San Francisco

Pardon the cell phone photos...here are a few shots of things we ate in San Francisco and Napa Valley, most notably Zuni Cafe, Chez Panisse and Bouchon (I'm especially proud that five of the seven meals featured french fries):

Burgers, chili cheese fries, chili dog and sweet potato fries at Taylor's Refresher:


Lamb Sausage and pizza at Chez Panisse:


Goat Cheese Salad, Chez Panisse (the first appearance of a salad on the Green Olive blog?):


Zuni Burger:



Bouchon Steak Frites:



Press:





El Toro Taqueria:



In-N-Out Burger:

Smoke, bacon spotted in cocktails

We thought we'd seen it all when we ordered 'The Waylon' at Tailor (Chef Sam Mason's place) - a drink made with 'smoked cola' and whiskey. Now the folks at PDT are featuring the 'Benton's Old Fashioned,' which includes angostura bitters, maple syrup, and, yes, Benton's bacon-infused bourbon.

Tennessee

While we missed a few of our favorites in Nashville (Rotier's, Prince's Hot Chicken), we made it to San Antonio Taco Co. for the best steak tacos this side of Texas, discovered a decent barbecue place outside of Chattanooga, and had a nice meatloaf and pimento cheese sandwich at Mom and Dad's house. Also stopped by Hatch Show Print and the honky tonks of lower Broadway.

Hillbilly Willy's:

Big meal at San Antonio Taco:

Hatch Show Print:

Robert's:

Ernest Tubb Record Shop:

Meatloaf sandwich:

Best Meals of 2007 from Green Olive Media

Elizabeth Moore:
The Bo Ssam at Momofuku Ssam Bar

The Bo Ssam is a free-range organic whole pork butt, that's been braised in soy, sugar, and wine, and served with Hoison, oysters and fun stuff like kimchi, rice and bibb lettuce for wrapping. Chef David Chang is nothing short of a bad ass. Chef Tien Ho is always a pleasure. Minor always asks for Kempten and keeps the White Owl beer flowing...www.momofuku.com

Jeff Moore:
Boudin Balls - Cochon, New Orleans
(at the Southern Foodways Symposium in Oxford, MS)
Big balls of boudin, deep-fried. What's not to like?

Monkfish Liver - Prune, NYC
The fishiest thing I've ever eaten, 'fishy' being a good thing.

'Disco Fries' - BLT Burger, NYC
I had several plates of these fries with gravy and cheese this year, and these were the best, perhaps because of the use of waffle fries. Food 101's version with bone marrow gravy may have been just as good.

Hot Sausage - Southside Market, Elgin, TX
I had this twice this year, though neither time in Texas. Once at the Big Apple BBQ Fest, and once at the SFA Symposium. Perhaps this year I'll actually make it to the restaurant.

Literally Everything I Ate at Momofuku Ssam Bar - NYC
Whether it was straightforward stuff like pork buns and plates of ham, or the hamachi collar, tripe, or veal head terrine, nothing I had here was less than spectacular.

Chicken Liver - L&M's, Oxford, MS
I'm no expert on chicken liver, but this was miles above any other I've ever had. I think I had it four times in three days.

Paul Gant's Barbecue - Port St. Joe, FL
Just a trailer on the side of the road, with by far the best barbecue I've ever had.

Whole Roasted Pig / Rappahannock Oysters - Gryffon's Aerie Farm, Gordonsville, VA
A pig roasted over a fire for God-knows-how-many-hours by Jason from Comfort and Buz from Buz and Ned's, the best oysters I've had outside of Apalachicola (Rapahannock's Olde Salts), and a warm day on a beautiful farm made for a great meal. Even the High Lifes tasted pretty good.

Popeye's Chicken - At Billy Reid's store in Florence, AL
Sometimes the setting and the people are as important as the food. Although the chicken was pretty good by itself.

