Craving Cocktails at H. Harper Station

On a cold Friday night a few weeks ago, I ventured out to H. Harper Station. They had a soft opening the previous Sunday, and I was curious to see the next restaurant to fill the long vacant Atlanta & West Point rail station in Reynoldstown. Walking in the decor had changed some from the look of Depot, the previous tenant. New retro green milk glass chandeliers and trendy Edison style filament light bulbs hung over the tables and an entertaining small plate prep area was located at the end of the lengthy bar.

Surprisingly, we were seated immediately at 8 pm on a Friday night. I assume that there is much more of a wait now, but reservations are available online at Opentable. We perused the cocktail menu and were pleased to see many old fashioned drinks along side some inventive takes on the classics. The bar was well stocked with numerous choices for rye, gin, bourbon, wiskey, bitters, and housemade mixers. I chose the amulet, Hendricks gin with apricot brandy, dolin dry, grapefruit, and pernod. My date chose an old fashioned. My cocktail arrived in a cute old fashioned champagne style glass, a nice touch to the retro drinks.

The menu ranged from small bites to larger plates with a lean toward the southern. We started with the relish tray, for two. A nice plate arrived featuring pimento cheese, pickled veggies, and deviled eggs. This seems to be popular at restaurants today, but I can hapily say the pimento cheese stands out as one of my favorites, and the deviled eggs were delicous, different from many I have tried (in a good way).

Next we chose to diversify our order and had the parsnip and fennel soup along side the chicken salad sandwich, and the Springer Mountain chicken and mushrooms. The soup arrived thick and creamy. Much better texture than I expected from the ingrediants. This was so warm and flavorful. A perfect start to a comfort meal on a cold evening.

The chicken salad sandwich was fine, but nothing to write home about. We southern women are particular about our chicken salad. The chicken and mushrooms however was perfect. The chicken was roasted and served under a puree of rosemary infused pumpkin and over carmelized onions, carrots, mushrooms and toasted pumpkin seeds. The flavors were rich and distinct and the texture of the smooth onions with the pumpkin seeds was perfect. This was the confort dish I was seeking.

Overall H. Harper Station is somewhere I will return. Next time, I think I will plan to plant myself at the bar and enjoy a few more of ther great cocktails, while trying out a few more items on the menu.

J'aime beaucoup la cuisine française!

Calling all francophiles. Georgia Tech and the Consolate General of France here in Atlanta are  currently hosting France-Atlanta : Together Towards Innovation. Next week is French Restaurant Week, and most of the city's restaurants are offering $30 pre fix menus featuring some classic dishes and wine pairings. I can't wait to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Fabulous Fall Dinner with Staplehouse

I have been waiting for months to get a seat at this dinner table! Prelude to Staplehouse is a supper club of sorts hosted by Chef Ryan Hidinger  and Jen Hidinger. Ryan attended the Art Institute here in Atlanta after high school before returning to his home in Indianapolis to begin a career as a chef. That career took him from top restaurants in Indiana to Atlanta where he worked at Bacchanalia, Float Away Cafe, and finally Muss and Turners. Today the Hidingers are working on a new restaurant concept Staplehouse, which will feature fresh ingredients, craft beers, and a great bar. They hope to have great food in a comfortable atmosphere with a reasonable range of price points. The Prelude to Staplehouse dinners have quickly become one of the hottest tickets for Atlanta foodies. The moment an invitation goes out, hopefuls respond to the email invite and cross their fingers for one of the 10 seats. They have been hosting formal five course dinners, and some family style three course meals on an almost monthly basis. I tried for two months to snag a seat, responding three minutes after the email came out to no avail. Then finally I grabbed two spots for the October 24th family style dinner!

We arrived at the cute house in Grant Park for the reception and were greeted warmly by Jen and introduced to the other guests for the evening. Mostly Atlantans, the crowd ranged from younger folks to slightly older couples, but we all had an interest in food and wine. Ryan was hard at work in the kitchen, and the smells were amazing. The menu for the night was to be served family style and paired with wine and beer. They served a fennel apple salad with hazelnuts, grain mustard and goat cheese, a roasted loin of boar with caramelized apples, onions and sage, and finally the best homemade pumpkin pie I have ever eaten (sorry mom).

The fennel and apple salad was crisp and fresh, topped with goat cheese, nuts, and bacon (yes please!). It had the perfect balance of clean crisp texture and a rich fall  flavors to complement the cozy meal.  The boar loin was something I had not experienced. I have eaten wild boar several times in Italy and here in Atlanta, but typically had seen it served stewed or as a part of a ragu or bolognese sauce. The wild boar loin was tender, lean and ultra flavorful. It was served atop caramelized apples, onions, and sage with other fall root veggies. The meat was not too rich, and without knowing it was boar most would have though it was a heavenly marinaded pork tenderloin.

Finally the dessert, the pumpkin pie had a homemade crust, a real pumpkin filling (no canned pumpkin here) and was topped with a maple syrup whipped cream. This was paired fantastically with a pumpkin ale. The flavors washed together to create the perfect ending to a great meal.  For some great pictures of the food taken by Jen as well as recap of the meal, check out their blog.

Ryan and Jen were such gracious hosts, welcoming us to their home, and sharing their fantastic food. Ryan took time to tell us about his concept, his cooking style, and the plans for the new restaurant. Today another dinner invitation came out, but sadly I will be out of town. So now, I wait poised over my gmail for the next invitation, and am eagerly awaiting the opening of Staplehouse.

