Alpharetta: Breadtime

Breadtime seems unassuming at a glance from Alpharetta Highway. But when I stepped in side I found a small, very complete and elegant European bakery and restaurant. The interior is casually elegant and the outside space is positively cute.

This is one of their pastry cases. They also display meats, loaves of bread, and a very nice selection of wines. Their menu includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They of course feature items like sandwiches that show off their bread but they have a wide range of items.

I stopped by for a snack and found it impossible to stop at one item. The croissant was the perfect combination of crispy on the outside and buttery tender on the inside. The middle tore out of it in the most luscious way when I pulled on the tip. The apple strudel was excellent---this is a European-style pastry that isn't overloaded with sugar. (One of my pet peeves is that Americans put too much sugar in desserts. All that sugar hides the other flavors.) I also took home a half loaf of rye bread. It had a dense but very tender crumb and an excellent crust.

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Eating Around Georgia Tech: Ecco

Our Texas Instruments colleague Cathy Wicks was gracious enough to host several of us at Ecco tonight. This is one of those restaurants that has been on my list for a long time. Even though it is within easy walking distance of Georgia Tech, I hadn't made it there until tonight. The menu is a combination of Italian, Spanish, and French that make use of some local Georgia ingredients. The combination of those three countries is sometimes a little forced, although the georgia ingredients (fruit, cheese) were all great and perfectly appropriate. We started out with a meat and cheese board. This actually reverses the French tradition, where cheese usually follows the main course. Everything was excellent. The Georgia cheese was a big hit, as was the French cow/goat cheese. I thought the sauscisson was very subtle and very good. The waitress said that the roast pork pasta was their signature dish, so I had to try it. It had traditional broad pasta (fresh, of course) ...

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Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

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