Gavage [Tampa, Asheville, AJ’s, Heirloom, Calle Latina, Miso Izakaya]

April 12, 2013 · 2 comments

in atlanta, dining out, out of town dining, wine at home

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Been a while since I’ve had a Gavage post, in which I dump a bunch of content not necessarily appropriate for a single topic post. You could also call it the “hey, look what I’ve been doing” series, or the “yeah, I eat and drink a lot and my doctor said I may have a fatty liver” post.

Fatty liver he says? Like foie gras from a goose? Fatted up by gavage? Basically, he’s saying there’s a chance I gavage myself. That’s some full circle shit I just dropped rightcha.

We have a lot of work to do, let’s get started. Above – fried chicken at Star Provisions. A little crackly, but under appreciated.

Below – Individual lasagna. I need to do more of these and freeze them. This one is based on duck ragu I had in the freezer. Easy lunch.

duck ragu lasagna

Mikkeller beers. A new obsession, especially the sours. Expensive. Worth it. Available at Le Caveau and Hop City. Elsewhere too, I’m sure.

mikkeller beer

Calle Latina – Decatur. Tacos, arepas, empanadas. A solid option near the square. Chicken arepa was my favorite.

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A tour of Ponce City Market. It’s going to be badass. Office, retail, residential, and many, many food options. From the developers of Chelsea Market in NYC (and Westside Provisions District, for a more local view of their flavor).

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It’s basically a couple million square feet of this right now. Super creepy at night, by the way.

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Bachelor party in Asheville. Visited Highland Brewery. Fun. Good beer. I went to Monday Night Brewing last week and I thought it was a similar venue and vibe. I highly recommend both.

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I didn’t get to do as much eating as I would have liked in Asheville. We ate brunch at a place called Limones. They handled a large group well. The menu read more interesting than the dishes turned out to be, but hey, it’s brunch.

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Been a while since I’ve been part of an impromptu Burgundy tasting with buddies. A very solid showing. The magnum of white Burgundy was the ticket, a slap-punch reminder of why I got into in the first place.

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I’m not a dessert-thrill-seeker, but Rowdy’s duck fat biscuits with warm apples, filled with salted caramel ice cream and topped with creme fraiche was outrageous. Salt/fat/warm/cold – yes.

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The Meatball Shop vegetarian meatballs. Lentil base. Walnuts, carrots, celery and a few other items round out a very hearty and satisfying veg experience.

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New items at Miso Izakaya. On one side – a drunk slut-fest of hamburger topped with sweet, salty gravy and poached egg with fries. The other, crisped scallops with maitake mushrooms and corn-miso puree. They’ve had a new menu for a few weeks, and it’s more enticing to me than ever. And Fable Jeon is making some very excellent cocktails. Try the Unsung Hiro with a tea salted ice cube. Don’t drink it too fast and check out what the salt does to the ice.

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Last weekend friends were in town and they wanted sushi. Huku delivered a top tier experience. Afterwards, The Spence delivered uber wine geekiness. You may notice on the nigiri (bass with uni riding piggy back) a slight glaze of sauce. This is called nikiri, which I noticed Jey-San has begun to use with regularity. Top sushi chefs often brush this sauce, a proprietary mix of sake, soy sauce, dashi, and mirin, on each piece as they hand it to you. If nikiri is used, you are not to dip the sushi in soy sauce as the appropriate amount has already been applied for you. Many of the very best sushi restaurants don’t even offer their patrons soy sauce, opting for nikiri application only.

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My brother made an electric smoker out of flower pots, using instruction from Alton Brown. It’s bad-ass. I want to make one now.

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Braves opening day. No, I didn’t get an H&F burger. The Ted added Kevin Rathbun steak last year, H&F burger’s this year, so if this timeline is correct, we should expect Heirloom BBQ to appear right around the 2016 season.

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Speaking of which…Heirloom.

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I also eat fish. Fish sandwich at AJ’s Seafood in Snellville. It’s serviceable. Super cheap.

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The most elusive restaurant in Atlanta, somewhere on the Westside.

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Finally, I went to St. Pete/Tampa earlier this year. It was beautiful, but a little cold.

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We fancied it up at Bern’s for a couple of nights, but I ate fish sandwiches there too, this one from Woody’s Waterfront, and it was more than serviceable.

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The Don Cesar in St. Pete.

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Hanging at the pool, drinking some fuzzy wine…

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  • Eric

    Where did you have the duck fat biscuit dessert? It looks amazing.

  • At a friend’s home.

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