Atlanta food and restaurant blog | The Blissful Glutton » Alpharetta

Cheap Eats: ‘cue

blissfulglutton — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:35:25 +0000

FOOD GROUP: Boutique barbecue where everything is homemade

BACKSTORY: Paul Doster left his post as chef at the famed barbecue joint Swallow at the Hollow to branch out on his own. Doster is always there, in his whites, making the rounds from table to table, which adds a charming personal feel to his souped-up barbecue shack.

SAUCEY: Georgia barbecue has long been ridiculed for not having its own style. But isn’t Georgia’s style of barbecue about combining what’s best about other regional barbecues? Doster plays to diners’ allegiances — and prejudices — by offering a trio of homemade sauces: a vinegar-based sauce via North Carolina, a mustard-based tribute to South Carolina, and a sweet, peppery tomato-based tribute to Tennessee. Mix them up or go pure.

MEAT ME: Baby back ribs are inconsistent. Read: tender on some visits, tough on others. The brisket follows the same sad path despite having a beautiful pink ring of smoke. The chicken, however, wows each time. You can get it pulled on a sandwich or served in a monstrous half-bird portion you’ll be picking at well after the bill is paid.

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Food Find: BB’s Bagels

blissfulglutton — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:11:38 +0000

You don’t have to be a New York transplant to bemoan the absence of good bagels in Atlanta. Too leaden. Too soft. Too bland. Settle or go wanting. If you’re up for a bit of a drive, make the pilgrimage to BB’s Bagels and Diner (770 McFarland Parkway, 770-475-1818, www.bitchinbagelsatbbs.com) in Alpharetta. The trips have become a regular weekend activity for me — there are simply no bagels inside the perimeter that compare to BB’s.

Owners Eddie and Anna Siino run the small diner and bagel shop that has become a favorite amongst in-the-know bagel fiends. Eddie got his start as a baker 30 years ago, and the man knows his bagels. The Siinos, along with a gaggle of friends and family from the New York area, churn out bagels bound to impress even the most jaded aficionados. The bagels are made using an old classic recipe, hand-rolled and kettle-boiled every morning for that quintessential New York shine. The kettle boiling also yields the requisite chewiness no decent bagel is without.

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Food finds: SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale Bread

blissfulglutton — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:25:00 +0000

(Photo courtesy of Whole Foods)

If you shop at Whole Foods regularly, you’ve most likely found the bread selection to be somewhat lacking. The bread isn’t bad if you’re in a pinch, but most people – myself included – go elsewhere for crusty artisan loaves. But the store’s new SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale bread is worth seeking out.

Whole Foods has partnered with Atlanta’s own SweetWater Brewery (located in Midtown) to bake this special bread at the Whole Foods’ bakeshop in Alpharetta. The bread is made with the spent barley grains of SweetWater’s 420 Extra Pale Ale. The crust on each loaf is as dark as molasses and crackly even days later (the loaves have a long shelf life despite having no preservatives).

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Mouthful: Cannoli

blissfulglutton — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:50:00 +0000

ALPINE BAKERY & PIZZERIA: Long Island native Bill Clementi and his partners, Stephen Bishop and Anthony DeTommaso, have the north side market cornered on Italian sweets. Their cannoli stand tall among the bakery’s offerings. The shells are freshly made and stuffed with a mixture of premium ricotta impastata, sugar, vanilla and a few secret ingredients. The filling is then studded with tiny chocolate chips. They’re offered in either small or regular sizes. 295 Rucker Road, Alpharetta. 770-410-9883. www.alpinebakeryandpizzeria.com.

ANTICO PIZZA NAPOLETANA: In addition to gorgeous pizzas, owner Giovanni Di Palma sells a jaw-dropping assortment of Italian sweets. The cannoli are especially tasty. Di Palma sources the shells — encrusted with everything from shredded coconut to crushed pistachios — and fills them with an incredibly smooth ricotta from Brooklyn. Click here to read the rest…

Mouthful: Pies

blissfulglutton — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:12:00 +0000

ALPINE BAKERY: Alpine’s pies resemble those you find at any worthy New York (or Jersey) diner and the varieties are endless. Like everything in the shop, the pies — available in virtually any style you can imagine — are made on site daily and rise just as high as the cakes. Each pie except the apple is offered in both small (serves 6-8) and large (serves 16-20). The chocolate cream pie is especially delectable. 295 Rucker Road, Suite 140, Alpharetta. 770-410-9883. www.alpinebakery.net.

