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feast noir – atlanta’s first foodie flash mob is in the works

ksolo — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:55:29 +0000

The creative mind behind the Atlanta Underground Market (AUM) just released the news of an event that will certainly have Atlanta foodies all in a tizzy.

Based on the wildly successful French foodie event, Diner en Blanc, Feast Noir aims to bring 1,000 foodies together in an as-yet-undisclosed location to enjoy dishes prepared by the participants themselves.

Feast Noir is scheduled for August 14, 2011 at 6pm.

Read all of the details about the event and register to attend at the Feast Noir website.

cheers,
k

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wine dinners: a great way to find good wine

ksolo — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:11:04 +0000

When it comes to finding a wine you like, you’ve really only got a few methods to choose from.

you can take a recommendation from a friend or an expert,
you can take a wild guess based on the prettiness of the label and / or the floweriness of the wording on the bottle as you stand scratching your head in the aisle
or… you can taste it.

Of those three methods, only tasting is foolproof. Friends and experts may have different palates, and we all know better than to judge a wine by its cover, don’t we? And even once you’ve chosen a wine, there’s the work of figuring out what wine goes with what.

Enter, the wine dinner. This growing trend helps experienced and budding wine connoisseurs make sense of it all. If you haven’t had the chance to go to a wine dinner yet, lemme ‘splain what you’re missing out on.

What is a Wine Dinner?

A wine dinner is multi-course meal, typically hosted by a restaurant, a winery or a combination of the two. Each course of the meal comes along with a wine that has been selected to complement the dish being served.

What’s So Great about Wine Dinners?

You get to relax – unlike wine tastings and tours where you’re sort of shuffled along between tastings, at a wine dinner you’re comfortably seated. You can even kick your shoes off if you want, I won’t tell.

You get a serious wine education – during the wine dinner, either the restaurant’s sommelier or a representative from the vineyard will provide notes on the wines you taste that you simply won’t get anywhere else. Plus, if you happen to attend a wine dinner with other ‘cork dorks’, you’ll learn even more from the conversation.

You get to eat some really great food – most of the restaurants hosting wine dinners are pretty top-notch. Often, they’ll feature special dishes for the wine dinner that aren’t on their regular menu.

You save money – during a wine dinner you’ll typically taste a minimum of four dishes, along with equal servings of wine for a much lower price than you would if you were to purchase them all at regular price.

Here’s a quick roundup of three wine dinners in Atlanta that I’ve attended recently, and how I fared at each.

Mirassou Wine Dinner

As part of a multi-city promotional tour coinciding with the 156^th anniversary of Mirassou Winery, California winemaker David Mirassou hosted a series of wine dinners for local food and beverage writers, wine educators, and bloggers across the country. The Atlanta stop of the tour featured a 6-course tasting menu prepared by Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill, and yours truly was invited to attend. Each course was a perfect mouthful of local, seasonal ingredients that Chef Gillespie crafted to complement the accompanying wine. Throughout the meal, David entertained us with stories from his family’s winemaking past, and explained the unique characteristics of each wine we tasted. Needless to say, the food was amazing. The wines – a pleasant surprise.

My favorite wine of the evening: Mirassou Cabernet Sauvignon – I’m not usually a big fan of Cabs, most tend to be too tannic for my tastes. But Mirassou’s Cabernet was much more drinkable, while still retaining the tannic profile. I dubbed it, ‘the softer side of Cab’. Retails for around $10

Mother’s Day Brunch at Frogtown Cellars

Craving the experience of Napa, but lacking the time or the funds? Georgia’s wine country is a suitable alternative for us Atlantans. This past Mother’s Day I decided to treat Mom and myself to our first visit to a Georgia winery. We chose Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega, and were treated to a delicious 4-course brunch with wine pairings in a truly beautiful setting.

My favorite wine of the day: Frogtown First Convergence – East-meets-West blend of Cabernet and Malbec grapes from Russian River (66%) and Cabernet Franc grapes from Frogtown vineyard (34%). Retails for $27.99

The Generous Pour Wine Event at The Capital Grille

Did you know that there are only 173 Master Sommeliers in the entire world? So it’s a real treat when one of these esteemed wine experts hand picks 9 of his personal favorites and invites you to taste them. That’s exactly what went down this week at The Capital Grille in Buckhead. The restaurant invited several local food writers to a special preview of their summer wine event, The Generous Pour. George Miliotes, Master Sommelier and resident wine expert at The Capital Grille, joined via telecast to explain the 9 wines he chose for the event, and then answered our questions via live Twitter feed. After George’s introduction, we sampled each of the wines along with complementary dishes prepared by Chef Brad Weiderman. The unparalleled white-glove level of service at the Capital Grille made this one a real treat.

