Here’s something that will (probably) never be repeated. When a media outlet or PR company invites us to sample a restaurant, I go ahead and schedule a slot for a story, just in case we want to write about it. Well, I was pretty sure that another trip to Gypsy Kitchen would warrant a story today, because Marie and I enjoy that place a great deal. I keep saying that I probably like it more than anybody else in Atlanta does. We had not been by in the last six months, when the new executive chef, Matthew Ridgway, took over, however, and I was very curious to see what changes he’d made. We only got to speak with Chef Matthew for a brief moment, but the restaurant’s chef de cuisine, Garrison Finzer, told us quite a lot about the new menu, and how the kitchen itself has had a major overhaul since the restaurant opened to – and let’s be fair – somewhat mild and mixed reviews. Continue reading “Gypsy Kitchen, Atlanta GA (take two)”
Month: December 2015
Grandpa Tony’s Dressing
This is Marie, contributing an article about a family recipe that resembles nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere else. My great-grandfather Tony LaFreniere, who was French-Canadian, invented it, as the story goes. He’d spend all day on Thanksgiving working on it, puttering about while the rest of the feast was being prepared. I don’t need to take nearly that kind of time so either that process is being exaggerated slightly, or he took more time that necessary on purpose. Continue reading “Grandpa Tony’s Dressing”
Mustard Pork Steak With Apples
This is Marie, contributing a recipe that I chose because it seemed so much in line with the season – pork chops and apples. Actually, it was just as much because a) we have a bunch of apples lying around because my boy, who had been going through an apple or two a day so I’d stocked up, stopped wanting to eat them promptly thereafter; also, the previous week I reorganized my freezer while looking unsuccessfully for some pork tenderloin steaks I was sure were in there and set me thinking about how much I wanted them anyway. So I browsed through Google, finding a nice mustardy recipe that looked like my husband’s kind of thing, and carried on. Continue reading “Mustard Pork Steak With Apples”
Masti, Atlanta GA
Marie is so unpredictable. She says that she doesn’t care for Indian food, but she really, really enjoyed the Bangladeshi cuisine at Purnima. So I thought that I found a pretty interesting possibility to please her in Masti, which opened earlier this year in Toco Hills, in the space vacated by Osteria Cibo Rustica, and advertises that it’s “fun” Indian. Continue reading “Masti, Atlanta GA”
Hop’s Chicken, Atlanta GA
I’ve lived around Atlanta long enough to remember when everybody in the city gave a collective sigh of relief when the gigantic old Sears catalog distribution building between North and Ponce was repurposed as City Hall East. Just as long as something, anything, was putting that big old space to good use. Sadly, City Hall East only lasted for about twenty years and never used more than a third of the space; budget cuts during Mayor Franklin’s day forced the closure of the facility, and it sat idle for another five years. Earlier this year, private developers began turning the space into condos, with a mall and food court called Ponce City Market on the lower floors, and quick access from the shopping area to the Beltline. Continue reading “Hop’s Chicken, Atlanta GA”
Hickory Hut BBQ, Dallas GA (take two)
I first visited the Hickory Hut in Dallas GA almost four years ago. I was looking to expand our coverage of barbecue in Atlanta’s western suburbs, but picked a lousy night to do it. On that occasion, Marie was exhausted and the girlchild was in a particularly rotten mood, and while the food was pretty good, it probably would have been kinder to postpone the drive out to Paulding County. Continue reading “Hickory Hut BBQ, Dallas GA (take two)”
Marie, Let's Eat! 