December 29, 2011

Photo Shoot - Sublime Doughnuts

Just a sample of some of the doughnuts we're photographing for our shoot at Sublime Doughnuts today:

Eagle Brand Knife

So can anyone tell us anything about Eagle brand knives? My grandfather gave me one of his old knives as a Christmas gift this year, and I don't know anything about it or the company. I do know that he told me that his company gave him a knife (including this one) as a bonus whenever he "did some extra work." We may implement that policy around the Green Olive offices next year.

New Year's Queso

We have a long-standing tradition of eating greens, black-eyed peas and pork on New Year's Day. I can never quite remember what they symbolize - I think the greens are for for money, peas for good luck, and pork...maybe it's to assure you'll have plenty of bacon and BBQ in the new year. Regardless, we have the Homesick Texan to thank for this year's New Year's meal. I couldn't wait until Sunday to try this one, so I went ahead and made the Queso Compuesto (recipe here) last night (see below). A definite winner.

December 28, 2011

Jeff's 12 Best Meals Of 2011

Here's my annual list of the best things I ate this year, in chronological order:

The John Dory - New York, NY

Oyster Pan Roast with Uni Toast
This newish place has served us well when The Breslin next door is too crowded. Run by the Breslin/Spotted Pig folks, the food here is every bit as good as at their other places.
Minetta Tavern - New York, NY
Black Label Burger
Yes, Minetta Tavern makes my list every year, but there's no better burger anywhere than this. Check out a video about it here.
Pier 76 Pizzeria - Staten Island, NY
Cheese Pizza
While the pizza here was absolutely worth a ferry ride from Manhattan, what really sold us was the staff, mostly made up of family members related to the legendary Joe & Pat's in Staten Island. Easily some of the friendliest folks in New York, they seemed genuinely happy to welcome a couple of Southerners who'd made the trek over to sample some of their pies. Here's a writeup.

Graham Elliot - Chicago, IL
Whole meal
The food here certainly veers toward the molecular side of things, but there's not a lot of seriousness here, what with the loud music and casual service. Fine dining can still be quite fun when done like this.
Uchiko - Austin, TX
Whole meal
Some of the best fish I've had in recent memory, and the beef tongue nigiri (pictured) may have been my favorite thing I ate all year.
P. Terry's - Austin, TX
Double Burger
Like an In-n-Out burger, but better.
Black's BBQ - Lockhart, TX
Brisket
Every time we're in the little Texas town of Lockhart, we eat at Smitty's. This was the year that we finally branched out and tried Black's BBQ, which replaced our old Smitty's standby after a few visits. We've taken to ordering from them online when we need a fix, or when we want to have a nice staff lunch at the office.
Memphis In May - Memphis, TN
Fatback Collective Whole Hog
A bunch of pitmasters and James Beard award winners (Sean Brock of McCrady's/Husk, Donald Link of Herbsaint, Stephen Stryjewski of Cochon, to name a few) formed a competition BBQ team and took third place in the whole hog world championship. Pictured here is the Mangalitsa hog they cooked. We were there to shoot a bunch of pictures during the competition that you can see here.

Maialino - New York, NY
Mushrooms
Just a plate of mushrooms, but sometimes all you need is a top-notch ingredient and a skilled kitchen (and a fair amount of butter and stock, I suspect).

St. John - London, England
Langoustines and Mayonnaise
See above, re: simple ingredients and not much else.

Andrew Michael - Memphis, TN
Whole meal
Our travels lately have brought us to Memphis, but sometimes with only enough time to eat one meal. You'd be crazy to eat anywhere but at Andrew Michael if that's your situation. I don't know of any chefs who seem to enjoy what they do as much as Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman. Get here quick so you can say you ate here before these guys were huge.
Southern Foodways Symposium - Oxford, MS
Mike Lata "Lowcountry Idyll" Lunch
We all know that Mike Lata is an amazing chef, and we kind of miss the moustache, but we were amazed to see the quality of food that he and his staff were able to cook for a group of several hundred people at the Southern Foodways Alliance symposium in October. Looks a little similar to the John Dory Oyster Roast from the first entry in this list. Let's hope this dish is the next trend.

December 24, 2011

Wool & Whiskey - Jackson Hole, Wyoming

While we enjoy the bourbons they offer when we shop at Billy Reid, our favorite full-on bar located within a clothing store has to be at Wool & Whiskey in Jackson Hole:

Il Villaggio Osteria - Jackson Hole, Wyoming

After several days' worth of 'research,' we can say that our favorite place in Jackson Hole was Il Villaggio Osteria. We ate at least a pizza a day here, and see below for the Foie Gras Ravioli with braised oxtail, mushrooms, roasted butternut squash and truffle cream:

December 15, 2011

Website Design - Seed Kitchen & Bar, Atlanta, GA

Check out our website design for Seed Kitchen & Bar in Atlanta - that's our logo design as well...

Yet More Food At The Green Olive Offices

The holiday season means that there is wayyyy too much food around the Green Olive office - cookies, pies, candy...
Today we're adding spreads to the smorgasbord - here are a couple from Inland Market: Maine Lobster Torta with corn & basil; and Smoked Salmon Torta with ginger, sesame and wasabi.