Burgers, pizza, barbecue and tacos

Today we ate at:

Burger Joint - cheeseburgers
Naples 45 - pizza margherita and salame pizza
Blue Smoke - smoked wings, beef ribs, pulled pork, sausages and Kansas City ribs
Paladar - ceviche, duck tacos with foie gras
P*ong - too many desserts to list

Naples 45:

Ceviche at Paladar:

101 Beard Dinner

Here are a few photos from tonight's dinner at the James Beard house featuring the chefs from 101 Concepts:

Veal pot roast:

Pumpkin cake:

Benton's bacon & fish:

Foie gras:

Fried lobster:

Squash soup:

NY Eats

We're in NYC for the James Beard dinner tonight featuring the chefs from 101 Concepts. Also on tap is a lecture at the French Culinary Institute from Jason Alley of Comfort. What we've eaten so far:

All sorts of barbecue from Blue Smoke

Burgers at The E.U.

Eggs and toasts at Blue Ribbon

More burgers at BLT Burger

Pizza at Lombardi's

A ridiculous amount of food at Momofuku

'Smoked Cola' at Tailor

Monkfish liver, bone marrow, eggs with kale, and lamb sausages at Prune

Burger and fries at The E.U.:

The Kentucky Iron Chefs & Whiskey Master

Our good friends from The Oakroom at the Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Chef Todd Richards, Mixologist Jerry Slater, (EM), and Chef Dwayne Nutter, toasting to the chefs appearance on the Television Food Network's "Iron Chef America" episode in which the Kentucky chefs were pitted against Iron Chef Cat Cora.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ia/episode/0,1976,FOOD_16696_53678,00.html

New Websites

We've just launched two new restaurant websites - Comfort Restaurant in Richmond & Portsmouth, VA, and Local 11 Ten in Savannah, GA.

Atlanta Magazine's "Best of Atlanta"

ATLANTA MAGAZINE'S "BEST OF ATLANTA"
Atlanta magazine features its 2007 Best of Atlanta list, honoring the places with the best shopping, nightlife, dining and more. Visit www.atlantamagazine.com

Congrats to Green Olive Media’s Clients:

Best Intimate Dining: Restaurant Eugene
Best New Trend(maker): Anne Quatrano & Linton Hopkins -- Homemade Salami
Best French Restaurant: JOËL
Best American Bistro: Floataway Café
Best Creative Energy: Repast

Giant Chicken at Carver's

Today's lunch at Carver's Country Kitchen featured the biggest drumsticks I've ever seen...at least twice as big as normal legs. Therefore, twice as good. The photo below is only half of the food they gave me:

Greece

Though there was no turkey, Thanksgiving in Greece was fun.

Food stands in the Athens alleys:

Soul food?
Cafes and restaurants everywhere:




One chef and one waiter are all they need:


Butcher shop:


Meteora:
Lots of farms:

North Carolina

A few highlights from a Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina.

Pork sandwich at Dillsboro Smokehouse - curiously, the beef was better than the pork:

I thought Charles Chips had gone out of business in about 1978, but they're alive and well in Dillsboro:

And what Thanksgiving would be complete without a 24-oz can of Bud and Clamato ('the perfect combination!'):

Latest Green Olive Food Photography

We shot the delicious Japanese food at Kani House yesterday - here are a few of the photos:

James Beard Preview Dinner at Food 101

Tonight, the chefs from 101 Concepts gave us a preview of the menu that they're preparing at the James Beard House in New York on December 17 - here are a couple of photos. You need to join us in New York in December to get the full experience:

Squash Soup:

Pork Belly:

Samuel Smith Beer Dinner at Spotted Dog

Tonight was the first in the Spotted Dog's monthly Beer Dinner series. Samuel Smith beer was the main attraction, paired with a five-course dinner. No photos, thanks to my forgetting to bring a decent camera, or even a charged-up cell phone, but here's the menu:

Potted Shrimp / Organic Ale

Lentil Soup with Lamb Sausage / Winter Welcome Ale

Duck Leg, Sauerkraut & Ginger / Nut Brown Ale

Keen's Cheddar & Apples with Poppy Seeds / India Pale Ale

Cranberry Eton Mess & Meringue / Oatmeal Stout

Georgia Dome Hot Dogs

While loading up my hot dog at the Falcons (2-6!) game on Sunday, I noticed that the good people at the Georgia Dome have made up some posters instructing us on how to properly top our dogs. While I'll be sure to try the 'Dirty Bird Blitz' next week, it turns out I've been eating the 'Bootleg' for years without knowing it: