SUBURBAN SWANK- Hi Life Kitchen & Cocktails Review

HI LIFE KITCHEN & COCKTAILS

3380 Holcomb Bridge Rd, Norcross

770-409-0101

www.hiliferestaurant.com

 

Once a shining beacon on the Gwinnett restaurant scene, Hi Life had seen a gradual decline in quality in recent years as its original owners– the proprietors behind the wildly successful Marlowe’s Tavern– focused on other ventures. Now, under the leadership of owner/Executive Chef Gregg Zeringue, the upscale restaurant has re-emerged as a haven for OTP foodies.

 

Don’t let its strip shopping center location fool you: Beyond the neon sign and chain restaurant canopies, you’ll find a warm, romantic interior. Cobalt blue lamps hang over cozy booths and polished wood accents, while mellow music (live jazz some weekends) ensures that the buzzing bar area rarely rises to a cacophonous din.

 

Zeringue’s menu puts an emphasis on New American cuisine with a dash of creative fusion. Appetizer standbys such as calamari are reinvented with the addition of a sweet chili glaze, while tandoori beef satays with cucumber crème fraiche and truffled tuna tempura with curry yogurt sauce add a bit of exotic spice. Every entrée we tried– from sesame seabass with jasmine rice to seared jumbo scallops with wasabi whipped potatoes, from fontini ravioli with lobster and asparagus to truffle honey glazed rack of lamb with roast fingerling potato- was exceptional. 

With an expansive wine list, full bar, and desserts and specials that change daily, Gregg Zeringue and company have finally restored Hi Life to its former glory. –BRET LOVE  

THE FOOD FEUD- My INC Street Food Review

THE FOOD FEUD

By bringing Latin American Street Food Inside, Roswell’s INC Combines the Best of Both Worlds

By Bret Love

 

INC Street Food

948 Canton St, Roswell

770.998.3114

www.incstreetfood.com

 

Although you don’t often see it in Atlanta, in some American cities there are budding feuds between food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants.  These mobile eateries serve up street food fare fast, and at prices the rent-paying restaurants can ill afford to match.  The battle has gotten so bad along L.A.’s Miracle Mile (where some owners estimate food trucks have cut their sales by 20%) that the restaurants recently enlisted help from a city councilman to outlaw these portable proprietors.

 

Hicham Azhari, Fikret Kovac and Executive Chef Richard Wilt– the team behind Roswell’s dearly missed Little Alley and the always-busy Salt Factory– sagely recognized how the economic downturn was impacting the way people dine out.  Their latest venture, INC Street Food, is the best of both worlds, offering up robust Latin American street food in a hip atmosphere at recession-friendly prices.

 

The interior design quite literally brings the street inside, with vivid graffiti lining seemingly age-worn walls, rustically painted tables and sturdy industrial-style light fixtures.  The open kitchen is cleverly designed to look like a food truck, complete with metal sides, a license plate and a ladder on the back.  Lively Latin music pulses through the speaker; the bustling bar attracts a colorful, multi-racial crowd; and the waiters are dressed in jeans, baseball Ts and shoulder bags reminiscent of young street vendors.  It’s all very casual and cool, the kind of jumping joint you’d see on a weekend night in urban Brazil or Colombia.

 

“All the Mexican restaurants in Atlanta are basically the same,” says Azhari when asked about the inspiration behind his new venture.  “I can recite their menus by heart. But the real food of Latin America needs to be discovered.”

 

To that end, Wilt has crafted a diverse menu drawing on traditional influences spanning Central and South America.  Posole– corn soaked in limewater and lightly fried to tangy, crunchy perfection– is brought to the table as a unique alternative to chips and salsa, providing perfect accompaniment to the sweetness of the INC Margarita, which comes with a Chambord Raspberry liqueur floater.  The Bocaditos (or “starters”) are universally excellent, from the Argentinian Style Empanadas and Gaucho Marinated Skirt Steak Skewers to Salvadoran Chicken Pupusa and steamed Pork Tamales.  At under $10 each, they could easily be combined for a shared tapas-style meal.