Prince's Hot Chicken

We were doing a little hot chicken research earlier this week, so there was nowhere else to go except Nashville. As usual, Prince's Hot Chicken Shack was the clear winner. This is the 'medium' - more than enough to make you literally sweat after a single bite. No sane person should order the 'Hot,' or God forbid, the 'extra hot.' And we always take any opportunity to mention this short film about Prince's - click here.
*Thanks to the new iPhone for having a fairly decent lens!

Poster Design - Meehan's, Atlanta, GA

Here's our design of the poster for Meehan's "Soup Wars" coming up in January:

December 8, 2011

Logo Design - Blue Eyed Yonder

Here's our logo design for our friends at Blue Eyed Yonder...

November 16, 2011

Package Design - Olive and Sinclair Chocolate

Check out our new package design work for Olive and Sinclair Chocolate - based in Nashville, but of course available everywhere online. The smoked nib brittle features cacao nibs smoked by the one and only Allan Benton, he of Benton's Bacon fame. And you know that Variety Pack would make a great holiday gift.

Vending Machine Card Design

"A variety of American sweet vending machine cards from 1950s to 1970s. These unique and colourful signs were inserted into the front of the machine to entice teens to part with their hard earned money."

Sushi Yasuda

This week, the New York Times gets around to reviewing Sushi Yasuda for the first time since 2000. The two best sushi meals I've ever had have both been here...

November 14, 2011

Chicken Liver Taco - Taqueria del Sol

This week, the folks at Taqueria del Sol bring you the chicken liver taco. Have we mentioned we love this place?

October 26, 2011

Logo Design - Pasture Restaurant, Richmond, VA

Here's our logo design for Richmond's Pasture Restaurant, opening in November. This is a new venture from Jason Alley of Comfort Restaurant, also in Richmond. Check the website soon for menu and opening info.

Fette Sau - Brooklyn, NY

We've yet to see a better restaurant mural than the one on the wall at Brooklyn's Fette Sau:

M. Wells Cooks In Atlanta

The folks from New York's M. Wells came down to cook in Atlanta the past two nights at Gato Bizco in Candler Park. See here for a bit of background on the restaurant. What we ate:

Apples with kimchi; Oysters with coffee sabayon; Oxtail soup; Foie gras bread pudding; Beef heart tartare:Also, notice that one of the ingredients in the tartare dish was 'fun:'

October 25, 2011

Today In Record Cover Design

Behold the classic "Pardon My Blooper!" - there's nothing about this cover that I don't like:

October 17, 2011

Web Design - Passion Food Hospitality Group

We've redesigned the websites for the Washington, DC restaurant group Passion Food Hospitality, including DC Coast, Acadiana, Ceiba and PassionFish. The sites for the newly-opened District Commons and Burger Tap And Shake are coming soon as well.

September 28, 2011

New York Food Film Fest

We're beyond excited for the New York Food Film Fest coming up October 13-16. So many great friends are involved - thanks to Festival Director George Motz for putting the whole thing together; and congrats to filmmaker Joe York for being included - his film 'CUD,' about grass-fed beef rancher Will Harris is an absolute can't-miss.

September 21, 2011

Green Olive 13th Anniversary Party

Join us on Sunday, October 16 at 2:00 at our Atlanta office to celebrate our 13th anniversary. We'll have all the stuff we like - BBQ, tacos, cocktails, music, etc. Any and all are welcome - just email us at rsvp@greenolivemedia.com , and mention the anniversary party in your subject line.

September 14, 2011

Green Olive Wins Nine American Graphic Design Awards

We're happy to announce that we won nine American Graphic Design Awards for our work on the following:

Olive and Sinclair - website design
Bocado Restaurant - website design
Bayou Bakery - logo design
Boxcar Grocer - logo design
H. Harper Station - website design
H. Harper Station - menu design
Goo Goo Cluster - stationery design
ai3 - website design
Sweet Georgia's Juke Joint - menu design

September 12, 2011

Frito Pie

Now that Frito Pies are in season, we partook of our first of the year this past weekend in Knoxville, TN:

September 8, 2011

Hotel Havana - San Antonio, TX

Some fine examples of type at the Hotel Havana in San Antonio:

World's Greatest Butcher

Spotted in Patrick Springs, VA on the way to Lambstock at Border Springs Farm - they'll cut you a nice steak, install a new hard drive:

Hatch Chile Festival At Taqueria Del Sol

Only a few more days until the annual Hatch Chile Festival at Taqueria del Sol on Howell Mill Road in Atlanta - come join us on Sep. 11...details here.

September 6, 2011

Empire Mayonnaise Co.

Check out Empire Mayonnaise from our pal Sam Mason on Saturdays at Brooklyn's Smorgasburg...and look for the Mayo Shop to open this fall at 564 Vanderbilt Ave. in Brooklyn:

September 2, 2011

Mexican Coke

Check out Serious Eats today for an exhaustive tasting of Mexican vs. American Coke:

September 1, 2011

Identity and Web Design - The Bakery At Cakes & Ale, Decatur, GA

See here for our logo and web design for the new Bakery At Cakes & Ale...

Web Design - Parlor Market, Jackson, MS

We just launched the website for Jackson, Mississippi's Parlor Market - check it out: