Cincinnati Chili

We made a big batch of Cincinnati chili at the Atlanta office for 'Soup Wednesday' this week. This has been instituted in response to the overwhelming success of our Beer Fridays. Any suggestions for Monday, Tuesday or Thursday are welcome.

Welcome Anna

Green Olive Media has hired Anna Sexton as a new Assistant Account Executive with the Atlanta office. A University of Georgia graduate, Sexton earned a B.A. in Public Relations and Sociology. Sexton joins the firm after stints with Cookerly Public Relations and a Green Olive Media client, Epting Events, in Athens, GA.

Black Spaghetti

Staff lunch today at La Pietra Cucina - check out the Black Spaghetti - squid ink pasta, rock shrimp, scallions, hot calabrese sausage:

The French Laundry Vs. McDonald's

Nice piece about the similarities of these two fine establishments. "Both restaurants serve impressive pommes frites."

Animal

While checking up on the nut cases at Animal, I noticed this on their current menu:

"foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger / $35"

Somebody please go by there and report back on this! I suppose we should have put their oxtail poutine on our 'best of 09' list...

Jeff's Best Meals Of 2009

Warning - bad iPhone photos below...

Le Bernardin - New York, NY
I can't add anything to what everybody already knows about this place, but here's what I ate:
- Salmon Rillette
- Ultra Rare Scorched Scallop with Garlic Chive-Goat's Milk Butter Emulsion
- Crispy Black Bass, Braised Celery and Parsnip Custard, Iberico Ham, Green Peppercorn Sauce

Minetta Tavern - New York, NY
This one crossed over from our best burgers of '09 list.
Pancho's Tacos - Los Angeles, CA
Any breakfast that includes fish tacos and cheese enchiladas is going to make my 'best of' list.

DBGB - New York, NY
See here for a complete rundown of our meal that clocked in at around 30 courses...

Cochon & Cochon Butcher - New Orleans, LA
We made it to these places four times in four days. See here...
Marea - New York, NY
I'm not sure if I've seen a 'best-of' list recently that didn't include Marea. I'm on the bandwagon. Fresh cut semolina pasta, crab, Santa Barbara sea urchin, basil:
Commander's Palace - New Orleans, LA
Super old-school. Garlic bread, turtle soup, crispy gulf fish, pureed potatoes...

Peter Luger - Brooklyn, NY
Fun experience, great steak, cool waiters. Everything I hoped it would be.

Sake Bar Hagi - New York, NY
One of my new favorites in New York. There's nothing better than heading down to this basement space sometime after midnight, ordering a mug of Sapporo, and just pointing at things on the menu. To wit: fried squid beaks.

Best Burgers Of 2009

The year's best burgers, in no particular order...pardon the mostly terrible iPhone photos:

Minetta Tavern - New York, NY
OK, I won't rank the rest of them, but this was definitely the best. A mix of prime dry-aged ribeye, skirt steak and brisket, hailing from Creekstone Farms in Kentucky. At $26, it was definitely the most expensive one this year, but absolutely worth it. Probably the best burger I've ever had.

Father's Office - Santa Monica, CA
Another dry-aged monster...this had been on my 'must-eat' list for a couple of years, and it lived up to the hype.

Shake Shack - New York, NY
I convinced myself to deviate from my standard 'Shack Burger' order and went for the 'Shack Stack' - the big breaded ball you see here is a portobello surrounded by melted cheese - it was really more of a big cheese ball than anything. I think it would actually be better without the beef patty.

Comfort - Richmond, VA
Nothing fancy here...no dry-aging or proprietary beef blends, just a perfectly-made cheeseburger.

Larkspur - Vail, CO
Certainly the best food I've ever had on a ski hill...

Holeman & Finch - Atlanta, GA
This one is so good that we dedicated an entire page to it when we designed H&F's website.

In 'n Out - Los Angeles, CA
The first stop upon leaving the airport, wolfed down in the car.

The World Needs More BBQ-Related Music

We really should post these food songs more often. While Johnny Horton's 'Smokey Joe's Barbecue' isn't quite as food-centric as the World Famous Blue Jays' 'Cheeseburger Deluxe,' it's still well worth your while. Listen or download the MP3 here.

Beer Friday

On Friday afternoons we like to bring in some beers for everyone to taste (purely educational, of course) - usually from our friends at Hop City. Yesterday featured the La Moneuse Saison from Brasserie de Blaugies...yow!

Le Vigne At Montaluce, Dahlonega, GA

The cheese plate and trout from a dynamite lunch at Le Vigne. Only 70 miles from Atlanta, what are you waiting for?

American Package Design Award

We're excited to announce that Green Olive has been awarded the American Package Design Award for our work on the packaging for Collared Greens' shirts and ties...congrats to our design team!

Branching Out

With so many of our favorite places in close proximity to Green Olive Media Atlanta's office (Taqueria del Sol anyone?), we sometimes forget that there are new / different places that we need to check out so we don't get too far into a rut. I made an attempt last week to have lunch at places I've never been to before. The results:

Monday - Roy's Cheesesteaks
I'd heard a lot about this place having 'authentic Amoroso rolls imported from Philly,' Tastykakes, and of course, Cheez Whiz. While my only experience with a cheeseteak in Philadelphia was in the airport there last week (not recommended), I'd guess that this one was pretty authentic.

Tuesday - Hankook Taqueria
With the popularity of Kogi, it was only a matter of time before the Korean/Mexican trend hit Atlanta. I was thoroughly impressed with Hankook...even the tofu taco was good.

Wednesday - Key West Seafood Market
I assume this place on Howell Mill Rd. is new; at least I'd never noticed it before until I spotted the boat sitting in the parking lot. Shrimp sandwich:
Thursday - Silver Skillet
I cheated a bit on this one, as I've had more breakfasts here than I can count, but had never been for lunch. They have your basic meat-and-three type of menu, but I've always wondered if they could make a good burger. They can:
Friday - Taqueria del Sol
No, I couldn't make it for an entire week without a meal at Taqueria del Sol. Sue me. Fried chicken and fish tacos:

Why I Love Hagi Izakaya

Along with the usual suspects at Hagi (squid legs, octopus balls, fried eel), felt we had to order the spaghetti with ketchup, bacon, onion and green pepper. The kicker was the can of Kraft Parmesan that came with it. Only in Japan.

The Lobster Place - New York, NY

This place seems to have more on offer every time I visit...not only is there a sushi bar now, but there's even a window in the back where you can get lobster rolls:

Madangsui - New York, NY

A shot of the beautiful beef at Korean BBQ spot Madangsui just before we threw 'em on the tabletop grill:

Milk !

We got a full day's worth of milk on Saturday - first, a bottle from Milk Thistle Farm in the Hudson Valley:


Next stop was the Ronnybrook Milk Bar in the Chelsea Market - check out the old milk crates lining the walls:

Finally, a stop at Momofuku Milk Bar for a bottle of cereal milk (Corn Flake flavor):

Green Olive Food Photography At Atlanta Airport

Next time you're on the train at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson Airport, take a look at our food photography and design for Sojourner's and Juke Joint: