How to Celebrate International Women’s Day

Celebrate International Women’s Day with homemade crepes © Anna Lanfreschi

The best way to celebrate International Women’s Day is to spoil your favorite lady with a decadent brunch spread. We’re talking homemade crepes served with all the toppings, as well as mimosas with fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh cut flowers.

International Women’s Day – March 8 – falls on a Monday this year, but that’s no excuse not to pull out all the stops for your best friend, mom, sister, partner, etc. And if your schedule doesn’t allow for an extensive morning celebration, you could always have brunch for dinner – it’s a holiday after all!

As a good friend of mine told me, International “Women’s Day should be celebrated by everyone, including and especially men.” So here’s your step-by-step plan for how to pull this off.

Step 1: Pick up some fresh flowers

Neighborhood farmers markets are a great source for beautiful bouquets – they’re well-priced and you’re helping to support your local farms with your purchase. But Trader Joe’s also has a great flower selection, if that’s more convenient for you.

You could choose any color scheme you’d like, but if you’re a history/tradition buff, you’ll go for the mimosa flower – the flowers that’s been gifted on International Women’s Day since 1946. If you can’t find mimosa flowers, try to pick up something yellow. Along with pale-yellow crepes and bright yellow/orange mimosa cocktails, yellow flowers will help create a vibrant color palette.

Get creative with the presentation of your homemade crepes © Anna Lanfreschi

Step 2: Make crepes and drinks

Crepes are easier to make than you think! There are tons of recipes online, like this one or this one, and there are a couple of tricks to keep in mind:

-Make sure your batter is pretty runny – that’s what helps make crepes thin

-Don’t overcook your crepes – cook each side for just a few minutes on medium-low heat

Serve your crepes with fresh sliced berries. Strawberries work really well, but any berries will make for a delicious filling – blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. Nutella is a must for sweet crepes, but you could also use your favorite jams, jellies, or dark chocolate squares.

For your mimosa cocktails, squeeze the juice of 4-5 fresh oranges to add to your champagne. Fresh-squeezed OJ makes such a difference!

Candle from Eating With Erica, Flowers from 3 Porch Farms © Anna Lanfreschi

Step 3: Set the scene

Get creative with plating your crepes. It’s easy to leave them unfolded on a round plate, but I chose to fold them in half twice and serve them on a wooden board.

In addition to your crepes and drinks, add the flowers arranged in a vase, and light a beautiful candle. I used the Mimosa & Mandarin candle from Eating With Erica, an Atlanta-based food blogger. Her candles are incredible! They smell great, burn really clean, and last a long time.

And there you have it: Your indulgent celebratory brunch is ready! Easier than you thought, right? Let me know how this goes for you – send me a DM on Instagram. Regardless of how you celebrate International Women’s Day, I hope you simply take the time to celebrate the ladies in your life this year.

Anna Lanfreschi is a digital content creator and strategist based in Atlanta. She posts about food and travel on her blog, AnnaFeasts, and on Instagram @AnnaFeasts. 

FASHIONADO 

Grana: Your new go-to spot for pizza and meatballs

Grana is an Italian restaurant in Midtown Atlanta known for pizza and meatballs © Anna Lanfreschi

Handmade pizza, from-scratch pasta, meatball flights, and make-your-own cannoli. These are just a few of the authentic Italian dishes you can expect from Grana.

Grana doesn’t just serve any Italian food: The Morningside restaurant specializes in true Neapolitan cuisine. If you’ve ever been to Naples, Italy, or met anyone from Naples, you will have undoubtedly heard that Neapolitan food is the best kind of Italian food. Afterall, Naples is the birthplace of pizza… and every Neapolitan dish, from antipasti to desert, tastes soulful, soothing, and oh-so-satisfying.

 And there’s no better person in Atlanta to bring the robust flavors of southern Italy to our city than Chef Pat Pascarella, who helms Grana’s kitchen (as well as White Bull in Decatur). Pascarella grew up tasting and cooking with the Italian matriarchs of his family, and you’ll see nods to his family recipes throughout Grana’s menu.

 Grana is known for its meatballs, and you’ll see both mom’s and grandma’s polpettes on the menu. Best not to choose through, and simply try one of each with the meatball tasting, which is a flight of all six meatballs on the menu and makes for a hearty start to your meal.