 

Their tacos (served with arroz Mexicano and black beans) are a world away from what you’d expect at a typical Mexican joint, stuffed with everything from Chili-Rubbed Skirt Steak and Seared Ahi Tuna to BBQ Octopus and melt-in-your-mouth Veal Cheek. You can also get more substantial entrees such as Brazilian Style Fish Stew, which has a delicately spicy coconut milk broth, and Pollo Con Poblano Salsa Gratinados, a roasted half-chicken served with chili potatoes, poblano and queso.

 

The kitchen had not yet started serving desserts when we visited during INC’s opening week, but their Aguas Frescas (including authentic Coconut water and rice and cinnamon-infused Horchata) offered a refreshing end to our meal. All in all there were surprisingly few kinks left to be ironed out, foreshadowing a bright future for INC Street Food on the burgeoning Roswell restaurant scene.

(originally appeared in Jezebel)

 

 

 

SOUTHERN FRIED FOODIE- South City Kitchen Vinings review

SOUTH CITY KITCHEN- VININGS

1675 Cumberland Pkwy, Suite 401, Smyrna GA 30080

770-435-0700

www.southcitykitchen.com.

 

Anyone who lives OTP knows how hard it can be to find a decent upscale restaurant, but the Vinings area seems to be getting more than its fair share of winners. Opened in 2006– 13 years after the award winning original South City Kitchen in Midtown– this Fifth Group restaurant is an equally impressive gem, bringing modern Southern cuisine to the Cobb County ‘burbs.

 

The restaurant’s laid-back cosmopolitan sophistication proves perfectly suited to the Vinings vibe, featuring a massive bar with communal tables and cozy booths that encourages groups to linger into the night. The open exhibition kitchen provides an entertaining view for the 140-seat dining room, where warm hardwoods, white linen tablecloths and dim lighting combine to create a cozy atmosphere.

 

Executive Chef Chip Ulbrich (formerly of Food Studio) has done a wonderful job with the restaurant’s Southern-style menu, crafting simple yet eloquent dishes that come across like gourmet comfort food. Starters such as Fried Green Tomatoes with goat cheese and sweet red pepper coulis, and Georgia Gouda Fritters with charred corn salad, BBQ aioli and cane syrup were almost wickedly delicious. But the entrees, including traditional faves such as Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Sautéed Shrimp & Scallops with grits and garlic gravy, and Smoked Beef Brisket with bacon braised mustard greens, were somehow even better. Best of all, the menu is seasonal, so there’s almost always something new to tempt your taste buds. – BRET LOVE

QUEST FOR PERFECTION- My Interview w/Jeffrey Varasano

PIE IN THE SKY- JEFFREY VARASANO’S QUEST TO CREATE THE PERFECT PIZZA

By Bret Love

 

Growing up in the Bronx, Jeffrey Varasano loved watching his grandmother make traditional Italian fare. As an adult working as a computer programmer, he craved the New York-style pizza he’d grown up on, and embarked upon a Quixotic quest to craft the perfect recipe. The result was a 22,000-word manifesto that ultimately went viral, making him an Internet star and the subject of profiles in the New York Times and on NPR. Last March he opened his first restaurant, Varasano’s Pizzeria, which earned rave reviews. Here, he opens up about his pizza obsession, the elements of a great pie, and why he hopes his software days are behind him for good.

 

 

When and why did you first become obsessed with pizza?

 

The minute I moved to Atlanta, I started suffering from pizza withdrawal. I tried zillions of local places, but nothing was like the pizza I grew up with. I discovered that sprinkled among the 2000 corner shops in NYC there were 7 or 8 making really superior old school pizza, and I became fascinated with Patsy's Pizza in Harlem. It was founded in 1933, and the first time I went it looked like it was closed down. But when I tasted the pizza it blew me away. It was unlike anything I'd ever eaten, and I was hooked.

 

What do you consider the essential elements of a great pizza?

 

The primary thing is that the pizza must be memorable. There's no one style that's THE best. Coal fired or wood fired, Neapolitan style or New Haven style… any of these can be amazing or horrible. Having said that, they do have things in common. Most great pizza is baked in a very hot oven for a short time, slightly crispy on the outside but light and airy inside. The sauce should be very simple, just crushed tomatoes with a little seasoning.

