Bryan from BiteoftheBest.com

It's a new economy and restaurants are doing everything they can to continue and attract customers. 'Set menus' are reappearing as a means to more food for less money, as diners look to stretch their dollars at the dinner table. On this note, I recently took the opportunity to try a special occasion menu at a talked about Atlanta Japanese restaurant I'd yet to sample.  STEEL is engaging at first glance, with a zen garden-like atmosphere that includes an extravagant fountain, forming a literal rain curtain, wrapping around the bar and lounge area. My friend Sous had informed me about the dinner, but I had completely overlooked the fact that [...]

I've been living in Atlanta for the past three years, and though I was very skeptical upon arrival, I have become pleasantly surprised with the culinary scene here... especially over the past year as I have gotten to know the city so much better. Despite finding a variety of quality restaurants, cafes and random lunch spots... one of the most glaring epicurean oversights remaining is pizza. I must put this statement in context, as I am a bit of a pizza snob. Having grown up in New Haven (pizza mecca, if you were not aware) and lived in New York City... I have a certain idea of what pizza should [...]

Though I grew up in New Haven, I haven't spent much time there over the past 10 years. Going back this past Thanksgiving was a truly great experience; not only seeing old friends after far too much time apart... but eating my way through some of my favorite old haunts, as well as some new additions to the neighborhood. Pizza was my central focus during any food discussion while at home. The blinders were on people, this is New Haven, pizza mecca... and I cannot get real pizza in Atlanta!. My first available lunch was taken at Yorkside Pizza, with meatball Parmesan and far too much pizza ordered (purposefully). More [...]

Foodie road trip pt. 2; After leaving Adairsville in the morning, we took the brief (1hr 20m) journey up I75 to Chattanooga, TN. Arriving midday, we quickly checked into our hotel, The Stonefort Inn, a quaint 'elder year' property located in the heart of the city (most specifically within walking distance of our dinner-dining choice - yes, walking in the South!). Sous is also 'press' and had gotten us passes to the Tennessee Aquarium. Apparently the Southeast is all about two things; college football and who can build the biggest, baddest aquarium (we all need something)... As Atlanta now boasts the 'biggest', we figured we had to see the previous [...]

So, what do you do in North Georgia? Recently, my friend Sous and I decided to go on a 'foodie road trip', with a plan to keep the driving to within a three-hour radius (avoiding overly long drives, especially after dining experiences). To any of you reading this from the 'Northeast Corridor', you may be thinking that a three hour radius is more than enough time to do a true three-city tour de cuisine... with Boston, Providence, Hartford, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington all in striking distance. To those of us in the Southeast (Atlanta specifically), this driving radius means that Birmingham and Chattanooga are the only [...]