Kitchen Six: Seriously Good Food

We all know the phrases/sayings/cliches about how lucky we are if we end up with one good friend. I am fortunate to be able to say that I have 5, not counting my sister. I've explained this so many times to my daughter, who is at the age where she experiences the "friend du jour" concept. My true golden friends are all ladies I met in college. My friend and roommate at Wofford, Heidi, will attest to my freshman assertion that we were there to form "Big Chill relationships."  We succeeded.

So, this is the year that we all hit 50.  Except one December baby, who quietly already celebrated hers and then tried to con the rest of us into thinking it was this coming December. (You know who you are.) Heidi hosted Leigh, Lourdes and myself at her home in Atlanta this past weekend for us to reunite, laugh, cuss like sailors, drink like hobos and generally bask in the glow of our 50 year old awesomeness! (I'm still 49, btw.)

I could go on and on about the weekend, but you are here because you like FOOD.  So, get this...Heidi and her husband Lloyd, along with friends, have invested in a restaurant in their neighborhood of the big ATL. They've been in business for a little over a year.  Their executive chef,  Jason Jimenez, has been named as one of Atlanta's "Up and Coming" chefs. He creates a menu features 6 appetizers, 6 entrees, 6 desserts, every 6 days.  

***KITCHEN SIX***

 

Leigh, Me, Heidi, Lourdes

 

It's like going to Cheers, but a lot nicer. The interior is upscale, yet casual and comfortable and hip. The staff all seem to enjoy being there and were in tune with their customers. To say the atmosphere is friendly is an understatement.  And, from what I've been told, the goal was to create an environment for neighbors to see each other and enjoy some really damn good food.  Having been there, I can affirm that they have achieved that goal.

Ok, let's talk about the food.  The best part, right?  So, we clearly set out to really explore this menu because we almost ordered everything on it.  Per Heidi's recommendation, we started off with the hushpuppies and pimento cheese.

The pimento cheese was served with homemade crackers which were wonderful. They were firm enough to stand up to the cheese but yet tender enough that they just melted in your mouth.  The cheese was topped with pickled peppers and homemade bread & butter pickles.  The flavor of the cheese was prominent, which is sometimes lacking in other pimento cheeses I've sampled.  When my buddy Lourdes bit into a hushpuppy, I thought I was in that "When Harry Met Sally" diner scene.  Yes, I'll have what she's having too.  They were phenomenal.  Everything you want in a puppy...super crispy, not greasy, the inside was tender and then spiked with shrimp and peppers. To take it one step further, they were served with a poblano cream.  Ohhhh, Jason...

In the midst of all this was the GA mule.  I can't even remember exactly what ingredients the Kitchen Six folks used to make this cocktail, but suffice to say, you need to order one. I had a Hendrick's and tonic because I haven't had it in forever. 

Lourdes and her GA mule.  It's like I'm sitting next to a movie star.

 Our fantastic waiter informed us of a special salad not on the menu that day.  We opted to have one to share.  It was beautiful.  Mixed baby lettuces, apricots, toasted almonds and a blueberry vinaigrette.  Simply delicious.

Leigh and Lourdes both chose the Roasted Chicken because Heidi said she doesn't know "what he does to that chicken" but it's so good.  They agreed.  It was served with cute fingerling potatoes and a grilled lemon. 

 Heidi selected the Pan-Roased Red Fish which, honestly, I don't know if I've ever had. The skin was so delightfully crisp and the fish was perfectly cooked.  Another winner.

 I decided on the Glazed Baby Back Ribs.  It was a toss up between these and the Beef Short Ribs.  The baby backs were served alongside grits and with a side of sauteed apples.  As the lady placed my plate on the table, she said "These grits are gonna change your life."  Instantly intrigued by that prospect, I dove into those grits.  They were indeed fantastic and I do, in fact, feel much better about my world! The ribs were great; nice and meaty and lean (y'all know how I am about fat on meat.) I'm not sure exactly what the glaze was composed of but it doesn't matter because it was just delicious and I wasn't there to dissect anyone's recipe!