 

How did your pizza recipe develop into such an Internet phenomenon?

 

I think I just struck a chord. People are very passionate about food, and pizza is one of the most popular foods, yet it's really hard to do right. When I started my research nearly every recipe was the same. It seemed like there was an exclusive club of great pizza makers, and no one running the chains or publishing recipes really knew what they were doing. Meanwhile there are zillions of people who have sampled great pizza before, but can't get it where they live. My site is not a simple set of instructions, but really delves into the artistry involved. For people who've been looking for a long time, finding my site is like the culmination of a quest. I've had several restaurant patrons actually cry because [the pizza] brought back memories of their childhood.

 

What convinced you it was finally time to open your own restaurant? 

 

The timing was perfect. A long software project was ending with me in burnout, and the pizza website went viral. I started to get literally thousands of letters, and that's when I knew I could build a business out of it.

 

What have been the biggest challenges and rewards thus far?

 

There are challenges in all areas, such as the construction taking longer than it should, financing, marketing and hiring. But the biggest challenge has been dough consistency. The tiniest change in timing, temperature or moisture can radically alter the dough. We've had whole batches ruined, and it takes a day or more to fix.  That's not fun when you have customers showing up whether the dough is right or not. The biggest reward is meeting lots of people. Compared to software engineering, which I did for 13 years, this is just plain fun!

WHO DAT?- Serpas True Food review

SERPAS

659 Auburn Ave, #501

404-688-0040

www.serpasrestaurant.com

 

Scott Serpas has long since proven his distinctive culinary vision in the Atlanta market, first working as sous chef under Kevin Rathbun at NAVA, then serving as Executive Chef at Sia’s and Mitra before earning rave reviews for his stylistic flair at TWO urban licks. So it wasn’t so much a question of whether the South Louisiana native would branch out with his own restaurant concept, but when and where.

 

The answer came last year with the launch of Serpas True Food in Studioplex, situated in the heart of the recently resurgent Old Fourth Ward district. Originally a cotton storage factory, the historic building’s blend of rustic tradition and ultra-modern design is a perfect match for the chef’s inventive menu, which blends Cajun classics with subtle Southwestern and Asian influences.

 

Start your meal with Fried Oysters: Served with pickled chiles and mirliton (a.k.a. chayote squash), they boast a perfectly piquant flavor that oozes over your taste buds. It’s in making such simple dishes into standouts that Serpas struts his stuff, whether it’s reinventing Pigs ‘n’ Blanket by stuffing them with andouille sausage and smoked mustard or prettying up Tuna Tartar by pairing it with green apples and chile sesame dressing. As for entrees, the Duck Breast with sweet potato puree and parsnips, Jumbo Sea Scallops with spaghetti squash and panang curry, and Beef Shortrib with potato celery gratin were all delightful examples of the keep-it-simple school of culinary thought.

 

Whatever you do, don’t leave without trying the White Chocolate Cranberry Bread Pudding, which will melt in your mouth with a lusciousness that will leave you begging for seconds, if not thirds.  –BRET LOVE

CULINARY ROCK STAR- Tom Colicchio's Craft

Craft

3376 Peachtree Rd

404-995-7580

www.craftrestaurant.com

 

Atlanta has attracted more than its fair share of celeb chefs, with everyone from Emeril and Wolgang Puck to Jean-Georges Vongerichten swooping in to set up shop. NYC’s Tom Colicchio is the latest to bring his culinary concoctions to the ATL, with Craft earning glowing reviews from critics and foodies alike.

 

It’s easy to see why people are buzzing: From the moment you walk in the doors of the dramatic two-story building, it’s clear that Craft is dressed to impress. From the wood-fired copper and steel grill and the bar made from solid walnut to the blackened steel and glass wine vault and hand-blown Tesla light bulbs, the restaurant reeks of sophistication. Yet the pervasive earth tones simultaneously give it a warm, relaxed atmosphere, with the attentive (yet unobtrusive) waitstaff timing every table visit perfectly.

