You may remember that I blogged about visiting the very first Urban Picnic at Sweet Auburn Curb Market last year. I was a little underwhelmed by the small number of vendors then, but since having gone back a few times, I can say that the offerings have only gotten better and more varied. I’m excited that the Urban Picnic is getting back into the swing of things!

Now that spring is in the air, the 2011 Atlanta Urban Picnic will return to Sweet Auburn Curb Market. The Urban Picnic is just about a year old, but if you didn’t make any of the 2010 meetings, you may be wondering: What is an urban picnic? It’s a chance for in-towners to meet up during Friday lunch hours (and sometimes early Saturday evenings) and sample the wares of Atlanta’s growing fleet of food trucks and other food vendors.

The Urban Picnics will again take place regularly at Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn Curb Market downtown. The Sweet Auburn Curb Market is “an urban farmers’ market that unites rural and urban Georgians through food and activities that celebrate local agriculture, the history of the Sweet Auburn neighborhood and the diversity of the city of Atlanta.”

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I looked at some fellow bloggers’ posts on this place from 2-3 years ago before I started writing and saw a few hits, but a lot of misses. However, on our recent visit to Bone Garden Cantina the restaurant seemed to have made it past its “awkward stage” and come into it’s own. Located in a mostly industrial area off Marietta Blvd. (on Ellsworth Industrial, fittingly), you could easily miss Bone Garden’s warehouse-like digs…or you could just keep an eye out for the giant skeleton out front. The restaurant markets itself as one of the only authentic Mexican restaurants in town (i.e. not Americanized and drowning in cheese) and touts its fresh, made from scratch dishes.

We started with our free basket of warm chips & salsa, which we both enjoyed. Both elements tasted very fresh and we kept snacking on them throughout the meal.

Chips & Salsa

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One of Atlanta’s most popular new restaurants is Local Three Kitchen & Bar, so named because of the partnership between the creators of Muss & Turner’s (Ryan Turner & Chef Todd Mussman) and Chef Chris Hall. Chef Hall answered a few questions to explain why “the three” encourage diners to “sit deep and stay long” to enjoy the full experience of this new dining destination.

Did you expect such fast success for Local Three?
We expected success, but we didn’t expect it so soon. We’re tremendously grateful and humbled by our quick start. It’s gratifying to know there’s great interest within the community about what we’re doing at Local Three. The challenge now is to exceed the expectations of every guest that joins us. We’re really focused on delivering what we’ve promised.

Besides your own restaurants, where do you like to take out-of-towners to eat in Atlanta?

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Ack! I’m falling behind on posts so that I don’t fall behind on writing my thesis. I appreciate anyone who is bearing with me anyway. But if I’m not updating here regularly, chances are you can find some of my features over on City’s Best – Atlanta, or see a few things that I post exclusively on First Bite’s Facebook page.

So, The Sound Table. I was both excited and a little wary about visiting this new-ish Old Fourth Ward eatery run by the same folks who brought us Top Flr. I was excited because I had heard raves about the place, but wary because 1) Mario and I had had a really dismal meal at Top Flr not a month before (our first–and likely last–visit), and 2) all the raves about The Sound Table were mostly about the drinks and atmosphere, with the food getting what collectively seemed like a “good, but not great” rating. But, I pushed aside my apprehension and decided the Scoutmob coupon we were using would make any meal a little better.

Mario and I arrived and were seated at our table downstairs near the bar. This location got to be a bit awkward as the night wore on, as bar patrons started spilling further and further back from the bar. There is an elevated area with tables downstairs–maybe this should be the only place restaurant patrons are seated, while the rest of the area is left to the bar? Just a thought.

For dinner, Mario decided on the pork chop, which contained many of his favorite ingredients–pork, apple, and sweet potato (to be exact, Eden Farms porkchop, apple cider reduction, and sweet potato puree). I went for a two-fer: the Chinese pork ribs (chargrilled with red chili, soy sauce, and scallions) and sunchoke puree (roasted mushrooms, poached egg, pecorino).

Pork Chop

National Margarita Day is Tuesday, Feb. 22, and since based on sales, Atlanta is one of the best metro areas in which to order a margarita (Source: Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008), we know more than a few of you are excited about this upcoming “holiday.” With the great spring weather we’ve been experiencing, this Margarita Day might just be the perfect time to stop by one of these restaurants that are mixing up original versions of the ubiquitous cocktail.

4th & Swift: Mixologist James Ives at Midtown favorite 4th & Swift has concocted the Smoke & Flowers Margarita, an innovative combination of El Jimador Blanco Tequila, Lajita Mezcal, Lavender Agave, lime and smoked salt, served on the rocks.

