Season's 52 - Buckhead

Special of the day: Grilled Cobia with Curry sauce and vegetables over Himalayan rice.

I was recently invited to check out Season's 52. Atlanta has two locations and we dined at the location in Buckhead. The second Atlanta location is near Perimeter mall and both locations have lunch as well as dinner menus. Seasons 52 prides itself on its use of seasonal ingredients, its well stocked wine room/wine bar and its upscale ambiance. The service was excellent and it was clear that we were not the only ones getting special treatment. Our server was extremely knowledgeable and timed all of our dishes to come out perfectly, allowing us to have a relaxed meal. An added bonus: everything on the menu here has less than 475 calories, allowing guests to indulge in a nice meal out without totally destroying their diet.

My favorite dishes include the flatbread - about 6 varieties are offered and the special portobello mushroom kind we tried was fabulous - and the cobia with curry sauce, pictured above. Both of these items came from the sidebar menu that changes even more frequently than the regular menu, which is updated seasonally. I also adore the mini-desserts that they serve here.

Special portobello mushroom flatbread with sour cream truffle sauce, spinach and garlic - very delicious!



Organic tomato stack salad with blue cheese. Order this if you like onions - the onions are lightly grilled but not fully cooked. We enjoyed it but definitely not for the shy of onion.



Pom Margarita and a specially made pomegranate blueberry spritzer - both were really tasty!



Grilled lamb T-bone chops with asparagus, truffle mashed potatoes and red wine sauce. I always enjoy lamb.



Roasted yellow beets with wasabi cream sauce. The sauce really has a nice kick that goes great with the creamy delicious beets.



Seasons 52 serves the cutest "mini-indulgences" for dessert. I love how small they are so that you can sample lots!



We tried (L to R) the chocolate peanut butter mousse, special chocolate raspberry Valentine, pecan pie and mango cheesecake. My personal favorites are the pecan pie and the cheesecake - a wonderful way to end the meal without feeling too guilty!

Near the end of our meal manager Brian Farkas came by and took a photo of us. We saw him doing this for other tables, too. To our surprise, just before we left our server brought the photo to us in a special Seasons 52 frame. What a nice touch! This is a great place for a special meal or a nice business lunch - those who are watching their calorie intake will appreciate the thoughtfulness of the menu and those who are not won't notice!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Red Pepper Taqueria

Delicious chicken mole!

I was recently invited to check out the newly opened Red Pepper Taqueria located in the old Artuzzi's location at the corner of Briarcliff and LaVista. Red Pepper opened just after New Year's and it is evident that a lot of thoughtful work was done to prepare the space prior to opening. The interior has changed significantly for the better - it's very festive with an open feeling, although it is quite loud when full (a common problem). A full bar has been added and get this - there are beer taps at the tables in the bar area. That's right, you can pour your own! We didn't try it but it looks like a lot of fun for groups or parties.

We did try quite a few of the dishes on the menu including the above signature chicken mole dish. Mole sauce can come in many forms but it usually includes several types of chili peppers, ground nuts, dried fruits and sometimes even unsweetened chocolate. In some cases mole can have as many as 25 - 30 ingredients! The chicken mole here is a stellar version that I recommend for those who have never tried mole sauce - it is a bit spicy, just the way I like it!

Chips and salsa - I like the green tomatillo best. The chips were warm and had good flavor.



Made to order guacamole - you can get it mild, medium or hot - yum!



My 2nd favorite dish after the mole - the tuna crudo in citrus marinade - this is so good I would have it all on its own for lunch! Can't wait to do that sometime.



Prickly pear juice (left) and LaVista martini (right) - both tasty - the juice by itself was too sweet but I added soda water and then it was perfect - a nice cooling drink to go with the spicy foods we tried. Calvin liked the martini too!



Tacos: carne asada, organic tofu and grilled trout - neat that they have so many fish and veggie options. You can have either corn or flour tortillas.



Flan - my favorite dessert of the bunch: creamy, sweet and delicious. It's also gluten free.



Churros with chocolate sauce - love the presentation here! I'd love to see the addition of a darker chocolate dipping sauce. The churros themselves were really tasty - sweet and fried to perfection.



El Pastel AKA Drunken Cake.

Red Pepper Taqueria is a welcome addition to the Druid Hills/Toco Hills area. Try it and let me know what you think! Judging from the crowd we saw on our visit this place is going to do very well!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Yogurtland

Yogurt and toppings - quite a nice variety!

