FOOD GROUP: Hidden downtown cakery

CAKE NIRVANA: Self-professed cake addicts Maggie and Katie Sweeney opened the Cake Hag just a couple of months ago. The artisan bakeshop aims for a causal vibe. You can pick up a slice of cake to go or sit at the bar, nibble on a piece of cake, and sip on a cup of French press made with Dancing Goats beans while the chatty Sweeneys bake away. Maggie’s love for all things cake drives her creative process; she developed all of the recipes in her personal search for “cake nirvana.” The Hag doesn’t follow any strict baking rules. “The sky’s the limit,” says Maggie, who takes a lot of inspiration from her customers and “will bend over backward” to make people’s dessert desires into cake realities.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? The name started as a joke between the mother/daughter team during one delirious cake-baking night. Katie asked her mom to pass her the cake rag, but Maggie misheard her and thought she called her a “cake hag.” The nickname stuck. When the time came to choose a name for the store, the girls couldn’t think of anything else that fit the feel of the store better. The response to the name has been mixed, but it fits the place’s overall sense of humor beautifully.

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I first heard of The Cake Hag back when Tami of Running with Tweezers organized the fabulous Blogger bake sale some months back. Tami tipped me that The Cake Hag–who had a few items at the bake sale–would be opening a storefront in downtown soon. I’d completely forgotten about the new cakery until this past weekend when I feasted on one of her creations at Bill Addison’s birthday party. Bill told me she’d opened next to Lunacy Black Market so I naturally had to pay her a visit. You know that line from the 50-cent song that goes “I love you like a fat kid love cake?” Yeah, I’m a fat kid at heart (and in the rear) with some serious cake lust.

The space is very barebones, but the amazingly friendly Hag and her super sweet daughter told me about their plans to decorate the historic storefront soon. There were only two types of cake available so I got one of each: the red velvet and the chocolate cake with creme anglaise, fresh raspberries, and white buttercream frosting (pictured above). The frosting was just sweet enough and the cake super moist and light. I can’t wait to try her other cakes and support the uber nice lady’s shop. One more thing: the slices were buy one get one free yesterday. What a steal!

Social Resto and Bar has such an amazing energy; it’s the kind of place you just want to hang out in for hours. I adore it even though the food can be inconsistent depending on what you order. We took advantage of Social’s Tunisian couscous dinner deal a few Saturdays ago and it was fabulous–and a great deal to boot! For $25, you get a salad assortment, couscous of your choice made according to a longtime family recipe, a platter of sweets and mint tea.

I opted for the Royal couscous–a mix of lamb, juicy homemade merguez sausages, and cornish hen served with a sauce of chickpeas, potatoes and vegetables that you ladle over the plate to add moisture to the couscous.

It was lovely. The meats and vegetables were tender and full of flavor. The couscous was fluffy with no clumping. And I just had to get a glass of Social’s unparalleled sangria on the side.

Social is offering the couscous dinner on two Saturdays a month so make sure you get there before the special is gone. I hope they add their gazpacho to the menu soon. It is the best in Atlanta when it’s around.

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!”

Guess what?

Do it.

How did we go from two-martini business lunches to harried fast-food excursions, sandwiches and nuked leftovers while toiling at our desks? Some would argue it’s a budgetary concern. But you deserve the occasional pause, even if it is on the cheap. And there happens to be just the place smack dab in the middle of downtown Atlanta. It offers not only a major deal at $10.95 per person, but also a civilized sit-down meal on an enclosed “terrace” set inside the bustling grand lobby of Peachtree Tower.

You may have heard about Il Mulino (191 Peachtree St., 404-524-5777, www.ilmulino.com/visit_us2.html), the extremely overpriced Italian restaurant from New York, when it opened. The original location in New York is spectacular, but I’ve found that the offshoots — such as the Miami location — just don’t live up to the coziness or immense personality of the smaller Manhattan home base. My curiosity about the Atlanta location was quashed by my reluctance to drop a stack of bills on something I knew didn’t travel well. And I really need a good excuse to switch out my flats for a pair of heels. But rumors of a shockingly cheap lunch buffet enticed me — no torturous footwear required.

Lunch is served as a buffet, but this is no sad-looking food begging to be plucked from steam tables. Instead, you choose from an assortment of salads, chilled dishes, pasta, soup, a fish or meat in sauce and a carving station where roasted leg of lamb or beef stuffed with peppers and spinach is sliced to order by a joke-cracking chef. Click here to read the rest…

SOCIAL: There are places in Atlanta that don’t get nearly as much business as they should. And this quaint and chic Mediterranean café/wine bar is a prime example. Brothers Jalil and Rheda Chikhaoui serve up a menu similar to any you’d find at a restaurant of its ilk in France. During the summer, the restaurant offers an authentic gazpacho as a special. This version is chock-full of the typical ingredients—fresh tomatoes, cucumber, and bell peppers—but they add their own twist with a dash of cumin, harissa and a “special” tomato juice for a smoother mouthfeel. The soup is topped with lump crabmeat and a tiny dice of cucumber for contrast. 12 W. Peachtree Place. 404-525-2246. www.socialintown.com.

SOUPER JENNY: It’s natural that Atlanta’s resident soup maven, “Souper” Jenny Levinson, serves her gazpacho throughout the entire blistering summer (until August). Levinson, who lists Weight Watchers’ point counts for dieting customers, makes her versions as light as possible (only one point per bowl), but still manages to infuse plenty of flavor. Click here to read the rest…

Southerners are as blasé about soul food as New Yorkers are about pizza. We like it, we eat it often, but when was the last time you had a plate that actually made you sit up in your seat and say wow? If you can’t recall, you obviously haven’t been to Mae’s Soul Food (34 Peachtree St., 404-525-4557). Mae’s is a little hard to find. The address says Peachtree Street, but it’s actually around the corner on Walton Street — look for the tiny red and white sign.

As cramped and unadorned as the restaurant is, it’s got personality to spare. Grab a spot in the line, study the cafeteria-style steam trays as quickly as you can, and be ready to shout out your order before your mind is made up. Service is as intense and fast-paced as the NYSE trading floor. The ever-present and incredibly lively “Ms. Mae” (aka Mary McCoy) ensures everything’s running smoothly. After retiring, Ms. Mae opened the restaurant with her savings. Why open a restaurant after retiring? “I just wanted to work for myself and do something that I know how to do and love to do,” she says before pausing and calling out something to her staff about cornbread. Click here to read the rest…