Posts in Category: USA
The General Muir (Dinner) | Atlanta, Georgia USA
Sweet Tea
Is this THE General Muir?
Christine at The General Muir
Dinosaur Kale Salad, radish, avocado, green goddess dressing
Potato Pierogi, duck pastrami, house fermented sauerkraut, granny smith apples
Poutine, gravy, cheese curds, pastrami
Skillet Crisped Trout, farro salad, hazelnuts, butternut squash puree, chicken jus
Double Burger Stack, red onion, pickles, lettuce, Russian, American cheese, onion roll, fries
Inside The General Muir
After a great brunch last time at The General Muir and the want for a night out with Christine (aka Xteeener), thought it’d be a great choice to come back for dinner. I had seen their menu online and really wanted to try their poutine to match it against those found in the Canadian province of Quebec City. I gotta say, it was definitely one of the better versions I’ve had outside of Quebec City. Personally, I found it a bit heavy handed on the salt but overall, it was the food coma inducing poutine I love, with pastrami! The other two appetizers were solid choices too; Dinosaur Kale salad (*insert Jurassic Park theme*) and Potato Pierogi. For entrees, we ordered the Double Burger Stack (did you know: Chef Todd Ginsberg created the delicious ‘Burger Stack’ at Bocado?!) and the skillet crisped trout. Both good but I’ll need to come back and eat them without having had ruined our appetite with the heavy hitting appetizers.
P.S. Apologies to the ever helpful waitress Arabia for having drowned myself in sweet tea throughout the evening. Great server. Attentive, friendly and knowledgeable.
Thanks The General Muir for a great meal and a fun evening~ 🙂
The General Muir (information gathered 2/2013)
1540 Avenue Place, Suite B-230
Avenue Pl Atlanta, GA
678.927.9131
Hours – Dining Room
Breakfast
Mon – Fri 7:00am – 10:30am
Brunch
Sat, Sun 8:00am – 3:00pm
Lunch
Mon – Fri 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner
Sun – Thurs 5:30 – 9:00pm
Fri, Sat 5:30 – 10:00pm
Hours – Deli
Mon – Fri 7:00am – 5:30pm
Sat, Sun 8:00am – 5:30pm
Parking:
Free parking in the Emory Point Parking Deck. 2 hours during the day, 3 hours in the evening. Not sure the cost after that point. Also there are metered parking (max of 45 minutes at a time, credit card only).
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
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Swan Oyster Depot | San Francisco, California USA
Lining up at Swan Oyster Depot
The kitchen
Sour Dough Bread and butter
Clam Chowder
Oysters on the half shell
Combination salad
Sea Urchin
After eating that lovely breakfast at Farm:Table we proceeded to Swan Oyster Depot to get our seafood fix; some really positive reviews, so I was quite hopeful. Honestly, I’ve heard of them before but it was definitely thanks to Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover that got my excitement going again. They actually open pretty early at 8am (who says you can’t have seafood for breakfast?!) and per the time change from EST/GMT-5 to PST/GMT-8 it was about lunch time for me, so that worked out nicely. Albeit the early start, the line actually got quite long; about a 30-45min wait. Surprising, but not too bad.
As far as the food goes, there is no question that the seafood was fresh but the selection was not to the level I was hoping for; most likely this was due to seasonality. Maybe I just went in with too high of expectations. But what they do have, is all great. The best thing was definitely the Sea urchin. Definitely an advanced foodie type of cuisine as the Sea Urchin’s outer shell was still moving! You have been warned. 🙂
Definitely need to go back sometime between mid-November and early spring when they have the Dungeness Crab. Oh, important!!! Bring cash, they don’t take credit cards, checks, or allow you to barter with your first born.
Swan Oyster Depot (information gathered 2/2013)
1517 Polk St,
San Francisco, CA 94109
415.673.2757
Hours
Mon – Sat 8:00am – 5:30pm
Sun Closed
Parking:
Much like at Farm:Table, your best bet is to find a parking deck. It looks like parking is fairly limited.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
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Umezono | Smyrna, Georgia USA
Outside Umezono
Ramen in a meat broth with slices of pork, spinach, boiled egg, nori and fish cake
Here’s the scenario: you just got off the plane, it’s a cold, raining, and a bit late. There’s a mixture of fatigue meets jet lag meets hunger and before you can get home to pass out, you know you gotta fill that stomach, else it’ll never let you sleep. One of my top 10 foods for such an occasion is a nice hot bowl of simple yet flavorful ramen. Chewy noodles paired with a hot broth, it’s a more elegant solution for such a situation. Mmm… so good.
