Alma Cucina

Wow! Move over Rosa Mexicano, there's a new restaurant in town, and it. is. good. Ok, maybe the gaucamole is not as good as yours, but Rosa, you better watch out.

Alma Cucina opened in December in downtown Atlanta. L & I were eagerly awaiting its opening because it is part of the Fifth Group restaurants (which include our long-time fave, Ecco), and we were told it was going to be a high-end Mexican restaurant. And we LOVE Mexican food. So we had high expectations.

We went for the first time one Sunday in January. Unfortunately, I had been sick all weekend and that day was no exception. But I had been so looking forward to brunch, that I dragged my sick, feverish ass out of bed, got all dressed up and went to Alma as planned with my two favorite men. I was too sick to really enjoy much of anything. L immediately fell in love, tho. I think it was the house tequila that sold him. Apparently, the owner flew down to Mexico to try different tequilas and ended up having a tequila made specially for the restaurant. It's a smoky tequila aged in giant barrels. You can't get it anywhere except at Alma and they will not sell you a bottle. (L thinks if he's patient and spends enough money at the restaurant, eventually he will be rewarded with a bottle of their private stock. I'm not so optimistic.)

And the restaurant itself is beautiful. It occupies a space at 191 Peachtree, which formerly housed Il Mulino. It has a cool, comfortable Mexican-vibe. Lots of browns and oranges, bronze fixtures, leather seating. The downtown location (I've lived in Atlanta for 17 years and downtown remains no man's land) and parking are a bit of a pain the ass, but the restaurant itself makes up for those inconveniences.

On that first visit, I had fried avodaco tacos and some delicious lamb meatball soup. All very good, but as I explained, I was very sick. So we went again recently. This time I wasn't sick. Oh man, oh man, oh man! First of all, the drink list is incomparable. Escorpion (another excellent Mexican restaurant in town) may have started the trend of really creative tequila-based cocktails, but I think Alma Cucina has raised the bar (so to speak.) The Najaranita (a blood orange margarita) is, so far, my favorite. But I do intend slowly working my way through that cocktail list, just to be sure.

And the food! I have to tell you that a little pet peeve of mine is when people eat at a
Mexican restaurant and complain that is was "too expensive for Mexican food" because it didn't cost 30 cents for a taco. Yes, we can all agree that, back in the day, when you got Mexican, you expected it to be cheap but decent. Let's face it, tho, it didn't blow your socks off and your chances of getting food poisoning were probably pretty high. And sure, you can still go to those hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants and get good, cheap Mexican food. You can also get a burger at McDonalds for $1.00 or you can go to a more upscale establishment and spend $10.00. It's apples and oranges, people. Not all Mexican food is cheap fast food.

And Alma Cucina is of the fine dining variety of Mexican food. At our second visit (or my second, L had been back several times between my fist and second visit), I came to more fully realize how fantastic the food is. For an appetizer, we got these little mini green chorizo slider thingys, topped with mango. They were little bitefuls of deliciousness. For entrees, L got duck confit chilaquiles (pictured above). Now, you really can't go wrong with chilaquiles, even the fast food variety, but this was so much more than that. OHHEMMMGEEE!! Although the portion size is more than enough for two, L scarfed down the whole thing, just because it was too delicious to stop eating. I got the rock shrimp hurachacha (also pictured above) and I think that may have been one of the best dishes I've ever had. Certainly, a top 2 best Mexican dishes. And those little green wedges you see in the picture? That's roasted avocado. Mmmmmmmmm.

Even A enjoyed it. He had some delicious and creative fruit juice (I think it was lime/rasberry) and a chicken quesadilla. Our child is always up for Mexican food. We have taught him well. A couple mornings later, while lying in bed, A said to me "can we go back to that place where we had lunch the other day? That was so much fun."

Oh yes, A, we sure can!

The Red Carpet

So there we are, walking down the red carpet. Lights flashing, fans cheering. When I hear a sudden commotion behind me, I turn and see George Clooney himself! Suddenly, I'm shaking his hand!!

Wait...what's going on here? Is this a dream? Someone pinch me please! It's not a dream. This is really happening! L & I are walking the red carpet at the 84th Annual Academy Awards. How the hell did I fall down this rabbit hole?

To answer that, I have go back to high school Spanish class. I sat next to a boy named Paul and we became fast friends. Who knew that he would end up being a very successful talent agent in Hollywood! And it was because of him that L & I ended up with tickets to the Oscars and the famed and exclusive Governors Ball. Now, that's a good a friend!

