Heywood's Provision Company and Meathaus

Chef Patrick Gebrayel's excellent Heywood's Provision Company and Meathaus serves Marietta/East Cobb residents. They are located in East Lake shopping center, next to Wild Wing Cafe. Heywood's is an Artisan Butcher shop. What is an artisan butcher? An artisan is simply that, someone trained in the art or craft. Heywood's is a "Chef driven craft shop" focused on the quality of the product they provide their patrons. As they say, "The proof is in the taste!"

Heywood's meats are truly spectacular, and the sausages are handcrafted by Top Atlanta Chef Patrick Gebrayel, who has years of experience as an executive chef, and has won many accolades for his creations. They have a wide selection of meats for summer BBQs. You can visit there website here - Heywood's Provision Company


Here is a sampling of their menu -


Andouille - Garlic, black pepper and thyme. All pork, natural casing.


Bacon - Dry rubbed and smoked over hickory.


Pepper Bacon - Coated with cracked black pepper.


Cheddarwurst - Sharp cheddar cheese and a bit of spice. All pork, Natural casing.


Chicken Cheddarwurst - All chicken, no pork, natural casing.


Mexican Chorizo - Well spiced, cured and smoked. All pork, natural casing.


Portuguese Chorizo - Cured with red wine and heavily spiced. All pork, natural casing.


Corned Beef - Beef brisket cured for a full week, cooked with pickling spices.


Kielbasa - Garlic, marjoram, and black pepper. All pork, natural casing.



Stop by and say hello to Chef Patrick!

Johnny Rockets Opening at Phipps Plaza!

Mom and I got to visit one of the the grand opening festivities for the brand new Johnny Rockets at Phipps Plaza! It's right across from Legoland, and we had a fun time in the diner-style restaurant, especially when the servers all danced together! The burgers and shakes are fantastic, too. Here is more info about Johnny Rockets at Phipps Plaza...

"Johnny Rockets is the classic American restaurant which offers traditional Johnny Rockets decor and signature favorites including Hamburgers, American Fries and Shakes." Since opening his first Johnny Rockets in 1991, franchise owner Steve Snyder has operated multiple restaurants throughout Atlanta, including the Underground Atlanta and Georgia Aquarium Johnny Rockets locations. He was inspired to pursue franchise opportunities with the restaurant chain after a meal at Johnny Rockets transported him to his college days. He has since operated five locations in his 20 years with the company.

 “It’s been an amazing experience to see the evolution of the brand, including our menu expansions and upgrades, but the joy of the simplistic experience remains the same,” said Snyder. “We’ve established great relationships in the community and with our many regular guests throughout the years. I’m excited to treat them, along with new guests, to the high-energy Johnny Rockets experience in a new setting. “And with the new Legoland Discovery Center, the timing of our newest restaurant couldn’t be better,” added Snyder. “Parents and children can enjoy our classic American food, timeless music, and family-friendly atmosphere before or after they experience all that the new center has to offer.”



A grand reopening celebration for the new restaurant was held in mid-May to officially welcome Johnny Rockets back to the Phipps Plaza shopping community. The new Johnny Rockets is located on the third floor of Phipps Plaza, at 3500 Peachtree Road NE in Atlanta. The 1,123-square-foot restaurant is open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. This is the fifth Johnny Rockets in Georgia.

www.johnnyrockets.com.

We are moving soon - to www.atlantafoodies.com!

This blog has been going strong for over five years, and it's about time we moved to our own domain! Check for us soon at http://www.atlantafoodies.com  !

In the meantime, posts will appear in both locations.  This will definitely be a very exciting change for Atlanta Foodies!


 
Cheers!


Becca

Seasons 52 Buckhead Review

Seasons 52 (Buckhead)

3050 Peachtree Road Northwest
Atlanta
(404) 846-1552

Monday - Friday  Lunch

11:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Dinner

4:00 PM - 10:00 PM

(11:00 PM on Friday)

Saturday  Open

11:30 AM - 11:00 PM

Sunday    Open

11:30 AM - 10:00 PM

Mom and I recently went to Seasons 52 in Buckhead. I was very excited to try it, because I had always heard that their menu is very healthy but also delicious, and that they invented mini-desserts, which are now all the rage. Every menu item at Seasons 52 is under 475 calories – hard to believe, but true. They use natural cooking techniques such as wood-fire grilling, brick-oven cooking and caramelizing vegetables to let the natural flavors shine through.

