My view down the family-style table.

The menu from our quadrant. All of the tables started switching dishes and Chef Joe Truex’s shrimp and grits casserole was the hands-down fan favorite of the meal.

Chef Linton Hopkins

Chef Kevin Gillespie

Chef Ron Eyester

Chef Drew Van Leuvan

A gaggle of chefs including Anne Quatrano and Hugh Acheson

Chefs Cathy Conway, Joe Truex and Butch Raphael

Will Harris, The president of Georgia Organics and my favorite local farmer.

The evening’s keynote speaker: Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food. Check out Besha Rodell’s interview with Petrini and her observations from the day HERE.

Please accept my apologies if I left any names out. I don’t know what all the chefs in Atlanta and Athen’s look like. Please let me know who I left out!

Disclaimer: My media credentials for the day included the dinner.

No trip to the renovated Buford Highway Farmers Market is complete without a basket full of stuff from the Eastern European deli counter. Stacks of chewy, dry Russian salamis, hunks of Polish butter, a most impressive selection of farmers’ cheese, large containers of bright green half-sour pickles, round shortbread sandwich cookies filled with caramel-colored condensed milk and a bounty of other goodies await.

Continue Reading “Food Finds: Eastern European treats at the Buford Highway Farmers Market”

(Image and blurb courtesy of Grub Street)

This year’s “Best of New York” is a multicourse scavenger hunt for the adventurous eater. Start with breakfast at the Breslin, have a deceptive Vegan doughnut from Babycakes, or fuel efficiently with Milkthistle Organic Dairy Farm yogurt. Take advantage of the stellar $15 prix fixe lunch from Abraço, or try one of the city’s many entries into the booming sandwiches category. Swing by Brooklyn Kitchen Labs and the Meat Hook to see what’s in stock at the city’s best gourmet grocery, or wait until June to visit New Amsterdam Market.

Pork still dominates dinner menus, but don’t miss out on Maialino’s roast chicken, SHO Shaun Hergatt’s innovative Asian fusion, or the quality meat and potatoes at Minetta Tavern. Have a chocolate-chip cookie at Má Pêche for dessert, and breathe deep — you’ve still got a lot of edible treasures to unearth in 2010.

Click here to get the full list.

This just in from Social Resto Café Bar (I heart couscous and their sangria is the best in town):

Social Resto Café Bar, the charming restaurant in the heart of downtown Atlanta, (http://www.socialintown.com), will be the setting for a true “Night in Tunisia” experience. Starting on Saturday, March 13 and then on every other Saturday night, the restaurant will feature a true traditional Tunisian couscous dinner, priced at $25 per person. The authentic couscous will be prepared according to an old family recipe passed down to Social’s owner Rheda “Ray” Chikhaoui, who was born and raised in Lyon (France) by Tunisian parents.

“Our couscous takes half a day to prepare in the traditional way before it is ready to be enjoyed,” says Ray. “We start with the finest semolina couscous, and then we add a variety of fresh vegetables, tender short ribs, chicken and of course, our special ‘merquez’ – a spiced lamb sausage.”

Social will offer this real Tunisian version of the traditional couscous twice a month. The $25 dinner will include a salad, couscous, mint tea and sweets for dessert. “I promise you it will be worth your trip downtown,” invites Ray. “Come enjoy some jazz, a great exotic meal, unique North African wines, and of course, superb service – and bring your friends for this “Night in Tunisia!”

Please note the fine print; you must have purchased the book at Williams-Sonoma and have proof of purchase.