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

I greatly enjoyed my elegant, relaxing meal at The Normandy. The atmosphere and service were in the grand French and Swiss traditions thanks to the Swiss owner/chef. The food was outstanding. I started the meal with a cup of mushroom soup, accompanied of course by bread. The soup delivered on the combination of earthy savoriness that one looks for in this dish. My salmon was perfectly prepared. The suprise star of the plate was the asparagus. These stalks were at the peak of their freshness and flavorfulness. Perfect preparation highlighted the ingredient. The chocolate fondue was sold out but I greatly enjoyed my chocolate mousse, both rich and fluffy. I guess I will have to return for a fondue...

French Twist Cafe provided the perfect spot for a good breakfast, fortifying coffee, and space for morning work. It is located in a quaint two-story house in downtown Sykesville; upstairs is the spot to go for tables. As you can see, their two-barreled crepe stand would be a proud part of many a French crepe purveyor. I ordered two crepes. This is my savory Breton crepe with cheese, buckwheat, and a touch of black pepper. Superb! And this is my mandantory Nutella and banana crepe. Wonderfully sweet and satisfying.

The French Truck is a new entry to the Georgia Tech food truck cavalcade. The owner tells me that this is his second year of operating the truck. Crepes are the main feature of their offerings. This menu concentrates on sweet items, although peanut butter is kinda savory. They also have a separate menu of savory crepes; today's menu included salmon as well as other proteins. I couldn't resist the peanut butter, Nutella, and banana crepe. Peanut butter is something I wouldn't expect to see on a crepe in France, but it certainly works well. The combination of toppings was delicious, particularly with the whipped cream. The crepe was right off the griddle, warm and tender.

My friend Catherine enjoyed a wonderful birthday party organized by her husband Tom at Violette. The restaurant has been in the neighborhood for over 25 years. It serves French classics in an elegant but not overly stuffy atmosphere. Our service was extremely gracious. Here is the birthday girl with an order of mussels. Catherine showed me the French style of eating them---use the empty half of the shell to scoop out the mussel from the other half, then use it as a spoon to enjoy. A cheese plate also helped to start things off. Some of the other gals triedthe tomato soup. I greatly enjoyed my onion soup, one of those things that is hard to find outside of a French restaurant. The broth was very rich but not overly strong, a great way to get the taste buds going. Catherine and I both ordered the beef bourguignon for our main course. Violette serves the meat pot-roast style rather than cubed. The meat was fork tender and very flavorful. The sauce nicely combined beef an...

Café Alsace is one of the mainstays of downtown Decatur. Its atmosphere is typically French: small, intimate, a little dark, unobtrusive and gracious service. French meals start with a salad. I chose the fig and honey dressing---one of the recurring themes of the dishes. The dressing was classically French and not extremely figgy but quite good. Given that this is Café Alsace, I had to try the Alsatian spaetzle. Alsace is near Germany and its food has some Germanic elements that are very well exemplified by this dish: heavier composition, German noodles, and a nice dose of pork. Translated into American terms, this is mac-and-cheese with insanely good ingredients. The spaetzle were enrobed in a rich cheese and cream sauce. Small rectangular pieces of pork studded the dish. Amazingly, the parsley sprinkled on top actually served the taste---given all that cream and cheese, even that small amount of greenery stands out in the mouth, and quite nicely I might add. This dish ...

Au Rendez Vous is in a small house on Clairmont across from the library. The restaurant is run by a Vietnamese family. It's their real house with the front rooms converted to dining rooms. The food is superb and the atmosphere is what I remember of France. I've never been in a restaurant in France that was so obviously in someone's home, but that is the feel one gets in all the small, neighborhood restaurants. The staff is very small, service is efficient but unhurried, and no one rushes you out the door. I was intrigued by idea of apple soup. As soon as it was brought to my table, I could smell the apples. (You will see that smell is a key theme in this review.) It tasted very much like apples. The thickening agents were very unobtrusive. A few pieces of red pepper on top formed the garnish. I loved this soup and I am tempted to try to make it myself. My main course was beef with a sauce made of various fruits and a little chocolate. That is somewhat sim...

 Atmosphere has been on my restaurant to-do list for quite some time, so when my friend Glenn suggested we go there I jumped at the idea. The restaurant is on Piedmont at Morningside, just north of Ansley Square, in a nicely appointed house. I don't go to French restaurants very often so I went a little crazy ordering some old favorites. This is the onion soup.  I'm not sure if the cheese was gruyere---I'm a little out of practice---but whatever it was I liked it.  I had to try the duck. You can order either one leg or two. The duck had a good, crispy skin and was very juicy.  The sauce is an important part of the duck experience. It was very rich and savory, a great complement. The green beans still had some crunch, which went well with the duck skin. This is the apple tart.  The shape not the standard round tart and it is made with a flakier crust than is typical for a tart. The pastry was very crisp and buttery. But my favorite part w...

Tai-Ming and Yu-Heng Lin were kind enough to invite me to their wedding reception at Joel Brasserie, one of the best known restaurants in Atlanta. Joel is no longer there but the visit was still a great experience. My favorite courses were the early ones. The chilled melon soup was a wonderful combination of textures with the thick soup and the very cold melon ball floating in the middle. The crab cake was entirely sweet, succulent crab. The scallops came in a rich, bacony sauce.