The Oscars were cool, no doubt. Walking the red carpet, even cooler. But the ball...that was a spectacle! About half the Oscar attendees get the privilege of attending the ball. It's in a giant ballroom adjacent to the Kodak Theater. Wolfgang Puck prepared 50 different entrees which were passed around on trays through out the night. Baby lamb chops, pizza topped with salmon and caviar, a baked potato stuffed with caviar, mini kobe beef sliders, lobster tacos, skewered shrimp tempura, lobster with coconut/curry sauce over jasmine rice..to name a few. Upon arriving at the ball, we had some difficulty getting any food (and we were starving after 3 plus hours of Oscar!) But eventually, things settled down and the food started coming quickly. We also found a giant sushi bar with fresh octupus sliced to order (Oh my god, that was cool!) And the dessert bar..whoa! Gold dipped chocolate Oscars, a chocolate mousse dessert done in 3D..that was pretty spectacular. My one regret is that I didn't eat more desserts! (Damn obsession with not gaining weight!!) Of course, the alcohol was flowing. But the best of the drinks was the Moet-Chandon Nectar Imperial! Mmmmmm.

Celebrities were floating around and I was floating on air. Tony Bennett said "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." L & I stayed still the very end and then Paul dragged us to another Hollywood party. This one, not as elaborate but a younger, little bit wilder of a scene.

What a night to remember! What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I'm not sure exactly what I did in high school to earn Paul's enduring friendship and generosity, but I'm sure glad I sat next to him in Spanish class. Muchos gracias, mi amigo Pablo. I am forever indebted to you!

Looking Back on 2011 & Forward to 2012

Some great dining memories were made in 2011. For example, every single meal in Portugal, including the unforgettable Gambrinus, where we had the best meal ever. But I also can't forget Cafe Paris in Sintra, where I had a mouthwatering grilled octupus; or the Portuguese stew we had in Belem, and I must give a shout out to the caipirhina and the ubiquitous delicious custard-filled pastry. Mmmm. Portugal was also the place that ignited my love for black pasta. Upon our return to the US, I procured a jar of squid ink and L now makes a fantastic squid ink risotto.

Sure, we had the worst meal ever in Curacao, but the retelling of that particular experience has brought alot of amusement to my friends (and readers.) And the goat stew we had at Jaanchie's in Curacao almost makes up for the worst meal ever.

We also had a wonderful experience at Galatoire's in New Orleans, and what may have been a last supper with friends at Herbsaint. We fell in love with Holeman & Finch in Atlanta, continued our love affairs with La Pietra Cucina, Ecco, and Rosa Mexicano. And, we finally dined at Abattoir. On the home front, I became obsessed with Marcus Samuelsson's African cookbook (The Soul of a New Cuisine) and, I'm proud to say, have learned to make a kick ass Ethiopian Shiro!

At the end of '09, I made of a list of restuarants I wanted to go to in 2010. I didn't complete that list in 2010. It wasn't until the end of this year that I finally made it to Abattoir. And that may complete the '09 list. But I forget all the restaurants on the list, so I'm not quite sure. So what's on the agenda for 2012? Today, we had a spectacular brunch at Barcelona. I expect it to become a regular thing. Hopefully, we can get there at least once during the year for a date night! STK just opened and I can't wait to check it out. It's either going to totally rock or lay a giant goose egg. We will see. I also need to check out No. 246, Cakes & Ale, Local 3, Southern Art, Alma Cucina and I'd like to get back to Bacchanalia & Aria just once in 2012. So, here it is January and my restaurant dance card is already full. Happy New Year to all!

What Is All the Fuss About??

Holeman & Finch, that's what.

This restaurant has had so much buzz for so long that it actually started having the opposite effect on me. I thought it could not possible live up to the hype. And there was the issue with the wait. It is well-known that H&F does not take reservations. And those in the know talk about the wait as though it were some badge of honor. "One time I waited an hour and a half!" "We once waited for an hour and couldn't even get to the bar to order a drink." None of that appealed to me. I don't like to wait.

But we finally caved. (I finally got tired of my friend Brad's endless rants on the virtues of H&F and decided I had to experience it first hand.) We went on a Sunday for brunch. We got there early, or so I thought. Turns out, everyone else got there earlier. So we bravely put our name on the list and prepared to wait.

As I waited (and waited), I noticed something interesting about this tiny restaurant. Every 20something hipster and 50something foodie was there. Kind of an odd mix. And everyone seemed deliriously excited to be there. (Well, the 20something hipster don't really want to show that much excitement, but you could feel if under their unfazed, cool exterior.)

