Tag Archive for: chicken

Grana Atlanta: Meatball Heaven

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 7/21/20

On the busy corner in Piedmont Heights, Grana’s newly built restaurant is a shrine to the almighty meatball – and all things Italian. Herringbone floor, two large wood burning pizza ovens, sweeping lights, and impeccable décor, Grana has an impressively upscale dining room that pays homage to the Chef’s Italian Heritage. It’s a stunner. Heading up to the beach vibe rooftop bar and patio, you’re greeted with the neon sign that reminds you that this place will be known for it’s balls, meatballs that is. Mark our words, the best meatballs in Atlanta. Beyond this, sinful appetizers, array of unique pizza, fantastic pasta, summer sippers, and impeccable main dishes make up the fabric of the best new Italian restaurant in Atlanta. That’s amore. Let’s dig in.

We get it, dreaming of the perfect meatball was never in our realm of reality either. But here we are awestruck by the master meatball-teer.  We opted for the meatball flight which included Mommy’s, Nonna’s, Crisp Veal, Pork, Grana, and Brasstown Beef. All practically perfect in their own way, but our stand-out was the best meatball ever, Crispy Veal. Imagine biting into a crisp, crunchy shell and coming upon tender and mild veal, perfectly seasoned with a blend of spices, and topped with a dollop of spicy aioli. It has everything you’d want in a meatball: meaty, spicy, sweet, crunchy, earthy. Perfection if you ask us. Perusing the reset of the meatball wonders, we also really enjoyed the Brasstown Beef that boasts hearty and tender beef topped with immaculate black truffle jam(!) and gouda that rounds out the bite, bringing in a little earth and a little creaminess. All the flavors on this one!! Break up the meatball and mix in the truffle topping. WOW! As for the Pork with the whipped ricotta, it was also delicious, with a very mellow pork ball and the creaminess and earthiness of the ricotta cheese. Meaty and creamy. Nonna’s mixes the right amount of meatball with mustard seed for tart and a slight pop in the mouth. Then, on top of that the currants are sweet and tart. Cut the meatball up and mix in the toppings, yum! What feels like the original, just plain good Mommy’s that reminds you of something your grandma would make, perfect meatball, sauce, earthy basil. BAM! Finally, The Grana is a simple, yet delicious meatball that is a good mix of sage and meat, perfectly balanced. Be honest, if you could have just one, what would it be?

Now that we’ve gotten you good and hungry, our Italian journey continues on the vendura and pasta. Something we would never think of getting was the wood roasted peppers. Pat sent them up for us to try and boy, what a treat. Slightly spicy of the pepper to the creamy of the whipped ricotta to the sweetness of the honey, mix it all up and you get a great all-around flavor! The most delightful surprise of the night was the Roasted Corn Vendura. Immaculately plated standing up with the stalks in the air, the corn is surrounded by a moat of lemon aioli, peppers, and Calabrian oils, it was visually and tastefully stunning. The crunchiness of the corn, the creaminess of the aioli and then comes the spice on the back end to kick you in the teeth. We’re in love with this dish because it gives you a little bit of everything and it’s so unique! After breathing a little fire, came our Pappardelle pasta. Oh. My. Goodness. Ragu is our love language. This Pappardelle pasta, which is thick and hearty, is perfectly cooked and fresh topped with rich pork ragu and sprinkled with hard mozzarella cheese. So meaty and rich, the ragu is the perfect combination with the heartiness and heft of the pasta, plus the right amount of spices. Top with that perfect amount of cheese and you’ve got a dynamite pasta that we will have to come back for seconds to get!

Next stop, pizza. We sampled the Roni, which was a mix of fresh cheese, crisp crust, pepperoni, honey and Calabrian chili combined inside curled up pepperoni. An everchanging collaboration of flavors that seep together to make one of the most unique flavored pizza’s we’ve ever had! Tip: horde the middle. All of the pepperoni goodness and honey, chili, all come together there. It’s the best bite. We’d like to mention that John really enjoyed the Roni. He said at one point that he couldn’t get over how good the pepperoni, honey, and cheese combination was and never would have thought he would love it so much.

Just when you think you can’t get a better meal, in comes the Wood Roasted Chicken. Having the Porchetta (WOWZER!) at the preview, we figured since our waitress recommended it, we’d give it a whirl. Good. Choice. Tender and fall off the bone roasted chicken in a blend of spices and mixed with peppers and surrounded by the sweet and spicy rosemary lemon sauce that elevates the chicken.  The best part was the fattier chicken thighs paired so well with the spiciness of the sauce and the peppers. If you have any leftovers, make a quick panini or sandwich with it the next day. Delicimo!

Full to the brim, now, while we sat on the patio and the rainstorm rolled in, we sipped on several cocktails, like the Lemonada, which was Liz’s favorite! It’s just a gin slushie with lemon Pellegrino! It’s simply refreshing and perfect for a hot day. They’re frozen cocktail changes every so often so you might go and get an Aperol Spritz slushie or even a Froze. Our favorite shaken cocktail was the Amalfly Coasting that is the right mix of Pellegrino pompelmo, gin, peychaud’s. It’s sippable heaven.

That evening as we left, a lone beam of light shown under the clouds. A glimpse of the sunset could be seen from the rooftop and we stopped to take it in. The perfect ending to a wonderful meal. It just proved to us that meatball heaven does exist.