 

In an era when too many chefs emphasize style over substance, Colicchio’s focus on fresh ingredients served without heavy sauces or overly fussy presentation is deceptively simple. We started with a sampling of delectable oysters, savoring the differences in flavor, before devouring an appetizer of hamachi (a.k.a. yellowtail) and pineapple in which the sweet tartness of the fruit provided a perfect complement to the subtlety of the fish. Choosing among chef de cuisine Kevin Maxey’s entrees proved difficult, but we ultimately settled on seared Diver Scallops served with a Mushroom Jus, Muscovy Duck Breast & Leg Confit that practically melts in your mouth and, my favorite, braised Beef Short Ribs served with Root Vegetables.

 

By the time we’d finished our dessert (Milk Chocolate Tart with Espresso-Cardamom Ice Cream), we were stuffed to the point of bursting, swearing to ourselves we’d return soon to sample more of Colicchio’s menu, which proves chefs don’t need a lot of flash if they’ve perfected their… um… Craft.  – BRET LOVE

TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS- Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft

(photo by Melissa Libby)

Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft

1745 Peachtree Rd, Suite Y

678.539.6181

www.tuktukatl.com

 

Street food– that is, food available from street-side vendors using makeshift or portable stalls or carts– is universal, from South Africa’s bunny chow and North Indian Chaat to Middle Eastern shawarma and good ol’ American hot dogs.  The concept stretches back thousands of years, but the trend of selling what is traditionally considered street food in upscale restaurants is a relatively recent development.

 

Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft, the latest offering from the family behind Tamarind and Nan Thai fame, is a perfect example of this dichotomy at work, offering moderately priced food in one of Midtown’s most spectacular settings (formerly occupied by Taurus).  There’s an authentic tuk tuk– the 3-wheeled auto rickshaw popular in Asia– to greet you in the downstairs lobby; an exquisite elevator lined with Thai script; a dining room decorated with cookie tins, exotic artwork, and cushioned chairs modeled after those used by Thai royalty; and a bamboo-lined balcony affording amazing views of the ATL skyline.

 

The idea, according to General Manager Thaddeus Keefe is to, “create a casual atmosphere where people can come in after a long day and just hang out, have a few drinks, have some good food and not feel so formal.”  Keefe and his Executive Chef fiancée Dee Dee (daughter of Nan/Tamarind owners Charlie and Nantha Niyomkul) have managed to do just that.  Between the warm décor, romantic candlelight, hip-but-mellow music, and their signature Lychee Martini (vodka, sake, sparkling rose and lychee juice), we felt the edge of the workday melting away before our first dish had even been delivered to the table.

 

The menu maintains this low-key approach, focusing on small plates of finger foods with an average price of $9.  “We wanted to introduce the people in Atlanta to real, traditional Bangkok street food,” Dee Dee says, “as a tribute to the things my parents ate when they were growing up in Thailand.”

 

We started with the Moo Yang, deliciously tender grilled pork skewers, which come hung from a swanky steel rack designed (and patented) by Dee Dee.  The Hoy Tod offered an unexpectedly complex combination of textures and flavors, mixing a crunchy pancake with chewy mussels, crisp bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro and a robust sweet chili sauce.  We really loved the Yum Woon Sen, a spicy salad of mixed seafood, minced chicken cellophane noodles, lime, onion and palm sugar.  But our favorite was the Neau Sawan, a Thai beef jerky that was so remarkably flavorful we could’ve eaten it by the bagful.

 

Though family-style dining is Tuk Tuk’s intent, they offer a handful of larger entrees for those who don’t like to share.  Try the Pla Haw Bai Tong, a whole catfish grilled inside a banana leaf with chili lime sauce; or Kai Yang, a moist half-chicken served with papaya salad and sticky rice.  But you’ll really want to save room for dessert: We’d recommend the Tapioca Pudding, whose intriguing blend of coconut, lotus seed, taro and sweet corn provided the perfect antidote for the spice buzzing our lips and taste buds.

 

We visited Tuk Tuk during December’s soft opening, when they were still “ironing the kinks,” but Keefe and Niyomkul’s colorful concept had clearly already hit the ground running.  It may not be as pricey as the family’s other restaurants, but once word on Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft gets out we have no doubt it will be just as popular. –Bret Love

(Originally appeared in Jezebel Magazine)