Fancy Salad, anyone??

dressed
950 West Peachtree Street
Suite 240
Atlanta, Ga
404-347-3434
www.dressedsalads.com

Get ready! dressed, an chic new salad cafe, is open at Plaza Midtown.

It's a make-your-own kinda place where you can choose from 60-ish toppers and 20-some odd specialty dressings.

It's a hip joint, too with orange pendant lights, bright green chairs, and white countertops.

There's also soups, desserts and for those of us who are just a BIT too lazy to go get a salad ... they DELIVER within a certain distance!!!

Taurus Restaurant's Spa Lunch Break

I LOVE Taurus - I've had several really lovely meals there since it opened last year. You can read my review of Taurus here:

http://www.sovo.com/2005/10-28/locallife/dining/dining.cfm

And it seems that I now have a great reason to catch lunch at Taurus - the restaurant is offering a three course lunch, in 45 minutes, for only $20.00! What a deal! And this ain't no ordinary lunch - goat cheese tarts, salmon, fresh sorbets ... sounds like I might be at Taurus once a week for lunch!

Here are the details taken from the Taurus website:

Introducing Taurus' New Spa Lunch Menu!

A relaxing way to enjoy lunch during the work week.

Three courses. $20. 45 minutes.

Our spa menu is perfectly paced to guarantee that you enjoy three courses in 45 minutes, keeping you on time for the rest of your day.

Taurus Spa Menu (Available during lunch, Monday through Friday)

Appetizer options
Goat Cheese Tart, herb salad and tangerine oil
Celery Root Soup, parmesan crisp
Roasted Pear Salad, blue cheese, red wine vinaigrette


Entree Options
Grilled Jumbo Shrimp, spinach, sweet peppers, olives, lemon oil
Charred Flat Iron Steak, soy marinated portobello mushrooms, chimichurri
Grilled Chicken Breast, young romaine hearts, parmesan, caesar dressing
Hot Smoked Salmon Steak, young arugula salad, marcona almonds, oranges


Dessert Options
House Made Sorbet Trio, green apple, blood orange, lemon
Chocolate Hazelnut Praline, drambuie sauce
Spice Roasted Pineapple, coconut crisp, lime sorbet

Day Of The Dead at SALA

SALA - Sabor de Mexico
1186 North Highland Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30306
www.sala-atlanta.com


I love Sala - a great restaurant with an infectious vibe that only adds to the experience. For the Day Of the Dead (November 2) the folks at Sala are offering specials, not the least of which is a $15.00 bottomless margarita!

For those of you who don't know, the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead honors the deceased that have passed and it also is the time to celebrate life continuing on for the rest of us. It's a great family holiday - not at all like what you'd think!

Gotta love that!

One Helluva Cookie

I'm on vacation with my family in north Georgia - we've rented a cabin for the weekend on the top of Self Mountain and it is nice and cold and high up and secluded and well, just right for a weekend away.

Before settling in for our first night we decided to hit the local grocery store for some staple items. We have a steep, near 45 degree incline to our cabin so we figured if it iced up, we'd be stuck up here and wanted some food just in case.

So we're at the Bi-Lo and my sister picks up this carton of deli cookies and throws them in the basket. I THOUGHT she picked up oatmeal cookies, which I love, but she didn't.

She picked up Ranger cookies. Never had 'em before - LOVELY COOKIES. They're the best I've had in a loong time.

I couldn't figure out everything that is in them so naturally, I looked up the recipe. Below is the recipe from The Quaker Oats company ... trust me, you'll love these cookies.

Ranger Cookies II

1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
2 cups corn flakes cereal
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350ºF.

In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix well. Add oats, corn flakes, coconut and nuts; mix well.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Makes 2 dozen large cookies.

First Annual Midtown Restaurant Week!

Make your reservations today!
Chow Baby- 404.815.4900
ENO- 404.685.3191
The Globe- 404.541.1487
The Grape at Atlantic Station 404.815.0090
The Grape at Midtown- 404.875.4727
Lobby at TWELVE- 404.961.7370
Mitra- 404.875.5515
MidCity Cuisine- 404.888.8700
piebar- 404.815.1605
The Oceanaire- 404.475.2277
ONE. midtown kitchen- 404.892.4111
Park 75 - 404.253.3840
Rosa Mexicano - 404.347.4090
Shout- 404.846.2000
Spice- 404.875.4242
Taurus- 404.214.0641
Toast- 404.815.9243
TWO. urban licks- 404.522.4622
Vinocity- 404.870.8886

Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week 2006

Announcing! Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week!

