I arrived a good 20 minutes before everyone else, so I parked myself at the bar, ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio + checked in on Foursquare.  As soon as I checked in, a tip popped up informing me that no matter what else I ordered at La Pietra, I needed to try the proscuitto.  Done.

When we sat down, I let everyone know that a little birdie told me that the proscuitto was amazing + we promptly threw in an order for it.  It really was incredible.  I’d always assumed that proscuitto was proscuitto – slice the meat + serve it.  This was way better than any proscuitto I’ve had anywhere else in the U.S.  And, I’m not exaggerating at all.  Do not pass over it on the menu because you think you can get it anywhere!  Trust me.

For appetizers we ordered the following to share…

Proscuitto di Parma w/ emilian flatbread, fresh ricotta + pineapple mostarda.

Burrata Mozzarella w/ sea salt + olivastro.

The Tortellini Special.  Note: Do not tune out the specials like I usually do.  (Can’t help it…)  I wasn’t listening when the server told us about this special + I would have really missed out if Mr. Barocas didn’t catch it + throw in an order.  It was just marvelous.

All of us ordered pasta dishes or “primi” for our main entrees.  Everything was SO delicious, although I’m pretty sure that I ordered the best as I tried a few of the other plates… 

I got the Strigoli alle Vongole w/ clams, pancetta (this sold me) + pequillo peppers.

Slick + Mr. Barocai ordered Mario’s Black Spaghetti w/ rock shrimp, scallions + hot calabrese sausage.  (Black spaghetti is so cool looking.  This was definitely the prettiest plate + in my opinion, a close runner up to my order.)

Mr. Brad-Cohen-Himself selected Carla’s Tagliatelle w/ wild pacific mushrooms, thyme + parmigiano.  (I h.a.t.e. mushrooms, but it still looked + smelled super.)

Gorms + Cute Cari opted for the Hand Cut Pappardelle w/ bolognese ragu + grana padano.

We finished every last bite + were very pleased with our meal.

Then, dessert arrived.  We all shared three dishes, two of which are pictured below, but I must admit that I cannot completely remember what they were…  (Lifestyle NOT food blog – please remember.  Sorry not sorry.)  Regardless, I’d definitely recommend not skipping dessert.  All three that we shared were exceptionally tasty + the perfect end to a delicious meal.

So, just breezing over these… 

For not being the biggest Italian restaurant fan (i.e. eating pasta outside of the house, generally), I thought that La Pietra Cucina was fabulous.  (If you read the blog frequently, you know that I reserve that particular word for only the best of the best.)  No matter how good I think I am at putting jarred pesto on whole wheat pasta, I am absolutely not a trained chef + have NOTHING on the brilliance of Bruce Logue at La Pietra. 

I definitely think that this restaurant would be great for a third or fourth date.  However, I do feel obligated to say that while our meal was pretty darn close to perfect, our service was very slow.  Just know before you go, La Pietra does not strike me as a restaurant that can get you in and out quickly.  Regardless, I would love to dine there again + strongly encourage everyone with a Scoutmob to check it out.

Now, to deal with my garlic breath…  (I could seriously kill a vampire.)

xx, L

La Pietra Cucina
1545 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.888.8709
www.lapietracucina.com

The lovely Ms. Roshal (pictured above), who with her boyfriend are important components of Eat Squad, grew up in Jamaica.  Her boyfriend, Z, frequently raves about Roshal’s talent for cooking authentic Caribbean food.  We knew that if we were ever lucky enough for her to host a dinner party for us to try out her cuisine, we were in for a treat.  So we started hinting – and she caught on. 

On Sunday evening, Roshal cooked us an amazing, traditional Jamacian/ Trinidadian meal that Slick + I have been incessantly talking about since. 

Please witness our feast:

Curried goat + potatoes with Jamaican/ Trinidadian curry.

Roti: Traditional bread to accompany curried goat. (Similar to naan.)

Pelau: Trinidadian rice dish cooked in coconut milk with chicken, beef + PIG TAIL!  (Which Slick + Mr. Barocas loved.)

Jamaican sauce made with scotch bonnet pepper, onions + vinegar to go over Fish Escovitch.

Fish Escovitch.

A gorgeous salad with strawberries + yellow peppers.

Malibu coconut rum + pineapple cocktails to accompany the flavorful meal.  (We all kiddingly mocked this drink as the “college girl’s drink of choice,” but had NO problem finishing a large pitcher…)

Everything was SO unbelievably fantastic!

Although Roshal does not have plans to open a Jamaican restaurant in Atlanta, I think the lesson here is that sometimes the most delicious + exciting food could be right under your nose.  Sure, heading over to Buford Highway to try cuisine from around the world might be the easy way to do it – but it won’t necessarily be the best you can get.