My favorites of the evening:

Tarima Hill Monastrell, 2009 – A Spanish varietal that’s not available anywhere else in the US for the next couple of months. It’s a medium-bodied red that I can only describe as ‘seductive’.

Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre, 2008 – arguably the best Chardonnay I’ve ever tasted. Described as ‘a rich, creamy wine… with toasted almond and vanilla oak’. From the Russian River region of California. $25.

The Capital Grille’s Generous Pour Wine Event continues through September 4, and is only $25 for ample servings of all 9 wines with dinner. Do this!

To see questions and answers from The Generous Pour preview event, search for #tcgpour11 on Twitter.

Want to get personalized wine recommendations from a Master Sommelier? Follow George Miliotes (@TheWineExpert) on Twitter.

But hey – don’t just settle for his (or my) recommendations. Go out and taste for yourself.

cheers,

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atlanta sucks! or… does it?

ksolo — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:59:32 +0000

Did you know that there’s a Facebook group just for people who hate Atlanta? Neither did I. But, I gotta be honest. I wasn’t that surprised when I found out.

I hear it all the time, from both natives and transplants: Atlanta sucks. It’s too small, too slow, too crowded, too hot, too humid, too smoggy, too clogged with traffic, too right-wing, too left-wing, too ghetto, too suburban…. In fact, for quite a few people it seems that the only thing that distinguishes Atlanta from Hell, is… January.

Just look at some of the things that the ‘Atlanta Sucks’ Facebookers have to say about the A:

“if it were not for section8 housing and shootings, the AJC would have nothing to publish.”

“I will be watching many of the cities fireworks diplays from a distance…from the looming fear of being SHOT! (Screen on the Green ring a bell?)”

“I was in Chicago… and was ashamed to show my (Georgia) id… when I did, I was told how sucky the city was! “You have no downtown, it’s deserted!” one person said!”

“Smog, Pollen, Humidity, ROACHES THE SIZE OF SMALL CARS, MOSQUITOS WITH DRIVER’S LICENSES, CRAPPY SCHOOLS, Ice Storms, TRAFFIC, CRIME, RACISM, I could go ON AND ON…”

It’s true. Atlanta’s no utopia. We’ve got our fair share of issues. Traffic that’s atrocious, pollen counts that rival some cities annual snowfall levels, and don’t even get me started on the much-bemoaned male-to-female ratio.

But that’s no reason to write the city off totally. For every sucky thing about Atlanta, there are twice as many positive things about the city – they just aren’t as glaringly obvious as congested freeways and inch-thick pollen. The best parts of Atlanta are hidden in plain sight, and most of the people who say Atlanta sucks, simply haven’t trained their eyes to see them.

So to help my myopic friends out a bit, I set out on a mission. I would go out and document some of the coolest, most interesting, most creative, and most under-the-radar people, places, and things that make our city un-sucky. People who truly know how to do Atlanta. I teamed up with my cousin Krystle Solomon, of Forehead Productions and we invited several local culture creators to show us their stuff. We went into their places of business and filmed them displaying their talents and sharing their comments on what makes Atlanta a great place to live, create, and play.

After a whirlwhind month of scheduling, filming, and editing, the first part of the project is almost finished, and I couldn’t be more delighted with the results. Krystle and I have decided to call the project, How to Do Atlanta. We’ll be hosting an official launch party for How to Do Atlanta on Monday, September 20 at Pizzeria Vesuvius in Edgewood. You can get all the details for How to Do Atlanta’s official launch party on Eventbrite or Facebook.

Here are a few sneak peeks at How to Do Atlanta’s first round of local experts:

Chef / Owner Kevin Clark of Home Grown Restaurant in Reynoldstown, shows off the restaurant’s recipe for crispy, fried green tomatoes:

Nanziri Clark, of Kawa Java Coffee (a coffee roaster and distributor) explains the origin of Ugandan coffee and demonstrates how to make iced coffee at home:

Emer Reilly, curator of Cornbred Gallery, tells us where to find some of Atlanta’s edgiest up-and-coming visual artists:

DJ Applejac shares his thoughts on what it’ like to be a ‘musical minister’ in the city of Atlanta:

It’s been an amazing experience working with some of Atlanta’s best ‘hidden talent’. I’m grateful for everyone who participated, and I’m even more convinced after doing this project, that Atlanta’s cultural identity is alive and well, and that the city is decidedly not sucky.