What did you order? How was your food?

Menu highlights included Lamb T-Bone Chops with asparagus, truffle mashed potatoes and red wine glaze, Columbia River Steelhead Trout with spring vegetables, basmati rice and lemongrass sauce, and Strawberry Kir Royal (fresh strawberry-infused Prairie organic vodka, agave nectar, and Zardetto Prosecco).

We also enjoyed Ripe Plum Tomato Flatbread with fresh basil, herbs de Provence, Parmesan, and roasted garlic, Artichoke and Goat Cheese Flatbread with spinach, balsamic onion, and roasted peppers, Tomato and Haas Avocado Salad with arugula, balsamic glaze and grilled bruschetta, and of course the mini desserts that Seasons 52 is so famous for, including mocha macchiato, raspberry-mandarin cheesecake, chocolate peanut butter mousse, meyer lemon pound cake, fruit cup, rocky road, southern style pecan pie, key lime pie, and red velvet cake!

They will also be offering Grilled Alaska Wild Copper River Salmon served over summer corn risotto with roasted asparagus, grilled red peppers and dill mustard sauce starting May 29^th, which I will have to go back and try. Everything was fresh, healthy, and truly delicious.

Describe your impressions of the service. Was anything exceptionally good (or bad) about the quality of service you received?

Our servers were amazing, and took excellent care of us.

What do you think of the décor and atmosphere?

Seasons 52’s décor is luxe-modern with dark woods and ambient lighting. I loved it. We dined in the private Napa room, perfect for business or family events.

Any other thoughts or comments?


Their Master Sommelier, George Miliotes has a “Drink These Before They Become Famous” list, a handpicked selection of must-try wines for the season. For instance, he suggests pairing Lioco Indica Rosé, Mendocino ’11 with the Copper River Salmon. “It’s an all-natural wine with lovely aromas and ripe flavors of red raspberries and strawberries, the Lioco Indica Rosé’s crispness and pleasantly dry finish balance well with the rich, fresh flavor of the Copper River Salmon.”

Summary


We had a wonderful time, and I would recommend Seasons 52 for any business meal or family occasion. One of my new favorite restaurants. The healthy yet delicious menu can’t be beat. They say it best – “Our guests feel the freedom to indulge in a complete dining experience, including our custom flatbreads and signature mini-indulgence desserts, while still feeling good about themselves and their dining choices.”

This restaurant is best for (Choose all that apply)

• Good food • Quick bite • Family-friendly
• Outdoor • Romantic • Special occasion
(Disclosure: This review was a media event).


Other Features - 

• Live Entertainment Nightly
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Online Reservations
• Complimentary Valet Parking
• Patio Dining
• Group Event Dining

Atlanta Food and Wine Festival - May 10-13th, 2012

The Atlanta Food and Wine Festival is here again! This was the premiere festival last year in Atlanta. For more info - visit their website at Atlanta Food and Wine Festival.




The Story of the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival Dominique Love and Elizabeth Feichter, co-owners of Corporate Community Outsourcing, a consulting firm that helps corporations and nonprofits maximize their community impact, have each had a life-long love of all things culinary. And in later years (let’s say after achieving legal drinking age), a love for all things wine, beer and cocktail. In 2006, their passion for community intersected their culinary passions when FOOD & WINE engaged the duo to design a national charitable campaign to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the magazine’s FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. The result was the creation of the Grow for Good campaign and several visits to the Classic in Aspen to manage the program.

 After each Aspen visit, the pair would ask the same questions: “Why doesn’t Atlanta have a festival?” and “Wouldn’t it be great to showcase the food and beverage traditions of our region – the entire Southern region?” But it wasn’t just the image of celebrating the best of Southern food and drink that got the two thinking; it was also the notion they could take the best elements of other national festivals, build upon them and then infuse a spirit of honoring the regional food traditions that got them excited.

The idea that they could do their part to preserve a piece Southern culture for the community and their children was what sealed the deal. So was born the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, a weekend like no other that brings together leaders of their craft – barbecue pit masters, award-winning chefs and mixologists, Master Sommeliers, fry cooks and local growers – in the spirit of celebrating the deep food and beverage traditions of the South.

Upcoming... Seasons 52 Review

Blue Moon Pizza Review

BLUE MOON PIZZA!