I was recently provided with a gift card in order to sample Yogurtland, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop (apparently the first such company that offered self-service) with 170 locations in the US, Guam and Mexico. The majority of locations are in the western half of the US. In Atlanta there are 2 locations, one on West Paces Ferry Rd. near I-75 and another in Norcross. A third location in Peachtree City is coming soon. At the West Paces Ferry location on a recent rainy Saturday, high school kids dominated the constant crowd in the bright, friendly shop. A sprinkling of young families played into the mix as well.

Although I believe the Atlanta yogurt market is over-saturated I was pleasantly surprised with Yogurtland's flavors, toppings, atmosphere and price. I tried many of the available flavors (more than a dozen!) including limited edition Yo Frappe and Mango Mixer tart flavors. Both were tasty. I personally prefer the tart flavors, and found the plain tart flavor to be delicious, especially when coupled with fruit and chocolate toppings! Toppings include the usual fruits, nuts and candies as well as mochi and tiny pieces of cheesecake as well as cookie dough bites - definitely appealing for the under fifteen set. Other flavors I enjoyed include Pecans & Pralines, Superfruit tart, Guava-Pineapple tart and Red Velvet Cupcake Batter. In my experience it is hard to find a good chocolate frozen yogurt and Yogurtland's version was pretty good - another welcome surprise. On the company's website you can view all flavors. I would love to try the Matcha Green Tea (which was not available when I visited).

I was also impressed by the pricing. At 33 cents per ounce the cost is reasonable and seems quite a bit lower than some of the other local yogurt establishments. Each of the above creations cost about $3.50. If Yogurtland was closer to me it would definitely be my top pick. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Disclosure: The yogurt described in this review was complimentary.

Holly's Cupcake Shop

Clockwise from top left, Hummingbird, Lemon Drop, Buckeye Brownie, Cookie Monster, Pumpkin (seasonal) and Black Bottom.

Just before Thanksgiving I was lucky enough to be provided with delicious cupcakes from Holly's Cupcake Shop. Holly and her husband, Jonathan, own shops in Conyers (founded in 2009) and in Midtown Atlanta where ITP folks like me can pick up their delicious cupcakes without leaving our home turf. The midtown location is at Colony Square (1197 Peachtree St.)

Holly brought me a sampling of cupcakes in her decked out truck (pictured below), which is used to transport the finished cakes from the Conyers shop/bakery to the Midtown shop. My personal favorites include the seasonal Pumpkin - so moist and delicious - and the Back Bottom - love the cream cheese filling and vanilla cream cheese frosting. My cousin's son (age 4) loved the Cookie Monster (white cake with Oreo folded in and topped with cookies and cream frosting). All of the cupcakes were tasty and moist on the first day and they lasted pretty well for a few days (Holly recommends wrapping the bakery box in plastic wrap or transferring to an airtight container to retain moisture).

Unlike some cupcake shops, Holly bakes many types of cake for her cupcakes rather than only using chocolate and vanilla cake with a variety of frosting. For example, the Hummingbird cake contains banana, pineapple and pecans and the Banana Pudding cupcake has banana cake and banana pudding filling. Many of the cupcakes are filled, which gives them a unique taste and even more moisture - a real plus.

Holly's sells six flavors every day (Conyers is open Tuesday - Saturday and Colony Square is open Monday - Friday) and offers 5-6 daily flavor options. Check the website for details. Mini-cupcakes are also available (if ordered in advance).

Clockwise from top left, Red Velvet, Vanilla Chocolate, Chocolate Chocolate, Chocolate Vanilla, Vanilla Vanilla and Gingerbread (seasonal).



Holly's fabulous cupcake truck - used to transport sweet treats from the flagship store in Conyers to the midtown store at Colony Square.



I look forward to trying more varieties of Holly's Cupcakes soon!

Smallcakes

Cupcakes galore at Smallcakes.

I was provided with the above sample of cupcakes from Smallcakes: A Cupcakery, which has a new outpost in Buckhead. The first Smallcakes is located in Overland Park, Kansas and now freestanding franchises as well as franchise co-brands with Freshberry Yogurt are located in Kansas, Oklahoma, California, Florida and North Carolina in addition to Georgia. Smallcakes bakes around 20 flavors of cupcakes, some of which are available every day, others just on some days. I like that they have a rotating menu and some creative flavors like pumpkin and cherry limeade. At $3 each, however, they are not cheap.