Crispy Brussels sprouts (R) and the meatball flight (L) at Grana © Anna Lanfreschi

Before you move onto the pizzas and the pastas, get your veggies in. There are several options on the antipasti menu section, and the crispy Brussels sprouts with truffle honey and ricotta are divine.

Now, for the delicious carbs… you really can’t go wrong with any of the pizzas or pastas at Grana! The truffle pizza is a memorable option because it comes with three types of cheese, including burrata (mozzarella’s fancier cousin), and is topped with black truffle sauce.

The truffle pizza at Grana © Anna Lanfreschi

Regardless of your main entrée selection, definitely, absolutely, categorically save room for dessert. There’s really only one item on the menu – cannoli – but your options are limitless because you get to fully customize your sweet treat. You can choose the type of ricotta it’s filled with (yes, there is more than one choice!), the various toppings to add to each side, and whether to top it with chocolate. Hands down, these are the best cannoli I’ve had in Atlanta!

Make-your-own cannoli (R); Grana’s rooftop patio (L) © Anna Lanfreschi

Grana is open for happy hour and dinner nightly, and also serves brunch on the weekends. When the weather is nice, do check out their expansive rooftop patio, especially during happy hour. Reservations are not required, but highly recommended.

Anna Lanfreschi is a digital content creator and strategist based in Atlanta. She posts about food and travel on her blog, AnnaFeasts, and on Instagram @AnnaFeasts. 

FASHIONADO

How to have a luxurious lunch at Le Bilboquet

The crab and avocado salad from Le Bilboquet in Atlanta © Anna Lanfreschi

Here’s my secret for dining out during a pandemic:

1)     Look for an outside patio table you can reserve in advance.

2)     Go during a less popular time, like on a weeknight or for lunch.

This way, you can still enjoy some of Atlanta’s most popular restaurants without dealing with what feels like a superspreader event.

Case in point: I treated myself to a lovely lunch at Le Bilboquet the other day. It was such a nice little mid-week luxury to dine al fresco at this French restaurant in Buckhead!

I sat on their covered, heated outdoor patio, with tables well-spaced out for social distancing. Since I went for lunch during the week, it wasn’t crowded and I felt safe throughout the dining experience.

The service was impeccable, and the food was exquisite. It wasn’t a cheap or fast lunch, but I wasn’t looking for fast and cheap. I was in the mood for an extended lunch break that felt more extravagant than usual, and it was a great way to break up the monotony of a pandemic weekday. I would highly recommend it if you’re looking to do the same.

Here’s how to recreate this experience:

Reserve an outdoor table

You can select your preferred dining option – outdoor table, bar seating, or main dining room – on a reservation app like OpenTable. If that’s not available, you could always call the restaurant and ask to reserve a table on the patio.

Le Bilboquet is known for its beautiful Parisian-style open-air patio, and during the pandemic, they’ve expanded it and weatherproofed it. There are heaters and firepits for colder days, but do call ahead to make sure the patio is open, especially on days with possible inclement weather.

Do like the French and have wine with lunch

You don’t need my permission to order wine or a cocktail to kick off your lavish lunch – you do you. But I find that indulging in even just one glass of your favorite concoction elevates your lunch experience.

Order the soup du jour

A warm bowl of silky butternut squash soup on a chilly day to start your meal – what could be better!

Butternut squash soup, crab and avocado salad, and duck leg confit from Le Bilboquet © Anna Lanfreschi

Now, for your entrée…

Since you’re at a French restaurant, you can’t go wrong with the duck leg confit. The duck is fall-off-the-bone tender and served over roasted fingerling potatoes, celery root and chestnuts in a thyme jus.

If you’re more of an appetizer-as-entrée person, the crab and avocado salad at Le Bilboquet is a must! Smashed and seasoned avocado is topped with jumbo lump crab meat and julienned vegetables, and each bite is melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

The profiteroles for dessert; Le Bilboquet’s expanded outdoor patio © Anna Lanfreschi

Don’t skip dessert

Le Bilboquet’s dessert menu is a drool worthy list of classic French pastries, and it is truly a challenge to pick just one. But for me, the profiteroles always stand out. You can’t find this dessert at many other restaurants in Atlanta, and it is just so tasty: Chou pastry filled with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate and almonds. So simple and delicious.

