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The Dog Days of Summer
What to do in Atlanta when Everyone Leaves Town

Summer's Bounty

Start with Memorial day, and end with Labor day - this is the time of year in Atlanta that everything slows down to a crawl. Sometimes so hot one can hardly function outside of climate controls, the summer in Atlanta can sometime turn into a mere act of survival.

Fear not those stuck inside this perimeter we call summer. The Food List is here to show you how to, not only get through, but actually have some fun along the way.

1. Local Farmer's Markets. Living in the South has great benefits come summer time. Squash, melons, peppers, and berries are just a few of the many local and seasonal foods available. Get up early, grab a coffee, and head to your nearest farmer's market to get great grub, and maybe find inspiration for new adventures. Go to Atlanta INtown paper here to see a brief list.

2. Local Concerts/Activities. Whether it is Chastain Park for the Monkees, or Alpharetta Ampitheater for the ASO - Atlanta has a ton of outdoor concerts, movies, and don't forget Fireworks on the 4th. This is a great time of year to get outside, bring your family, and enjoy some music, food, and festivities.
 
3. Golf. The Masters kicks off the real season for professional golf by being the first Major tournament of the year. While "badges" for the "patrons" are very hard to come by, you can always go online and enter the Augusta National Lottery for practice round "badges" or even the chance for Tournament "badges". At the very least, tune in on HD TV and see how beautiful the south looks in full bloom. 

4. Leave Atlanta - When all else fails, you can always join the masses and head to the beach or on vacation. It does get really hot here in the Dog days of Summer !

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Food, Wine, and White Beaches
A great Road Trip to the Beach

The closest beach to Atlanta is the Florida Panhandle. At roughly 300+ miles away, it still takes almost 5 hours by car.

And then there is Spring Break week. This is when every family in Atlanta with an SUV loads up the kids, and heads to the beach.

Well here at The Food List, we always prefer quality over quantity. When it comes to people, the more there are, the less quality options exist.

So instead of early spring, we reccommend traveling to the Sandestin area in the later spring to enjoy the Sandestin Wine Festival.

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Valentines Day. To Dine or not To Dine.
And where to find great chocolates.

This is the time of year that the average American man gets fleeced. Between overpriced roses barely alive, to chocolates made years ago in China - men are under a considerable amount of pressure to deliver the goods.

At TheFoodList, we like to organize, simplify, and call it like it is. For Valentines (and for that matter, New Years Eve) it seems like amateur night out. Wait times are exaggerated, food is rushed to the table, service is overwhelmed, and the overall experience often turns into an ordeal far worse than your average doctor's visit.

Here is our quick and effective approach to this often intimidating holiday.
 
FLOWERS: You obviously can not ignore this crucial step. Every girl is expecting flowers of some sort. In Atlanta, we are fortunate to have the remnants of Harry's Farmer's Markets ne' Whole Foods that is offering 24 roses for only $19.99. Of course if you want them arranged, or something like a vase - be prepared for multiple upcharges.

CHOCOLATE: This is, if not equal, then even more important than Flowers. If a woman does not enjoy, if not crave, chocolate - her girl card should be immediately verified. The AJC does a decent job of profiling several Atlanta Chocolatiers, and the myriad of comments covers offerings from Asheville to South America. We never realized the AJC was so widely read.

FOOD: We want to emphasize again that this is not the night out for a quiet, romantic dinner shared between lovers. Our single best option is to cook something at home, together, in front of the fireplace (or at the very least candles) sharing the foods you find most comforting. If you can not cook, try the $99 dinner for two take home from Alon's Market Bakery. This comes with the easiest instructions for even the most inept cooks.

In the end, this day is not about the food, the flowers, or the chocolate but instead should be about the one you love and cherish. Celebrate each other, and everything else will take care of itself.

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Darden Report First Quarter Results....

