Chow Down Atlanta

Seems like most tomatoes are now safe to eat. The Food and Drug Administration just issued an update today…

Update on the Outbreak June 18, 2008: At this time, FDA recommends consuming raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw red round tomatoes only if grown and harvested from the following areas that HAVE NOT BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTBREAK:

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida (counties of: Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee, DeSoto, Sarasota, Highlands, Pasco, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Charlotte)*
Georgia
Hawaii
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Nebraska
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma (New!)
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Baja California (Norte) **
Belgium
Canada
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Israel
Netherlands
Puerto Rico

* Shipments of tomatoes harvested in these counties are acceptable with a certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

** Product lots of tomatoes harvested in this State in Mexico are allowed export into the U.S. with a certificate issued by the Secretaria de Fomento Agropecuario del Gobierno del Estado de Baja California (Agency).

The recent outbreak of salmonellosis from tomatoes prompted markets and restaurants to pull tomatoes out of their shelves and menus. Me — I love tomatoes and I haven’t stopped eating them. I thank Moore Farms, my long-time local source, and all our local farmers for providing the public with the highest quality produce. Laurie Moore from Moore Farms says it best:

“Whenever there are media reports about the conventional food system suffering another recall or contamination scare we get lots of calls and emails. Some folks want to know where they can get our Good Clean Food, others want to be reassured that ours is indeed safe. This recent Salmonella Scare with conventional tomatoes brought a flurry of contacts from Members and potential new Members alike! Thankfully we can all rest assured that our local producers use safe clean methods to grow the food we delivery for your family. The suspected cause of this outbreak is the post-harvest handling. Large scale growers wash freshly picked produce in a chlorine solution to eliminate bacterial contaminants. The problem with this (other than soaking our food in chlorine) is that the wash becomes a soup of materials and depending on temperature factors this can result in a big bad batch of contaminated produce. Of course we recommend you wash our produce before consuming it, none of our produce is packaged as “ready to eat” and we certainly don’t use any chemical solutions to “clean” our harvests. Often you will find field-washed produce or even vegetables that still have the dirt they were grown in on them. We believe the least handling before it gets to you, the better. If you’re especially concerned about this tomato recall or want to be sure your produce is extra clean in general you can use a 10% vinegar solution to soak produce for 5 minutes and then rinse. The best way to ensure your food safety? Know who grows your food!”

I’m off to eat a tomato-mayo sandwich now.

Technorati Tags: tomatoes, salmonellosis tomato outbreak

Another great restaurant closes in Atlanta:  The Epicurean is now closed.  As of August 28, the restaurant and the wine shop closed its doors permanently.  The new owner will focus on catering instead.  Sad news.

Technorati Tags: The Epicurean, Decatur, Atlanta, French Cuisine, restaurants

Well it’s that time of the year for this global foodie to travel yet again. Destination: Asia! Yes, I will be eating my way through Asia for 5 weeks starting June 3 with scheduled stops in Hongkong and Bangkok (and maybe some other cities). The last time I was in Asia was about 5 months ago staying eating 4 weeks in Hongkong, Bangkok, Singapore, and a few other tiny beaches in between. This time of the year, the weather will be brutally hot and humid but the food will be glorious just the same.

While internet connection now abound all over Asia, I may not be able to respond to comments as quickly as I can. You must understand, I’m there to eat. Still, I already have posts lined up and scheduled to be published while I’m away so you won’t even know I’m gone.

Have a good half of the summer and I promise to post thousands of pictures when I get back.

Chloe

Well it’s that time of the year for this global foodie to travel yet again. Destination: Asia! Yes, I will be eating my way through Asia for 5 weeks starting June 3 with scheduled stops in Hongkong and Bangkok (and maybe some other cities). The last time I was in Asia was about 5 months ago staying eating 4 weeks in Hongkong, Bangkok, Singapore, and a few other tiny beaches in between. This time of the year, the weather will be brutally hot and humid but the food will be glorious just the same.

While internet connection now abound all over Asia, I may not be able to respond to comments as quickly as I can. You must understand, I’m there to eat. Still, I already have posts lined up and scheduled to be published while I’m away so you won’t even know I’m gone.

Have a good half of the summer and I promise to post thousands of pictures when I get back.

Chloe

Back in 2003, Minado opened its first southern location in Sandy Springs and became an instant hit. A year later, the Korean owners wanted to expand but their franchise wouldn’t allow them to do so. Long story short, they had to buy out their franchise and re-name the restaurant to Badayori. Not long after, they opened branches in downtown (Peachtree Center) and in Duluth (Pleasant Hill Rd). The Duluth location closed a few months ago.

My parents have been friends with the owners since their restaurant opened in Atlanta. They even had talks about partnering together but with the Duluth location’s closing, the idea died down. My mom just called me a few hours ago to tell me that our family friend, the owner, died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 56 years old. He was a very personable man. And a great businessman. He leaves a wife (who manages the Sandy Springs location) and a teenaged daughter. We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family.

Technorati Tags: Badayori, Sandy Springs, Downtown Atlanta, Japanese cuisine, sushi buffet

Plans for converting the southern end of the GM plant in Doraville further boosts Asian presence in town. Dubbed the Peachtree Pavillion, there will be 165,000 square feet of retail space with Super H Mart as the anchor store (announced December 2006). The new development is jointly marketed and developed by ACT Investments and JWB Realty.

I am excited as I know there’ll be a bunch of restaurants that are going to call this their new home. Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: Peachtree Pavillion, Doraville, Super H Mart, Asian facility