2 posts tagged “atlanta”

Do you buy products made locally?  Is there anything made in your area that you love?

I do, but not that often. My nearby farmer's market is more like a ginormous grocery store than a standard farmer's market. I know they sell Georgia-grown corn and collard greens.

I am quite the fan, though, of Sweetwater beer. Made in Atlanta. Their ESB is quite nuanced with a very smooth finish. I also fell in love with a house-made pilsner at the Park Tavern.

I'm going to stretch the "local" definition a little bit. I'm including the entire state of Georgia. "Local" to me usually means within an hour's drive, or wherever I can still get an Atlanta radio signal. But these things are too good not to mention, IMO.

I'm a fan of Three Sisters Walasiyi White and Dahlonega Gold. Tiger Mountain has a red that's really good too, although I can't remember the name.

I must also give a shout out to the manna from heaven that is Sweetgrass Dairy Green Hill cheese. Most of their cheeses are good, but Green Hill is divine. It's a soft cow's cheese that has the texture of brie, and a flavor that's somewhere between brie and cheedar.

Last year, it seemed that duck was the hot, sort-of-exotic ingredient popping up on mainstream restaurant menus (i.e.: those that serve meat, and don't specialize in game). But it appears that duck has fallen out of favor for a critter just as cute: rabbit.

The evidence? Yummy braised rabbit ravioli at Eno -- who, incidentally, dropped pappardelle with duck confit from its lunch menu. Wine and tomato braised rabbit at Table 1280. And a divine pancetta-fried rabbit and wild boar sausage dish at Novita in Garden City, NY (which also has a lovely wine list).

• Anyone else noticing rabbit as the new 'it' ingredient?
• Anyone tried a particularly tasty rabbit dish at a local (to you) restaurant?
• What's your favorite game? Vennison? Caribou? Rabit? Bison?
• What other weird, or new ingredients have you noticed on restaurant menus? (Like fennel pollen.)