Red Lobster - Courtesy Flickr

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today reported sales and diluted net earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter ended August 29, 2010.  In the first quarter, diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 19% to 80 cents, versus 67 cents in the prior year. First quarter sales from continuing operations were $1.81 billion, compared to $1.73 billion in the prior year, a 4.2% increase.  Blended same-restaurant sales for Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse were up 1.1% this quarter, which compares to an estimate of 0.0% for the Knapp-Track™ benchmark of U.S. same-restaurant sales, excluding Darden.  

“We are pleased with our very strong financial performance this quarter and encouraged by the continued improvement in industry sales trends,” said Clarence Otis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Darden.  ”Same-restaurant sales results for the Knapp-Track™ benchmark were one percentage point better in this quarter than in our last fiscal quarter.  And, on a blended basis, our three core brands once again.... Continue reading here >>>

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Consumernation No More - Could You Give it all Away?

Consumer Nation - Courtesy NYTimes

SHE had so much. A two-bedroom apartment. Two cars. Enough wedding china to serve two dozen people.

Yet Tammy Strobel wasn’t happy. Working as a project manager with an investment management firm in Davis, Calif., and making about $40,000 a year, she was, as she put it, caught in the “work-spend treadmill.”

So one day she stepped off.

Inspired by books and blog entries about living simply, Ms. Strobel and her husband, Logan Smith, both 31, began donating some of their belongings to charity. As the months passed, out went stacks of sweaters, shoes, books, pots and pans, even the television after a trial separation during which it was relegated to a closet. Eventually, they got rid of their cars, too. Emboldened by a Web site that challenges consumers to live with just 100 personal items, Ms. Strobel winnowed down her wardrobe and toiletries to precisely that number.  Continue Reading>>

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The PGA Championship Returns to Atlanta in 2011

The Wannamaker - Courtesy of Getty Images

John's Creek, GA  The Atlanta Athletic Club and the PGA of America began selling tickets for the 2011 PGA Championship today. Individual day passes start at $20 per day and go as high as $850 per day for the Presidential pass. Continuing the PGA's tradition, children under 17 can get in free when accompanied by a ticketed adult - limited to 4 children per adult. Of course our favorite ticket package is the Presidential. Totaling $3400 for the tournament's four days, you can have complete clubhouse access, and, most importantly, unlimited food and drink facilities.

TFL was fortunate to participate in Media day and sampled some impressive cuisine. Chicken florentine, fried codfish, and of course the ubiquitous club sandwich were featured. Along side these standards, was a cold asian noodle salad with shrimp and a very good iceberg, bacon, tomato, and blue cheese small wedge salad. Especially impressive were the desserts that featured a dozen different choices from Pecan pie, to Key Lime pie in a shot glass - Yum.

Whether you are a casual fan, golf enthusiast, or simply a people watcher - the PGA Championship is quite an event. When the world's top golfers gather in one spot to play for more than $7.5 million in prize money there is bound to be excitement and plenty to see. Before each year's tournament begins, there is a private dinner where last year's winner hosts all past champions. The entire menu is chosen by the current champ, and sometimes they even fly specific chefs in just for this dinner. TFL will be reporting on this and all things food for the PGA Championship, 2011 so check back often.  

If you do not want to spectate, the PGA is also accepting volunteer applications and ultimately over 3500 will be needed. 
 
For more information on tickets, prices, availability, and volunteer information visit here>>> 

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Next Gen Farmers Farming Land and 'Net

Farmer-Courtesy Nichol Nelson/SlashFood

It's time to pack away your romantic image of farmers clad in overalls, perched atop a tractor. Today's agricultural workers and landowners are a modern bunch, and nowhere is that more evident than online, where they're cropping up on Facebook and Twitter in record numbers. These days, farm equipment includes computers, and, by using status updates and clever one-liners, farmers are educating a whole new community about what life is really like on the farm.

A recent example shows the power of their online presence. After an animal rights group released a video on YouTube of dairy cows being punched and prodded with pitchforks, responses were understandably outraged. But farmers fought back, blogging, tweeting, uploading their own videos and defending the industry on Facebook.

