. Both were done to perfection. It's one of my new year's resolutions to make myself eat my steak a little rarer than I'd like it because it's gauche to order medium-well and I know chefs and kitchens hate cooking the crap out of their steaks. I was glad I ordered mine medium. It was rarer than I'm used to but the meat was SO flavorful and tasty I just thought it was wonderful. I left just a little bit on the plate because a) that's a lot of meat and b) that particular part was just too rare for me to get down. But it was heaven. Boss was oohing and aahing over his steak and complimented me like 20 times on my choice of restaurant. We got the side of sauteed mushrooms, which complimented the steak perfectly. Steaks came served with the standard house sides of mashed pots and creamed spinach, which were also very good. We debated about getting one of the steaks in a mushroom brandy sauce but really wanted to taste the meat unadorned, and were glad we did. I couldn't have eaten any more food if you used a shoehorn to get it in my stomach, so we skipped dessert/coffee, and were given small espresso-cup sized servings of a very rich, hot chocolate in lieu of dessert. OMG heaven. All of this for less than $80, no lie. The boss couldn't have been more pleased. Michael came by a couple of times to see how things were and check on how we liked it, and we were effusive. It was a great experience. I'm so glad we were able to get in there during the trip.

What's the skinny now as of early April? I called the # and got the message suggesting several times that they are extremely small and they don't recommend making it a "destination" dining experience. I have a couple of nights next week free for dinner during a business trip next week to DC and wondered what the chances might be of just popping in to get dinner for 2?

I thought about beer, but this will be during a business lunch so no alcohol.

Hi all, I'm planning a large meeting for work this fall. We have a very small office in Brussels and they will be attending and we'd like to feature them somehow. My boss had the idea of one of our snacks or breaks being focused on "featuring" Brussels somehow. The obvious idea that came to mind was a Belgian chocolate on everyone's plate after they return from break (any recommendations as to brand, preferably one available somewhere in the US?), but is looking for some other way to incorporate Brussels, perhaps in what we direct the chef to make for lunch one day. Am admittedly clueless as to what dishes would make easy-to-prepare, good corporate lunch food. Can anyone make recommendations as to dishes and/or recipes that are signature dishes of Belgium?

I think you'll get a lot of widely varying answers to this question. I am a vodka drinker but when I drink vodka, as with almost any liquor I drink, I prefer to drink it straight or on the rocks, maybe with a lime (vodka). I like the taste of it and I don't want to "mask" it with some crappy sugar and cranberry juice or coke or what have you. I really don't like sweet drinks at all. I'm mainly a wine drinker and rarely, rarely even order something like sangria - it's nice with a really spicy meal when it's really hot out, but other than that if I want a sweet drink like pop or lemonade or something, I have it, but that's a separate thing to me than alcohol. I moved to drinking liquor straight years ago because A) I couldn't taste the liquor in mixed drinks, and B) because I don't need the extra calories. If I want juice, I'll have it - if I want liquor, I'll have that, but why double up on the calories. I know that sounds anal but we're talking a lot of calories in most sweet drinks versus those in 1 oz of liquor. And I'm not into artificial sweetner - there are enough chemicals in daily life, so keep your splenda to yourself In answer to your Q, while I admittedly don't know a lot about rum because it's generally used in sweet, mixed drinks, which I don't like, I certainly wouldn't consider it an "upgrade" next to my glass of Grey Goose or Ketel One, and it would be hard to get me to sample, let alone regularly order a rum drink.

I don't have the book with me nor the time to summarize it for you, but I did find some things online for your perusal: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/155217_cowfeed03.html http://tinyurl.com/nwezy http://tinyurl.com/5owg9 http://tinyurl.com/mn2pg

I didn't quite say "some dude" told me and it's clear that you and I simply disagree on this issue. There is verifiable and compelling researched evidence in Fast Food Nation, which you didn't answer as to whether or not you've read it, so I gather you haven't. I don't consider someone who spent several years researching this issue and then writing a comprehensive report on what he's found to necessarily be "some dude," and he's not the only source I've read on the subject either. Let's just agree to disagree, though I do hope you'll read the book. Obviously I don't hope I'm right about this issue, I'm just saying I'd rather be safe than sorry.

It's less about them "wanting" a disease rampant and thriving to them not being willing to take extra costs and protective measures if it costs them money and time. Have you read Fast Food Nation?

That's all well and good but I have read more than one article about farmers *continuing the practice* (of feeding the cows feed that included the ground up cow/animal parts in it) well after it was outlawed as illegal. There is very little enforcement or checking up on what the farmers are actually doing, and while the slaughterhouses are few, the farms and farmers are still many, many, many and I think it's like mushroom hunting - if a few were found breaking the law after it was enacted, there are others we don't know about. It's not like they told everyone it was illegal and to stop it and they automatically did. It's illegal to cheat on your taxes, steal, and speed but people still do it.