If you want to see more of How to Do Atlanta’s videos of local experts, come out to the launch party on Monday, check out the How to Do Atlanta website when it launches on September 20, have a peek at the How to Do Atlanta blog, or get social with How to Do Atlanta on Twitter and Facebook.

And to all those who still aren’t convinced that Atlanta doesn‘t suck… I hear Detroit’s nice this time of year.

cheers,

How to Do Atlanta’s Official Launch and Viewing Party

Monday, September 20, 2010

7pm-until

Pizzeria Vesuvius

327 Edgewood Avenue

Atlanta, GA 30312

www.howtodoatlanta.com

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dj kai alce remembers house in the park

ksolo — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:55:18 +0000

For the past five years, Labor Day weekend in Atlanta has signaled the arrival of House in the Park, a family-friendly outdoor music festival for lovers of house, afrobeat, and soulful dance music. Though it continues to swell each year, House in the Park is still a largely under-the-radar event in Atlanta, mainly because it caters to such a niche audience.

Loyal fans of Atlanta DJs Ramon Rawsoul, DJ Kemit, Salah Ananse, and Kai Alce – the fantastic foursome behind House in the Park – have been there since the beginning. House in the Park 2010 promises to be the largest yet, as word about the good vibes and sounds the event unfailingly delivers continues to spread beyond Atlanta’s close-knit house music family.

I sat down with DJ Kai Alce to get some insight on how House in the Park has evolved since its genesis, and what’s on tap for House in the Park 2010.

So, how long have you been a DJ? How did you get your start?
Aw, man. I bought my first turntables in ‘83. But I’ve been DJing professionally since ‘92. I’ve always been into music, though. I listen to a little bit of everything. My parents were Haitian, so I grew up listening to soca and all that. Growing up in New York at that time, it was like during the creation of hip hop and disco. My Dad was a jazz aficionado, and he was really into audio hi-fi equipment. So I guess that’s where I got an affinity for both the music and the equipment.

Was this something you always knew you wanted to do?
Not really. It just sort of evolved that way. The first time I DJed for a party, it didn’t go well.

I used to work at this place called The Music Institute. I worked there at 16 years old – Chez Damier got me in there. It was like the Detroit version of Paradise Garage. Then I moved to Atlanta to go to school at Morehouse. I started getting gigs and started making money, and thought, “hey, I could do this professionally.”

Where did the idea for House in the Park originate?
Ramon Rawsoul asked me about it. At that time I was working at Satellite – a record store in Little Five Points. We might have already been doing The Gathering then.
The Gathering is a monthly house music event featuring DJs Kai Alce and Ramon Rawsoul. The duo has been hosting The Gathering for over 5 years.
The first House in the Park was at Candler Park in 2005. There was another group called Earthtone that used to do an event out at Piedmont. They used to do it real renegade style, though. You know, they’d just go out there and they may or may not have a permit. I told Ramon that (getting a permit) was gonna be an issue. But we went through the process and got what we needed. The first year, we had about 200-300 people, just from the crowds that supported each of us.

What Atlanta DJs were involved that first year?
It was me, Ramon, Kemit, and Salah.
What was funny was… I think I had to DJ or promote the night before – anyway, I was out late. And you know there’s always that riff of who goes on first and who goes on last. I remember I was like, I’ll go on early. And I got there, did my set… and fell asleep. So I said – I’m definitely not doing that again.

How has House in the Park changed from that first year?
Well after the first year, we moved to Perkerson Park because of better amenities. Candler was very DIY all the way. We had to bring in port-o-potties, and everything. That first year, the crowd at House in the Park was mostly people who knew us from the nighttime sets. The second year House in the Park became more family oriented. And it just took off from there.

Did you ever think House in the Park would become as big, or continue for as long as it has?
No. Never. ‘Cause it’s getting bigger every year. More people, more problems. The more people you get, the more things they (city officials) ask you to have. Like ambulances, extra cops, then after a certain number of cops you have to get a police sergeant.
Now we’re at the point where we’re gonna have to start getting sponsors. Whole Foods has been on as a sponsor since the first or second House in the Park – they donate water. The neighborhood is one of the sponsors. Others are people who have known us, who are blessed enough to hook us up.