"There is so much negative publicity out there, and no one was getting our message out," Ray Prock Jr., a second-generation Central California dairy farmer, told the Associated Press. Prock halted a family vacation to log on and respond to the cow abuse video.


Read more here ...

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Dysregulation Nation - Inability to Moderate

The Factory - Courtesy of Nicholas Wieland/Flickr

The gulf oil fiasco is just the latest instance in which a lack of regulation — or dysfunctional system of regulation — has led to a major American disaster. After the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina, the Wall Street meltdown of 2008, the collapse of the housing market and now the BP spill,we have come to what feels like a moment of reckoning, with some tentative signs that our country’s decades-long love affair with deregulation is starting to chill.
 
Continue reading more here >>>

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Recovery Coming, Low and Slow.

New York, NY. At David Burke Townhouse, the average bottle of red wine has crept back up over $100. At Delmonico's, diners ordered nearly twice as many white truffles compared to last year's season. And at Aldea, the new lobster gazpacho appetizer is selling briskly at $16 a pop.

New York City's restaurant industry is showing signs of recovery, digging itself out of an economic downturn that forced the business to dial back the luxury and amp up the discounts.

Some white-tablecloth restaurants have seen sales rise around 10% this year, and restaurateurs are expressing renewed, albeit cautious, optimism.

Read More...

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Salt - Is this the next Prohibition?

Seasalt - Courtesy Flickr/Pink Sherbet

History has shown that prohibiting the general population is a near impossible task. During the alcohol prohibition of the early 1900's, more alcohol was consumed per person than at any other year prior. This country was founded on freedom of choice, and choosing one's personal sustenance has always been one of our basic freedoms. Now the federal government is attempting to step into our daily consumptions and limit our salt intakes.

TFL believes freedom of choice is not just one this country initiated, but possibly a freedom that is fundamental to our core being. Choosing good over evil was the first story in the bible. Controlling the options has never been a successful approach to human behavior. After all, a body wants what a body wants.

We just want to know what every happened to personal responsibility? Do we really need big brother telling us what we can eat? What will be next, cream cheese icing? 70/30% ground chuck? butter? This quite possibly could open pandora's box!

>>>read NY Times article on Salt regulation.

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Are Reservation Books going the way of the old Phone Book?

IPAD - Courtesy of NDevilTV/Flickr

Matt's is no longer in the market for a new reservation system. According to Urbanspoon, Matts in The Market is the first restaurant in Seattle to use the new iPad as its primary reservation book. Wine director Chris Lara says not only is the new iPad sleek, functional, and cool, but "most importantly, it replaces the bulky paper system we were used to. Now at a glance, .....  >>>Continue Reading

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For the Love of Mom.

Courtesy of Loomingy1/Flickr

There comes a time in everyone's life where one truly appreciates child bearing/rearing. For some it comes when they too become parents; for others it happens when they bloom into adulthood and realize just exactly who/what propelled them into being. 

At TFL, we began to truly appreciate our mother around the same time we began to appreciate food. From those early "shake n bakes", to Easy Bake Oven, Mom gradually introduced us to the joy of providing sustenance for others. So for everyone that has a Mom, and only space aliens don't, our daily list today is the top 5 places to take your Mom on that special day. Just remember to make reservations where applicable, or go very, very, early!

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Bobby and Junes to Remain Open

Biscuits - Courtesy of SFA/Flickr

While there are plenty of better places to find an old time southern meal, Bobby and Junes delivers the goods with the owner greeting you at the door. Since construction begin in the early 20th century on the 14th street bridge, B&J's has seen their business slowly migrate to the east side of the connector, or further west to the hip and fashionable westside.

Demonstrating the power of traditional media, word spread quickly of B&J's demise, and the crowds returned. It is good to see that Atlanta does show some loyalty; let's just check back in 6 months to see if the loyalty sticks.

