Chow Down Atlanta

The Shed at Glenwood is one of my favorite places — food is simple yet well executed, and well, just plain good.  I’ve never had a bad experience here and service is always on point.

On a recent visit a couple of weeks ago, I feasted on their famous Beet Salad. It had roasted Beets, organic Vermont goat cheese and a drizzle of balsamic dressing. This is a must try here. Must. It is a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and salty in subtle amounts. I simply love this.

My dinner date’s lentil soup was full of flavor, chunky, and comforting. It was a huge portion and good enough for sharing.

My grilled all natural ribeye steak was perfection. It is a thick piece of meat with flavor all the way through. The side of jumbo lump crab meat in drawn butter was fresh and a great surf with the turf. The mashed potatoes were creamy and gave a nice background to the main.

You all know by now that I am not fond of desserts (give me fresh baked bread anytime) but our server sold us into trying the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. It was great; cheesy but not cloyingly sweet, with a hint of raspberries.

I make it a point to visit when Chef Lance Gummere has a Prix Fixe offering. It is a great value and a good way to get introduced to his cooking. Our dinner came to $120 before tip for two people (3-courses plus a glass of wine). Incidentally, I am not a drinker and would prefer Diet Coke over anything else. But I found a favorite in their Sangria which is made with fresh fruits, red wine, and ginger ale. It is sweet which is why I love it. And it is also strong (for me) — a few sips rendered me light headed).

Insider tip:
My car GPS couldn’t find this place so I had to call for directions: use this address instead: 890 Glenwood Ave SE.

The scoop:
The Shed at Glenwood
475 Bill Kennedy Way SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
(404) 835-4363
Tuesday-Thursday: 4pm-10pm
Friday: 4pm-12am
Saturday brunch: 10am-3pm, dinner service 3pm-12am
Sunday Brunch: 10:00-3:00
Sunday Supper 3:00-9:00

Technorati Tags: The Shed at Glenwood, Lance Gummere, farm-to-table, American cuisine, East Atlanta

I like this gastro pub in that they serve real food. Not tapas, sides, or your typical bar food, but substantial, creative meals you find in nice restaurants. Not that this place isn’t nice. It is. I popped in for a quick lunch the other day and remembered I haven’t written about this place yet. Lunch menu consists of “designer” deli sandwiches made in their real kitchen with high-end ingredients by a real chef.

My chosen sandwich this visit was their Insult to Philly. This huge creation came on a grilled, buttery hoagie roll then topped with slices of Wagyu (American Style Kobe) Kamado roasted beef, sautéed sweet onions, red peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and melted Swiss cheese with rosemary balsamic au jus. They said the balsamic au jus takes 60 hrs. to make! The roast beef was a little bland to me but the other ingredients made up for it. I particularly liked the sauteed onions that were sweetish and cut the monotony of the beefy taste of the sandwich. The au jus was really good that I had to ask for more. Overall a good sandwich.

My lunch date’s Basic Beef with shaved Wagyu rare roast beef, Swiss cheese and rosemary aioli on hand country white bread was also good. Again, the beef was a little bland for my taste but the rosemary aioli was a good spread for it.

We both got the day-old barley-leek soup with chunks of bacon. This was a fantastic soup. It was brothy more than creamy but you can still taste the creaminess in it. Superb.

Verdict: I like my sandwich meat a little tastier so when you remove the other ingredients and get it in between two pieces of bread with nothing else, it still makes for a tasty sandwich. Our total bill for lunch was a little bit over $35 (with 2 sandwiches, 2 soups, a diet Coke, a bottle of sparkling water, and 2 bags of chips). Kinda pricey for a regular lunch but bear in mind that we had Wagyu-style beef and housemade soup.

Insider tip:
The fries are a must try although there has been an instance where I’ve had them very soggy.

The scoop:
Muss & Turner’s
1675 Cumberland Pky SE
Smyrna, GA 30080
(770) 434-1114

Technorati Tags: Mus & Turners, Smyrna, gastro pub, waygu beef, sandwiches, lunch, dinner

I’m probably the last one to post a review on FLIP.  I’ve been here a handful of times and each time, we’ve had to wait a good 45 minutes for a table. It didn’t matter whether we came on a weekday or a weekend, mid-day or peak time. There was a wait. But tables do turn fast and it’s nice to people watch while waiting or ogle what people are eating.