As the wait wore on (we waited an hour), I began to get impatient and then annoyed. But there was no turning back. We had waited too long to jump ship before we reached our goal (of being seated.) At one point, one of the very hip servers walked past me and said "Trust me, it's worth the wait." Somehow, that brightened my mood.

And a few minutes later, we were seated.

Was the server right? Was it worth the wait?

Hell yes! The okra and smoked red pepper appetizer lives on in my heart and I hope to be reunited with it some day. L's burger lived up to its reputation as the best in the city. The cocktails were a whole other area of expertise. I could actually do a whole post just on the cocktails. And the bacon. OMG! I didn't know bacon tasted like that. Everything we had was mouthwateringly delicious.

But what no one had told me, what we found most surprising, about H&F, something that really sets it apart, was how happy the staff was. We learned that not one employee has quit since the place opened. (And the restaurant biz is notorious for high turnover!) Our server (the aforementioned hipster) kept a picture of the burger as his phone's screen saver. He couldn't say enough good things about the food, the restaurant and his job.

Now I know what all the fuss is about. And I've become a convert. Blabbering on to everyone I meet about this great restaurant. And I'm dreaming about the next time I get to wait in line to eat at the exceptional H&F.

The Good, The Bad & The Worst Meal Ever!!

We just returned from a brief vacation in Curacao. It was an interesting island. At the end, L observed "Culinarly, Curacao is in junior high." I would say "stuck in the '70s." But you get the point.

There were a few highlights: the goat stew at Jaanchie's, the banana soup offered everywhere, and the very memorable lunch we had at Perla del Mar, a beautiful restaurant where sat on a deck with waves crashing below. (And La Carretta, the cuban place at the Miami airport was the best food of the entire trip!)

And then there was the worst. meal. ever.

We were in Curacao to celebrate our anniversary (six years of wedded bliss!) I arranged for a sitter for Saturday night. As usual, I spent alot of time and energy trying to find the right place. I settled on Bistro Le Clochard.

It got off to a good start. We were seated in a corner table on the deck, overlooking the ocean. It was dark and the water was pitch-black. The whole scene was very romantic. And at first glance, the restaurant was perfect. A memorable feast was sure to be imminent. But the first clue that things might not be what they seemed was the cocktail list. The drinks listed were things like a "side car," "yellow bird" (a drink w/ rum & galliano), an "old fashioned." Does anyone under 70 still drink these drinks?. Occasionally, a restaurant will have some old school cocktails and it's cool. It's done as a nod to the "Mad Men" era. But this was not done with a wink or a nod. It was clear to me that they had simply never updated their cocktail list.

And so we ordered an expensive bottle of champagne and some appetizers. The apps were good, but not great. Kind of weird. Rock lobster on a bed of kidney beans and escargot served with sauerkraut. For my entree, I was very excited about getting the Dover sole. Lee was equally exicted to try the veal goulash. But when we ordered, our waitress told us that neither were available. She then convinced us to try "La Potence" which she described as pieces of beef served on flaming hot skewers with several "delicious" dipping sauces. Because of the flame, this dish could only be served inside, but she promised to save our table outside for us to return to for dessert. The cost of this entree? $34 per person.

We fell for it.

Inside we went. And, in the light, the restaurant looked as outdated as the cocktail list. Fake ferns adorned the shelves and windowsills. The seat cushions were stained and frayed. the piano player doing a muzak version of Metallica was odd and cheesy. It was all sort of comical, actually.

But we went with it. I felt like I was in a 1970s made-for-tv movie or perhaps, an episode of the "Love Boat." Then they brought out the stupid meat. Yes, it was beef on skewers and yes, they set it aflame. But she neglected to mention the hotdogs on it. Yes, there were dipping sauces but they were far from delicious. No, the dipping sauces were ketchup, tartar sauce, thousand island dressing, and honey mustard. $34 per person? You have to be kidding me. (And just where were the 1970s prices? That was one area they managed to update.)

For some reason, I don't know why, maybe it was because we were in a time warp, we ate the stupid thing. We should have sent it back. However, when the waitress returned, I did not mince my words. I let her know exactly what I thought of that ridiculous meal. Did she offer a complimentary dessert? Did she comp any portion of the meal? No, she did not. When the $300+ bill arrived, my head exploded and everyone in the restaurant witnessed it.

L said we've had alot of hits and were bound to have a miss. This was surely a miss.

Boulevard at Home

I have to confess that I am a very lucky girl. The truth of the matter is that while going out to all these fancy restaurants is pretty awesome, the best dinners are actually the ones at home. The ones that L cooks. It just so happens that L does not just enjoy eating great food. He also enjoys cooking great food. And guess who benefits from his considerable talent?