SOUTHERN SWEETS: Out of all the bakeries in Atlanta, this family-run Decatur mainstay is the first place most people recommend when you’ve got cherry on the brain. The bakery hand-rolls its signature flaky crust and fills it with tart, sour cherries swimming in “secret sauce” before covering it with a crunchy layer of crushed sugar cubes. Click here to read the rest…

Spices Hut: Alpharetta

blissfulglutton — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:10:00 +0000

I happened upon this amazing new Indian grocery store after grabbing a falafel at the new Jerusalem Bakery. The store is pretty big with endless aisles of everything you could ever need to prepare an Indian feast and a handful of household items. Check out some snapshots from the store:

Pristine produce including some hard to find vegetables

Snacks, snacks and more snack. Grabbed some spicy dried chickpeas, which I became a little obsessed with while in India last year.

Pillsbury paratha. Who woulda thunk it?

An assortment of homemade baked items near the cashier

Up close with the homemade somosas

INFORMATION

Address: 4150 Old Milton PKWY SE, Alpharetta, GA 30005

Phone: 770-410-9477‎

Mouthful: Falafel

blissfulglutton — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:51:00 +0000

JERUSALEM BAKERY: After a successful run churning out the city’s best pita, baklava and other Middle Eastern baked goods at its Marietta store, the Palestinian owners opened a second location that serves a wide variety of foods. The falafel batter is handmade with a mix of chickpeas and parsley, which makes it a pleasant bright green. The falafel is combined with your choice of fillings — such as shaved onions, a mix of pickled veggies and much more — and tightly rolled burrito-style in the bakery’s exceptional pita bread. A piece of the pistachio-encrusted baklava ends the meal off right. 4150 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharetta. 770-777-0193.

FALAFEL KING: Restaurants that advertise “and sushi” are normally a big no-no in my book. But this Korean-owned Japanese and falafel shack near Emory University may be the exception to the rule. Click here to read the rest…

Mama’s Pizza: Alpharetta

blissfulglutton — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:30:00 +0000

The car behind me is honking at me because I am driving so incredibly slow. I am unfazed; this happens all the time. I am in my normal cruising-for-food mode after a trek up to Alpharetta for an assignment and no amount of road rage is going to interrupt my hunt. And then I spot something that piques my interest: Mama’s Pizza. I hang a left. The signage on the walls says they’ve been at this since 1979. I call a friend that lives in the area for the scoop and he tells me he’s heard they are from New York. The menu has all the expected pizzeria items, but I just get a slice of Neapolitan since this is the last place I am hitting after a long day of work-eating. The crust has a very nice balance of flavors and it not only thin, but super crisp. The cheese is gooey and each bite yields a long string of cheese between my mouth and the slice. Nice. The sauce is my only problem with the slice as it is a bit too cooked down for my taste and doesn’t possess the brightness and acidity I prefer on my pies. A solid slice overall, but Fortunato’s is still my favorite. I would like to try a whole pie though.

Verdict: Destination worthy for us ITP folks? Nah. But a great spot if you are in the area and live nearby. I’d go back.

INFORMATION

Address: 3665 Old Milton Pkwy, Alpharetta, GA 30005

Phone: 770-751-6001

Cheap Eats: Alpine Bakery and Pizzeria

blissfulglutton — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:55:00 +0000

The Italian stromboli after a short car ride and still mighty tasty

Alpharetta is the last place you’d expect to find a slice of New York. But that is exactly where Long Island native Bill Clementi and his partners, Stephen Bishop and Anthony DeTommaso, opened Alpine Bakery & Pizzeria (295 Rucker Road, Alpharetta, 770-410-9883, www.alpinebakeryandpizzeria.com).

Clementi grew up around dough. Some of his mostly Sicilian family were in the pizza and restaurant business. But it was his grandfather, a baker, who inspired a young Clementi to begin writing and compiling the book of recipes he still uses today. After one too many torturous New York commutes, Clementi moved down to Georgia. He eventually opened a pizzeria with Bishop and DeTommaso, whom he met while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. But things really came together when Clementi started baking cakes in his basement for a friend’s restaurant. The operation quickly expanded from its meager beginnings into an 8,000-square-foot bakery cranking out cakes for a long list of restaurant clients; the retail location opened some 18 years later.

Walking into the bakery can be pleasantly overwhelming. The cases and shelves are filled with virtually every Italian-American treat imaginable. Click here to read the rest…

Cheap Eats: El Pollo Regio

blissfulglutton — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:55:00 +0000

There is something so deliciously primal about tearing a hunk of chicken off the bone with your bare hands, folding it into a warm tortilla with a spoonful of salsa and devouring it. What can I say? This Mexicana loves her chicken, which means I was delighted to discover El Pollo Regio (5499 Buford Highway, Doraville. 770-458-9663; 10471 Alpharetta Street, Roswell. 770-552-5466. www.elpolloregio.com). Click here to read the rest…