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I was lucky enough to be invited to the Muir Glen Vine Dining Tour at Buckhead’s Aria a few weeks ago. The Vine Dining Tour is a pretty interesting concept: the folks at Muir Glen are going around the country showcasing their reserve tomatoes, kind of like you would with a reserve wine. Their reserve variety is specially cultivated and hand-harvested and changes every year, this year’s being the “Meridian Ruby.” The Dining Tour asked 5 chefs across the country to come up with dishes showcasing Muir Glen’s tomatoes, and Atlanta’s was Gerry Klaskala, chef/owner of Aria.

We started with a number of passed hors d’oeuvres, including grilled cheese with bacon and tomato (OMG), tomato, blue cheese, and prosciutto bruschetta, fire roasted tomato burger sliders (missed these, sad face) and bloody mary’s. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the hors d’oeuvres, but I can assure you they were delicious, especially the grilled cheese. I won’t go into extensive detail on each dish because 1) I don’t think they’re offered on Aria’s regular menu, and 2) everything was perfectly executed, anyway.

So, once we were seated, we started by sampling Muir Glen’s regular and fire-roasted tomatoes straight from the can. Our first course quickly followed: fire-roasted tomato & shrimp bisque:

Tomatoes for sampling

Fire-roasted tomato & shrimp bisque

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West Midtown, or “the Westside,” as some inhabitants like to call it, has been an epicenter for hot new Atlanta restaurants for about a year now — and for good reason. Many of these restaurants are headed by prominent, award-winning chefs who decided the Westside was the place to plant their talents. Since this ‘hood is located just minutes from midtown/downtown office buildings, much of Atlanta has access to these lunchtime hot spots.

Bocado: This contender in Atlanta’s “burger wars” has much more than just a delicious burger to offer. Bocado emphasizes seasonal ingredients in its delicious dishes, and they almost never disappoint.

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On the heels of John Kessler’s glowing review of newcomer Local Three Kitchen & Bar in the AJC is my equally glowing review. Luckily I visited before the AJC ran the story, because now it seems to be near impossible to get a reservation at the popular new restaurant. Opened by the founders of Muss & Turner’s and Chef Chris Hall, Local Three stepped onto the scene late last year in a big way. The restaurant is housed in the old JOEL Brasserie space off Northside Pkwy. in Vinings/Buckhead, and while it retains some of the trappings of its former upscale inhabitant, the owners have updated the decor to a kind of “down home chic.” (Props for the “George P. Burdell was here” board on their accent wall)

Local Three

Above is the nearly hidden entryway. We had to backtrack once to find it (as did the ladies we were following), so it feels almost like a clandestine destination. In fact, the directions from the lobby would go a little something like this: “On your left, down the hallway, just past the bathrooms…” I’m sad to say that the above photo is the best of the bunch that I have from this dinner. Not only did I forget my camera, but Mario forgot his iPhone which usually works as our stand-in. The camera on my phone was just not working for me in the low light of the restaurant. Hopefully the lack of photographic imagery won’t detract from the review.

Mario and I both ended up ordering two “small plates” each in lieu of an actual entree. This was a good way to taste more of the menu, and we both ended up full anyway. I ordered the braised lamb shoulder (spiced lentils, yogurt) and the roasted mushrooms (creamy polenta, truffle jus), and Mario had oven-roasted chicken wings (celery root remoulade) and “Breakfast for Dinner” (maple glazed pork belly, fried egg, grits).
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If you follow this blog or me on Twitter, you know that I love cupcakes. I actively seek out cupcakeries. Upon request, I can list my top three favorite cupcakes in the Atlanta area (and probably in BR/NOLA too). So it’s always a huge bummer when I come across cupcakes that just doesn’t appeal to me. Such was the case when I visited Gigi’s cupcakes.

Gigi's

Gigi’s is a cupcake chain which originated in Nashville, TN. After checking out their amazing looking cupcake selection online, I visited the Buckhead location to try one out. On the first visit, Mario picked up a candied sweet potato (pictured) and I had a tiramisu.

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Atlanta has a seeming obsession with foods that once were considered far from gourmet. It seems this trend will continue into 2011, with rumors that restaurants will open in the area to put their own creative spins on hamburgers, hot dogs, and even sausages.

5 Napkin Burger: In this economic climate, Atlanta has seen a number of restaurant closings in the past few months. The silver lining to this bad news is that old restaurant spaces often lure new restaurants, which is what will happen to the old Nickiemoto’s space on Piedmont Avenue in Midtown.

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