Umezono (information gathered 2/2013)
2086 Cobb Pkwy
Smyrna, GA 30080
770.933.8808
Hours
Mon – Thurs 11:30am – 2:00pm, 5:30 – 10:00pm
Fri – Sat 11:30am – 2:00pm, 5:30 – 10:30pm
Sun 5:30 – 10:00pm
Parking:
Plenty of parking, generally, in front of the restaurant.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
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The General Muir | Atlanta, Georgia USA
The General Muir
Spacious and open dinning area layout
The bar
General Muir deli counter
Chopped Chicken Liver – caramelized onions, toasted pretzel bread
Fish and Potatoes – smoked salmon over latkes, sour cream, apples, arugula, lemon
Corned Beef Reuben – sauerkraut, russian, Gruyere, buttered rye
A sister restaurant of West Egg Cafe (love that place) over in Howell Mill, The General Muir, led by Executive Chef Todd Ginsberg, is a Jewish deli type concept that is a little over a week old. Been meaning to go check out the eatery as the reviews from friends were quite promising. My personal experience with the service and ambiance was quite good and the food was simply lovely. If you can, order the chopped chicken liver because that thing is delicious. Probably meant more as a 4 person appetizer than 2, but wow, I think next time I’m going to eat a whole plate of it for lunch. Yes, it is that good.
Some fun facts I learned from Sonia Chopra’s article at Eater.com, the eatery got its name per the USS General C. H. Muir. During the aftermath of World War II, the owner’s mother and grandmother, both Holocaust survivors, were brought to the United States thanks to this ship; the name is to show homage to the vessel of their salvation. I really admire restaurants that give thought to the name. It adds so much depth and character, gives a sense of connection once you learn its history. A lovely place. I will be back.
The General Muir (information gathered 2/2013)
1540 Avenue Place, Suite B-230
Avenue Pl Atlanta, GA
678.927.9131
Hours – Dining Room
Breakfast
Mon – Fri 7:00am – 10:30am
Brunch
Sat, Sun 8:00am – 3:00pm
Lunch
Mon – Fri 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner
Sun – Thurs 5:30 – 9:00pm
Fri, Sat 5:30 – 10:00pm
Hours – Deli
Mon – Fri 7:00am – 5:30pm
Sat, Sun 8:00am – 5:30pm
Parking:
Free parking in the Emory Point Parking Deck. 2 hours during the day, 3 hours in the evening. Not sure the cost after that point. Also there are metered parking (max of 45 minutes at a time, credit card only).
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
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Happy Lunar New Year! – Home | Atlanta, Georgia USA
Rice Cake with mushroom, cabbage, dried shrimp, minced pork
Stir fried bok choy
Combination Platter – smoked chicken, roast pork, bbq pork, jellyfish
Steamed Red Snapper – soy sauce, green scallion, ginger, garlic
Tofu, mushroom, beef balls, oyster, black moss, sea cucumber
Curry Beef – tender beef, potato, lemongrass and spices
Stir fried shrimp and bell peppers
Braised Pork Trotter, snow peas, baby corn, carrot, mushroom
A Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! A little different format for this post as it’s all homecooked versus dishes you find at a restaurant. Perhaps this is a good segway to injecting some recipe type entries onto this site! 🙂 As you can see, we ate very well this past weekend with some people dear to me. What a great way to bring in the New Lunar Year! The dishes above are based on my family’s Malaysian Chinese decent, so what you may have could be similar in some while different in others.
For the most part, a lot of the dishes above have a strong symbolic meaning. And let me preface that such symbolisms are derived in part of the tones/pronunciation for the produce or protein. For example, the way you might say “fish” in Chinese/Taiwanese, has the same pronunciation to the word that is defined to be “surplus or remain”. Because of that similarity, it is very typical for families to have fish to consume the day before the new year, as it is just as important to leave some of that same fish for the first dinner of the new year; this action ties in the definition of “surplus or remain” in combination of the consumption of “fish”.