What is it about House in the Park that you think makes it so popular?
The good feeling and the music. The music aids in people letting go and letting down their guard. So far in the five years since House in the Park has been going, we’ve had no fights, no arguments. We’ve had a couple of lost kids, but they get found before the end of the evening.
People have said that when they leave House in the Park, the positive energy they leave with rides for a while. Even some of the kids, they don’t see some of those other kids until that event. So they look forward to playing together while their parents enjoy themselves. I had one guy come up to me -his daughter is in her teenage years – and tell me that she asked her dad to dance. He says that’s the first time she ever asked him to dance with her.
At House in the Park, you can see anybody from age 3 to 55. My dad’ll be here this year. He may have been here at least 4 times now. I had my whole family come out one time.

What can people expect this year? Are there any other DJs are on deck?
The House in the Park lineup will stay the same until it ends. I don’t think anybody knows our town better than we do. We try to keep it amongst us here. We may have a guest DJ that shows up some years.

How many attendees do you average or are you expecting for House in the Park this year?
Well, last year it was about 3,000. So we definitely hope to meet that.

Where can people get more info about House in the Park, purchase House in the Park gear, make donations, etc?
They can go to www.houseinthepark.net. People can buy CDS and House in the Park T-shirts at the event. That’s what helps us pay for the event. So be sure to bring cash with you. CDs are $5-10. Tees are $10-12.

What other projects are you working on? Where besides House in the Park can people see or hear you?
Well, I have my record label – NDATL. It stands for New York, Detroit, Atlanta – three places where I’ve lived. We just released a new single called “I Got Life” by Kemetic Just. Kemetic Just is DJ Kemit and Justin Chapman, but this track is just Justin Chapman with Terrance Downs. That just got released this summer. It’s doing well in the charts here and overseas. You may even see him perform this year at House in the Park. You might also see a performance by a girl named Cayenne. She has a song called ‘Someone’, which I produced along with Phil Asher. It hit # 1 on the house charts.
I’m also continuing a monthly here at The Sound Table. It’s called Distinctive. It’s usually every third Saturday, this month it will be on the fourth Saturday. We’re having Omar S as a guest in October.

And people can check out my site www.kaialce.com. That will let you know about the upcoming events and projects.

House in the Park 2009 photos courtesy of John Crooms Photography.

House in the Park 2010
Sunday, September 5 ; noon – 8pm
Perkerson Park – Pavilion Area
770 Deckner Ave. SW; Atlanta, GA 30310
Free. Open to the public.

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sweetwater 420 beer dinner at south city kitchen vinings

ksolo — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:58:10 +0000

Calling all brewheads!

On Thursday, August 19, South City Kitchen Vinings will host a unique, four-course prix fixe dinner featuring the distinctive beers of Atlanta’s own Sweetwater Brewery.

The cost is $50/person (including tax and gratuity) and reservations are available by phone only at 770.435.0700.

Check out the menu below:

Passed Hors d’Oeuvres

Housemade corndogs with orange-coriander “honey mustard”

Chilled white shrimp with seasonal heirloom tomato-horseradish jam

Paired with Sweetwater Sch’wheat—a refreshing, unfiltered American

wheat ale full of delicate rays of citrus hop overtones

Appetizer

“Hot wings-style” ale-brined, grilled Carolina quail with buttermilk blue cheese,

celery puree, herb salad and Texas Pete butter sauce

Paired with Sweetwater IPA—a big, bold Indian pale ale

loaded with intense hop character and natural, unfiltered flavors

Entree

BBQ-braised beef brisket with smashed lady peas and fried coleslaw

Paired with Sweetwater Motorboat—a silver medal-winning,

extra-special bitter (ESB) full of sweet caramel and wheat flavors

Dessert

Bacon-wrapped “banana split” with chocolate stout ice cream,

honey, chocolate and roasted peanuts

Paired with Sweetwater Georgia Brown—an especially drinkable

ale that’s smooth, subtle and a little bit nutty

For directions to South City Kitchen Vinings visit: www.fifthgroup.com/directions. For more information about Sweetwater Brewery, please visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com.

cheers,