Now it's time for dessert.  We took Heidi's advice again and ordered the Decadent Cake, which is a flourless chocolate cake and the Vanilla Pot de Creme.  Ok, I'm not a huge sweet eater, but good Lord, these were good.

This is the Decadent Cake.  I put a dramatic filter on this picture to illustrate to you the sheer gravity of this cake.  You can just imagine this showing up in a film like Casablanca. It's like a bite of the best ganache-y fudge ever. Chocolate fanatics would sell their souls for this cake. Like the grits, this will change your life. 

The Vanilla Pot de Creme is also pretty life-changing.  Rich vanilla flavor with a nut crumble and whipped cream on top.  One of us, who shall remain nameless, practically licked the bowl. 

The moral of this story is this:  if you live in, around or near Atlanta, you should seek out Kitchen Six.  If you find yourself visiting Atlanta, you should seek out Kitchen Six.  If you know people in Atlanta, you should tell them to seek out Kitchen Six. I think my friends (and their friends) and this chef have created a very special environment and exceptional food.  I wish we had something like this place in my neighborhood.  But, we don't, so I'll just have to get to Atlanta more often.  Heidi, just keep my room ready.  

Thai One On

Y'all know that I really like Publico. I've told you that. But, it's been a while since we've been there. Yesterday was my birthday.  So, the three of us decided to continue the celebration of me by having lunch at our favorite neighborhood joint today.  

I got there thinking that I'd order the Classic Carnitas and the Sambol Fish taco.  Like I usually do. But once there, I thought, "no, I'm going to try something new this time."  I chose the Thai Shrimp Burger. 

Shrimp burger with fresh cut fries

 So, this is a burger made of giant chunks of shrimp.  This is significant because too often restaurant dishes really skimp on the shrimp.  The burger is served on a fresh bun with red onion relish that is delicious. There's also a Thai peanut sauce and orange sesame aioli.  It's a very flavorful and successful fusion of tastes.  I could only eat half of it though; it's a big sandwich. I definitely recommend this one!

Neil decided on the burrito du jour, the "Wingerito."  It was stuffed with pulled chicken with a chipotle wing sauce, brown rice, lettuce and black beans.  It was really yummy.  Of course, Neil had them also jam as many jalapenos as they could fit into it. Many of you know that Neil's heat addiction knows no bounds.  He's constantly on a quest for what he considers hot and it's rarely what others can even tolerate. Today he sampled a coconut Ghost pepper sauce and admitted "it's hot."  That says a lot.

Now, the Vivver decided on her "usual," the Crunchy Avocado taco.  Can I tell you how much I love that my kid has an avocado taco as her "usual?"  

The Crunchy Avocado

 It also never hurts to start off with guac and queso.  The chips are always warm and salty.  The guac is creamy and the queso, well, what's not to love about melty cheese? 

Publico has completed their back porch/deck area. Today they had some astro-turf out with hula hoops, cornhole and a baby pool in the parking lot.  I'm not sure if this was special for the holiday weekend, or if this is a new fixture.  And, since the last time I was there, they've added brunch. Check out the menu here. Enjoy!

The Kraken is Serving Brunch

You know how it feels when you have a good local place that you want to succeed?  That's how I feel about The Kraken on Rosewood Drive.  We live in Rosewood and from virtually Day 1, we have been avid supporters and word-of-mouthers for them.  We love the owner, Aaron.  He lives in the neighborhood and like a smart restaurant owner, he and his wife are on-site all the time.  To own a restaurant or bar and think that you never have to be there is like placing a pallet of food and booze in your parking lot with a sign that says "take me."

The Kraken is probably best known for their extensive and ever-changing beer selection.  I don't know how many they feature, but it's a lot.  You can like them on Facebook and get updates about new brews that they have brought in.  They are also known for featuring a really interesting menu that is far more than a typical bar menu.  Interesting like lobster grilled cheese, poutine, smoked wings, truffle frites and fried green tomatoes. And, beginning yesterday, The Kraken now offers a Saturday and Sunday brunch.

