Tag: Steven Satterfield

Krog Street Market—the highly anticipated restaurant and retail area soon to be home to Gu’s Dumplings, Fred’s Meat and Bread, Pannus Bakery, and more—will host its first event May 10. WonderFarm will be a seated dinner curated by Steven Satterfield of (Miller Union) and cooked by a dozen local chefs. There will also be art installations and performances.

Taste of Atlanta is only a couple of weeks away. This year’s food fest, held October 25 through 27 at Tech Square, features samples from more than ninety local restaurants, four stages of cooking demonstrations, a barcraft competition, and a “Taste Revival” kickoff event hosted by Ron Eyester of Rosebud, the Family Dog, and Timone’s.

I grew up not far from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where the South begins, feasting on crabs and oysters from the Chesapeake Bay estuaries. My father is a politician, and each summer my family traveled to a different state for the annual Southern Legislative Conference. I inhaled New Orleans beignets in a swirl of powdered sugar. I learned that North Carolinians eat tangy pork barbecue and that Texans prefer beef brisket. In 1995 I moved to Atlanta, excited to taste the city’s singular brand of Southern cooking.

A few weeks ago I happened upon a startling discovery: Some of my favorite area farmers do not care for eggplant. They grow it; they sell it. Apparently, though, they don’t eat it.

The swag bags are all stuffed for tonight's launch party celebrating Atlanta author Mary Kay Andrews' ninth novel, "Spring Fever" (St. Martin's Press, $25.99). The juicy, North Carolina-set beach read (that will no doubt have readers reconsidering the romantic implications of a burst appendix) makes its debut in Decatur Monday night when the former AJC reporter greets friends and fans at the Harbour Bar & Fish House from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The braised rabbit at Miller Union looks homely, as many of the South's finest dishes do. Shredded meat, sauteed mushrooms, russet-colored gravy, and a moat of grits make for an unglamorous collage of earth tones. But, oh, the taste. Bite after bite, this entree reminds me of Nat King Cole’s voice: velvety, soothing, timeless. The rabbit is cooked for two hours with carrots, celery, and fennel in chicken stock and red wine before being pulled from the bone—a step that helps squeamish eaters disassociate their meal from the cuteness of bunnies. No fancy seasonings mar the Logan Turnpike grits from North Georgia. They are simmered in water and milk and finished with salt, pepper, cream, and butter. The mushrooms add pleasant murkiness, and the braising liquid, acting as gravy, curtails the richness. This is food in high definition, a vivid sequence of flavors that reflects the agrarian roots and ingenuity of our region’s cooking.