VALENZA

We had never heard of the restaurant Valenza and Stacey didn’t know she had a distant cousin who was the chef at Valenza. Click on it and read about it.

We went the other night. It was Stacey and me and her sister and her BF. They were on their way from somewhere to somewhere else and had to go through Atl…and bla… bla… bla…

So Stacey makes RSVP for the four of us at Valenza and we had no idea what to expect. The last time I was in this situation it all turned out great. This time was the same.
The young lady who seated us asked which one of us was Matt’s cousin, both Stacey and her sister Sam spoke up.
Next thing ya know he, Matt the Chef, is at the table, he is serving a plate of cured meats along with some great cheese, bread that had been grilled, tomato’s that he made a jam from and some olives. All very, very good.

After he introduced himself and we all said hello, Matt ask if we wanted to order from the menu or if we wanted him to cook for us. Well, when the chef ask if “you want me to cook for you” it’s a no brainer.

After that plate they just kept coming. He sent out grilled calamari along with mussels in a white wine sauce.

Next we enjoyed scallops that had been grilled to perfection. Followed by homemade ravioli. This was one of the best dishes of the night. Two different fillings - one pork and one with butternut squash. Both busted wide open with brown butter, sage and pecans.

Rabbit on polenta with kalamata olives did not suck either.

He brought us three different desserts and like everything else that night - they were awesome. Matt came to the table and had a couple of beer and we tried to figure out how we were related.

It was great to meet a new relative and we look forward to feasting at his restaurant again. Soon.

chow

PIGS FISH AND BEDS

Some of my latest creations, all available at your local SOSOSOUTHERN retail store.

Goodmorning New Orleans

I have fallen in love with the place and to say “place” when talking about New Orleans is a mouth full. Cause that’s what it is all about “place”. And what makes “place” is a gumbo, pun intended, of people, food, drink, history, ect. I could go on and on when it comes to New Orleans and it sense of “place”.

To get an idea of what I’m talking about try doing this. Each morning when you go to your computer, or whenever you go to your computer to read the news paper or check out CNN or whatever it is you like to check out regularly on the Internet, start going to this site. I do almost every morning and I always find a good read. And being that it is the Food and Dining section of the Times Picayune I never find bad news. Give it a try and see if you don’t long to jump on an airplane just to go try a new restaurant or try the latest cocktail you just read about.

Peachtree Road Market opens for new season

Saturday was a beautiful day. The weather was great and it was the opening day of the Peachtree Road Market. The Peachtree Road Market is a food lovers dream come true. I was reading a post on another blog this a.m. about how good the Peachtree Road Market is and at the end someone posted a comment saying they liked to get 20 bucks from the ATM machine and spend it all at the Peachtree Road Market. I’m thinking that would only tease me, $20 bucks? are you kidding me. Hell Stacey spends that with one vendor.

Let me lay it out for you.

Bess is there and she owns Antico Mrecante. They sell some of the best cheese in the world. Bess has Italian cheese and she has cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy. If you don’t know Sweet Grass click on them and learn. The number of cheeses Bess sells are too many for me to write about, but off the top of my head the dolce Gorgonzola we got was excellent. The Tomini with herbs and pepper on top is excellent. Of course her Parmigiano is great. She has lot’s more and she has a retail shop. She shares a space with Via Elisa Pasta. Once again, if you don’t know about Via Elisa click on them and learn. The best fresh pasta in Atlanta. The best restaurants and Whole Foods use her products. It is available at the Peachtree Road Market every Saturday morning.

You can also stock up on fresh, as in made early each Saturday morning according to their signage, salsas, tortillas, guacamole and other Mexican specialties. Zocalo, a popular midtown restaurant is selling there product at the Peachtree Road Market again this year.

Hopes Garden sells Pesto. It is delicious. One is a regular pesto and one with jalapeno. Hopes Garden is a Mom Pop Daughter operation. Hope being the daughter, I bet she is about 13 years old. Click on them to learn more about them.

There are also many farmers at each market and lots of other vendors. Next week I will write about some of the other great products you can get there each Saturday morning. But my point is how great it is to go to one spot and get some of the best food in town. We always go home with an ice chest full. We go often because I sell my art and some furniture along side all these wonderful vendors. Like I said stay tune for more info about the Peachtree Road Market, but in the mean time I will see you there this Saturday.

BEAUTIFUL POBOY

If you go to Washington Rd. Seafood in East Point, Ga. this is what you can get for $4.29, tax included. Call me and I’ll meet you there.

Sydnee and Jameys Excellent Crawfish Boil

We have been getting to know our neighbors Sydnee and Jamey the last year or so. Really nice people and serious about their food. Serious about their beer as well. Anyway I’m gonna let these photos of last weeks Crawfish Boil tell the story.

DAY THREE NOLA

We wake from our food coma thinking about where we will eat today. It is our last day in the city for this visit and we think we have picked out a really good restaurant. Rio Mar. We have read about and the bar tender at Cafe Adelaide said he liked it a lot. We start with coffee around the corner and then head into the Quarter. We are looking for a book store and the Nepoleon House.

We get to the Quarter and right away find a book store. It’s a classic. Tons of books written by southerners or about the south. New and old. We spend about an hour looking around and get a few books. We then head to the corner of Charters and St Louis streets.

The Napoleon House is a famous bar and cafe and Napoleon never stepped foot in the building. He was supposed to hold up there at one time , but never made it. It is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in. It is and has been in the perfect state of decay for as long as I can remember. I first went there about 30 years ago and nothings changed. Tourist flock there , but that doesn’t stop the locals form coming as well. You got to have a Pimm’s Cup when you go and the food is good. Click on Pimm’s Cup to read about it. It is the only cocktail I’ve ever had that uses a slice of cucumber for a garnish. The muffaletta is very good also. We had a Pimm’s cup and then head out to lunch. We plan to sit for a hour or so and eat Spanish and Latin American Tapas.

So that’s what we do. We order a nice crisp white wine from the Basque region of Spain to match with dishes like ceviche, grilled Octopus, Oysters baked with chorizo & spinach, you get the idea. Maybe it’s because we make good ceviche at home or maybe it’s because we have had most of these dishes in it’s native land, but we’re just not that impressed. It’s not bad, but it’s not blowing us away like most all our other meals in NOLA have. No big deal. Can’t complain, what?, six great meals and one ok meal. I can live with that.
And with that being said, we can’t wait to get back to New Orleans, hope it’s not a whole year before we do so.