I was at Park Tavern this Tuesday night with a handful of co-workers and exactly 8 other patrons over the course of the night (5-11), and we sat in the back at a nice big square table, next to something that alarmed me: the new sushi bar they’re putting in.

I was assured by our waitperson that they’d had the sushi that is to be served and that it was awesome – which I don’t doubt – but come on. You’re a tavern.

If you’re that hard up for business, which apparently you are, how about throwing energy at some social media efforts? Marketing? Waiting for spring? You have an identity and a brand, stick with it…and make it better.

Sushi at Park Tavern = jumping the shark. IMO.

From all accounts I’ve heard/read, Jeff Varasano has been hosting underground pizza parties for years, and he’s the ranking on-line king of pizza.

Those are both teasers and I had no clue what either of them meant before I went to one of his aforementioned tastings at the invitation of Patricia Tinsley.

His home, where the parties are held, is a stones throw from Phipps Plaza is not entirely modest. It’s a beautiful home with a layout perfect for entertaining from the kitchen, though tall arched doorways and into wide spacious rooms. A dozen or so of us bellied up to the wrap around bar and spilled into the breakfast area and sitting room to watch Jeff and his assistant Heather Stokely work their doughy magic.

Fresh ingredients lined up on the counter, and a half a glass of wine down, I asked Jeff about the urban myth that what makes New York pizza so good is the water while the others made introductions and mingled over wine. Conveniently, they couldn’t hear my naïveté.

Jeff educated me as he worked the pale mound into something flat I recognized, and as he placed slivers of goodies on outstretched doughy goodness: that the myth has been around for generations and it started with this: well water v. public (contaminated) water. Huh. Who knew?

The secret, he says, is in the dough and the rest you give it and the fresh ingredients. The recipe? On line for anyone to make, which they do, and which is why he’s the online king of pizza. Hits, baby! Hits!

Varasano’s legit restaurant is slated to open late February near Piedmont Hospital, and when he does, I’ll be there. I’ll be easy to spot because I’ll be ogling, fondling and devouring the number he makes with rosemary, garlic and dates. Frack.

I was eating breakfast at Carroll Street Cafe in Cabbagetown with a friend Sunday morning, when in quick succession I notice the following:

• the table next to us had two nice middle aged couples
• a 30-something woman in a lime green fuzzy running/sweat suit came into the restaurant
• as we were leaving a couple comes in with two young children in tow
• a woman was walking her Sheltie as we walked to the car

I had the pleasure last week of spending an evening in the company of Jake Rothschild, the namesake and man behind the success of Jake’s Ice Cream, and now also the proud pappa of the Irwin Street Market. The market is located in the Old Fourth Ward on the corner of Irwin and Sampson Street, across from the well photographed and directional landmark water tower.

When you walk into the market you’re greeted by a large, industrial but cozy room. The exterior walls host a variety of vendors: to your right is Flower Bar, beyond that is a woman who sells handmade soaps and beauty products, beyond that is another room with art, books and my favorite clever greeting cards on a spinning rack (you need to go yourself to see). In the main room continuing counter clockwise is a cupcake maker, a fabulous cookie bar and beyond that a coffee bar. That brings you around to the left side of the room and its anchor businesses: Jake’s.

There’s another room to your left as you come in, hosting framed photography on the walls, comfy couches and more intimate lighting with two adjoining alcoves for privacy and conversation. Back in the main room, you’ll find couches, armchairs and the family table flanking retro ovens being used as displays for other locally made wares.

Admittedly, I didn’t know much about Jake or his business adventures, and while I had patronized the Irwin Street Market (lunch at Jake’s, flowers from Flower Bar for the housewarming, cupcakes from Button Cakes Bakery) I wasn’t entirely clear on what was happening in the space, and hadn’t given a lot of thought to the eclectic collection.

Friday night, I got the 411. Simply stated, it isn’t just the goal of the market, but the intent behind everything Jake does: to nurture and help local business grow. On the website for ISM, its declared as our neighborhood s urban artist market, and it is.

It’s an incubator for small business who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford a storefront, who wouldn’t normally have the coaching and support of someone who has tried, stumbled, succeeded and found himself in the process.

As someone with a unquenchable passion for small business and a soft spot for “the little guy”, I’ll be undoubtedly be spending more time at the market. Bonus: free wifi and loads of comfy spots to sit without loud-not-my-taste music rattling your thoughts out of your head. Perfect for plotting about and noodling your own business dreams, which you can see to fruition right there at the Irwin Street Market.

Oh yeah, and remember that post several weeks back where I said that if I wasn’t so lazy I’d start a small local produce stand? Great minds think alike: keep an eye out for just that at Jake’s in the next couple of months.

For the past two years state legislators attempted to get Sunday liquor sales approved for Georgia. Georgia is one of three states that do not allow Sunday sales, Connecticut and Indiana are the others. Each year the bill has gained momentum and this year is no different.

