Restaurant Review: The Farmhouse at Serenbe

Recently the Mister and I ventured down to Serenbe to eat at The Farmhouse restaurant.

I’m not going to waste a lot of your time by re-blogging things about the Serenbe Community that you might already know or that you can find out on your own by visiting the webpage for the community located in Chattahoochee Hills, but.....

To help you along a bit I will share this from the website….The settlement of Serenbe is found in the heart of Chattahoochee Hill Country.   The 40,000 acres of rural Georgia is about the size of Napa Valley, and is one of the last undeveloped stretches of land in the Atlanta area.  The founders of Serenbe realize that their largely untouched 1,000 acres presented a short window of opportunity for creating a community in a new better way.

And concerning restaurants….

At Serenbe, we believe in the power of food.  Families bond over meals, friends are made, and true communities are formed.  Serenbe founders Steve and Marie Nygren have a long history with food – Steve as a restaurateur and founder of the successful Peasant Restaurant Group; Marie as the daughter of Margaret Lupo, owner and chef of Atlanta’s famed Mary Mac’s Tea Room – and they knew that culinary arts should be at the heart of all that Serenbe has to offer.  Thus, Serenbe has become a dining destination featuring authentic restaurants and some of the best talent in the South.

Well, I have to agree.

We went to Sunday dinner at The Farmhouse which is located in the Inn at Serenbe.   

Sunday dinner resembles going to Grandma’s for  dinner after church.   There are no choices….just good food.   Well, I take that back.   We were able to choose fried chicken or the pork chop, but the sides came along as a surprise.  

Of course we chose the Fried Chicken Lunch which you can order on Saturdays or Sundays.

I was taken by the old farmhouse.   The wide porch reminded me so much of the turn-of-the-century home I grew up in down to the same type of gun-metal gray painted porch where I spent so much of my time playing and reading.

I mourn for that porch.....

I felt like I was going home to a certain extent.

Our table had a great view of the Inn's pool area......I have to come and stay here at some point.   I've put that on my "to-do" list, and hope I get around to it soon.

Once we were seated the waitress brought these lovely Sour Cream Chive Biscuits.  Later I looked for the receipe and happened to find Marie’s own recipe published on the web, so I recorded it for myself at my cooking blog here.

We started out with the Fried Green Tomatoes which were perfectly done.....

....and then the fried chicken arrived!!!!

The piece of chicken was huge…...  It was boneless and more like a huge chicken steak.   Each bite was a perfect fusion of crunch mixed with moist and tender chicken.   

The sides served up on the Sunday I happened to visit included  a cherry tomato relish type dish, potato salad, and the best zucchini casserole I’ve ever tasted.  

And of course, we had to try the Blueberry Cobbler with a little vanilla ice cream on the side for dessert because......

well, just because.

Heaven……….

All I needed afterward was a nice nap on that welcoming front porch.

You can find Marie Nygren’s blog here….and yes, I’m adding her to the blogroll. :)    

Are you friends with Georgia on My Mind on Facebook?   I hope so...but if not see the "like" box in the sidebar.   I've published a photo album there with more of my pictures I took while visiting Serenbe.

Appalachia Grill

A few weeks ago we headed off to the North Georgia mountains with Sunday brunch on our minds.

The husband wanted to try a spot new to us……Appalachia Grill. I’m always game for a restaurant adventure so off we went.



It was fantastic!


 
Appalachia Grill is located on Steve Tate Road in Marble Hill, Georgia….right outside the gate for Big Canoe.   It would be easy to miss as you speed along the road as it sits back from the road in a nice stand of hardwood trees.




I ended up having the Sausage Omelet with peppers and goat cheese. My husband had the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. We had sides of fried potatoes and grits.



These items aren’t on the regular menu but were available that day for brunch. You can find the menu at the main website here.


One important thing….if you go on Sunday and you want a glass of wine with your meal take your own bottle. Appalachia Grill is located in a dry county.


Join their Facebook page here…..I have!

Henry's Louisiana Grill Fits the Bill

In order to be a great any night of the week type restaurant there are certain things I look for…..

*a really great area for waiting on those busy nights that includes a bar big enough to eat at if you so desire…..the bar at Rays on the River comes to mind or Stoney River Steaks at Cumberland.

*something magically appears on the table for me to munch on the minute I’m seated…….Ted’s Montana Grill has marinated cucumber slices……Mexican restaurants provide chips and salsa……even Carrabbas has the sinful bread and olive oil with spices for dipping.