Canoe, Where Have You Been All Our Lives?

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 5/31/20

The second you drive up to Canoe, romance is in the air. The quiet river flows by, the covered patio keeps you cool from the late Spring sun, winding walkways meander around the lawn sending you down hidden paths, can you see it? The popular brunch spot is the perfect place to sit in an Adirondack chair by the Chattahoochee holding your honey’s hand. During our intimate Sunday Brunch, we sipped on a Sparkling Mule, dipped a scone in the homemade preserves, crunched into their smoked salmon starter, relaxed with a glass or wine or Aperol spritz, and even enjoyed a hearty half chicken with silky grits. We swear you can hear Frank Sinatra in the background. Canoe, where have you been all our lives?

We’re always on the hunt for the best patio drinks and we may have found our new favorite: Sparkling Mule. One-part sparkling wine, one-part Moscow mule with ginger, vodka, and soda, it’s as refreshing as you can get. From the crispness of the sparkling wine to the coolness of the ginger and that perfect hint of lime. From there, we sipped on an Aperol Spritz that was refreshing, as well, with the tartness of the Aperol adorned with a ton of bubbles. And what’s better than that crisp glass of white wine while you watch the river roll by?

Listen up. Let’s get real about the scones. From savory to sweet to spicy to nutty, these scones were the perfect addition to our meal. The favorite was the plain scone, which the staff calls “fairy dust.” It was a magical mix of flaky biscuit with a hint of sugar and cinnamon. The rest of them were unbelievably tasty too, one was the prefect mix of cheddar and jalapeno, one had a hint of chocolate, and the last one was nutty and rich with almonds. A great mix of flavors dipped in homemade preserves, jams, and honey butter. Dessert first should be our new thing.

If you know us, you know that we love anything that resembles a lox bagel. What’s not to love about some tender salmon, crisp bagel, creamy cheese, and sharp onion? Canoe has a delightful starter, the House Smoked Salmon, that was every bit of this but elevated with a crispy potato cake, the salmon was absolute perfection slow smoked and tender, and the mix of cream cheese and goat cheese was the icing on the cake! Let’s dot it with some spicy onion and scallions and it’s one of the best little bites! Still can’t get over that crunch. We ended up eating the entire thing. Lick the plate? It’s a possibility.

When you think brunch, you think pancakes, French toast, hash, eggs, but what if we told you that we got a beautiful half chicken nestled on a bed of cheddar grits? Imagine chicken that falls off the bone tender, plus, perfectly cooked, seasoned, and beautifully presented. That’s what you get, with the Oak Roasted Springer Mountain Chicken, a mouthwatering, juicy chicken dish with deep and rich grits with the light crunch of the green beans drenched in au jus and perfectly seasoned skin. Could not get over the flavor of the au jus and skin. Our tip: take the au jus mix it in with the grits, beans, and some of the chicken, top with the saltiness of the skin and it’s such a memorable dish. Dreamy!

Come with us down the path that leads to the chairs by the river, relax in the shade with your favorite wine. That’s the feeling you get at Canoe. We could sit here a while. Join us?

Clues and Cocktails: When a Meal Becomes a Mission

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 5/6/20

What if we told you that you could be a special agent rewarded with food? Enter Clues and Cocktails who traditionally would have you for dinner and a mystery show at their Auburn Ave location or games in their themed bar, but their new to-go and take out option keeps the fun going all the way to your door. An alternative to the boring take-out and delivery night, Clues and Cocktails invites you to order take-out and a mission for a non-traditional date night, game night, and everything in between. Do you have what it takes to crack the code and reap your food reward? Let’s find out.

When you order and select a mission, The Package comes to life as you become a special agent to stop bad guys like a superhero! Given a mission from Special Agent 048, you will crack codes, clues, and puzzles to complete thwart bandits from intercepting the package and receive a special code to open it upon arrival. The game turns out to be easy and fun and you even get to get a code to open the lock on your food. We successfully unlocked ours. Will you?

We got to try one entrée, The Collusion, but they have a ton of sandwich and salads for anyone looking for something handheld or healthy. Don’t let Clues and Cocktails deceive you, they may not have food in their name, but they have some mean bites. The Collusion is a boat of mac n cheese topped with spicy collards, baked chicken, more cheese, with cornbread and cowboy caviar on the side. It was a lot of food! Starting with our favorite, the cornbread, it was some of the best we’ve eaten in a very long time. It was savory and sweet topped with a fruit concoction that makes it almost a dessert. I wish there were more in my package because I could have eaten a whole pan full. What was even better that some of it got on top of my food and it gave it a delicious sweetness. The chicken was tender and well-seasoned, the mac and cheese was super cheesy, and what really made this dish was the spicy collard greens. They were perfectly cooked and mixed with hot sauce to give the dish some spice. It was a collusion of flavors that we really enjoyed. On the side, we also really enjoyed the cowboy caviar, a creamy and crunchy mix of beans, avocado, onion, corn, and a hint of lime. It was so refreshing and a great contrast to the hearty main entrée.

We can’t wait to try their bar, cocktails, and experience a mystery soon at Clues and Cocktails. This message will self-destruct in 3, 2, 1.