Read more about Bobby and Junes Re-Birth here >>>

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The Revolution Strikes Again

Food Truck Fest, Courtesy C Lauterbach

Seen at the Food Truck Extravaganza in front of Souper Jenny’s in Buckhead:
Kids, parents, chefs, Fox TV, NPR, pets, gawkers, and regular folks enjoying an evening of great food with more then ten vendors selling food ranging from organic bread with bean spread to Persian/Southwestern burritos, BBQ chicken........

Continue reading more from Atlanta Food Carts here>>>

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The Street Food Movement Continues
Still no Legislation to Change Red Tape

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed at March 2010 Urban Picnic

Atlanta's Street Food Coalition Brings Urban Picnic Back

Back in March of 2010, the Atlanta Street Food Coalition presented the first Urban Picnic. Created as a means to introduce the average foodie to the bureaucratic stranglehold Atlanta has on street food, the Urban Picnic is back again.

Happening on April 30th, again at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, the Urban Picnic is back to highlight the dysfunctional laws surrounding street food and vending in Atlanta. Featuring Artichoke Bliss, Souper Jenny, King of Pops, and others, the picnic will be teaming up with SlowFood USA to showcase fast good food.

While there are many laws in our country that are outdated, especially in the South when it comes to alcohol sales, the street vending/food regulations are outright pre-historic. The way the law reads now, no food cart can prepare food on the cart (only keep warm), no cart can park on public lands, and no cart can be licensed for more than two private property locations. Basically the only way carts can operate is on private property, with two permanent locations, serving warmed or reheated food - delicious.

If you travel outside of Atlanta to other major metropolitan areas, you will notice an abundance of food trucks and carts proliferating the streets. You will find Korean tacos, German pastries, Italian Coffee, and locally made Sausages. These trucks create multitudes of followers using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. There are even dedicated websites such as NewYorkStreetFood, that track city food truck locations, menus, and specials.

At the end of the day, Atlanta government needs to wake up and recognize the burgeoning business opportunities (read taxes and jobs) that street food creates. Change the laws, create opportunity, and lets move this forward now. We need more jobs, we need better food, and we need an egalitarian food service that exposes more people to the best and freshest food available.

Join the movement and sign the petition here TODAY!

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LOCAL SHOUT OUT !!!

TN Mascot with I-Pad

This is where we highlight one of our favorite local businesses. Always support the local independent folks - that is where the heart, community, and economy truly is!

This week's spotlight is on Chef Abby's Cakes. This is a true entrepeneur that works full time at a prestigious Country Club, but makes fabulous cake celebrations for all. She can create an exact replica of your house in ginger bread. She can make a cake to appear to be a Louis Vutton hand bag. She has baked shoes, guitars, UGA gear, and even wedding cakes.  You can have a one of kind cake "sculpture" for your next celebration by contacting Chef Abby here.

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Signs we would like to See !!

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TheFoodList

This is our list. Today we share with you our top five fine dining restaurants.

5.  Bones. This Atlanta classic has served millions of pound of prime grade beef. With one of the NATIONS top wine lists, impeccable service, and old school atmosphere - this place demands respect. $$$$

4. Bistro Niko. The newest addition the Buckhead Life group, Niko serves up French Bistro to perfection. Classic food, exquisite cocktails, and snobby service guarantee a fine dining experience. $$$

3. Rathbuns. While not classic style, this intown hot spot delivers on all parts; and if you have the will power to stick with just a few small plates, Rathbuns can even be budget friendly. $$$

2. Eugene. Buckheaders have never taken to a newcomer so quickly and so thoroughly as the Hopkin's Eugene. Local, sustainable, and ingenous - this restaurant brings fine dining both home and into the new century. $$$

1. Bacchanalia. At one point, this was one of the only restaurants recognized on a national level. Still holding strong, this destination will wow you from start to finish, and your wallet will be knocked out of commission. $$$$$ 

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Today's Vote
Food Trend I am most excited about:

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