On this last visit, my sister insisted we sit at the bar where Chef Mark Nanna was in action. So we gave up our table twice for the much coveted bar seats. Believe me, it was worth the wait — Chef Mark in a graceful cadence, focused, yet still having fun.

I do have to point out that the burgers here are smallish (5.5 oz uncooked). I have to have at least two. They are bigger than a slider yet smaller than the norm. I did see a few ladies eat just one and a good many who ate two. Most guys eat two or more. I had three. Burgers are made with hangar steak, brisket, and shortrib so there’s a good amount of good tasting fat in them. My all-time favorites are the FLIP burger and the Butcher Cut. The FLIP burger is pure, unadulterated burger goodness. You can’t go wrong with it. It is simple yet a consistently good all-around burger. The buttery brioche the burgers come in is definitely a plus and makes the burgers as good as they are.

I really like the Butcher Cut. It’s got caramelized onions, blue cheese, and red wine jam. The jam cuts into the fattiness of the meat which is really nice. The Po Boyger, sadly, is my least favorite. I really love shrimp but a thick patty of ground shrimp tastes, well, shrimpy. In small quantities like dimsum, they’re great but the minute you use a whole lot of them, hmm, I don’t know — they’re just hard to handle. I did see a lot of people order them and didn’t have any problems finishing them. I’m sure it’s just me.

For sides, the onion rings rule. The thin, crispy batter is excellent. The tempura rutabaga wasn’t as big a hit. I guess I just find the breading too thick — they were more like sliced rutabagas encased in doughnuts. Our fries this visit was a let down. They were so oily and I know the oil that the fry guy used just wasn’t hot enough. We had to send it back and the replacement was a tad better but not as good as when we had them before.

I find the Krispy Kreme milkshake a little sweet for my liking. But I do like the Nutella milkshake. It actually tasted more chocolatey than Nutella and I like the bits of nuts for crunch. Loved the toasted marshmallow topping although I personally think they put too much of it.

Verdict: A fun, trendy place to have unique burgers.  Service can be slow but efficient, nonetheless. Average tab per person $25 (two burgers, a side, and a shake).

Insider tip:
Shakes can be shared and will be served into two smaller glasses. Additional parking across the street.

The scoop:
FLIP Burger Boutique
1587 Howell Mill Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 352-3547

[tags]FLIP Burger Boutique, West End, Howell Mill, burgers, shakes[tags]

Serpas is Chef Scott Serpas’ new endeavor (he did stints with Kevin Rathbun and at Nava, Sia, and Mitra). Chef Scott describes his food as “approachable dishes true to their Louisiana, Asian, and Southwestern influences”. It is located in the Old Fourth Ward in Inman Park.

The first thing that caught my eye here is the decor which is hip and trendy with exposed brick walls and shiny, smooth concrete floors. But we came here for the food so here it goes.

The Duck Spring Rolls were crispy fried and full of flavor. I immediately smelled the 5-spice powder (I abhor it) and was about to shun them but tried them anyway. Delicious. You can hardly taste the 5-spice although you can definitely smell it.

The Wild Mushroom Tostadas were very tasty. I particularly liked the heaping amount of lightly sauteed mushrooms topping a crisp tostado.

The Pigs ‘n Blanket were a bit ho-hum but still a fun, grown-up take on the favorite kiddie food They’re made with spicyish andouille sausage.

The Double beef patty is definitely one of the top burgers in Atlanta. The meat is freshly ground, cooked medium, topped with smoked cheddar, then served on a grilled and buttered upside-down bun. I don’t see the point of the upside down bun other than the fun factor. However, this sweetish bun added to why this burger top notch.

For dessert, we had the apple pie and the bread pudding. The Fried apple pie is a great surprise. The apples were not cloyingly sweet and the empanada was fried perfectly. The White Chocolate Cranberry Bread Pudding has all the gooey goodness of a fantastic bread pudding. I really liked it although it is very rich and a few bites is all I need.