*the salad course includes honest to goodness homemade croutons…..NO commercial chunks of goodness from a cardboard box, please, or I will promptly tell my waitperson their croutons suck. Most of the higher-end places understand this…..sadly, after George McKerrow, Jr. sold his Longhorn’s chain they changed their croutons, and the salads have just been ho-hum ever since.

*this one is a given but of course the place has to deliver on the food. It has to be prepared to perfection or close to it.

and the most important must-have……..

*ambiance, ambiance, ambiance……some sort of gimmick like great décor, a location along an old main street or inside an old storefront. Perhaps there is fantastic patio to sit at outdoors or the grounds surrounding the restaurant are attractive. Papadeaux in Marietta has a wonderful brick entry way and the views from the windows at the far end of the dining room are attractive. The Chart House along River Street in Savannah has the tugs and the cargo freighters moving up the river and even the dining room at the Resort at Brasstown Bald can only be described as rustic elegance with open beams and stacked stone fireplaces. The windows and wide porches provide a view of the setting sun over lovely grounds that just calm the soul.

Now a great restaurant in my book doesn’t have to achieve all of my benchmarks, but I sure do hope for one or two. This past Saturday night I visited a spot north of Atlanta that met ALL of my benchmarks.

Henry’s Louisiana Grill in Acworth, Georgia.

Recently Chef Henry won the People’s Platelist Contest by ABC’s Nightline, and now I understand why.

There is only one thing I can say…..Ooh La La!

Henry’s has a wonderful bar where my husband and I waited for a table. Even though the place was packed the wait didn’t take long and we soon had our table, however, I would have been just as happy to enjoy my meal sitting at the bar. While we waited Chef Henry Chandler, the owner and head chef, made his round talking to people. He’s known to refer to first-timers to his establishment as virgins.

No sooner had we reached our table a basket of sourdough bread and the best cornbread I’ve ever tasted magically appeared on our table.

From that point on our various courses were perfectly timed. We didn’t feel hurried, but we were never left without food for very long, and of course, Chef Henry made a second appearance at our table to bestow beads around my neck….a gift of welcome he provides all female customers with.

I instantly eyed the hushpuppies that were included in the appetizer section of the menu and was intrigued enough to order them. I’m glad I did, however, I have had delicious dreams of those wonderful bits of love flowing through my mind ever since. They were the most unbelievable bits of moistness I’ve ever tasted served up with remoulade sauce on the side.

Our ceasar salads were just enough for a salad course and yes…..the croutons were tasty.

Mr. Elementaryhistoryteacher ordered the Louisiana Ohh La La……..one of Chef Henry’s signature dishes that includes oysters, shrimp and crawfish flash fried and tossed with tasso, spinach, roasted garlic and Henry’s Cajun Cream Sauce. You can order the dish with just the shrimp, etc. but my husband opted for the whole thing. The dish is served over angel hair pasta or grits. The AJC has named this dish as one of the top 50 dishes to drive for, and they aren’t off the mark at all.

Though there were other items that caught my eye I decided upon the Shrimp and Grits. They were lovely with just the right spice topped with Parmesan cheese, red pepper and scallions

….and then for desert……cream brulee, of course. The twist here was a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a few white chocolate morsels on top …..

Finally, Henry’s Louisiana Grill does have the ambiance. It’s friendly, it’s loud, it’s comfortable, and it’s worth the drive.

Laissez les bon temps roulex……Let the good times roll!!!!!

Let's Strip!

No....not like that. I mean....let's go to Atlantic Station and have dinner at Strip, the steak and sushi place.

Sunday night my husband and I took our daughter down to Atlantic Station to eat at Strip. We were actually there on a fact-finding mission to see if it was a place several high school friends of mine would like to visit for a mini-reunion dinner, but hey, no matter the reason it was a nice evening out.

Strip has been open since 2006 and is located in the middle of Atlantic Station close to Regal Cinema. There are three levels and various outdoor patios.


Tom Catherall of Here to Serve Restaurants is the owner/chef.

Their website advises.....“Strip allows diners the option of enjoying a great steak in a super-hip environment.” This is so true. Surroundings are most certainly hip and the steak was fantastic.

My daughter and husband tried the Sushi…..Tuna Rolls…..and commented how good they were. I’ve pictured the dish below.

