A generous friend of mine recently gave me some beef to try, a Flannery filet tip (or tail, the narrow end of the filet). I wish I had taken a picture of the steak before cooking it; the beef had a deep red (almost burgundy) color, and evenly distributed thin lines of marbling. Even the aroma of the raw beef was rich and game-like.

I’m usually a medium-rare kinda of guy, but decided such high quality beef should not be abused. I seared it in a hot grill pan for two minutes a side, so it was just warm in the center.

What do you think? Is that too rare for you?

The flavor was amazing, if not intoxicating. A real treat. Mr. Bryan Flannery will be hearing from me soon. Damnit.

Served with split, cast iron roasted carrots and Logan Turnpike grits.

I mentioned in my recent  Susis Taco Grill post that their amazing carnitas inspired me to make my own. In fact, it incited a whole Mexican feast with my brother and his wife and a few friends. We’ve spent quite a few Sunday evenings cooking at each other’s homes recently, a fun topic BG just covered well.

Our multi-course feasts are generally lengthy affairs, with too much food, and just the right amount of booze. Thomas kicked off this recent bacchanal with some chorizo and cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped (claro), grilled jalapenos.

We then moved on to grilled corn, which we dipped in crema and rolled in queso fresco. Cotija would have been preferable for this application, but queso was all that was available, or so my brother claimed.

I made a few salsas for the dinner. The pico de gallo is a simple uncooked mix of chopped tomatoes (seeds/flesh removed), jalapeno, serrano, onion, cilantro, and a splash or two of red wine vinegar.

The darker sauce is a cooked sauce of boiled whole tomato, onion, and serrano peppers, all simmered in the same pot for ten minutes or so. Then I added a handful of cilantro, some salt, then hit it with my immersion blender.

Finally the salsa verde is a tomatillo salsa, as specified in Kenji’s Serious Eats carnitas recipe. After the carnitas cook for hours and hours at a low heat, the fat is drained off and the pork liquid that remains becomes the base for the salsa. I’ve never had a “meaty” salsa, and if you didn’t know it was coming, the reticent pork flavor and creamy texture could be a little surprising, but it was really awesome.

Finally, there are the carnitas. Submerged in canola oil with orange, garlic, onion, and cinnamon, the pork was cooked at 275F for about four hours, when the pork was falling apart tender. I stored it in the fridge until that evening, when the carnitas were finished in the broiler to crisp up slightly before serving.

Served simply with corn tortillas, queso fresco, and quick pickled red onion (thin sliced with vinegar, Mexican oregano, cumin). A great meal.

I made my first visit to Tasty China since it’s been confirmed that Peter Chang is back in the kitchen. Various people on 285 Foodies have been discussing their meals over the last ten days, with very positive reports.

I started with the wontons in hot oil “soup”. I use the word soup lightly because you are not supposed to drink much of the broth. It’s horrible for you and is solely meant to provide flavor to the wontons, though this hot oil mix was lighter (making use of more stock, less oil) than in prior visits. Fuchsia Dunlop did a great blog post on the topic of Chinese food being categorized as greasy.

Of course we had the fried eggplant. Fluffy and lighter than ever, they were wonderful. Not overly ma la (hot and numbing).

One of the Peter Zhang’s blackboard specials was hot and numbing tofu skins. This cold dish was simply Sichuan peppercorns, cilantro, and these amazingly awesome thin and chewy ribbons of tofu covered in an red oil dressing. It’s like they stacked many layers of really tough tofu exterior on top of each other then cut these layers into strips which stayed together, for the most part. Very noodle like. The best part was that the tofu had obviously been prepared in a manner such that they took on a good deal of star anise and cinnamon flavor. I’m not sure if they simply soaked them or steamed them or what.

My favorite dish of the night was the fragrant duck special. Fragrant things (xiang liao) generally refers to cassia bark (similar to cinnamon), star anise, Sichuan pepper, cloves, and maybe cao guo (a dried fruit with a cardamom like flavor).

The duck itself is prepared by marinading a whole duck in these spices with some Shaoxing rice wine. The duck is steamed, cooled, then deep fried. This particular preparation was likely cut into serving pieces, then “fragrant fried” (tossed in a wok with oil to activate the spices), with a boat load of red chiles and Sichuan pepper, finally tossed with a lot of cilantro, mostly stems.

The large portion of whole duck was amazing, particulary the breast pieces – super crispy skin with a thick layer of duck fat that melted into the layer of tender duck beneath it with every bite. It wasn’t greasy, the ma la was in full effect, lots of heat from the chiles, but my mouth wasn’t on fire, partly thanks to the cooling effect from the cilantro.

