atlanta, ga
What does atlanta have to offer besides urban sprawl, southern stereotypes and heat? Not thought of as a destination for foodie types, but a city this big has got to have something to bring to the table, right? I have been to Atlanta plenty of times with friends or family or on work trips which led me to Lenox Square, The Varsity, and Houstons. I’ve been to too many jam band concerts to remember and slept on Hampton Inn floors that I wish I could forget. As you can imagine, my previous experiences in Atlanta have not left a good taste in my mouth. Arguably the best food I had eaten was a veggie burrito from a hippy in a parking lot.
My wife Helen and I took a quick trip to Atlanta recently to see if we could alter our perception of Atlanta foods. We were pleasantly surprised to find some local and seasonal produce, reasonably priced dining, and even a good cup of coffee! In our abbreviated survey, I can’t claim to have a handle on the best of what this town has to offer but for what it’s worth, this is my short list.
Shoutouts to Nana and Pop Pop for babysitting and to Adventurous Tastes for the Ecco recommendation.
Star Provisions
1198 Howell Mill Road
404.365.0410
This is ground zero in Atlanta for us Alice Waters/Michael Pollan/Localvor types. Star Provisions is the retail side of the Quatrano/Harrison restaurant dynasty. They now operate five atlanta eateries that cater to food geeks of varying degrees of meat tolerance and wallet size, the highest profile and most established being Bacchanalia. For simple yet elegant (read cheapish) prepared foods, Star Provisions has a bombdiggity lunch. While you are there you may drop 50 bucks on in-house salami, cut to order cheeses, fresh breads, local produce and houseware do-dads but hey, lunch was reasonable…
Watershead
406 W Ponce De Leon, Decatur
404.378.4900
Co-owned by an Indigo Girl and co-habitating with a dry cleaner in a rehabbed gas station, Watershead comes across oddly enough as a fine-tuned, precision-guided, hot-shot, fancy-pants, high-browed, scene and be seen kind of joint. And after seeing the hall o’ media accolades on the way to the restroom, I suppose that’s exactly what it is. We went for lunch and could afford the “matinée” prices. I understand that tables are harder to come by and the bills are harder to swallow after 6. We started with the “shed” salad which was three types of lettuce with a light coating of some kind of oil. Insanely simple, insanely delicious. Then we had a country ham and cheese sandwich and a veggie plate. They were so rudimentally prepared, it seemed more like ingredients than lunch. The plates were focused and intentionally crude which allowed these elements to sing.
Joe’s Coffee
510 Flat Shoals Ave
404.521.1122
As in most American cities, coffee is hit and miss in Atlanta. The most celebrated local roaster seems to be Batdorf & Bronson AKA Dancing goats. I really want to like these guys and embrace them since they are the local roasters, but it taste like banquet coffee. Quaffable. Better than what you would get at a diner, but that’s all. Not exciting.
Much smaller but more interesting is Land of a Thousand Hills. Their business model is based upon selling only fair-trade Rwandan beans. It was started by a Pastor that was more interested in lifting up this war torn nation rather than delivering craft beans, but turns out he did a pretty good job at both. The coffee geek in me could certainly criticize the roast. There is more flavor in these beans than what’s extracted in your cup but all in all, it’s pretty tasty.
The biggest name in craft coffee in this town is Counter Culture. This Chapel Hill based importer and roaster has begun roasting in Atlanta as well. Their packaging says all the right things and just about all of the best cafes (Octane) in town use their beans. Who am I to say that I’m not that impressed. Oh yea, this is my blog, I’M NOT IMPRESSED. Don’t get me wrong, I have had some tasty expresso drinks made from their beans, but I have had way too many not so good coffees made from their beans to put them in the upper echelon of domestic craft roasters.
Which brings me to Joe’s in East Atlanta Village. Just south of Little Five Points and doors down from hipster rock venue The Earl, may be the best cup of coffee in town. They are not any geekier than the higher profile coffee shops in town, but they have Intelligentsia beans. If you have great beans and don’t screw it up (grind often, clean water…) it’s easy to make a great cup of coffee. They may not decorate your latte foam, but if the coffee isn’t good, it’s just turd polish.
Ecco
40 7th Street NE
404.347.9555
When you step into Ecco there are three things that can not go unnoticed. First thing on display is the bar and all the crafty looking booze lining the walls. I have yet to jump onto the whole mixologist as artisan expressionist bandwagon, but I like a good cocktail and this looks like a good place to get one. Just across from the bar, their cheese and charcuterie are proudly displayed. Parma ham, aged Gouda, Saucisson Sec, Robiola, Speck… This may not impress every foodie type, but I was glad to see the ingredients as a focal point. When one thinks of dining, certainly there are other aspects besides the feeding. Ecco seems to attract a lively, sociable crowd, but they gather around the food, which is impressive.
We had a mix of meats, cheeses, olives, soup, salads, pasta and desert. A hardy but festive meal that was delicious and affordable for what we got. I would think that this meal in New York or Chicago might have cost us twice as much. I imagine that you could find better food elsewhere in the city but what impresses me the most about Ecco is it’s accessibility. You don’t have to have extensive knowledge of the culinary arts or a trust fund to taste, learn and enjoy.
Ria’s Bluebird
421 Memorial Drive
404.521.3737
It seems like every town as that bad ass breakfast place that has people waiting on the sidewalk for hours at a time. It’s kind of absurd when you think about how people will spend possibly the most precious hours of the week (saturday morning) standing out front of a storefront waiting for a table. I would laugh at them if I didn’t find myself there too.
Homemade salsa verde on the huevos. Fourteen hour roasted brisket with poached eggs. NY Times “world’s best pancakes”. Fish and grits. Country fried tempeh. Southwest tofu scramble with a side of soysage… Yea, it’s worth the wait.
caio