The brunch menu is pretty impressive: soft shell crab Benedict; shrimp, catfish or crispy pork belly over grits, grilled cheese BLT, sriracha peanut butter glazed doughnuts and fruit/granola parfait, to name a few.  Neil ordered the pimento cheese on toasted brioche with a side of the house-milled grits, the little gourmand only wanted an order of bacon and I chose the grilled cheese BLT.

I didn't try Neil's sandwich simply because mine was pretty big.  I did try the grits however.  I really wasn't a fan.  They are from the Congaree Milling Company and ground in the restaurant.  Neil really liked them because he felt like it tasted like corn on the cob. But I felt like they tasted like old corn.  You know when you were a kid and you took a bite of that dried, multi-colored Indian corn you always see at Thanksgiving?  That's what it reminded me of.  But, we all have our own taste buds, don't we? 

My sandwich was quite good with one minor critique...it needs more bacon.  A BLT of any description really must showcase the bacon. That's an easy thing for them to fix though.  The cheeses (brie and cheddar) were a great combo and were nice and melty and gooey. 

The tomatoes were flavorful and dripping that juicy goodness onto the toasted sourdough.  As I stated before, the only thing I'd add is more bacon.  I chose the Potatoes O'Brien (chunky hash browns with onions & red bell pepper.)  This dish was well seasoned, the onions and peppers were well cooked and the potatoes were crisp yet tender inside.  But, they weren't hot.  Warm, but not hot.

There was a little disappointment though. The Kraken has very slow kitchen time. It has always been that way.  When they first opened, it was attributed to the small size of the kitchen and a new staff cooking in a new place.  I get that.  I assumed, like everyone I'm sure, that they'd get broken in and that would improve.  But, unfortunately, every time I've been there, the wait time for food has been way too slow.  I've heard it chalked up to the small kitchen, but the folks at Motor Supply Co. have been cooking in the world's smallest kitchen for what? going on 20 years now? It occurs to me that regardless of size, you simply get tons of prep work done and then get your system in place. Today, we were excited to try out the new brunch, but from start to finish, we were there close to 2 hours.  I will concede that we chose to go on the maiden voyage weekend but I guess after being open as long as they have, I was hopeful that just cooking a different menu wouldn't affect their turn time. Investing a couple of hours in brunch is a bit much, especially if you're hungry when you get there.

As I said before, we love the owner, the menu, the awesome beer selection, the cool quaint basement setting and the fact that we have this hip neighborhood joint within walking distance of our house.  That leads me to be honest in my critique of The Kraken.  I am not writing today to bad mouth or bash them. Instead, I hope my words will serve as honest feedback that may help them improve.  Aaron is always there and asks his customers for their opinions and how they are enjoying their food. And for you who is reading this post, let me be clear...if you have not been to The Kraken, you need to go.  It's really a unique atmosphere and is always a good time.  I just hope our next brunch isn't quite so much time!  

Support locals!  

The Oak Table Spring Menu Tasting

Don't you love it when you're just having a regular ol' day and then an invitation comes to you and makes you think, "Wow, I'm one lucky lady"? This happened to me a few days ago.  Some of my fellow food blogger friends and I were invited to The Oak Table to taste their new Spring menu.  I haven't made it to The Oak Table yet, so I was delighted to accept the invitation.  And it's true...I was lucky indeed.

The Oak Table changes its menu seasonally.  They have made a commitment to featuring as many local ingredients as possible in their offerings.  The result is an exciting, refreshing and interesting menu for the season. We were hosted by the lovely Vanessa Driscoll, owner of the Farm to Table Event Company and the General Manager of The Oak Table, Nathan Moody.  What I thought would be a couple hours turned into four hours of delicious sampling and fun with friends who love food as much as I do, on a perfect evening (we were on the patio).

So, let's just break right into it, shall we?  First, we were served one of the new cocktails called the "spring thyme."  This is a remarkably refreshing concoction of cucumber vodka, thyme, mint, ginger vodka and Cannonborough honey basil soda on top. It conjured up a fond memory of Hendrick's gin, which I kind of forgot about, but was even more "herby" and crisp.  