All of us had the filet mignon topped with béarnaise sauce and crab meat. There was a small side of asparagus with a veal reduction.

We had baked potatos as well and the Cream Brulee we had for dessert was excellent.

Slowly but surely we are working our way through all of the restaurants at Atlantic Station. That's my goal, anyway.....and I think it's a pretty worthy one.

Invading The Melting Pot for a Sweet 16!

If you happened to be in downtown Atlanta last Saturday night and found yourself next to a white stretch limo at a red light you might have noticed what looked like strobe lights going on and off inside the car.

No, it wasn’t a rolling disco. No, it wasn’t even over anxious paparazzi practicing for a celebrity sighting.

It was just my sixteen year old daughter and seven of her friends….along with her father and I on our way from our home west of Atlanta to The Melting Pot for her birthday dinner. Of course each girl had her own camera plus I had my own. We took more than our fair share of crazy pictures and videos to remember the occaision.

Ben Eratabe from Goodness Limo took great care getting us downtown and back home again in regal style. Here is a picture of the girls in front of the limo, one of Dear Daughter with Ben, and another of the party inside the car enroute. Yes, the music was turned up loud.

Everyone had a blast. Dear Daughter’s birthday was actually at the end of February, but an over scheduled life on the part of her parents and her busy social life as well necessitated in a month-long wait for the big dinner and spend-the-night-party.

While the melting pot is a bit pricey, the service was impeccable, the food great (if you don’t mind cooking your own), and the surroundings interesting.

Along with a wonderful salad course we had three more courses of great fondues….cheese, meats, and a chocolate course that was wonderful. Since we were a party of ten we had three fondue pots on the table. For each course we ordered a different cooking style for each pot which ended up giving everyone more variety as we shared and shared alike. The girls liked the cheese and chocolate courses the best.

When you visit their main page here notice the three fondue pots on the left side side of the large picture click those for an interactive tour through the courses. Roll your curser over different parts of the table for more information to pop up. The page for the Midtown Atlanta (4th and Peachtree) location can be found here.

Ben got us all home safely and Dear Husband and I trudged away to our bedroom to TRY and get some sleep. The hard part was yet to come…..getting everyone up, dressed, and out the door for church Sunday morning, so they could all be reunited with their parents.

We made it just as services started. :)

I hope you had a very happy birthday celebration, Daughter Dear.

A Vinings Kind of Thursday

Vinings—the village proper—always intrigued me as an interesting place. There were cute shops and restaurants, and later when I learned the history behind Vinings it held even more interest. Still with all of that intrigue Vinings merely served as a quaint place to drive through as I continued to use Mother’s cut through long after our shopping trips ceased and I was on my own.

I made myself take a day out for me last Thursday. I went by the local Publix and picked up things for dinner (so I would have no excuse to NOT fix dinner that evening), made sure the family kitty had food, and then off to Vinings I went.

When I was a little girl my mother always used Paces Ferry Road near Cumberland as a cut through to get over to Lenox Mall. In that way she avoided downtown Atlanta traffic, and we always enjoyed the route dotted here and there with grand estates and historic homes—many of which have now been razed to make way for even more modern mansions or cluster-type estate communities.

I understand progress, but it’s rather sad as well.

Around 1830 Hardy Pace operated Pace’s Ferry which took people and goods across the Chattahoochee River as they traveled from Atlanta back and forth to Buckhead and Smyrna. Vinings was known at that time as Paces after the ferryman. Later the village became known as Vinings after William H. Vining, a construction worker for the railroad, who oversaw the construction of “Vinings Bridge”.

During Sherman’s March to the Sea, Union forces occupied Vinings. Several pre-Civil War structures were destroyed at that time including the Pace home which had been used as a hospital. All that remains today are the steps.

Following the Civil War, Vinings became an area for Atlantans to retreat to during the hustle bustle and often frustration of Reconstruction. There were plenty of springs and pavilions to encourage tourists.



On Thursday I made a beeline to the shops at Vinings Jubliee. I’ve bought several things for my home in the various stores as well gift items for friends. One of my favorite stores is Limetree Gifts.

For my lunch location I had many great places to choose from, but I opted for Soho, also located in the Vinings Jubliee complex.

Trey was my waiter, and after going over the specials for me I ordered a hamburger with Alpine cheddar cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon. Instead of fries I ordered the fruit salad thinking that was a much better choice. Since my surgery I’ve sworn off the life’s blood of Atlanta—Coca Cola—so I had water instead.