When you have the opportunity to taste Caribbean dishes at a traditional restaurant, I strongly recommend you try the dishes pictured + described above.  (Although, go easy on anything made with scotch bonnet pepper – yowza!  I learned the hard way…)

xx, L

kaleidoscope bistro + pub - brookhaven

Here’s the Q+DD on Kaleidoscope:  Recently opened by a few former Buckhead Diner folks, including executive chef Joey Riley, the idea behind the name is that every time you look into a kaleidoscope you see something colorful and different.  That concept is applied to their own menu.  They call their cuisine “global comfort food,” as both the food + drinks are ever changing.  The restaurant features seasonal items and daily specials.

kaleidoscope interior

Upon arrival, we sat down at a large, wooden community table + had no trouble selecting a few delicious (and gorgeous, I might add) appetizers to start us off:

Ahi Tuna Tartare: avocado, tomato, coriander, feta, yuzu.

Thai Style Beef Jerky: bird’s eye chilis, lime, roasted rice.  (My fav!)

Springer Mountain Chicken Wings: kaleidoscope sauce, bleu cheese.

For entrees, we took the owner’s expert recommendations:

Slick selected the Mahi Tostado: green chili grits, guajillo charred tomato sauce, tomato/ feta and avocado salad.

Z got the Sage Roasted Pork Porterhouse: brussels, fingerlings, mustard, pancetta.

Rosh opted for Azalea’s Famous Whole Sizzling Catfish: chinese black bean sauce, pickled ginger, lime.  She won the prize for the most creatively plated dish!

The rest of us went with the Award Winning Kaleidoscope Burger: pimento cheese, slaw, green tomato chow chow, bread and butter pickles.  How could we not?  This burg was awarded the Judges’ Choice for “Best (Meat) Burger” in July’s Battle of the Burgers in the Virginia Highlands!  It was SO great + well-complimented by the tasty Pub Fries cooked in duck fat.  (Don’t judge…)

So, next time you’re in the mood for comfort food + boutique wines or fine craft beers from around the world, give Kaleidoscope a try.  Not only is the food stellar + the staff friendly, but it’s also a pretty solid hangout.  Get there early, though, it was packed on a Sunday night + they don’t accept reservations.  I’ll certainly be back!

I’ve gotta say – Brookhaven is kinda bumpin’… 

xx, L

Kaleidoscope Bistro + Pub
Village Place – Brookhaven
1410 Dresden Drive, Ste. 100
Atlanta, GA  30319
404.555.1212
www.k-pub.com

Here’s the Q+DD:

evidently Medieval Times is INSIDE of the mall - not quite as sexy as anticipated, but we rolled with it.

the boys supported the blue knight b/c blue is for boys...

...and since there was not a hot pink knight, the ladies opted for the yellow one.

we drank massive Medieval beers (then promptly shattered the glasses in the back of my car afterwards by accident or because we are tough. you decide.)

mr. b and slick were still able to rock their faux-hawks even with their Medieval crowns on. we creatively renamed the hairdo: crown-hawk. you're welcome, Vidal Sassoon.

lindsay ate with her hands...

...and so did lauren. (surprisingly, the food was kind of really good. quote me and i'll come after you.)

the show was pretty cool. jousting is intense.

so intense, in fact, slick got a little Medieval-y stressed out.

we were a pretty rowdy group - yelling at/ for the knights, drinking enormous beers and throwing our crowns around...

MAN DOWN!

our serf, ron, was pretty rad. he filled us in on all the juicy Medieval gossip.

we got to meet the king (we = total VIPs)...

...and finished off the night with a Medieval DANCE PARTY. that's right.

Medieval Times is a seriously fun date.  We used the Groupon, but still I think that it’s pretty economical for food and a show at only $49.95 per person (regular price).  Currently, they are running a special for $34.95, which is even better.  If you register online, you can get a free feast (they offer a vegetarian feast, too) + tournament for your birthday! 

P.S. On Saturday, someone in the crowd was there for his bachelor party!  We all got a kick out of that…

Here’s the link to the Medieval Times Atlanta Castle: http://www.medievaltimes.com/atlanta.aspx

xx, L

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
5900 Sugarloaf Parkway
Lawrenceville, GA  30043
866.731.9313
www.medievaltimes.com

Aside from Whole Foods-prepared Viet. spring rolls, I’d never eaten Vietnamese food before.  (It’s always interesting not having a benchmark for which to compare new foods or restaurants, but that’s kind of the point of Eat Squad, I guess.) 

This ES session, we had the honor of food blogger FB joining us.  We all sat down at a large round table at the restaurant and perused the extensive menu.  I was pretty overwhelmed, so I asked Mr. B. – who has experience with Viet. food – to order for me.  On his and our friendly waitress’s recommendation, we decided to eat family style and order a number of tasty dishes, a few of which we had to prepare + cook ourselves. 