You're not a pain, I don't mind a little discussion and disagreement. I don't have all the statistics to back everything up as I read and absorb from a variety of sources. I'm also not saying organic ground beef is safer than non-organic, which I think another poster mentioned, as I believe it's still processed in the slaughterhouses with the other beef, which is where I think the problem lies. From what I've read, my personal choice is simply that I'm not comfortable eating commercially processed ground beef, and I believe organic produce to be safer than non-organic as it relates to toxins, pesticides and other things that can make one sick. It's just my opinion

Interesting, Patrick, hope you don't mind a little discussion/debate. First off, there are actually lots of people clamoring for cleaner fruits & veggies, and while I'm not as good with statistics as you are, I think most if not all of the illnesses you can get from veggies are not fatal, brain-wasting diseases for which there is no cure. There are a million and one other ways one could die, not just from eating but from everything that happens on a given day, than getting CJD or vCJD, I'm just saying why would you take the chance. I can *wash* my veggies, which gets rid of most if not all pathogens, esp if I buy organic. You can't wash away BSE from spinal cord in your hamburger, is all I'm saying.

I totally agree with your statement above. The testing is frighteningly poor and the USDA is completely corrupt so the tests are BS anyway (try reading Fast Food Nation, you'll learn a great deal). I quit eating commercially processed ground beef several years ago, before FFN even came out, after a long preview article Morgan Spurlock had published that was sort of like a condensed, preview version of FFN. I love my beef and for awhile it was tough not to order hamburgers when out, but now I enjoy them only at home with beef from safe sources, and I still enjoy steak/non-ground cuts when out. Overall I would say it did cut my red meat consumption, which isn't a completely bad thing, health-wise, and the burgers I make at home are way better than what I got out anyway, the beef tastes so much better. I'm lucky to have a large market where local farmers raise and slaughter their own meats and they aren't processed at the slaughterhouses, where the speed and pressure on the workers to produce and quickly is what causes huge problems - why the spinal cord & other infected areas are allowed to be ground in in the first place - and it just feels safer, tastes better, and doesn't feel like a gamble. I know "everything" will kill you nowadays but I don't get people not taking the simple step of ordering something else when out and demanding freshly ground beef (not freshly "reground," which is the case in 90% of groceries) from their butcher. Would you not look before crossing the street because you "assume" the odds are in your favor that no cars are coming or that those which are, will and can stop? Particularly children, whose immune systems aren't equipped for this kind of needless Russian Roulette. This isn't some pie-in-the-sky, made-up thing - in fact I recently learned that my boss' best friend lost a son to C-J disease some years ago, right here in the good old Midwest. It does happen.

I also wanted to suggest Johnny Mango to you if you haven't been there. They have a fried plantain appetizer with fresh salsa on top that is v. good (I think they call it "Caribbean french fries" but it's large slices of plantain). The rest of their small menu is sort of a diverse offering of "world" cuisine - from Pad Thai to the Bangkok BBQ Chicken (which I recommend, it does take additional time however and is only available during dinner hours) to a great Flank Steak dinner with portobello and a thimble-full of good hot sauce on the side.

I did NOT know about the special Sunday menu at Nuevo Acapulco, which is one of our long-time favorites for great, cheap Mexican eats. Thank you for the info, you've just made my plans for Sunday!

As to your original question of what do you do, other than complaining while on-site, and if that's not possible or you're too uncomfortable, writing a letter, as you're doing, is about as good as you can do. When the place is out of town and particularly out of state, unless you plan a return trip there some time within the next year, all you can really do is write a letter to let them know of the bad experience and hopefully they'll write back with an apology. I also tend to let friends/family know about the experience should they mention they are visiting this particular restaurant and/or city. As another poster mentioned, if this is not some kind of fluke, they won't stay in business long by delivering poor service, esp. at those prices.

I have to jump in here because the absolute best chips I have had ANYWHERE are only to be found in and around the tiny town of Mansfield, Ohio - Jones' chips. I grew up on them and took them for granted. NOBODY buys Lays or anything else there and if I ran into them, it was just weird, like someone having something that's "supposed to be" a potato chip at the house - like Munchos or Pringles or something, but not a real potato chip. I didn't know til I moved away from the area and couldn't find them, then went on an endless quest to find ANY acceptable chip replacement, and I've never found one. Kettle chips and flavored things are fine, but to me it's almost like another food, not like your basic potato chip. I discovered Ballreich's late in life, from the Warren OH area and while they are ok, they are too greasy for me, like someone trying to imitate Jones' chips but not doing that great of a job. Whenever anyone I know is going to Columbus from Cleveland, I always tell them to stop at any gas station about halfway down and buy two large bags of Jones', one for me, one for them. I've converted several people. In Cleve, some tiny places carry other Jones' products but not the actual plain potato chip, which is truly bizarre to me because it's far and away their best product. I think it has something to do with the merger they had (not sure who bought whom) with another local company called Thomasson, whose chips also aren't as good as Jones. If you're ever in that area, buy 2 bags - one for me, one for you. Get the big bag. www.joneschips.com