I’ve been saving some of this info for the last week or two, as well as some newer content I’ve found around internet-land. Enjoy.
- Emory’s Sustainable Food Initiative will be offering three classes with Ann Quatrano (Bacchanalia, among others), Linton Hopkins (Eugene), and Scott Peacock (Watershed) January through March of this year. $25 per ticket or $75 for all three.
- Our friends over at Atlanta Dish mentioned Marlow’s will be showing the BCS Championship Game over at Marlow’s this Thursday at 8PM. They mention that if you signup for Marlow’s e-news you get $10 towards your next purchase of $30+. Click here to join their mailing list.
- Metromix offers some new Restaurant News today. Highlights include: Meal dealz at Aqua Blue (I added the ‘z’) and healthy food options at Uncle Julio’s. Man I hope that includes a deep fried burrito.
- Citysearch recently listed some of the Best Kept Secrets in the Atlanta dining scene. My favorites include the not-on-the-menu secret sliders at The Palm and the $5 steak sandwich at Morton’s from 5-7PM everyday.
- In the spirit of “Best of 2008“, Creative Loafing lists the top 5 Restaurants of 2008. I agree with Holeman & Finch as number 1, but I ain’t really going out on a limb here. Everyone loves that place. I need to find some random spot that no one knows about that rulez so I can be snobby and say, “oh the food is to die for, you must try it”. Hrm, maybe not.
- From reading some posts over at Atlanta Restaurant Cuisine I found about about Yasu Japanese Bistro, a great sushi place. You already know of great sushi places? Well, I bet yours doesn’t give you the chance to eat the deadly blowfish. True, it’s not ITP, but depending on who you believe, there are less than 20 places in the country licensed to serve this fish. Feeling lucky?
Eat up!
If you are a new reader of thie site, the All Over the Palate series is my judicious choosing of some of the best recent recipes or other food related articles from the food blog world. Really, it is just stuff that I’ve come across that makes me say, “oh man, I REALLY want to eat that right now.” This is also a great way to discover new blogs; click the links below, check out their sites, and try their food!
I Heart Cuppycakes: Pomegranate Cosmopolitan Cupcakes
Closet Cooking: Tacos al Pastor
The Kitchen Sink: Mexican Meatball Soup with Rice & Cilantro
Hey, that tastes good!: Lamb Ragu with Polenta Triangles
Passionate Eater: Wanton Lust (step by step, how to fold wontons)
I work in Columbia, South Carolina almost every week, and even though I’ve been doing this for roughly three years now, I actually eat at the same 3-4 places all the time. It’s kind of surprising even to me, considering how much I love food and variety, but it’s because of how busy my schedule is when I’m on the road and the proximity of certain restaurants to our office and my hotel. Every so often though I feel like some variety, so being that I love Yelp so much these days, I headed there for some insight, and definitely found a winner when I tried out the Blue Cactus Cafe.
Blue Cactus Cafe is an interesting mix of Korean and Southwestern food, located in the eclectic 5 Points area of Columbia. They are strong believers in the slow food movement emphasizing quality and freshness.
If you live in Columbia and like something different check this place out! The quality is fantastic, especially for the price, and it is something you aren’t going to see every day in Columbia. Photos ensuing!
On my first visit I started off with the Korean dumplings. They were good though not the most memorable part of the meal. No complaints and a good start. They did arrive surprisingly quick considering this place unabashedly prepares their food slowly.
A very unassuming spot, oh, and they serve ice cream!
The kimchi - I’m no expert on this, but it was yummy to me.
Above is what I ordered on my first visit, the Bee Bim Bop, one of their most popular dishes. It’s a bowl of rice topped with your choice of meat (pork in this case), vegetables (sprouts, cucumbers, etc), and a fried egg. It was a ton of food, with fantastic fresh flavor, all for $6.50.
Below it’s all mixed up, with some of the spicy chili sauce.
One my next visit I got the Spicy Pork with extra vegetables. While I enjoyed the diversity of the Bee Bim Bop better, this was very good. There was tons of spicy pork, carrots, and zucchini. There was more than I could eat but I almost knocked this whole thing out.
Just looking at this I’m salivating… I can’t wait until my next visit! Hit me up if you’re in Columbia and wanna go some time.
In my post on the 29th I mentioned having people over today for the “hangover party” with some breakfast casserole, and we did indeed go that route. I made two casseroles, the Mexican version (the recipe I posted), as well as a more traditional version with sage and cinnamon. I also made sticky buns which was a treat I haven’t had in a long time.
It has been quite nice doing nothing today and this food really hit the spot. The Mexican version turned out better than I remembered. Now my belly is full and I’m still in my pajamas as of 5PM and though I feel a bit guilty, there’s nothing that can be done now but bask in it and watch the Rose Bowl.
Oh and Georgia Tech sucked last night. Sucked bad.
I took some photos of the prep of the Mexican version. It’s a little more involved than some other breakfast casseroles, but it was worth it. The poblanos give it some good kick.
Greased up poblanos ready for 25 minutes of roasting at 400.
Chorizo sausage. Cooking it made the house smell like meat for half the day.
Before they go in the paper bag so I can peel the skin off.
Meat + peppers + onion + garlic. Crowded pan. I drained the grease off a bit with paper towels. There was way too much of it.
First layer poblanos.
Egg + half/half + green onion + cilantro + cheese
Starting the layering process.
Almost done. You can see the tortillas layered in there.
Ready to go in the fridge and hang out overnight, all done so I can just pop it in the oven for 1 hour the next morning.
All done. I should have got a photo of an individual slice because that looked even better. It went well. Try it out.
