This post is a tale of two cities…or two Smashburgers in two cities. I made a trip to Atlanta last weekend to hang out with Mario and do some “official” last hurrah-type activities (mani/pedi at my most favorite nail shop, my favorite cupcakes, etc). After a half day of furniture shopping, I was really hoping to get my last Bocado burger for lunch but forgot that they are only open for dinner on Saturdays. Bummer. So we decided instead to visit one of the newer burger joints in town, Smashburger. Just a few days later, I got an invite to the opening of the 1st Jacksonville Smashburger location at Neptune Beach. I guess the fact that I accepted means my first visit went well!

The folks at Smashburger are doing some rapid expansion as of late, trying to fill the fast-casual space that they say is wide open (and maybe it is, in places other than Atlanta). How they determined that fast-casual burger joints are lacking is a mystery to me, but if you’re executing well I guess more is ok. Direct competition for them is, of course, the also-expanding “multiple men” burger joint.

We liked the open and airy feel of the dining area (very Chipotle-like) and the friendly staff members at the register where you order before grabbing a seat. The menu is largely customizable, from bread to cheese to protein (beef, chicken, and black bean), but also contains some “pre-fab” burgers. These pre-fabs are one way Smashburger aims to specially recognize each local market–one burger that is only sold in that area. Jacksonville’s burger is the Sunshine Bacon & Cheese, with orange citrus bbq sauce, bacon, cheddar, and haystack onions:

Sunshine Bacon & Cheese

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I feel like there should be an instrumental track of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” playing behind all my cupcakery posts. I have stumbled upon a new-to-me cupcakery, and they may just be my new favorite pusher(wo)men: Lenox Cupcakes.

Vanilla Caramel Cupcake

I don’t visit Phipps Plaza often, but I recently had a Nordstrom gift card burning a hole in my wallet and decided to peruse the rest of the mall while I was there. I had heard of Lenox Cupcakes before, but kind of put them in my “bourgie” pile with many other things Buckhead. Well, I now know that bourgie cupcakes might just be the best cupcakes.

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In my current (but soon changing) state as a financially challenged recent graduate, I was sadly unable to participate in this weekend’s inaugural Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. The preview I attended was so great I knew the festival would be too, but maybe next year. I decided the best way to mitigate my sorrows was on a patio with libation in hand. I had heard tell of a place that served what some might consider the holy grail of summer drinks, a Jack & Coke slushie: Inman Park’s newest addition Victory Sandwich Bar. So Mario and I snagged one of their tree trunk patio tables and I ordered up:

Jack & Coke Slushie

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During Inman Park’s recent restaurant week, Mario and I visited Wisteria for some “new South” fare. I was really hoping to be able to visit again before writing this (especially because they’re now on Scoutmob), but the start of my wedding diet has delayed many of my must-trys for a while. Restaurant week is not always the best time to judge a restaurant on service, but I thought the service at Wisteria was outstanding for a regular night, and the fact that it was a Friday evening during restaurant week just made it that much better. Although not typically the case for Inman Park, many restaurant week menus are so boring to me–steak, chicken, fish. So I LOVED that Wisteria’s menu had an array of non-boring appetizers and entrees (rack of lamb, shrimp and grits, 3 meat bolognese) at two different price points. We started with the crawfish and corn fritters and fried oyster toast:

Crawfish and Corn Fritters

Fried Oyster Toast

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JCT Kitchen is one of my favorite places in general, but also one of my favorite places to take out of town guests for meals. I feel that it’s a reasonably priced representative of Atlanta’s great food scene. JCT Bar, located above the restaurant area, is also a fun spot for meeting with friends –live music, good drinks, skyline view. The food served at the JCT Bar has always been good, but here’s a new reason to venture out on Wednesdays: JCT’s Wiener Wednesdays. With Top Chef’s Richard Blais opening a gourmet hot dog restaurant in the coming months, we’re all hearing talk of hot dogs being “the new burger.” JCT’s Chef Ford Fry has also declared 2011 “Year of the Wiener.” Regularly $4 each, on Wednesdays, the gourmet dogs are only $2. Mario and I attended a Wiener Wednesday Tweetup hosted by Twitter personalities @ATL_Events and @AtlantaDish recently to try the new dogs. Our selections that night were the Smoked Coca-Cola BBQ with Vidalia onion relish, and the Pimento Cheese with Bacon, Pickled Cabbage and House Mustard:

Smoked Coca Cola BBQ Dog (back) and Pimento Cheese Dog (front)

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Local celebrity chef Richard Blais recently returned to Bravo’s special “All-Stars” season of “Top Chef” after his surprising loss in Season 4 to claim the title once and for all. The brains behind FLIP Burger Boutique talked with City’s Best about the show, Atlanta’s food scene, and what we might see from him in the future.

Congratulations on your “Top Chef All‐Stars” win! Do you think the competition was tougher this season, or on your first go‐round?
This season was way tougher, first of all it was the longest season Top Chef has ever had, the competition was incredible. Every chef brought their A game.The challenges were very challenging.

You have been in Atlanta for a little more than 10 years now. How do you think our food scene compares with other big cities?

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Finally getting myself over to Miso Izakaya in Inman Park was the result of two things: 1) Blogger friends repeatedly asking whether I had tried Miso Izakaya’s pork belly or crispy duck buns, and 2) a new iPhone app I’ve been beta testing, Trumpet. It’s one thing when people tell me I HAVE to visit a restaurant, but it’s another when an app does. Trumpet gives personalized restaurant recommendations based on simple star ratings you give places you visit. I had spent about a week playing around with Trumpet by rating restaurants (and drooling over its design: the photos are GORGEOUS), and it was starting to give me feedback on places I would like. Miso Izakaya popped up on my screen along with a “You’ll Love It!” and I decided it was time to go.

An “izakaya” is a Japanese drinking establishment that also serves food. Plates are small, but more substantial than tapas. Mario and I went one Friday evening and were promptly seated. I already knew I wanted to try both the pork belly and crispy duck buns, but I also decided to add an order of steamed gyoza (pork filled dumplings, sweet toasted sesame soy sauce) to round out my meal. Mario had the tempura (lumpy “batter fried” tiger shrimp, shitake mushroom, sweet potato, freshly grated daikon in dashi dipping sauce) and a chicken and rice bowl, the name of which I unfortunately can’t remember.

Pork Belly Bun

Crispy Duck Bun

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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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