Next, we were brought two salads: the "spring carrot salad", which featured artisan carrots and the "cured local fish salad".  I know that sounds kind of funny, but it's no laughing matter.  This was a mix of frisee and arugula with thin sliced cured salmon draped over and studded with shaved fennel and almonds, all dressed with a lemongrass vinaigrette.  I loved this one!  The carrot salad featured artisan carrots, like I mentioned, sugar snap peas, shaved Pecorino, pistachios and was dressed with a sweet pea vinaigrette. This was a very light salad which is perfect for spring.  Out of the two, the salad with salmon was my favorite.

Spring Carrot Salad

Cured Local Fish Salad

About the time we were finishing up with these lovely salads, the "strawberry harvest" arrived. I must admit that I'm not much of a strawberry fan except this time of year when they are in season. This cocktail consists of local Cottle Farms berries, Bee Trail Farms honey, mint, vodka and the Cannonborough honey basil soda.  It was simply delicious!  I could sip on these all afternoon.  The combination of ingredients is perfect and the flavor is exactly what you look for in a refreshing spring-time drink.  Bravo on this one, for sure!

Strawberry Harvest.  As beautiful as it tastes.

 You're feeling really jealous about now, aren't you?  Next, we were treated to a couple of the appetizers.   First was the "braised rabbit ravioli", which my buddy April aptly renamed "rabbioli." It is a large, pasta pillow amply stuffed with shredded rabbit (imagine how pot roast shreds) placed atop a yummy carrot-ginger puree and finished off with some arugula and pistachios.  This was a big hit with everyone at the table.

Braised Rabbit Ravioli

 Then came one of my favorites of the evening: the "black pepper ricotta gnudi". It was served in an amazingly delicious broth with littleneck clams, broccoli rabe, oyster mushrooms and aleppo pepper. The gnudi was full of fresh pepper flavor but that broth,  OMG. At April's suggestion, we all picked up our bowls and drank the rest.  Sorry Oak Table, we just couldn't resist.  Had we been in the dining room I'm sure this would have been frowned upon! Luckily, we had the patio to ourselves.

I mean, look at it.  It just looks like a dream!

 At this point, my head was spinning from all the fantastic food, so I may mix up the order of the next dishes we tasted.  But I'm sure it's all the same to you. Out came the "Niman Ranch pork chop". This was definitely one of my favorites of the night.  The pork was perfectly cooked.  P.e.r.f.e.c.t.l.y. Juicy and tender and then accompanied by the most wonderfully crispy sweet potatoes and spicy mustard greens.  Frankly, just the fact that one of our restaurants is using mustard greens makes me happy.  Of all the greens, mustard is probably the least famous.  But they shouldn't be.

Wish my color was better because this was a beautiful plate

 Between samples, I was reading the menu and asked Jonathan (he writes and photographs for Free Times) what in the world is "wreckfish."  He knew.  So, he enlightened me and said it's one of his favorites fishes.  Well, lo and behold, our next course was the "pan-seared wreckfish".  Jonathan knew what he was talking about.  This is a meaty fish like grouper.  It was served with a green gazpacho, white asparagus and romesco.  I have a new favorite fish it would seem.

Pan-Seared Wreckfish

 You are probably getting full just reading and seeing these pix, right?  So how about getting your head around some "grilled Angus hanger steak"?  Once again, this is served with a cool assortment of veggies: asparagus, shiitakes, grilled spring onion.  You'll notice a smear on the plate.  This was pureed Japanese sweet potato.  I've never encountered this vegetable before.  It was very faintly sweet and silky smooth.  All of this was accompanied by Bordelaise sauce.

Beautiful Hanger Steak

 And just when we thought surely dessert was coming, we were surprised by a serving of "grilled local swordfish"!  The fish was nicely grilled and served with a "rustic" ratatouille and tomato oil.  I'm not sure what makes it rustic, but I do know that as a HATER of classic French ratatouille, I can say this is different and much, much better. 