It’s the best dish I’ve had at Tasty China.

I’ve been doing a lot of bike riding out in this area cyclists refer to as “Silk Sheets”, which is a loop that cruises around Fairburn and Palmetto. Many of my spandex-clothed brethren begin the ride at a church that is fairly easy for me to access – I just drive 25 minutes out Bolton Rd, which eventually turns into Fulton-Industrial and go straight for what seems like a million stop lights.

After the ride, I’m ravenous, so I usually stop and get something to eat to quell my stomach’s screams. First it was Bojangles, but lately I’ve been hitting up Susis Taco Grill.

In a strip mall by the Bojangles, Susis is a small little place with maybe six tables, a large menu (tacos, tortas, enchiladas, whole chickens – you name it), and three friendly guys that serve up some damn fine food. So far I’ve only tried four of the tacos (carne asada, al pastor, carnitas, and lengua), as tacos are the best candidates for eating while driving. The lengua is pictured above because that’s the only one to make it all the way home. You can see that if you order them “all the way” they are loaded up with beans, tomatos, and cheese, which I don’t normally see on tacos of this style. Some may think it crowded, but I particularly like the addition of the beans.

I wish I had a picture of it, but the carnitas were the best I’ve ever had. Susis didn’t skimp on the large chunks of tender and crispy edged pork, which had an incredible aroma of cinnamon without an overpowering flavor the spice. Wonderful.

So good, in fact, I ended up making carnitas at home the next day….more on that later this week.

But regarding Susis, if you are anywhere close to that side of town, I highly recommend trying it out.

Forgive the awful 3G iPhone photo (not even 3Gs, get with it Jimmy!), but I have to mention my meal at Aria last night. It was the type of meal where I woke up excited because I thought I had leftovers, only to realize I had dreamt that I had leftovers. Some people have wild sex dreams, I have leftover veal schnitzel dreams.

But oh what a preparation of veal it was. The so called “summer” veal schnitzel was prepared very much like veal milanese; a thin cutlet of crunchy pan fried veal topped with arugula, soft and amazing room temperature heirloom tomatoes, and parmesan shavings. Not complicated, but executed with precision. Which really could have been the theme of the whole meal. Every dish I tried wasn’t over thought, but was excellent. Lemon ricotta ravioli was firm and vibrant, bursting with fresh lemon flavor. The beet salad presentation was impecable, the flavors deftly balanced by the small slices of orange.

In addition, or server Mario provided some of the best and adaptive service I can recall.

I’ll be back. Just as soon as my credit card cools down a bit.

After attending a meeting in Forest Park yesterday, I swung by Taco Rancho, the new taqueria from Chef Jose Rego (formerly of Allegro). I first heard about this place in a write-up Bob Townsend did for the AJC. I had a very good meal at Allegro before their demise, so I had high expectations, which were almost completely diminished as I drove through the desolate State Farmer’s Market to find the place. Finally, the quaint and isolated restaurant appeared.

The interior is very vibrant and clean, most definitely not a dive taqueria joint. Unlike many small taquerias, the menu offers the full spectrum of Mexican food for lunch (not open for dinner) – tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas, soups, whole chickens, and more. In addition, they serve breakfast, mostly a eggs, beans, chorizo, or a combination thereof in sandwich, plate, or burrito form.

As this was just a quick snack, I sauntered on over to the counter while I scanned the menu and ordered two tacos – one beef cheek (cachete), and one carnitas. (unrelated – what’s the difference between a saunter and a mosey? I think with a mosey, one would perhaps be wearing cowboy boots. Just a thought.)

The two tacos, served on amazingly thin and smooth white corn tortillas which had been quickly firmed up on the griddle, arrived quickly. The carnita taco was a pleasant mix of both shredded and large chunks of pork, neither one dry. I didn’t get too much spice flavoring on the carnitas, but perfectly juicy pork doesn’t really have to have much flavor added to be great.

The beef cheek, which was slathered in a tomato based sauce which made the whole dish very reminiscent of beef stew, was also excellent, due to the tenderness of the fork tender and gelatinous beef.

These were some damn fine tacos.

Also of note, in the brief couple of minutes before my tacos arrived, some chips hit my table and the waiter pointed me to the salsa bar, which features five to six good looking salsas. I tried the salsa roja with cacahuate (peanuts ya gringo), which was fiery and smooth and excellent.

I’m not sure if I’d drive 30 minutes to hit up Taco Ranch very often, but it’s definitely destination worthy if you are on the south side of town.