I was invited to visit the Buckhead location of Blue Moon Pizza the other night with Mom, and we got to meet the owners, Mandy and Kelvin Slater. Mandy and Kelvin come from corporate restaurant backgrounds, and decided to start their own business. Blue Moon's motto is "Life Should Be Less Ordinary." I love it. They created a restaurant with simple but top-notch food, take-care-of the-guest service, and a fun, down-to-earth atmosphere. They chose pizza, since it seemed like “the perfect signature item, a sharing kind of food everybody loves, to which you can bring unlimited creative touches.” They also focused on creating the perfect crisp dough, and on beautiful presentation. Mandy and Kelvin are very down to earth and friendly. Great people serving great pizza. What a fantastic concept! It seems to be doing well, because they just opened two brand new locations in Buckhead and Sandy Springs, bringing the total to four.

According to About.com, pizza was considered a peasant's meal in Italy for centuries, and we cannot say who invented the very first pizza pie, although food historians agree that pizza like dishes were eaten by many peoples in the Mediterranean including the Greeks and Egyptians. The first pizzeria in North America was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/3 Spring Street in New York City. Fast forward to present-day Atlanta and the exciting restaurant created by Mandy and Kelvin Slater called Blue Moon Pizza…



What did you order? How was your food?

Mom and I wanted to try everything, because it all sounded good, but we had to settle on something. We started with the Portabella Mushrooms - Large portabellas baked and topped with Grandma’s Sauce, goat cheese, and fresh basil. I wouldn’t usually order portabellas, but these were really delicious! I guess I should keep an open mind. Grandma’s Sauce is very flavorful, and it complements the goat cheese and basil beautifully.





Second, we tried the Cobb Salad, which was amazing! All Blue Moon salads are served on fresh baked pizza dough seasoned with herbs and spices, and you can substitute gluten-free salad bread. The salad was composed of Romaine lettuce tossed with a BBQ ranch dressing topped with chicken, avocado, cayenne-candied bacon, red onions, crumbled blue cheese, roma tomatoes, and black olives. Mom and I couldn’t stop scooping up the bacon and avocado. Yummy!





Our entrées were two pizzas with different halfs, called Half Moons. Mom had Greek Pizza – Blue Moon pizza sauce topped with our house cheese, fresh spinach, red onions, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and feta cheese; and White Pizza - Fresh spinach, roasted garlic, red onions, artichoke hearts, creamy ricotta cheese and our house cheese.

I tried the Santa Fe Chicken Pizza, which turned out to be my favorite. It has seasoned black beans, chicken, jalapeno peppers, red onions, spicy ranch, cilantro, fresh avocado, and our house cheese. I also sampled the Luna Pizza, another spicy one. It has Blue Moon pizza sauce topped with chorizo sausage, caramelized onions, jalapenos, spicy ranch, black olives, cilantro, and our house cheese blend. Watch out, it really is spicy!


Ah, then came DESSERT! My favorite part of the meal. We had their Chocolate Chip Cookie, which Mandy recommended. Let me tell you, it was sooooo good! It is a warm, homemade chocolate cookie, baked fresh when you order it, and topped with Blue Bell Vanilla Ice cream and chocolate sauce.








Describe your impressions of the service. Was anything exceptionally good (or bad) about the quality of service you received?

Our server, Rebecca, was wonderful. She was a very charming and friendly person, and was able to offer plenty of suggestions from the menu. She made our dining experience very enjoyable with her pleasant personality.

What do you think of the décor and atmosphere?

The décor at Blue Moon Pizza is clean, modern and funky. It is a hip, casual atmosphere, and I loved the artwork and laidback feel.

Do you consider this a good value for the money you spent? If no, why not?

Yes, it is affordable, and well worth the price.


This restaurant is best for (Choose all that apply)

• Good food • Quick bite • Family-friendly • Outdoor
All of the above!



Some Fun Pizza Topping Trivia

Americans eat approximately 350 slices of pizza per second. And 36 percent of those pizza slices are pepperoni slices, making pepperoni the number one choice among pizza toppings in the United States. However, in India pickled ginger, minced mutton, and paneer cheese are the favorite toppings for pizza slices. In Japan, Mayo Jaga (a combination of mayonnaise, potato and bacon), eel and squid are the favorites. Green peas rock Brazilian pizza shops and Russians love red herring pizza.