Grilled local swordfish with ratatouille

 So, somewhere in the midst of all this heavenly food, another signature cocktail arrived.  This one is called the "Legend of the Fall".  It's composed of Jack Daniels Tennessee honey, cinnamon apple cider, lemon juice, walnut liqueur and comes with a smoked cinnamon sugar rim.  To me, this was like apple pie in a glass.  Very tasty, but since I'm not a huge sweet freak, I couldn't drink more than one of these.  After dinner, we all discussed & gave our critique and the consensus was that this is delicious but would probably be a more popular choice in the fall. 

Legend of the Fall.  Neither Brad Pitt nor Anthony Hopkins showed up.

 As we all wondered how much weight we'd just put on, dessert arrived.  We were served two:  Blini with strawberries and pineapple carrot cake. The cake was by far my favorite.  It was a small cake topped with a slice of grilled pineapple.  That was then topped with a small scoop of banana ice cream.  A "streusel" of nuts and chocolate were sprinkled over the top. Again, not being a big sweet eater, I usually don't order dessert.  I'd order this again and again. 

Big things come in small packages

 The blini with strawberries was quite interesting, but alas, not a hit with me.  It was served with lemon curd, which was very good, some mildly sweet whipped cream and strawberries.  However, the strawberries had been smoked.  This is certainly a new one for me.  I never would have ever thought to smoke a strawberry.  I now know that I don't care for smoked strawberries.  But, there were some at the table who enjoyed it, so it's not a fail.  Just wasn't my cup of tea.  This is the only negative I have about the entire evening.

Smoked Strawberry Blini

The Oak Table's current menu is exciting and different and is packed to the gills with local foods.  The local food scene in Columbia has grown by leaps and bounds and it's so encouraging to see so much of it showing up on our menus.  I can't thank Vanessa, Nathan and Chef Howard enough for inviting me (us) to come sample all this delicious fare.  It was a very pleasant evening filled with flavorful treats with other food lovers.  And as you can probably guess, we all burned up our batteries taking pictures of our food.  Yep, we're those people you see in restaurants pointing our iPhones at our plates.  Yep, that's us.

Trytophan Fix

What's your favorite food?  This is probably the most often asked question ever.  And everyone has an answer. Or answers, in the case of variety freaks like myself. It's an interesting question because of the wide range of answers you'll hear.  Pizza, lobster, crepes Suzette, chicken chow mein...you just never know.

But here's one you may not think of right off the bat.  Turkey and dressing.  That's right; the American Thanksgiving staples around which our annual celebration is centered.  Most people probably have this meal once a year.  But, there are others. Others who really dig turkey. Those who are connoisseurs of this great gallinaceous bird. I have known one of these people from the day I was born.  She's my mom.

"I know good turkey when I see it."

 And when I say these folks are connoisseurs, I'm not joking.  She can look at turkey in a restaurant or at a catered event from across the room and tell you if she's going to eat it or not.  You see, it has to be REAL turkey.  

I know, it sounds stupid for me to even say that, but here's what she means.  She cannot tolerate processed turkey like that log shaped "turkey roll" for instance.  She practically gags at the mere utterance of the words "turkey roll."  No, what she seeks is an actual slice of roasted turkey, sliced off the actual bird itself, having never taken a trip through any type of automated machine or formed into any shape other than turkey-shaped.

Turkeys are NOT shaped like circles

 My sister and I have joked for years that if Mom ever ends up on Death Row, she'll pick turkey & dressing for her last meal.  We joke, but it's really not a joke at all.  She'd do it.  She's like the dad on "Christmas Story." 

Interesting carving stance...he just wants that turkey!

 She loves the stuff. So, what's a turkey devotee to do once Thanksgiving comes and goes?  Oh sure, you can buy yourself a turkey and roast it at home on any given Tuesday, but really, does anyone ever actually do that?  But, my Mom has found the answer.  She has found the place to satisfy this need.  If you ever feel like you don't know what day it is, you'll know it's Thursday when my Mom mentions The Cracker Barrel.