Le Bilboquet is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. It is located in the Shops of Buckhead and validates self-parking in the garage. The restaurant does have a business casual dress code.

Anna Lanfreschi is a digital content creator and strategist based in Atlanta. She posts about food and travel on her blog, AnnaFeasts, and on Instagram @AnnaFeasts. 

FASHIONADO

Where to brunch this weekend: Joy Café

The breakfast burrito and spicy chicken biscuit at Joy Café © Anna Lanfreschi

Head to Joy Café in midtown Atlanta if you want to try the best breakfast burrito in the city. Yes, I said it: Joy Café has the best breakfast burrito in Atlanta!

This burrito is a generous serving of cheddar scrambled eggs with house-made chorizo, sour cream, pico de gallo, avocado, and a delicious tomatillo cream sauce, all wrapped in a tortilla and served with home fries. It sounds pretty straight forward, but it is precisely its simplicity that makes Joy Café’s the best breakfast burrito this food writer has ever had.

Something about it is incredibly satisfying. All the ingredients come together perfectly, without overwhelming your taste buds. The breakfast burrito is my go-to item on Joy Café’s brunch menu, but it certainly isn’t the only one worth mentioning.

The spicy chicken biscuit is a crowd favorite, and the avocado toast may be the prettiest one served in Atlanta. It is topped with chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, watermelon radish, and a poached egg – as well as microgreens and edible flowers – and served with beetroot hummus. It is delicious, colorful, and beautifully plated. Just look at this Instagram photo!

Of course, it wouldn’t be brunch without coffee and mimosas, and Joy Café has many options for both. There’s also a lovely patio for you to dine on, in case you’re not ready to eat indoors just yet.

Joy Café’s outdoor dining patio © Anna Lanfreschi

Joy Café is known for their brunch, so expect to wait for a table during peak times. If you prefer not to wait, head in earlier in the morning (brunch service starts at 8:30 am on Saturdays and Sundays). Or you could also pop in for lunch, which is served Tuesday through Friday, 11 am – 2:30 pm. And the restaurant’s dinner service will resume January 12, 5:30 pm – 11 pm Tuesday through Saturday.

The Greek salad from Joy Café’s lunch menu © Anna Lanfreschi

Let me know on Instagram what you think of Joy Café after you check them out – send me a DM with your thoughts!

I hope you enjoy your experience,

Anna.

Anna Lanfreschi is a digital content creator and strategist based in Atlanta. She posts about food and travel on her blog, AnnaFeasts, and on Instagram @AnnaFeasts. 

FASHIONADO

FOOD FOR THOUGHT | March-April 2018

TOP PHOTO: The mushroom pizza at Genuine Pizza, new to Phipps Plaza. It comes with porcini and cremini mushrooms and Taleggio and fontina cheeses. Photo by David Danzig. 

We bring word of biscuits in the ’burbs, a taste of Spain in Inman Park, a new South City Kitchen in Alpharetta and much more.

THIS EDITION of our bimonthly Food for Thought catches you up on projects linked (or unlinked) to chefs Linton Hopkins, Bill Greenwood, Richard Blais and Floridian Michael Schwartz, along with hot chicken news and a Garden & Gun club.

Well done

One choice of many at Maple Street Biscuit Co., open now in Woodstock and coming soon to Alpharetta. Photo: David Danzig

Brunch-crazed suburbanites will rejoice at the arrival of Maple Street Biscuit Co. in Woodstock (now open) and Alpharetta (coming soon).

The fast-casual recipe is simple: Make fresh, cathead-size biscuits and fill them with pecan-smoked bacon, fried chicken, sausage gravy, goat cheese (any or all); serve with sides; brew strong, delicious Red Leaf coffee; and serve from early morning through mid-afternoon.

Already a phenomenon in parts of Florida, look for a Maple Street Biscuit on a street near you soon. …

***

Star chef Linton Hopkins has finally opened C. Ellet’s Steak House at The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park. It’s named for his great-grandfather, Charles Ellet Jr., a Union solider during the Civil War and a bridge-building engineer. As Food for Thought reported last year, C. Ellet’s had been slotted for a May 2017 opening.