Below are a few pictures of our meal:

the "create your own spring roll" spread

fish + meat for the spring rolls

waitress showing cari how to prepare the spring rolls

my spring roll didn't really cut it...

cold pot w/ fish, veggies + broken rice (my fav.)

waitress stirring the cold pot and explaining to us the history of broken rice - a famous Viet. peasant dish

i went back for thirds - it was delicious!

veggies to cook in hot pot

fish to cook in hot pot

beef to cook in hot pot

hot pot cooking on our table

mmmmmmmmmmm!

I really enjoyed this meal.  In preparation for my upcoming vacations, I am kinda watching my waistline (only kinda) and I didn’t feel guilty at all about what I ate.  To me, Vietnamese food is like a healthier version of Thai food.  I definitely want to get it again, but I’d like to consider trying some other Viet. restaurants around town.  For the Eat Squad members who had eaten Viet. before, they said that Bamboo was good – but not the best in town.  Whatever the case, I’m happy to know that I like Viet. food and I look forward to trying it again soon.

The next Eat Squad gathering will take us to Cafe Agora in Buckhead for some Mediterranean cuisine.  Stay tuned…

xx, L

Bamboo Grill & Hot Pot
4646 Buford Highway St.
Atlanta, GA  30341
678.580.1727

Although Slick + I just saw Spring Awakening @ the Fox Theatre last night w/ the Barocai…

@ the Fox through March 14! Get tix ASAP!

…and it was wonderful, all I can think about is Avenue Q!! 

Avenue Q, Spring Awakening and Jersey Boys are my favorite plays I’ve seen on Broadway.  I’ve seen them in Atlanta, too, and I think they all have good traveling casts – particularly Ave. Q.  I’m not thrilled that Ave. Q is going to be @ Cobb instead of the Fox this time, but hopefully the acoustics will be better in a new location.  (Love the Fox, but that theatre has the worst acoustics EVER.)

Anyway, I hope you have all already seen Ave. Q, but if you haven’t – you absolutely must!  This play is perfect for everyone – except, well, children.  Parents: Don’t be fooled by the cute puppets!  However, I definitely suggest you drag along your football-lovin’, anti-musical, short attention span buddies and better halves to the show!  They’ll love it.  Promise. 

Pre-sale tickets are already available.  For a limited time, you can insert the password “IMPACT” into the Ticketmaster promotional box and receive $5.00 off of each ticket purchased.  Ticketmaster will make a $5.00 donation to the organization, Positive Impact.

More on Positive Impact here:
http://www.positiveimpact-atl.org/

Click here to look for Avenue Q dates + seats and purchase! 
http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/1c8d3i?camefrom=CFC_BAAABS_AveQPriority

See you @ the show! 

xx, L

*Note: Dim sum is commonly eaten on Sunday afternoons or during lunch, however, Canton House offers dim sum carts in the evening, as well.

Canton House - street view

underbelly of the massive Canton House chandelier

Once we found the restaurant and walked inside, we were immediately shown to our table.  Less than two minutes later, the servers began accosting us with stainless steel dim sum carts. 

dim sum cart - steamed dishes

dim sum cart - fried items

We tried almost everything on both carts – with the exception of tripe and chicken feet.  My personal favorite items were the shrimp dumplings and the pork sticky buns.  Unfortunately for me, though, Slick wasn’t sharing his sticky buns…

not sharing

Although the dim sum plates quickly filled me up, the boys were hungry for more.  We ordered a heaping plate of chicken fried rice, which I hadn’t eaten since I was 15 at the old Prestonwood Mall in Dallas, and pork chow fun, which I thought was way too oily – but still pretty tasty. 

Eat Squad

Eat Squad

We shared everything by way of the massive lazy susan on our table.  When we requested the bill, I tried to mentally tally what I thought the final price would be for the incredible amount of food we ate.  Much to our surprise, we all got out of there for roughly $12.50 per person!  We were absolutely shocked at how cheap everything was.  Dim sum @ Canton House is truly a cultured culinary experience that won’t put a dent in your wallet!  Just a little sum-thing to think about… 

roshal w/ the lucky buddha

On the way home, Slick and I ranked our Eat Squad expeditions so far on Buford Highway and dim sum held down my #1 spot, followed closely by our Bangladeshi dinner @ Panahar.  Slick’s favorite ES meal was Korean BBQ: Hanil Kwan was definitely a fun culinary experience, but I could take it or leave it. 