Service is fantastic and prices are reasonable. Definitely a good place to add to my rotation.

Insider tip:
Do try the Backyard Lemonade. I had 3. Enough said. And I’m not even a big drinker. (It’s made with vodka, house-made lemonade, and ginger ale.)

Brunch served on Sundays.

The scoop:
Serpas True Food
659 Auburn Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 688-0040

Technorati Tags: Serpas True Food, Scott Serpas, Inman Park, true food

Located downstairs on what used to be East Andrews Cafe and Bar, the place has been transformed to a quieter, more proper, wine bar offering 56 types of wine and small plates created by Chef Paul Agnelli (Capital Grill, Van Gogh’s) to complement the wines. The menu is divided into four sections: Garden, Land, Sea, and Sweet. I went with two friends to maximize the number of tapas plates I can taste. I’m glad I did because Jake is a good eater just like me and he’s willing to try everything.

Grilled Flat Iron, Chimichurri, Arugula: excellent, excellent steak grilled to a medium perfection; the chimichurri and arugula adding earthiness to the dishChipotle Pork, Corn Relish, Arbol Vinaigrette: saltish, cajuny pork with a good amount of heat

Green Chile/Prosciutto Mac & Cheese: spicy mac-n-cheese; what’s not to love?

Guinness Braised Short Rib, Natural Reduction: fall-off-the-bone short rib with the taste of the Guinness truly evident; one order is not enough (we had 3)

Grilled Flatbread, Duck Confit, Fig Jam, Point Reyes Blue: a rich and filling dish; very good, and well prepared though I would have loved to see more duck

Seared New Bedford Scallop, Sweet Corn, Nueske’s Applewood Bacon: the gigantic scallop tasted really fresh but the dish overall was a bit salty for my tastes; perhaps the addition of the bacon contributed more saltiness

Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, Avocado, Grapefruit Mojo: no skimping on the crabmeat here; I’ve never had these with avocado before but surprisingly, it works; the grapefruit mojo giving it a unique wonderful taste is an added bonus

Sweet Georgia White Shrimp, Tasso Gravy, Logan Turnpike Grits: the grits provided a good background for the large grilled shrimp; very good

Flash Fried Calamari, Peppadew Peppers, Red Chile Aoili: the calamari were great but were overpowered by the aoli; remember to order these with aoili on the side instead

Heirloom Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Sweet Grass Dairy Triple Cream: fantastic; the tomatoes were crunchy and sweet and the SGD cheese was an excellent choice

Saute of Wild Mushrooms, Locatelli Polenta: the mushrooms were really good but the polenta was on the dry side; this dish has potentials, though

Roasted Garlic Humus, Whole Peppadews: creamy, chunky, garlicky-good hummus

Grilled Corn, Spicy Aioli, Lime, Queso Cojita: loved this (but I love corn anyway); I really enjoyed the limey-spicy-cheesy topping (the only downside is that it’s a mess to eat)

Cornmeal Fried Green Tomatoes, Cilantro Buttermilk, Goat Cheese: perfect

Grilled Flatbread, Roma Tomatoes, Maplebrook Farms Mozzarella: an all-around good flatbread; you can’t go wrong with this

Caramelized Garlic Risotto, Aged Balsamic: a great accompaniment to the shortrib

Marinated Olives: a huge serving; marinated just right

Daily Cheeses: you can’t go wrong with a cheese plate; theirs came with medium cheddar, Gouda, Marcona almonds, honeycomb, and crackers

Oolong Tea Crème Brulee: I could really taste the oolong tea on this one; one of my friends didn’t like it but I loved it

Coconut Cream Pie: a must-try fo those who love coconut

Pot of Chocolate: just the perfect ending to a meal

Verdict: I like this place. Service is A-1 and prices are very reasonable (with tapas from $4, wine by the glass at $6 and half-glasses at $3, plus a good many wines by the bottle for $24). Great vibe and atmosphere.

The scoop:
Cellar 56
56 E Andrews Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 869-1132
Monday-Saturday from 5pm –11pm

Technorati Tags: Cellar 56, Scott Serpas, Buckhead, East Andrews, tapas, wine bar