Some other dualities or foods we ate, symbolizing good meanings, were:
- Pork – a ton of blessings
- Rice cake – Is the official food of some forms of lunar new year celebration. Symbolizes compounded prosperity
- Black moss – good luck or exceeded wealth
- Shrimp – happiness and great fortune
- Black mushroom – longevity
- Tofu that is fried – gold
- Sea Cucumber – happiness
- Green leafy vegetables (bok choy) – close family ties
For those who celebrated, I hope this is a great year for you! As friends and families have hinted, if you were not successful with your resolution when Jan 1, 2013 had hit, maybe the Lunar New Year will be a good second chance 🙂 May the year of the snake bring wealth, good health, and happiness to all.
Thanks for swinging by!
-MW
Lunar New Year (information gathered 2/2013)
Cultures that celebrate this day:
Chinese/Taiwanese New Year
Japanese New Year (before 1873)
Korean New Year (Seollal)
Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar)
Tibetan New Year (Losar)
Vietnamese New Year (T?t)
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
References:
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Wikipedia website
Batdorf and Bronson Roastery | Atlanta, Georgia USA
Look at all that deliciousness in one drop!
Shortly after arriving, how awesome to be asked if I’d like a cup of cappucino!
Made by Jason!
mmm….
Le Nez du Cafe; a box of aromas to train your senses.
All sorts of new things to learn about! Have my eyes set on that Bonavita variable temp thermal kettle!
Beans from the world. Free Trade / Organic
Roasting, having fun using the 90-kilo Probat roaster from the 1960s. What a beast! Oh and let’s make sure to note, Batdorf and Bronson was green before green was green! 100% renewable. Wow.
Roasted.
Packing station
What a treat! I had been chatting with Jason Dominy from Batdorf and Bronson regarding all things coffee, and he was nice enough to ask if I wanted to swing by to have all my questions answered. A very informative tour that took about an hour; he pretty much set aside as much time as I needed to get all my coffee related questions answered. Also, if you happen to follow him on twitter, he is really quick to reply to your questions! Oh and don’t tell anybody, but not only does he make you an amazing cup of coffee upon arrival, he teaches you how to do it for yourself when back at home – because let’s face it, we don’t have a Jason Dominy to make us delicious cups of coffee at home :(,
A really fun room was definitely the one with all the awesome coffee equipment. Every coffee related item I’ve ever seen and more; the best part of it all? Jason was open to show/tell me what they were all about. My favorite part of the tour was seeing all the workers happy to be there. The interaction between everyone just made you feel even better drinking the amazing coffee that had been roasted right here in Atlanta, Georgia!!
Tips and Tricks:
– Clever Dripper – best tool a home consumer can buy to brew a wonderful and clean cup of coffee
– Use filtered water to brew a more impurity free cup of coffee
– Rinse your filter before use; reduce the filter’s flavor imparting into your java
– Best temperatures for extraction is 195-205 degrees
– Conventional coffee brewing machines never get water to optimal temperatures for extraction
– A Le Nez du Cafe is a cool tool to train your sense of smell; expensive though
– Light, Air, and Moisture strongly reduces the lifespan of roasted coffee
– Best to use a burr grinder; more even grind
– Grounded coffee should be used for brew within a week’s time
– Bloom your coffee! To bloom is to wet the grinds for a short duration, allowing degassing to take place; then, it’s best to pour the remaining water, optimizing water to grounds exposure – imparting more flavor per water.
After the short visit to Batdorf and Bronson, I have to say.. I’m a true believer! Did I mention I didn’t really drink coffee too much previously? And when I did, it was just for the caffeine? Trust me… try it and it’ll change you for the better. If you live in Atlanta, do yourself a favor and setup a tour with Jason. Actually, if you are available Feb 27th or 28th, go check out the Team Hidi tour via Atlanta Culinary Tours. Your favorite coffee guru, Jason, is leading both sessions of coffee 101! Check out the event here. Not only will you learn, you’ll also help an amazing cause!! Read up on Team Hidi, it’ll make you want to do your part; heck, a huge part of great Atlanta based restaurants and businesses are!
Thanks!
MW
Batdorf and Bronson (information gathered 2/2013)
1530 Carroll Dr NW #100,
Atlanta, GA 30318
404.351.0071
Hours
Mon – Thu 9:00am – 5:00pm (tours only between 7:00 – 10:00am)
Parking:
Plenty.
Please be advised, all images and content are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Got questions? Email me: mweats <dot> info <at> gmail <dot> com
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