I’m really looking forward to our next stop on the road!  My vote is for Thai… 

xx, L

Canton House
4825 Buford HWY
Chamblee, GA  30341
770.936.9030

I had a really wonderful time celebrating the-sixth-anniversary-of-my-22nd-birthday in Atlanta and Dallas!  I think 2010 is going to be a great year!

Varasano's - Atlanta

Varasano's - Atlanta

Victor Tangos - Dallas

Park - Dallas

BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Now it’s time to start thinking about this girl’s special day on Thursday! 

Happy 20-something, Lauren! 

LK's B-Day!

Mark your calendars!  January is officially ours. 

xx, L

I love trying new foods, but I had heard that Korean BBQ was incredibly fatty, and I tend to prefer no fat at all on beef.  I am aware that fat adds flavor to beef, but I just can’t get past the texture…  As it turned out, no caution was necessary.  We had a truly delicious meal and an absolute blast at the restaurant!  

Here’s our evening in pictures:

Hanil Kwan Korean Restaurant

Mr. B + Christine peruse the menu

Slick tries, unsuccessfully, to get us to order the beef tripe + intestine soup.

Banchan: Small plates served at the beginning of the meal

Jin Mandu: Steamed pork + vegetable dumplings (my favorite)

Haemul Pajan: Korean seafood pancake (kind of like a fancy latke...)

Galbi: Marinated beef short ribs aka Korean BBQ

Slick's face when we informed him that the meal was over...

...we'll be back soon, Han Il Kwan! Thanks for a delicious meal!

If you are in the mood for something different, definitely consider Korean BBQ – or at least venture out to Buford Highway to try a random ethnic restaurant.  I hope you have as much fun as we did!  (Our next Buford excursion is going to be either Ethiopian or Thai.  Bring on the recommendations!)

xx, L

Hanil Kwan Korean Restaurant
5458 Buford Highway
Doraville, GA  30340
770.457.3217

I wanted to go for the opening last year.  No reservations…  Thought that maybe I’d have my birthday dinner there.  Restaurant was bought out for an event…  Was pretty sure that if I got girlfriends to go for drinks, we’d end up eating upstairs at the restaurant.  We stayed at Craft Bar – and it was not love...  It just never happened for me.  Everyone told me that I should be patient until it was my time.  I waited…

"I'll come for you one day, Craft..."

And THEN, a colleague gave me a very nice gift certificate for dinner at Craft.  My time had finally arrived!

Over the past year, I’ve heard a spectrum of praise and critique regarding Craft Atlanta.  Karen thought it was the best meal she’d ever eaten.  Mr. B thought it was overrated and the service left a lot to be desired.  I was just hoping for a Tom Colicchio drop by…   With some degree of skepticism, Slick and I arrived at the restaurant last Friday ready to form our own opinions.

Tommy!!

We were escorted upstairs, again - I’d only been downstairs at Craft Bar for drinks before, and we noted the art in the staircase and the warm modern feeling of the dining room.  They put us in one of the large half booths which provided for excellent people watching.  Our server was from Texas, which made me feel right at home, and we chatted about Longhorn football, the Hill Country and Dallas schools.  We ordered drinks and the server and I had a little pep talk with Slick about ordering our favorite vodka on the menu, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which is delicious (smooth and smokey), made in Texas and is NOT – as the name insinuates – plastic bottle liquor.  Our Tito’s assisted drinks arrived, were shaken for us at the table and we were very pleased.

The meal was good.  Very good, in fact.  We started with the yellowfin tuna (delicious) and a few belon oysters.  I am not a big oyster fan, but Slick liked them and I thought the presentation was well done.  For entrees, I had the monkfish + pancetta and on our server’s recommendation, Slick ordered the braised beef short rib.  Both were amazing.  Mine was very tasty, artful and nicely presented in a cast iron skillet.  Monkfish, “the poor man’s lobster,” was perfectly complimented by the pancetta wrap.  Slick and I loved his short rib and were pleased at how easily it melted off of the bone.  We also shared the potato gratin and the seasonal risotto, which were delicious but maybe too plentiful for the heaviness of our entrees because we cringed when the dessert menu arrived.  Instead, we opted for another cocktail and little cookies sent out to us from the chef.

Overall, the meal was thoughtful and delicious.  It was very expensive.  Maybe overpriced, but it was hard for us to pin it as such because we had such a nice experience there.  We could easily see, though, how the meal could go wrong.  However, we quickly developed rapport with our server, ordered well and enjoyed the atmosphere.  We were pleased.

Bacchanalia and Aria are still my preference for a special occasion or celebration, but I would recommend throwing Craft into the mix – especially if you are a first timer.  And if you go, make sure you ask for the Tito’s Handmade Vodka. 

P.S. Don’t forget about their Sunday Sandwich deal!

xx, L

Craft – Atlanta
3376 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA  30326
404.995.7580
www.craftrestaurant.com