Held this year between July 24th and 30th, Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week showcases the best in our growing downtown dining arena by enticing diners with $26.00 per person, three course menus (plus tax and tip).

With special hotel pricing and even a new signature drink - the Peach Julep - the folks at the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District are hoping to appeal to diners from the neighborhood, metro-suburbs and beyond, inviting them to spend the weekend fulfilling their culinary desires.

For more information about Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week as well as directions, a roster of participating restaurants and hotels, and even the recipe for the Peach Julep visit:

http://www.atlantadowntown.com/HavingFun_RestaurantWeek.asp

Bloody Knees and Bloody Marys

An elitist way to watch the Peachtree Road Race - from high above and with a cocktail!

What better way to watch the city's premier road race than from a Peachtree Street balcony sipping Bloody Marys?

Well - Taurus Restaurant is offering just that. From 7am to 11am on July 4, you can take in all the spectacle - and probably a few wipe outs - of the Peachtree Road Race from the restaurant's balcony overlooking Peachtree Street at Brookwood Place.

Reservations are recommended for the $15.00 per person event. Taurus is offering a continental breakfast and bottomless Bloody Mary bar for the duration!

Taurus Restaurant
www.taurusrestaurant.com
Peachtree & 25th St.
404-214-0641

Let's Do Some Soul Food! 06-22-2006

It seems to me that a lot of time and energy is thrown at trying to find the hippest and coolest restaurant in town - from celebrity chefs to celebrity drinks, many diners seek out the 'be seen' scene to dine. And quite frankly, I'm a fan of fancy table linen and foie gras myself.

But sometimes, the simplest things are the best. I've decided to share a few of my favorite soul/country food spots in Atlanta.

Many people insist on making a distinction between soul food and country food. From collard greens to fried chicken and peach pie, different cultures and even different races claim dishes as their own. But in my experience, the difference between soul food and country cooking is just this: the color of the person cooking it. And we all know that color isn't important at all to anyone - that is, unless we're talking about steaming vegetables and then color is of paramount importance!

But as I was saying, soul food and country food are really one in the same. I'm as pink skinned as they come and I grew up in a world of collards, cobblers and cornbread. As a matter of fact, my Grandma makes the worlds best fried chicken - her secret is that she skins it first and then ... fries the skin separately! Ok so maybe that's not really the secret reason why her chicken is so good but it serves to prove the point that I know what country food should be.

In Atlanta we are beset by the fancy vs. southern 'thang' - either we're shopping at Phipps for something fabulous to wear to the club, or we're down at the speedway watching Dale Jr. race. We're a combination of fancy and simple, and one of the best attributes that brings is in our tastes in dining. We've got our hot spots and upscale dining, but we also have some of the best simple, southern soul food around.

Only a handful of places come to mind when I get the hankerin for something fried or something cooked with pork fat. Give 'em all a try - I certainly have!

The Collard Green Cafe - 2955 N. Druid Hills Rd - 404-634-3440
Son's Place - 160 Hurt St, Atlanta - 404-581-0530
Matthew's Cafeteria - 2299 Main St, Tucker - 770-491-9577

From Mama's Kitchen - Carolyn's Easy Coconut Pie - 06-22-2006

In areas like the South where the humidity and temperature make cold things hot, and puffy things flat - unless you're a dyed-in-the-Hooch Southern Girl who knows her way around an Aqua Net can - it's a trying business to get a dessert to come out just right. Chocolates melt, creams break apart and things that are supposed to puff, don't.

That's why I typically go for non-traditional dessert items when hosting. A cheese plate, berries or grilled peaches are what you'll find for your after dinner enjoyment at my table. But recently, I was able to get my hands on my Mom's Coconut Pie recipe. This is the standard "take to the church or to a reunion or to a wake" dessert of choice for her and with good reason - it's simple and very tasty.

I'm sure with a little trial and error modifications can be made to dress these pies up a bit, but I kinda like the simplicity of them. And they're so pretty when finished - you'll be a hit wherever you serve them!

Carolyn's Easy Coconut Pie
1/2 c. self rising flour
2 c. sweet milk
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 stick melted margarine
1 (7 oz.) flaked coconut

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs. Mix flour, sugar and add to eggs. Add other ingredients. Beat well and pour into 2 greased pie pans. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350. Makes 2 pies. Makes its own crust.