I love a good restaurant week. I used to look forward to the release of Atlanta’s various restaurant week menus (Downtown, Midtown, Inman Park, Buckhead…) with excitement. The approach of Jacksonville’s Eat Up Downtown (sort of an extended restaurant week) was no exception. Last year I visited the [now closed--but soon to reopen!] Chew with coworkers. I always try to pick places whose entree choices are more creative than chicken/beef or pork/fish, and Cafe Nola, located in the Museum of Contemporary Art, fit the bill.

I’ll start at the end with this: after finishing our meal, I was SHOCKED that Cafe Nola wasn’t filled to capacity during Eat Up Downtown. The meal progressively improved (maybe just because I love dessert…) and I can’t wait to visit during their typical lunch hours or on a Thursday, when they’re open for dinner. The small but open and airy space is separated from the rest of the museum by glass walls, which still allow you to see the current main installation (always large and impressive) in the gallery.

We started our three-course meal with the grilled peach gazpacho (topped with prosciutto and fried basil) for Mario and Scotch egg (boiled egg encased in housemade chorizo, with smoked almond romesco, lemon zest) for me:

Grilled Peach Gazpacho

Scotch Egg

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I recently visited Cafe Circa with ATL blogger Malika, a cool restaurant tucked into Downtown/Old Fourth Ward on Edgewood Ave. Armed with a Scoutmob coupon and empty bellies, we went in ready to try anything. Our meal, the service, and the ambiance were fantastic.

We started with the roasted lamb ribs in mango bbq sauce and the ackee and salt fish (red peppers, poblano peppers, onions, salt cod, ackee, hard dough bread).

Roasted Lamb Ribs

Ackee & Salt fish

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Remember back like, almost 2 months ago, when Atlanta had it’s 2010 Downtown Restaurant Week? Well, this post was supposed to be written then. I know, I’m a little behind. So, way back when, I went to the Midtown location of Spoon with a couple of lovely ladies. If you follow this blog at all, you have probably noticed that I don’t eat a lot of ethnic foods. It’s not at all that I don’t like it, it’s just that I am genuinely clueless about most Eastern cuisines. So to dip my toe in the Thai food pool, I figured a restaurant week with some more experienced eaters would be the way to go. So we stopped into the hip space on a weekday evening and except for the dessert course, ordered one of everything on the restaurant week menu. Our starters: Coconut Soup with Tofu, Sweet Tofu Basil Rolls, and Scallop Samros (three flavored Scallops).

Coconut Soup with Tofu

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Although it hasn’t been THAT long since my last post, I feel as though I may be falling into a summer slump. Atlanta heat lends itself more to blending up smoothies and lounging than pecking away on a laptop, but I’m working to integrate the two to keep the posts flowing On my new fiancé’s (yep, I’m engaged!!) last short stint in Atlanta, we decided to check out Lunacy Black Market for lunch. I’ve been hearing good things about the place, and especially about the price, so we wound our way through downtown to find the storefront on a fairly quiet street off MLK. When we walked into the restaurant, Mario actually looked around and turned to walk out. “Is this the right place? It looks like a furniture store.” And indeed it does, with random collections of tables and chairs, couches, and bookshelves set up around the room.

Lunacy Interior

We quickly scanned the short menu and decided to order a few of the tapas-style dishes (which makes sense when you know that the chef/owner Paul Luna also runs founded Eclipse di Luna and Loca Luna). I was a little disappointed that they no longer have the slider-sized sandwiches on the menu that I’d heard about since their opening, but what we had to choose from was still a good selection. We probably could even have ordered the whole menu to sample–everything was under $4. You read that right, FOUR DOLLARS. To start, I decided to try the cabbage salad I’d read good things about on Eat it, Atlanta‘s blog:
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Phew, finals are over, and I finally have a guilt-free chance to catch up on blogging. First up, I’ve been able to visit the newest tenant in the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, The Greek, twice now. My first visit was for The Greek’s Grand Opening, when they were giving out free slices of pizza:

The Greek

Free Slice

I thought the pizza was only so-so–decent toppings and slightly dry crust–and also wasn’t too pleased that the owner referred to folks who stopped by for the free pizza he was advertising as “freeloaders” later on his facebook/twitter (come on guy, what did you expect? I did buy a piece of baklava though). Otherwise though, the owner is really friendly and was chatting up customers both on this first visit and when I returned about a week later to try a gyro:
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Last weekend my brother decided to cash in on letting me sneak into his dorm for Mardi Gras and crash at my place during his spring break. I was worried we wouldn’t have anything to do around the city because, well, I’m pretty boring, but some food-centric events had us out and about and made for a pretty decent weekend. For lunch Friday, we stopped by the Sweet Auburn Curb Market for “Atlanta’s Urban Picnic” (which I’m just calling “street food fest”). Saturday, the 10th annual (but my first time attending) BaconFest was hosted by theatre/improv group Dad’s Garage in Inman Park.

I was a little disappointed with both festivals. At Street Food Fest, organized to raise awareness on legalizing street food in Atlanta, I felt it was a case of over-promise and under-deliver. Press releases promised a myriad of street foods, including “handmade biscuit sandwiches, Korean BBQ tacos, locally sourced sandwiches and baked goods, fresh smoothies, Caribbean specialties, Greek gyros, vegetarian samosas, locally made hot dogs, wood-fired pizza, and Grindhouse Killer Burgers.” At our arrival, there were 4 food carts with pizza, salads, hot dogs (Good Food), and soup (Souper Jenny), along with a few tables selling sandwiches, meats and cheeses, and a few other knick-knacks. I suppose the foods mentioned may have encompassed both what was available outside the Market and what’s typically available inside, but I was expecting a larger showing. We did, however, taste a “Poodle Dog” (French toast bun and apple/cabbage slaw) from the Good Food cart, and a lovely prosciutto, swiss, rosemary mayo, and artichoke sandwich from Artichoke Bliss.

Poodle Dog

Sandwich from Artichoke Bliss

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Mario and I hit the streets for Atlanta’s Restaurant Week. We tried to get into a new place on Peachtree, but were greeted with the “we can’t take any more diners” when the restaurant is half empty. Hmmm. Their $25 prix fixe Restaurant Week menu looked quite good though, so maybe we’ll try visiting on a regular night. Since we were all dressed up with nowhere to go, we tried another restaurant, and were faced with a 45-minute wait. We finally rode over to Legal Sea Foods, and we were quite happy with the decision.

Mario went with his standby, fried shrimp with fries and mashed sweet potatoes. The $25 prix fixe menu included an appetizer, entree, and dessert; with 2-3 choices for each course. I tried the clam chowder, bacon-wrapped shrimp and grits, and Boston Cream Pie.

Fried shrimp, fries, and mashed sweet potatoes

Shrimp and cheddar grits with braised greens