The state legislature convened this week for their 2009 session. Already the bill to approve Sunday sales has been filed in the Senate with the House to soon follow. The main opponent is Governor Sonny Perdue. He doesn’t drink, he’s proud of that and he will veto the bill.

According to the AJC there is more support for the bill than ever. Lt. Governor Casey Cagle says, “He will not stand in the way,” of the bill. Last year Cagle helped stall the bill in the Senate.

As long as Perdue is governor this bill will not pass. Conventional wisdom is that there is not a 2/3 majority that is needed in both houses to overturn Perdue’s veto. With the state facing a $2 billion budget gap, you’d think they’d be looking wherever possible to find money. Granted having liquor sold on Sunday may prove to a negligible increase in revenue. However, the fact that grown adults cannot go to the store and buy liquor on Sunday seems downright comical. As one friend pointed out, you can drive to a bar or restaurant, drink and then drive home; but you can’t go the store, drive home sober and drink at your home.

The legislation, if passed, leaves it up to voters to decide if they want Sunday liquor sales. The added the revenue alone make the choice an easy one. I think we’ve all grown up enough to have a little sauce on Sunday if we want.

For those of you reading who have a green thumb, you may remember that year or so back The Urban Gardner relocated from its home on Boulevard to its new home off the square in EAV, across from Graveyard Tavern.

This move was apparently not for the better, and last week they closed their retail doors for good (if you were in the know you may have picked up bargain planters and pots like I did, HT to Amanda for the heads up). According to co-owner Robin Marcus they’ll still be conducting workshops, performing landscape design and many of the other outreach programs they had running. It’s sad to see them go.

In related news, Farmer D has opened a retail shop in Atlanta which is being run out of (ironically enough) one location of a car wash chain he founded when he was 14. Amazing and true, as is the story of his relationship with Whole Foods Markets and our having an unsung environmental hometown hero in our midst. Read more about him here and visit his little shop, they’ve got most of what you need for your gardening delights, and what they don’t have yet, they will. Be sure to keep an eye on them come spring as well, when they’ll be offering classes and the like.

Now on to food stuffs. Does anyone have the scoop on why last night when I called in a delivery from Johnny’s O4W the phone was answered “Jack’s Pizza and Wings”? A surprise to be sure, and I’m not clear yet on if the change of name involved a change of ownership, if it was just the one store or the whole chain, or who designed their new logo (enh).

For no particular reason other than to start a bunch of flame wars and stoke conversation, I thought I’d make a list of what I think are the more underrated and overrated spots in town.  Leave your comments or your own under/over rated list! 

Underrated spots

These are the places that may slide under your radar, or that you take for granted.  Give ‘em some love:

• Orme Park – this is a nice little neighborhood park that is shielded from most of the city because it is smack in the middle of a bunch of single family homes.  There are no busy streets that run by it, which means it is nice and tranquil.  There is a little creek that runs through the middle of the park, and one of the best things about it is the large tunnel out of which the creek originates.  Growing up, it was a great place to hide out and avoid the adults.  I haven’t been there in a while, but there used to be some decent graffiti in the tunnel. (more…)

James made a comment about seeing Atlanta through other people’s eyes, and it got me thinking a little bit.  I enjoy seeing Atlanta through his eyes, as well, because there are tons of things that I take for granted or just don’t think are a big deal because I’ve been here for so long.  I don’t really get the big deal about the Starlight Drive-In on Moreland, for example.  I actually haven’t been too many times because I used to go up to the twin drive-in on I-85 where the spaceship-looking Hollywood 24 is now.  I prefer the whole theater experience, but all my friends who grew up in the ‘burbs or moved here from elsewhere just love the Starlight.  I’ve got plenty of friends who grew up here who like it just fine, but to them it’s mostly just a drive-in.  Sure, you can brink a six pack and drink while you watch the movie, but I’m not sure that should elevate the place to mythic status.

Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about was Woody’s.  Chances are you drove by it on Monroe and it was closed.  The same two guys have been working the counter as long as I can remember.  They have the worst hours (11-5, T-Sat), and I wouldn’t understand how they stay in business except that they have the best cheesesteaks in town.  While I can’t really give you an objective view of the place since I’ve been going there forever, I had lunch there today with a friend who moved here from Virginia some years ago.  We both inhaled the cheesesteaks so fast that that we had to catch our breath afterwards.  The same thing happens to me when I eat a double quarter pounder at McDonald’s.  I forget to breathe and I sit around gasping like a fish.

Like I said, I don’t have an objective view of Woody’s, since it has always been a part of my life.  If it were open more I’m sure I’d go there a lot more often, but for now I only end up there every few months.  It also isn’t the sort of place I hear many people talk about, so I thought I’d give it some love here on the Metblog.  An old timer’s trick though – if you go, order ahead.  The wait can get pretty bad, although it is definitely worth it.  You want a cheesesteak all the way, with extra meat.  If you are feeling ambitous, their milk shakes are pretty good.

