Who’s that guy up above? He’s Rob Beecham aka @MontaluceWine on twitter and last week invited perhaps the largest group of food & wine bloggers in Atlanta up to the vineyard for a day in Dahlonega. Rob and his brother Brent (@MVineyards) are quite active and organized & recruited folks almost entirely through twitter.
Atlanta Wine Guy - Kevin Glowacki
Ed Thralls of WineTonite.com
Mr. EatBufordHighway.com
David Aferiat of Maison Marcel & Montaluce's Brent Beecham
Georgia wines get a bad wrap — a Time magazine piece celebrating wines grown in all fifty states certainly didn’t help matters. Winemaker Oliver Asberger has done an amazing job with the wine, the first release containing fruit from Blackstock Vineyards – future wines will come grapes grown on the estate.
Chef Steven Hartman hails from Nashville and formerly was chef de cuisine at the five-diamond luxury Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. Hartman is executive chef of Le Vigne Ristorante on the property and oversees food operations at Montaluce.
I think it’s safe to say that Hartman and his team completely blew us away with the spread, provided complimentary by the Montaluce folks. You can find him on twitter as @hogballs and at his blog Hogballs & Mountain Dew.
chicken liver mousse: house made pickles, lavosh
Smoked Sunburst Farms trout served over meyer lemon, topped with boiled peanuts, fennel and a sweet tea foam.
caramelized chicken thighs: baby carrot, cipollini, celery leaf, jus
butternut squash cup custard: maple gel, oat crumble, whipped buttermilk
Chef Steven Hartman
After the meal Chef Hartman gave a demo on his chicken liver mousse preparation and gave a tour of the kitchen.
Le Vigne sous chef
It was a fun day and I look forward to heading back up soon. Montaluce’s wines are limited production and are only available at the winery currently but are working on restaurant distribution.
Oh, and that dessert in a jar? I’m still having dreams about it.
Tags: blog, bloggers, conclave, Dahlonega, food, Georgia, Georgia mountains, Georgia wine country, Le Vigne, Montaluce, North Georgia, Restaurant, wine
I’ve been on a bit of an Asian kick lately, and Korean food is very new to me. I love trying out new spots, and this past weekend a friend who’s a fellow photographer from Alabama came through town he invited me to check out Book Chang Dong with him.
You can’t beat a bowl of soup on a cold day, and my go-to soup tends to be pho, my favorite place in town being Pho #1 on Buford Highway. We ended up all getting a bowl of beef & tofu soup and Korean BBQ. My favorite part of Korean cuisine are the tons of side dishes (banchan) that are piled on the table for sharing.
Sizzling hot bowls of deliciousness? Check. Double Check.
Needless to say, I didn’t eat much for several hours afterwards.
BOOK CHANG DONG TOFU HOUSE 2550 Pleasant Hill Rd (Park Village/Super H Mart center), Duluth, GA 30349 (770) 814-2299
Tags: Asian, Book Chang Dong, Buk Chang Dong, Duluth, Georgia, Gwinnett, Korean, Park Village, Super H Mart, tofu, tofu house
Creme Anglaise
Today I found myself with an unexpected free day and ended up in Chamblee to finally check out Maison Robert after being tipped off in Bill Addison’s blog. I didn’t have my camera with me at the time but did bring home some goodies and snapped a few shots. My friend Chloe shares her faves on Chow Down Atlanta.
Lemon Tartelette
Raspberry Orange Mousse
MAISON ROBERT 5256 Peachtree Road, Suite 110 Chamblee, GA 30341 770-454-6442
On my way to North Georgia yesterday, I made a pit stop at the new West Egg Cafe on the Westside. Their new digs are inside the White Provision Residences a few steps away from their old location on Howell Mill. There’s a new loft-like modern vibe and a lot more elbow room.
It doesn’t mean you’ll be seated right away, but on the weekends it means you’ll be able to wait inside for your table. There was a 25 minute wait yesterday morning, but I was able to grab a seat at the bar and was waited on by this fellow who didn’t mind a camera being jammed in his face (Thanks!)
There’s an all new menu, and soon they’ll be open for dinner. Honestly I didn’t even see the menu until a counter-mate grabbed one. I opted for that special pictured above that was calling my name.
Delicious.
WEST EGG CAFE 1100 Howell Mill Rd. 404-872-3973
by Broderick
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