The James Beard Award-winning Hopkins and wife Gina previously teamed on Restaurant Eugene, Holeman and Finch, Longleaf and H&F Burger. Their C. Ellet’s  is a 6,500-sq. ft. room that seats up to 200. The dining room feels like it was plucked from New Orleans’ Garden District, with an elegant design that evokes a genteel but informal Southern atmosphere, a spot for an intimate bite or a rousing party. Steaks are the stars here, and Hopkins did his research, sourcing bovines from farms in eight states, and offering a premier seafood program with cold and hot options.

At C. Ellet’s: White Oak Pastures steak tartar with fried capers and bone marrow. Photo: David Danzig

Baseball season opens March 29, so you still have a few non-baseball days — and those out-of-town-game days — to get your steak on. Plus, the Battery is open 365 days a year. …

***

After a misfire with the Cockentrice, Krog Street Market has welcomed Bar Mercado, a concept that that fits the Inman Park neighborhood the way a fancy hat fits a matador. The space, inspired by Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel, gets a handsome reboot with a menu of cured meats, cheeses and tapas from multiple regions of Spain. Hipster craft cocktails and Spanish wines keep the casual fiesta going beyond the comida. …

***

Florida-based celebrity chef Michael Schwartz — a restaurateur, James Beard award-winner and author — expands his empire to Phipps Plaza with Genuine Pizza, a super-approachable Italian joint with gourmet Neapolitan-style pies and toppings like short ribs and gruyere, meatballs with peppers and onions, slow-roasted pork and fig, and rock shrimp with fresh manchego cheese. With the most expensive item on the menu only  $21, it’s very un-Buckhead, price-wise.

[SEE: 13 IN GEORGIA MAKE SEMIFINALS FOR 2018 JAMES BEARD AWARDS]

Simmering

Look for Hattie B’s Hot Chicken to set up shop soon near Little Five Points. Photo: David Danzig

Opening day appears imminent for the long-awaited Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, the Nashville phenom that teased Atlantans last year with brief, impact-making appearances at summer and fall festivals.

Hattie’s will take over an old laundromat near Little Five Points, serving hot chicken in six spice levels, ranging from “Southern” (no heat) to “shut the cluck up” (burn notice). …

***

The legendary Woody’s CheeseSteaks adds a second location near the East Andrews Entertainment district in Buckhead. The chopped steak/onion/Cheez Whiz creations are a 40-plus-year tradition at the original intown location on Monroe Drive. The Buckhead spot will feature an expanded menu, says owner Steven Renner, who took over Woody’s in 2010. …

***

Fans of Southern style magazine Garden & Gun likely will enjoy a brick-and-mortar experience due in spring. The Charleston-based operation plans to open Garden & Gun Club at The Battery Atlanta. Despite the “club” in its name, no membership will be required. Garden & Gun will pour cocktails and serve lunch and dinner. …

***

Fifth Group Restaurant’s footprint grows with South City Kitchen Avalon in the Alpharetta dining/retail development. The fourth South City Kitchen serves its sophisticated, seasonal, Southern food at breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, and at weekend brunch. Fifth Group also plans to take over the former BrickTop’s space at Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue in Buckhead.

***

Toast

Bill Greenwood and his wife, Rita, in an undated photo.

Roswell lost Greenwoods on Green Street and Swallow at the Hollow at year’s end, leaving a comfort-food void in the neighborhood. Greenwoods had served stick-to-the-ribs Southern classics since 1986; Swallow at the Hollow had smoked ’que since 1999. Bill Greenwood, the man behind both spots, decided to retire. …

***

Flip Burger Boutique in Buckhead, originally one of three Flip gourmet burger locations in the city, has shut down its fryers. Only the Howell Mill Road restaurant remains. The buzz about the boutique eateries, the brainchild of “Top Chef” master Richard Blais, had been eroding since Blais left Atlanta to pursue projects elsewhere. …

***

Finally, the last cow has left Cowtippers, the iconic Midtown spot that had served steaks near Piedmont Park for more than 20 years. News of a January closing prompted a community outcry and a stay of execution. That lasted only until mid-February.

::

Food for Thought, Encore Atlanta’s bimonthly dining column, keeps you up to date on openings, closings and what chefs are up to in one of three categories — well done (reasons for praise), simmering (what’s in the works) and toast (what’s closed, etc.). Tips? Please email kathy@encoreatlanta.com.

fashionado