Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Nino's, one so good that I'm sorry I hadn't visited years sooner. The service was wonderfully gracious and the food delicious. I started with this calamari: tender on the inside, crispy on the outside. The red sauce was flaked with just the right amount of pepper. My main course was the special. My veal chop had been pounded, then stuffed with cheeses (fontina and mozzarella, I believe). A wonderful mix of flavors: Maillard from the veal crust, meatiness, milkiness from the cheese. I was too busy eating to take pictures of my desserts: heavenly tiramisu and superb almond torte.

Caprese, located near the I-85 interchange in Dacula, was recommended to me as a very good lunch buffet in the neighborhood. As you can see, that assessment was entirely correct. I was able to try a variety of dishes, all of which were quite good. My lunch included a small salad. The service was very welcoming. Overall, a very successful lunch.

In need of dinner on Sunday night, I wanted to try some place new to me. Centro fit the bill and delivered a very enjoyable experience. The place was bustling with a combination of locals and non-locals. Service was outstanding. The meal started with this bread, very tasty and with great tooth. The meal became serious with this fried calamari. The octopus was very tender and the crust wonderfully crunchy. The tomato sauce was my favorite. My main dish was this hearty cavatelli. The sausage in the sauce gave it a meaty richness; just a touch of heat enlivened it. The pasta was perfect in texture. I couldn't resist this cheesecake for dessert.

Villa Amore is a new Italian restaurant on the north side of Lincoln. So new, in fact, that I managed to catch it on its second night. The decor was entirely appropriate for an evening out without being stuffy. The service was very gracious. And the food was quite good. I started with this soup, a chicken potato soup. The soup was medium-thick giving a very nice texture. The flavor was potato-y with a nice dose of chicken from both the pieces of chicken and the chicken stock in the soup. I swirled my bread in the olive oil and enjoyed it. My entree didn't make it into my camera but rest assured that my chicken and peppers was very good. Italians are very good at combining hearty meat and pasta in a way to run all the bases on the way to a home run. The creamy sauce pulled everything together. Overall, a very satisfying meal.

After a long day of running around I was happy to relax for dinner at Carmela's. The atmosphere is elegant and service very welcoming. My meal started out with a wedge of tasty bread and olive oil. My eggplant parmesan was hearty and tasty. I was in an expansive mood and finished with a luscious creme brulee.

My last post was on eggplant parmesan with a bread crumb crust. This version uses flour but no bread crumbs; I believe that flour-only is the more traditional method as compared to the Americanized bread crumb style. I dipped the sliced eggplant first in egg + milk, then in flour---not flour first, then egg + milk as in the bread crumb method. I fried the slices. I assembled the casserole: eggplant, sauce, cheese. Here is the result. I barely noticed the lack of the crunchy texture of the breadcrumbs. The result was much less oily, full of flavor, and with a comforting texture. I think this how I will make eggplant parm in the future.

I don't often post related items but I think that this comparison of two ways to make eggplant parmesan is interesting. This method uses a bread crumb coating, which I applied using the traditional three steps: flour, then egg + milk, then seasoned bread crumbs. I fried the eggplant slices then arranged them in a casserole with tomato sauce and cheese. Here is the result. The eggplant slices absorbed a fair amount of olive oil during the frying process. The result was a heavy dish. The next post will show a version with a flour-only dredge.

After a day of work I was interested in a relaxing atmosphere for dinner. Giuseppe's, located in a historic building near the river, fit the bill. The food was great and service was very gracious. They offer a wide range of provisions beyond their table menu. The meal started off with bread that featured a nice soft crumb. My spinach was cooked just the right amount to retain flavor while giving a digestible texture. My lasagne was full of flavor. The pasta gave that nice little tug. The tomato sauce gave a garden fresh taste.

Florio's graced me with a comforting and tasty meal. The atmosphere is elegant and the service is effortly gracious. The meal started with a creamy tomato soup and, of course, bread. My main course was fettuccine alfredo. The sauce was creamy with that touch of savory. The pasta was al dente. I ended my meal with tiramisu. The ladyfingers were moist and tender, the filling very creamy with a nice note of coffee.

Friends recommended Giovanni's and they did not steer me wrong. This restaurant is located near the historic River Rouge plant. The service is elegant and welcoming. My salad was dressed with a light, flavorful dressing that hit the tangy and herbal notes very nicely. This bread was kissed with butter and garlic---wonderful. Chicken picatta is something that I don't often get a chance to order. This dish gave me exactly the tart taste I was looking fro. This pasta is fresh perfectly al dente. The marinara sauce was meaty and rich. My tiramisu combined all the flavors one wants: ladyfingers, cream, coffee.

Phil and Cindy joined me for a very enjoyable dinner at Lidia's. The restaurant is the flagship of Lidia Bastianich, the cookbook author and cooking show host. The food was outstanding and the service was superb in its easy elegance. The meal started with an assortment of breads and two dips. Our server warned us that the calamari platter was huge. He did not lie to us. It actually contains a variety of seafoods and vegetables. All were outstanding. We couldn't finish the plate. Cindy ordered this lamb. I snagged a bite and it was excellent: tender, moist, just the right amount of char on the outside. Phil and I ordered the unlimited three pasta meal, including a Caesar salad and dessert. The salad was excellent. I couldn't finish that, either. The pasta is served directly from the pan. All were fresh, all were outstanding. My favorite was the fusilli. I don't think that I have ever had fresh fusilli before. The texture and bite were ve...

Dimitrios and I arrived in Las Vegas for a workshop and decided to start things off with a dinner at Rao's in Caesar's Palace. The bread basket is excellent. My favorite is the crispy stuff. Of course, like everything at Rao's, it holds much more than we could eat. We started with calimari. The dish contained also contained a few shrimp and other things. The seafood was very fresh and the coating was perfectly crisp. I ordered osso buco, something I enjoy but don't often see. The meat was fork tender. Of course, the marrow was the treat. I scooped it out with the fork onto little pieces of bread. Dimitrios went with an order of spaghetti with marinara sauce topped with two of Rao's heavenly meatballs. This tiramisu finished off the meal and us. The light texture was outstanding. The cream and cake balanced perfectly, enhanced by a liqueur soak.