Heading Into the Holidays

 I made it through my finals and a family Thanksgiving in St. Simons Island. Now I am back to work on the blog, and catching up on some of the best dining experiences from the past month. I have been saving a few, from my family recipes for Thanksgiving, and favorite spots in St. Simons, to a great dinner with the supper club Staplehouse and a fun Friday night at the new(ish) H. Harper Station. Get ready for your mouth to water!

What'll ya have?

Airing again tonight on WPBA here in Atlanta is What'll Ya Have a great documentary on The Varsity! Anyone who has lived in or even visited Atlanta can't resist a chili dog, some onion rings, and an FO (Frosted Orange). I can remember my first time visiting while on an elementary school field trip. It was like a wonderland. As a Tech student we used to take the walk across 75/85 for a late night snack. The Varsity is linked to Tech's history and the history of Atlanta. I learned so much watching this the other night.

Dining Out for a Good Cause Tonight

Tonight is the Atlanta Community Food Bank Supper Club dinner at the Iberian Pig in Decatur. One of my favorite new restaurants, the Iberian Pig serves up an amazing array of tapas and traditional Spanish dishes along with inventive cocktails and a lengthy wine list. Check out the menu, and enjoy some great food for a good cause!  

Fall Wine Weekend

For the first time in a while, I have a three day weekend! In thinking through what I might possibly do to fill these days with more relaxation and less laundry, I started thinking about short day trips near Atlanta. As readers know, I love wine and wine tasting. I have explored a few of the North GA wineries and written about them in past postings. This weekend I decided to take advantage of the Fall harvest festivals going on at some of the wineries on the North GA Wine Trail.  Georgia and North Carolina have an astounding number of wineries, and some of them are quite good. The Wine Growers Association of Georgia sponsors great information and events to draw more people to the wineries.  This weekend several wineries have planned events featuring free, crafts, music, wine tastings, and winery tours. In planning my trip, I came across a number of great options. We could have been wine tasting for three or four days.  I was easily able to plan a day with 3-4 wineries to visit and plan a stop for lunch in between. This weekend I will be heading to Three Sisters Vineyard for a BBQ lunch with music and wine tasting, followed by a tour at Wolf Mountain Vineyards, and then a stop at Frog Town Cellars, and wrapping up the trip at Yonah Mountain Vineyards. 

There were so many to choose from, but you have to plan carefully to avoid driving an hour between wineries on little mountain roads (after a wine tasting no less)! On my next round, I hope to get to Tiger Mountain Vineyards, and Persimmon Creek in North GA then venture into NC for the newest wine hit Chianti (yes like in Italy) at Raffaldini Vineyards near Hickory NC.

Be sure to check back next week for more pictures and thoughts from my great wine escape!

Upcoming Foodie Fest

The Taste of Atlanta Festival will be held next weekend October 23rd and 24th in Midtown (Tech Square). What a perfect way to spend a weekend! The event will feature over 70 restaurants, celebrity chefs and a wine, beer and cocktail experience. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the event. Kids 13 and under are free with an adult admission. Plus there is a $75 VIP option with access to more food and the drinks!  This is a great way to get exposure to all the culinary delights Atlanta has to offer!

In Search of Pain Aux Raisin!!!

This week I have been craving pain aux raisin. I have not been able to find it here in Atlanta. I checked the Dekalb Farmers Market, Whole Food, and Alons Bakery with no luck. If anyone has seen it here, let me know. I am seeking the original French version with plump raisins, and custard, not the American version that is like a cinnamon roll. I will drive anywhere (near the perimeter) to get this.

Last Summer Vacation Meal- Comerc 24 Barcelona

Comerc 24 was host to the epic meal of our vacation. Epic in terms of food, and in terms of length. Known for its innovative tapas and its famous chef, Charles Abellan, this restaurant sits tucked off of a side street near the Gothic Quarter.  In the true style of the city we had made our dinner reservations late. 9:45 pm was as late as we could manage after a long day of sightseeing. As we entered the restaurant we were happy to see we were not eating with the early bird special, but rather just on time for the start of the dinner rush. We were seated and presented with a number of dining options for the evening. We centered in on two tasting menus the Festival and the Grande Festival menu offered samplings of tapas at the whim of the chef, with some input (if desired) from the patrons. As the waiter read through the explanation, my ears tuned only to  two words cheese course. Of course this is part of what separated the two tasting menus. My gracious date agreed to fork over the additional Euro needed for the Grand Festival and we were off on our culinary journey of 12 courses of southern Spanish cuisine.

We began with a tasting of four Spanish olive oils with crusty hearty bread. This was followed by gold covered macadamia nuts, olives stuffed with anchovies, and monkfish filets with black garlic and sesame.


Apparently those were only appetizers and not a part of the actual meal! The amazingly beautiful and tasty courses came as follows:

Sancho Oyster with Beet Root Foam
Beach Shrimp chevice with wine and peaches
Marinated sardines with orange and wasabi
Cold infusion of vegetables and cockles
Consume containing poached quail egg and truffles

Razor shell clams with mandarin yakisoba
Tuna Tartar
Artichoke cod and spinach
Field rabbit with rice and asparagus
Palamos prawn on a bed of salt
Sirloin with white sesame
Assorted cheeses
Desserts and chocolates

If you travel to Barcelona and want a unique and memorable experience, try Comcerc 24.