Now, you may recall a particular dining experience we had a couple years ago that L proclaimed was a "top 5" meal ever. The restaurant was Boulevard in San Francisco. On that auspicious occasion, L smartly bought the restaurant's cookbook in the hopes of re-creating its fabulousness.

In the intervening two years, L hasn't cooked much out of the Boulevard cookbook. We have alot of cookbooks, and he's really been hung up on the impossible Thomas Keller cookbooks (books so complicated that I have difficulty even reading the recipes, let along cooking from them!) But a few weeks ago, L decided to drag out the Boulevard cookbook. In truth, the Boulevard cookbook is not much easier to use than the Keller cookbooks, but L is up to the challenge.

He spent the whole day preparing. The kitchen was abuzz with activity. I worked out, got hair cut and colored, took a nap, picked A from pre-school, fed A, bathed and put him to bed. All the while, L was busy chopping, cutting, basting, heating, saute-ing and other chef-related things.

Finally, at 9:00 pm afte nearly 12 hours of prep, I set the table on our rather fabulous back porch and we sat down to eat.

It was worth every second of work he put into it. The meal was a triumph! We had a filet set on a roasted tomato, beef au jus with a corn-jalapeno relish and a fried blue cheese fritter on top. On the side, we had cubed heirloom tomatoes with goat cheese. We washed it all down with a spectacular bottle of pinot.

Like I said earlier, L knows how to cook and have alot of good meals at home. But there was something special about this meal. It seemed more perfect than usual. L had clearly put his heart into it. Sitting on the back porch with soft lights and soft music, surrounded by trees didn't hurt either. L made the night a special one, a memorable one, even though it was just an ordinary Friday night. L told me once that he learned to cook to help him get girls. Well, that plan certainly worked with this particular girl. But, in the end, I undoubtedly am the lucky one.

Please Come to Boston....(and stay at the Liberty Hotel!)

Boston. It's a city full of history. The Boston Tea Party, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, the American Revolution. And most importantly, my life story, ages 0-28.

I took A there a few weeks ago to see family. I haven't actually lived there in many years, so now when I go, it's as a tourist. We stayed at the Liberty Hotel, former Charles Street jail, turned uber, and I mean UBER, swank hotel. I didn't even bother with my usual obsessive scouring of the interent looking for the best restaurants. The Liberty had 2 restaurants, with great-looking menus (and one celebrity chef.)

Truthfully, this trip wasn't about food (gasp!) It was about seeing old friends.

On Friday night, I met up with a bunch of friends at the Liberty Lobby bar (and later Clink) for drinks and dinner. Most of this group I've kept in touch with for all these years, except for 2, who I hadn't seen in over 17 years. It was a night filled with laughter, drinks, memories and black pasta (yumm!) The years have been kind to all of my old friends. They all seem to have happy, full lives. If that had been the only night I had Boston, it would've been a great weekend.

But, the real focus of the weekend, perhaps the reason I went up there was for Saturday night.

Back in high school, I had two best friends: Lauren & Guy. The three of us, so inseparable once, have not been all together in over 20 years. But (through the wonders of the internet), we got in touch and decided to put the band back together for one night only. (Well, maybe we'll do it again!)

I saved all the best places at the hotel for that night. We met at Alibi, the swank-est of the swank spots at the Liberty. Drinks were flowing, stories were shared, secrets exposed, and without missing a beat, we fell into the same rhythm from 20 years earlier. Guy would've been perfectly happy to stay at Alibi and drink mojitos all night long. But Lauren & I are small girls (both maintaining our high school weight, thankyouverymuch! And she's had 4 kids!!), we needed some food to absorb all that alcohol. So, after several drinks at Alibi, we wondered over to Scampo for dinner. Scampo is the restaurant with all the buzz at the Liberty. "A new take on Italian food" and all that jazz. The food was good. My steak was delicious. Velvety, cooked to medium-rare perfection. But this was definitely a night where everything else was so much more important and more interesting than the food. The food was eclipsed by the night.

But the night was oh-so memorable. So this post isn't about food or a great restaurant. It's about reliving old times and reacquainting with old friends and finding that, even after many years, nothing had changed at all. We could pick up right where we left off. Here's to my old friends: Lauren, who was the cutest girl in high school, is still the cutest girl in the room. Guy, my best friend, my brother, please don't lose me again. Here's to Boston, which will always be home no matter how far I stray. And here's to the Liberty Hotel, which was, for a few luxurious days, my home.