alma - Los Angeles, CA

Dinner - Saturday, February 22, 2013

Since our first meal at alma last year, Ari Taymor and team have been building a steady stream of recognition. Bon Appetit, GQ and the James Beard Foundation have all come knocking on their door. The restaurant has changed as well, streamlining itself in the kitchen. Gone is the a la carte menu, replaced by two prix fixe options - one simply an abbreviated version of the other.

I had briefly corresponded with Ari after our dinner in June, but was quite surprised to receive an invitation from him earlier this month to revisit the restaurant, as he felt that the restaurant had "grown by leaps and bounds". With no plans in place for my birthday, we decided that celebrating at alma would be perfect.

NB: at the end of the night, we were refused a bill due to a kitchen oversight (see the end for further details). Ari, unfortunately, was away in NYC doing a collaboration dinner at Contra.

Restaurant Eugene - Atlanta, GA

Dinner - Monday, December 30, 2013

Linton Hopkins was named the James Beard "Best Chef - Southeast" in 2012, and Restaurant Eugene is the flagship of his restaurant family (although Holeman & Finch arguably garners more press for its burger). The style here is very classical - broadly speaking, traditional French technique with Southern ingredients. Arguably not the sort of place we typically gravitate towards, but this time, the lack of information about the food here piqued our curiosity.

The Optimist - Atlanta, GA

Lunch - Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Occupying the cavernous space of a former ham-aging warehouse, The Optimist at lunchtime is a bright, airy space filled with wood and iron and rough linen. We stopped by for lunch before heading to the airport - our last meal on this short tour of the South. The food is as good as the space is beautiful.