I visited The Shed recently a Thursday evening, which is their “Harvest Night”, featuring your selection of four vegetables (from roughly ten options) for $10. I’ve never attended slider night, because I’m in South Carolina every Wednesday, but on Thursday’s I am often driving back to Atlanta on I-20, so I pass right by The Shed and it’s easy to stop in. My house is probably only twenty minutes from The Shed, but it’s funny how proximity can play such a large part in my dining selection. The difference between ten and twenty minutes can be a major deciding factor.

Now with my third Thursday night visit under my belt, I actually look forward to the drive home from Columbia, so I can justify the need to stop; “…well I’m right here, I pretty much have to stop in for some dinner…”.

A few of the sliders are on the regular menu now, so I’ve had a couple of those, but the vegetable plate is the heat. No matter what the selection, they are always very well prepared. Mushy canned vegetables these ain’t. The selections available list a few expected mainstays, but there are always a handful of rotating items that make things interesting.

I’m somewhat embarrassed to even put up this post because my vegetarian girlfriend may smite me because I haven’t taken her for harvest night. Well, see you next Thursday.

I forgot to link up to my last By The Glass post on Creative Loafing’s website. This visit was to Miller-Union, one of my personal favorite wine lists in town.

I’m still trying to find my voice a bit, as I think I’m using too much stuffy wine jargon. It’s been a lot of fun though. Look for some new and better posts soon!

Check out the baked egg and Loire pairing from Miller-Union here!

Seems I’ve been hearing about lobster a lot lately. The New York Times talks about lobster all the time. The recently banned from Yelp Kit F tweets about lobster rolls quite a bit, including sending out this Tasting Table article today.

How awesome would it be to have roaming lobster roll trucks? If the Atlanta Street Food Coalition has its way, it could be a reality some day soon. Speaking of the ASFC, they put out a message today that they are trying to raise some money to have a study published. Consider donating a buck or two on their website.

Anyways, the chatter about lobster rolls lit a fire under me and I decided to make my own. I read a number of articles regarding the numerous variables that aficionados argue – the roll, butter vs mayo, garnishes, filler, and so forth.

I decided to go with H&F hot dog buns, toasted with butter, lined with lettuce, then filled with a mix of sweet steamed alive lobster flesh, Duke’s mayo, celery, a small amount of mustard powder, then topped with chopped tarragon. H&F was out of hot dog buns at the PRFM so I had to go with some rolls from The Fresh Market. They weren’t bad.

To be candid, I wasn’t pleased with the effort. It was too gloppy, even though I tried to be judicious with my use of mayonnaise. I’ve decided my next effort will be a minimalist effort, perhaps only applying a splash of butter on the lobster meat. I like the lettuce and the celery crunch is ok too.

Small (1.25-1.5lb) lobsters can be purchased at Super H or Buford Highway Farmer’s Market for $8/lb. Three 1.25 lobsters were enough for three large lobster rolls. They could have been enough for four moderately filled rolls.

Last week was my first visit to Woody’s, even though one year during college I lived less than a mile away. I tried to visit numerous times, but they were often closed, or when I would see them open, I wouldn’t have cash, which is all they accept.

Now under new ownership, the hours have expanded greatly, so a visit to Woody’s is much easier to schedule. Cash is still required though. When I was heading to Ansley to spend my somewhat hard earned dollars on grape juice and remembered Woody’s was nearby, I decided to see what all the hubbub was about.

The place only had a few diners and no line, so I was able to promptly place my sweaty money down and order. Cheese steak with whiz. I was quickly told that whiz was not recommended. So I acquiesced.

Despite the brutal heat, the covered porch wasn’t too hot, so I sat outside. I noticed a young couple drinking some beer on the patio, which looked like a fabulous idea, but when I went back inside to make my frosty lager purchase, I was told those smart folks had brought them from home. Woody’s is trying to get a license to serve, but the school across the street is giving them gruff.

Around the end of that conversation my cheesesteak was ready. It sure did look good, no?

It’s doesn’t please me to report that I was disappointed. While not altogether unpleasant, I had higher expectations. The chopped beef was very unsavory, fairly bland. No salt, no greasy beef flavor. That fact, coupled with the quickness with which my order was prepared, makes me wonder if I got an older batch of ribeye that had been hanging out for a while on the griddle. Not quite as offensive, but notable, the bread was slightly stale and a little dense.

I’ll give it another try, because it wasn’t offensive or anything like that, but my future expectations have been slightly adjusted from major cheesesteak destination, to potential lunchspot when I’m in the area.