Murphy's

Murphy's in the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, has a new executive chef: Ian Winslade. To introduce Winslade's new menu, the restaurant hosted a media luncheon yesterday.

The restaurant, which has been open 30 years, is consistently great and has often helped catapult its chefs' careers. Since I already count Ian Winslade among one of Atlanta's best chefs, it will be interesting to see what he does in the kitchen at Murphy's and what will come next.

Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup with basil foam:

Scallop ceviche with mint, tomato and jalapeno:

Pickled peach salad with blue cheese and peppered pecans:

Assorted local summer vegetables with toasted barley pilaf and yuzu orange chili glaze:

Grilled cafe strip steak with sesame mustard sauce, sliced portobello and fingerling potato chips:

Roasted arctic char with lemon risotto, wild mushrooms and parmigiano reggiano:

Chocolate mousse pyramids and hazelnut croquantine (left) and orange blossom panna cotta with melange of melons:

Blueberry cheesecake with lavender, thyme and pineapple compote (front) and strawberry mille-feuille with amaretto caramel:

Bottom Line: One of Atlanta's consistently great restaurants--and the reason some Virginia-Highlands homeowners choose to live in Virginia-Highlands.

Tales of the Cocktail 2012

It's that time again: Each July New Orleans, Louisiana is host to the festive Tales of the Cocktail.

New Orleans claims to be the birthplace of the cocktail so it’s a fitting place for this particular annual party. Celebrating its 9th year in 2011, Tales of the Cocktail provides a unique forum for chefs, authors, bartenders, mixologists, cocktail experts and enthusiasts from around the world to gather and discuss topics as varied as ice, juice, recipes, distillation methods, and much more.

With dozens of seminars, brand tastings, French Quarter bar tours, meals and cocktail parties, I've learned in the several years that I've been attending Tales of the Cocktail that it's impossible to experience every aspect of the event—-but it's sure fun to try.

I'll be posting discoveries from this year's event. If you'll be in New Orleans this weekend, I hope to see you there. But wherever you are, raise a glass and say "Cheers!", and you'll be with us in spirit.


To link to the official event website, click Tales of the Cocktail.

Hot and Hot Fish Club

On Saturday we finally made it to Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama. That city is only two hours away from Atlanta and visiting Chef Chris Hastings' restaurant has long been on our "to do" list, but we finally made the trip. Our meal lived up to all of our built-up anticipation, which was no easy task.

Since it was our first time dining at Hot and Hot Fish Club, our server presented this amuse bouche as a "gift from the kitchen." It paired a fresh Alabama fig with peach jam, cheese and wafer. A tasty bite:

First up was the Hot and Hot Rabbit Tamale with black beans, sweet pepper coulis, cilantro crème fraiche ($13). I was sold on it by the description alone; each bite increased my affection for this dish:

Next up was the summer salad, a delicious mix of local root vegetables, greens and flowers plus a few peas:

Roasted Rabbit Roulade with Housemade Sausage, Warm Summer Succotash, Corn Puree and Aged Balsamic ($36). The okra in this dish was cooked to perfection--as was everything else, but the okra in particular impressed since that's difficult to cook without it getting too slimy:

Dean ordered a fish entree. I'd describe it for you, but he too quickly devoured every bite:

Dessert was a delightful combination of chocolate and caramel flavors, textures and temperatures:

Bottom Line: A quality restaurant and culinary "hot" spot (pun intended). It's worth making a special trip to this destination...expect to crave additional visits.

National Ice Cream Day

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. Some interesting facts:

•Each American consumes a yearly average of 23.2 quarts of ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, ices and other commercially produced frozen dairy products.

•The Northern Central states have the highest per capita consumption of ice cream at 41.7 quarts.

•More ice cream is sold on Sunday than any other day of the week.

•Ice cream and related frozen desserts are consumed by more than 90 percent of households in the United States. (Source: Mintel)

•Ice cream consumption is highest during July and August.

•The most popular flavor of ice cream in the United States is vanilla (27.8%), followed by chocolate (14.3%), strawberry (3.3%), chocolate chip (3.3%) and butter pecan (2.8%). (Source: The NPD Group's National Eating Trends In-Home Database)

•Children ages two through 12, and adults age 45 plus, eat the most ice cream per person.

•The average number of licks to polish off a single scoop ice cream cone is approximately 50.

•The true origin of ice cream is unknown, however reports of frozen desserts have been reported as far back as the second century B.C.

•The first official account of ice cream in America was recorded in 1700 from a letter written by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen.

•In 1812, Dolley Madison served a magnificent strawberry ice cream creation at President Madison's second inaugural banquet at the White House.

•The first ice cream cone was produced in 1896 by Italo Marchiony. Marchinoy, who emigrated from Italy in the late 1800's, invented his ice cream cone in New York City. Around the same time a similar creation, the cornucopia, was independently introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

•Stephen Sullivan of Sullivan, Missouri was one of the first independent operators in the ice cream cone business. In 1906, Sullivan served ice cream cones at the Modern Woodmen of America Frisco Log Rolling in Sullivan, Missouri.

-Content provided by Kern Communications. Sources: International Ice Cream Association, a constituent organization of the International Dairy Foods Association (www.idfa.org)

BLT Steak

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SmashBurger

SmashBurger is now open in Buckhead (in a space formally occupied by the unfortunately named Fat Burger). I was recently invited to a media preview and was happy to check out a few menu items.

The menu presents six burger options plus the chance to personalize your order with 4 different buns, 11 toppings, dozens of sauces and 6 cheeses. Anyone who doesn't want a beef burger can pick a chicken, hot dog, salad or veggie burger.

The Atlanta burger is topped with a sweet peach BBQ sauce, Vidalia coleslaw, pimento cheese and grilled jalapenos:

It was way too sweet for my palate, though a colleague suggested it was spicy (thus proving that taste is indeed personal).

Unlike many burger places, there is a menu option suitable for vegans, vegetarians and even Plant Perfect eaters--the black bean burger. Order it and you won't leave hungry, since the patty is huge in relation to the bun (if you're eating healthy, opt for whole wheat):

Sweet potato smashfries are tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic. They're a bit soggy:

Dean opted for the classic burger topped with garlic mushrooms and Swiss cheese with a side of haystack onions--and polished off every crumb:

SmashBurger is located in Buckhead at 2625 Piedmont Rd.

Bottom Line: Another burger joint, this one less a destination than a convenient place to grab an affordable bite while shopping in the neighborhood. The black bean burger on whole wheat bun is a satisfying pick for health-conscious eaters.