Now, you guys know how I am about chain restaurants. For the most part, I hate them but I do acknowledge that they have their time and place.  Frankly, I think the Cracker Barrel is one of the weirdest places on Earth.  I guess their mission statement goes something like "Have the motoring public pull off the Interstate, come eat some overpriced "country food", then wander around aimlessly before ending at the cashier to pay for their meal, a pound of taffy, ballerina costumes for the grandkids and the rocking chair that the spouse is loading into the back of the van".  However, every Thursday, the Cracker Barrel serves real turkey and dressing.  The vegetable du jour is always sweet potato casserole to round out the Thanksgiving experience, if that's what you're going for. 

There you have it.  Real, sliced, roasted turkey every single Thursday of every single week.  For these trytophan fanatics this is like having lunch in Shangri-La. As much as I joke about the Cracker Barrel, I must admit that I'm happy to go there on Thursdays with my mom.  Turkey's her thing, I get it. Until she gets to Heaven... you know, the land of milk and honey turkey and dressing, I'll gladly accompany her to her occasional turkey fix.

AT LAST! A real menu for children

Kids are people too. But you wouldn't know it to look at most restaurants' children's menu.  I think "picky eaters" aren't born, they are taught. Of course, there are exceptions to this statement, but for the most part, I think I'm right about this.  

My mom told me years ago about an article she read. There was an experiment involving kids and their eating habits.  On day 1, the kids came into a room to find a long table filled with cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream, chocolate, potato chips, Doritos and the like. They also found grilled chicken, fish, green beans, spinach, squash, broccoli, fruits, etc. As expected, on day 1, the sweets were quickly demolished and the "real food" left untouched.

However, this began to change gradually. Each day, less and less of the sweets & junk food were consumed and more and more of the good stuff.  By the end of the week, the kids were eating full, balanced meals with maybe one dessert selection.  The conclusion?  The kids ate what they needed. Their bodies needed (wanted) the nutritious foods to survive.  The novelty of the junk wore off quickly even though the kids had unlimited choices of "fun" foods in front of them. 

This has been my basic philosophy about feeding my daughter: make available what she needs. From the time we began giving her solid foods, my husband and I focused on giving her good, balanced meals and we changed it up a lot.  We have continued to offer new, different dishes and meals to expose her to the great big world and to encourage healthy and adventurous eating.  Some foods are a hit, some not.  But, I don't give up.  I'll try them prepared differently next time and guess what?  Eventually those foods make it onto the "thumbs up" list.

Going to a restaurant with a child can be a challenge.  Most have a kids menu, but frankly, they usually just make me mad.  You've seen it before...the unhealthy, junky, uncoordinated selections they make available to your child.  Chicken fingers, french fries, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, corn dog.  And don't forget the lovely sides: jello, applesauce, fries, yogurt. 

Kids are people too!  When was the last time you waltzed into a restaurant and said "Yes, I'll have the corn dog with a side of applesauce and macaroni."  I'm betting NEVER.There's a place in the Vista that has macaroni for kids.  We ordered it one time.  I swear to you, they cooked an entire box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, dumped the whole pot into a bowl and served it to my 4 year old with an adult-sized soup spoon.  So, she was given a portion size fit for Paul Bunyan, a spoon that won't fit in her mouth to eat a bowl full of crap from a box that I don't even make at home.  

Here's a tip:  you're a restaurant.  Cook!  Make some macaroni. It's not that hard. Serve kids a smaller portion.  Or, for that matter, how about just serve ANYTHING on your menu at a kid-sized portion and price?  Now, that is sheer brilliance, if I do say so myself.

Ok, ok, ranting aside, the real purpose of this post is to give major applause and accolades to Harper's in Five Points. We went in today after church.  Viv received the usual kids menu with accompanying crayons.  I started looking it over and almost fell out of the booth.  I have never, ever, ever seen a children's menu like this!  Actual entrees, vegetables, includes a dessert and only $6. Take a look:

  
Notice anything?  There is salmon, grilled chicken, BBQ sliders, roasted vegetables, fruit as well as brunch items.  Now with this, you can build a real meal for your child.  Viv chose the grilled salmon with honey mustard glaze.  She really does love salmon.  She was talking about ordering French toast when the salmon caught her eye. She selected fruit as her side and the scoop of ice cream for dessert.  Just for the record, despite what she circled above, I did give in and let her have a Dr. Pepper since her soda consumption is practically non-existent, but I 86'd the milkshake.