Smallcakes' claim to fame is that it's co-founder, Jeff Martin, was on Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" and as a result, the cupcakes became a hit with the ladies on "The View". The cupcakes were also served at the 2011 MTV Music Awards. With these anecdotes in mind I was really excited to get home and try the beautiful looking cupcakes. I even invited my cousins over to share the wealth. Unfortunately the taste really disappointed all of us. The cake was tasteless and the icing - piled on with a vengeance - was way too sweet and also not that tasty. As you can tell, I was really disappointed by these cupcakes - and surprised that they could make it to franchise status. I'm not sure why they are so popular - from my perspective it can only be because they have managed to get hype from various stars. Unfortunately hype does not always equal taste. The yelp page for the Overland Park store shows that several others agree with my opinion.

Readers - have you tried Smallcakes? What do you think? What is your favorite cupcake place in Atlanta?

The available selection changes daily, with some of the more popular cupcakes available every day.

Thundercake

Thundercake - the book and the finished product.

One of my stepdaughter's summer reading books was "Thunder Cake" by Patricia Polacco. The book describes with wonderful illustrations a grandmother baking a special cake during a loud thunderstorm in order to keep her granddaughter from being frightened. The recipe in the back of the book (also found here) was easy to follow and a fun project for us to complete together after reading the book. The secret ingredient (tomatoes) really gives the cake moisture and balance - overall a great chocolate cake recipe. We topped it off with a homemade chocolate butter frosting - yum!

Gourmet Brunch with Friends at their Home

Quiche, chocolate bacon waffles and fruit.

While in California we were treated to a lovely delicious brunch at the home of friends. The food was excellent and the hostess showed me how she grates bacon and chocolate into the waffles to give them a unique, rich flavor. We are available anytime for another meal - well anytime we are in the Bay Area again!

Smoked salmon blini with capers.

Smashburger: Buckhead

An outpost of Smashburger, a national burger chain, opened in Buckhead in July. Another John's Creek location just opened this week and another location is planned for Alpharetta. I was invited to try Smashburger for lunch during a busy workday several weeks ago. Luckily, the Buckhead location is around the corner from my office so getting there was quick and easy. Smashburger took over what used to be Fatburger. In addition to signature burgers and a build your own option, grilled chicken, veggie burgers, hot dogs and entree salads are available. Sweet potato fries and haystack onions add to the "side" mix. There are no combos, so if you want fries with that you need to say so. The burger is available in three sizes, which is nice. View the Buckhead menu here. I enjoyed the Atlanta burger and Smashfries - the herb mixture on the fries is tasty and I liked the spicy flavors on this signature burger.

The Atlanta Burger: Peach BBQ sauce, Wicked Pimina cheese (I assume this is a trademarked version of Pimento, however I didn't really taste cheese in the mix), grilled jalepenos and Vidalia coleslaw. On the side: Smashfries tossed in olive oil, rosemary and garlic.







The Classic Burger with Fried Pickles.







The chocolate milkshake with Nutter Butter added - probably my favorite part of the meal! They use Haagen Dazs ice cream, which is my favorite commercial cream. Other mix-ins include Oreo and Butterfinger. Ice cream floats and malts are also available.

Pie Shop

Coconut Cream Pie = heavenly.

I was invited to try the fabulous Pie Shop back in July. This recent addition to Buckhead puts out pies, tarts, custards, tassies and more, including both sweet and savory items. In addition to what is pictured here, I've also tried their Savory Custard with Okra and Mushrooms, Vegetable Pot Pie, Cherry Pie, Chocolate Pie and Lavender Honey Pie. A unique feature: the shop stays open until 1 AM on weekends to accommodate dessert-seekers and bar hoppers in the neighborhood. Their communal tables allow for lunch, dessert or a snack (or dinner on the weekends!) to be eaten in; or you can take a whole pie to go. The selection changes weekly - click here for the current menu - and you can join the shop's email list to have the weekly selection emailed to you on Monday. The combinations range from classic to inventive - definitely a place worth seeking out.

Entrance to Pie Shop. You drive around back to reach the entrance. Look carefully for the Pie Shop sign on Roswell Road as it is easy to miss.



Pie on display.



Strawberry-topped Cheesecake bites with gingersnap crust, Caramel-Banana Tassies with Pecan-Shortbread Crust, and Peanut Butter Cream Tassies with Chocolate-dipped Cookie Crust.



Three Grape Pie - unique and tasty.



Strawberry & Candied Lemon Peel Pie - my second favorite after Coconut Cream.



Wall of pie poetry - a really neat idea!



North Georgia Fried Apple Pie.



Butterscotch Meringue Pie.



Owner Mims Bledsoe with the pie boxes used for takeout. Tell her Amy on Food sent you!