In a comment on the first Coffee Circuit post, a reader pointed me at the Kirkwood coffee shop called Breukelen Mojo, which I hadn’t heard of before. This is, in short, why I dig the Metblog. Got a local coffee shop you love? Drop me a line in the comments so I can pay them a visit.

Breukelen Mojo (say it like “Brooklyn”) just turned one-year old this summer—an important milestone for an independent coffeehouse. Opened up by New York transplants eager to evoke the vibe of their cafe scene back home, the place seems focused not just on coffee but on local events. Area musicians and Thursday-night movie showings attract an evening crowd to the shop’s stage. If the main cafe space seems a little big for relatively few tables, I think that’s why: they use the room for event seating. Sunday mornings, I was told, locals enjoy classical guitar and coffee on their private patio.

I’ll admit, when I saw how small the coffee-drink menu here was, I worried. Simple menus, in my experience, often mean that a place is either a) doing the bare minimum necessary to be a coffeehouse, or b) looking to avoid the Starbucks syndrome of a sprawling overeager menu. That second option can be good or bad. It’s one thing to go for a basic, low-impact approach to the coffeehouse style, but it’s another thing to build a reactionary menu that cuts out the precious drinks that cafe dilettantes (like me) enjoy finding at local joints. Much to my relief, at Breukelen Mojo, they manage to pull off a relaxed, low-impact style without giving up on the fancy coffee drinks altogether.

The ladies I talked to at the shop, who were both super-friendly and smiley, told me they went out to Portland, Oregon, to attend barista classes before they opened up the shop. They wanted to do it right. Watching the barista put together a mixed-syrup concoction she called an Almond Joy, it’s easy to see. A multi-syrup cafe mocha has every reason to turn out heavy and thick, tasty but gut-punching with over-saturated sugary sweetness. Now don’t get me wrong, their Almond Joy isn’t airy—it’s still a mocha—but it was lighter and better composed than I could’ve expected. The barista didn’t dump syrups in a cup; she mixed and stirred and poured with an attention to detail that I look for outside of the morning rush. I appreciate that. Best of all, the thing was delicious from top to bottom, without that punishingly syrupy final quarter that’s the bane of so many mochas.

The nice folks over at Breukelen Mojo also pointed me at a couple of other Atlanta coffee and culture happenings I wasn’t aware of, so thanks for that. Don’t you be shy, either: if you’ve got a coffee shop you want me to check out and write about, drop us a comment on the site. I’m not doing formal reviews, obviously. I’m doing short profiles—I want to know what makes your shop what it is and why you were inspired to open it.

It probably isn’t fair to judge a new restaurant on its opening night.^[1] I’m sure The Grange doesn’t want me to do that and, honestly, I don’t think I want to do that to them. So let’s call this a first impression, with the understanding that we’ll meet again soon.

I found out The Angel was closing the hard way: I showed up and no one was there. The place was lights-out and empty. Uh-oh, I thought. Good news is, the place didn’t lay fallow for long. Better news is, The Grange kept pretty much everything that was good about The Angel’s space—the dark woods, the brick patio, the tile floor, and the little pub-nooks—and added just a bit of light, just a bit of air, to open it up and make it feel fresh.

On to the bad news. Saturday night, the joint was hopping, but tangled. The space between patio and bar was wandered by folks trying to figure out the seating situation, with no host and no list to help. I like wandering into a self-serve pub space, sure, but that night was just too busy for that. A tall man with keys on the end of a long spoon rushed around, apologizing for late dinners and calming frustrated customers. Beer was being brought in by the six-pack. They were in the weeds.

So let’s go back to some good news. Service was happy, attentive, and up-front. As soon as our waitress knew there was going to be a delay on our food, she let us know. Our appetizer showed up quick and hot.

Which brings us back to some bad news. The food on Saturday night was a bust. In an Irish pub, chips shouldn’t be skinny, limp, soggy things. What comes with them shouldn’t be a plastic Solo cup of blue-cheese dressing. Fish and chips shouldn’t consist of a single ragged piece of fish burned within an inch of edibility and more of those skinny fries. The shepherd’s pie was ordinary.

Word since Saturday, though, is better. The report I got says “Grange impressed” and “Good food.” Also, “Great hangout vibe,” which I sure agree with.

Friendly advice, Grange? Commit to the Irish vibe on your menu, nail those pub-favorite dishes, and add some distinctive dish that gives your place its own voice. In the meantime, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that The Grange stays busy enough to find its flow. The trick is giving a new place time to find its footing without, you know, just not going and accidentally running it out business, I guess.

Not to jinx it, but I’d be surprised if they can’t make it work there.

^{1. I’ve read that some restaurant critics give a new place three months to get their act together before they review the place. How long do you wait?}