This is the plate she was served.  It looked fantastic and I had to try it.  It was perfectly cooked, you could taste the wood fire, nice "crust" on the outside.  It was delicious.  

I was euphoric through the rest of our lunch, because I was so jacked that someone finally gets it.  Kids don't need to live off cheese, fried chicken and pasta.  And, what kind of idiot puts PB&J on a menu?  Restaurants need to act like restaurants and cook.  Cook for all your customers regardless their age. Kids will eat real food.  But you have to make it available to them.  If every restaurant would adopt my "just make a smaller portion" concept (anybody remember "ladies' portions?), we could have kids everywhere experimenting and developing their little palates every time they eat out.

Kudos to you Harper's!  I hadn't been to your restaurant in a long time (no reason, just hadn't made it in) but I tell you what, we'll be in frequently now.  Thank you for offering vegetables and lean proteins to our kids.  Thank you for serving them an appropriate serving size at an appropriate price.  You get it.

Chef Fusco Returns!

The phrase "it's a small world" isn't just a cliche.  At least, not if you live in the South.  It's a FACT. This phenomenon is more than likely true in all areas of the world, but I can attest to its omnipresence here in the Southern United States. It would not be an exaggeration to say that at least once daily I meet someone that I have a connection

to, in one way or another.  Good example... today I overhead a man mention a "swing dancers club" and then it hit me that I'd met this guy before.  Sure enough, he was one of the organizers of a swing dance celebration a few years ago during which Neil's grandmother was honored.  Why, you ask?  Betty Wood, or Nana as we called her, was one of the original Big Apple kids.  She WAS swing dancing.  And sure enough, this was in fact the guy who arranged a weekend long celebration during which Nana taught Lindy, Big Apple and Jitterbug classes and received the key to the City from former "Mayor Bob" Coble.

Another example of the small-worlded-ness to which I refer?  Michael Fusco.  Mike Fusco was (is) the older brother of my high school buddy Dave Fusco.  When we were in college, the Fuscos opened Irmo's first gourmet, upscale restaurant called Restaurant 1-2-3.  

To this day I believe it was truly the only high caliber restaurant Irmo has ever enjoyed.  Later, the Fusco family moved on to open yet another high quality restaurant, this time in Lexington...Cinnamon Hill.  And then they hit the Vista with the Rhino Room. All of these ventures were successful, top quality, something-to-talk-about restaurants that we Columbians were fortunate to experience. Now, Mike has hit Main Street and true to form, we are all going to benefit from his experience and his talents.

Michael's Cafe & Catering officially opened today for breakfast & lunch.  They are located at 1620 Main Street.  Yes, that's the "Mast General" block.  For those of you who work downtown, you might be interested to know that just around the corner is a 24/7 gym.  You can work out, pop into Michael's for a coffee, juice or smoothie and grab breakfast to eat or take with you to your office...granola, yogurt parfaits or a hot breakfast burrito.  Something for everyone.  And, as you've certainly surmised from the title, Michael's provides catering services, including a full services, tech-outfitted conference center adjacent to the cafe for your big events.  And for those of us who attend downtown churches, Sunday brunch is on the near horizon!

Tonight, Michael was uber-generous and opened his cafe up to me and some of my friends from the food blogsphere.  We were able to tour the beautiful shiny new kitchens, the sharp conference center, the hip yet warm cafe itself and we were treated to some of Michael's menu treats!  We tasted, photographed, tweeted, instagrammed and otherwise bragged to our friends about the experience.  Let me tell you this...if you are ever invited to a restaurant preview, dry run, soft opening, whatever you want to call it, GO!  They are so fun and you really feel a connection to the place when you've been included in something so special.

So, anyway...you want to know about the food, right?  Tonight, we sampled lots of goodies.  Here goes:

• Frieda's Special: this is a Greek salad, but it's a kick ass Greek salad.  Know why?  Frieda is a wonderful Greek lady who is a mutual friend and the salad is reflective of her; high class all the way.  Quality lettuces, ample feta, pitted Kalamata olives, tender & spicy pepperoncini, outstanding dressing.  Not your typical Z@#&b's iceberg lettuce salad, for sure! 
  
• White Russian sandwich: OMG! It's not complicated.  Turkey, bacon, swiss and a homemade "not your typical" Russian dressing.  This is a fabulous sandwich, friends.

• Pimento Cheese: We had this as a dip and also as a grilled cheese sandwich. Let's face it...pimento cheese rocks as long as it's homemade and made with really good quality cheese.  

• Philly Cheese Steak:  I'm super picky about Phillies.  This is it.  Lean, well cooked "grilly" tasting steak, spicy peppers and yummy onions and cheese.  Add high quality hoagie roll and, well I don't need to say anymore.
• Pasta salad:  We tried two.  The first was bow-tie pasta with pesto, artichoke hearts (I mean, can you go wrong with artichoke?  NO!) and red wine vinegar/olive oil vinaigrette.  The other was a multi-color fusilli with a rice wine vinegar vinaigrette...my fave! 
• Shrimp salad: Ok, see, we live in the South.  If anybody can work with shrimp, it's those of us in coastal states.  This is a great example.  The shrimp are what my dad and I call "creek size" shrimp. They are just the right size for a salad on lettuce, in a cup, on a croissant.  Large, stuffable sized shrimp are not right for this job.  They are flavored with herbs and mayo, but lightly so.  It's not heavy, it's just what shrimp salad should be. 
• Breakfast burrito:  Ok here's the one place I have to insert something personal.  When I heard that Michael was opening a new place, I told my 7 year old about it.  I'm proud to say that she is a very adventurous eater and loves to participate in the "grown up world."  As soon as she heard about Michael's, she said, it "must" have a breakfast burrito.  So, I told Mike about it and Viola! he added it to the menu.  Viv is so proud.  If only it were titled the "Breakfast Vivverito" or something...Just kidding Michael!
  
• Veggie Hummus Wrap: My girl April is a vegetarian.  If you have veggie friends, you know that there are varied types.  Some are vegan (NO animal products at all...this is a very hard, rigid lifestyle), ovo-lacto (ok with eggs, cheese, milk), pesci-tarians (fish, shellfish ok), you get the idea.  My friend April describes her vegetarianism very simply as "no flesh."  That, I love.  I don't have to think for 10 minutes about what she can or cannot eat.  So, Michael's has several offerings for our veggie friends.  <<Let me insert here that I am a HUGE veggie fan, just not exclusive, so I want to be clear that I am, in no way anti-vegetarian. I'm an omnitarian, I guess. OMG...did I just make up a word?>>

• And last but not least...SMOKED TOMATO RANCH. Holy mother of Krypton.  The mere description doesn't sound like much, it's true.  But after hearing a few others comment about this dressing, I had to make my way down the table to try it out for myself.  I don't really know a better way to say wow, other than wowza, shazamm, holy something...  We all know that in many cases, a salad is only as good as its dressing.  This is fantastic.  You just have to trust me and try it for yourself.  I loved it so much, I asked Michael if he could think of using it as a base for a pasta salad. And, I think this would be the ideal dressing for any salad, even Frieda's, if you want to deviate from the norm!                         

The evening was just fantastic and I know that the downtown community will love and support this new eatery. I want to thank Mike, Rebecca and Lisa for inviting all of us in and giving us the opportunity to try out the menu. Michael's is focused on good quality, culinary talent and supporting other local culinary businesses along the way. Those of you who read me know my opinion of the importance of supporting local people and local businesses.  Try out Michael's Cafe.  For a few reasons: because you love and appreciate good food, you need an efficient space for parties/meetings, and need a fantastic caterer for your special events. 

And, because I said so.  :-)