Soho has many interesting lunch choices, but health concerns kept me from ordering some of the more exotic ones like the Maple Grilled Salmon or the Chinese Grilled Chicken Salad. Trey returned in a few minutes with my water and a small wire basket. Inside the basket was a nicely folded white linen napkin and nestled inside was a sliced French baguette. Within a small silver cup I found a creamy spread that was just warm enough with some type of diced peppers. It was a nice update to merely serving rolls as a precursor to a meal.

It didn’t take long for my hamburger to arrive, but while I waited I wrote a little bit of what you are reading here and observed my fellow lunch companions in the dining room—businessmen in suits to casual wear, groups that appeared to have come from an office setting ( a mixture of men and women), and of course, there were several tables of ladies who lunch—you know, those ladies who don’t work and lunch is their occupation. I caught smidgens of business-type conversations, two ladies were discussing an upcoming fundraiser they were planning, one table of ladies who lunch were discussing a wedding, and the two women next to me were discussing a recent hospital stay—too close to home for me.

When my meal arrived it looked like this:

My fruit salad included chopped Granny Smith apples, cantelope, and strawberries served plain. After cutting my burger in half to prompt me to only eat half I attacked my fruit saving half of the burger for last.

Everything was great, and hopefully in the future I can return to Soho and order one of the more exotic menu choices. I’d like to return to Soho some Wednesday night for something they call a Flight Night. Soho was voted “Best Wine Bar” by Atlanta Magazine. Per Soho’s website….a Flight Night is an evening where locals and inquisitive wine lovers gather to experience fine wines from famous appellations and regions around the world.

I rounded out my trip by stopping by Macy’s at Cumberland before heading back home.

It was a great Thursday!

Images can be clicked to enlarge them. The image of the the post-Civil War picnic was taken from the Vinings Historic Preservation Society webpage….a great resource for Vinings.

Another resource to check out is the official Vinings, Georgia webpage.

Wordless: Swan House

When I was a little girl my mother took my sister and I out about Atlanta for girly lunches at various places. By far our favorite lunch place was The Swan Coach House, and we visted often. I adored the main dining room which was lavished in pink and green décor. The coach house is on the grounds of the grand Swan House Mansion that is seen in the image above.

Here is the opposite side of the grand home:

Today, a visit to my favorite Atlanta girly lunch place includes an all day forway into all things Atlanta history since the Atlanta History Center maintains the Swan House and includes a wondeful museum for Atlanta History.

This is my second Wordless Wednesday foray here at Georgia on My Mind. What better way to share images of my state with people from across the web!

You can visit with other Wordless participants here.

Celebratin' at Stoney River

Let me set the scene for you…..My family and I were doing the over the river and through the woods thing heading to my mother-in-law’s for Mother’s Day when suddenly I was struck with the realization that my birthday was just around the corner….Last Sunday was the big day for moms everywhere, but May 13th would be the big day for me, and all the other babies born that day.

There we were…one dad, one mom, one son, and one daughter enjoying the sunshine after the early morning Mother’s Day storms talking and laughing our way down the road when I suddenly interrupted the revelry with an exclamation of, “Oh crap!”

Dear Hubby nearly ran off the road thinking we were about to experience a semi plowing into us, or perhaps I had spotted a Georgia State Patrol car he had overlooked. “What?!? What?!? What?!?,” he asked over and over.

Very slowly and in a quiet voice I said, “I just realized I’m going to be 46….there’s nowhere to go now but sliding on down to the muck and mire of 50. Oh my gosh! I’m going to be 50 in four years!

By the time we arrived at my in-laws I had worked myself in such a state of despair that the kids had to help me into the house. Dear Hubby brought me a cold compress, and I contemplated the rest of my life on the other side of the 50 year line.

So, what finally got me out of my funk and ready to face the rest of my nearly past 50 life?

Dear Hubby took me to Stoney River Legendary Steaks to celebrate my birth!

We decided to venture out of our part of town and hit a place we had never been. I left the plans up to Dear Hubby and as usual he did not let us down.

Stoney River Legendary Steaks located adjacent to Cumberland Mall looked interesting from the outside….once inside it was just as their website says, “The relaxing ambiance of a first-class mountain lodge.” Polished concrete floors, an interesting bar area separated from the rest of the dining room by a large double-sided fireplace, intimate booths and chairs covered in dark leather, and and open kitchen area across the back of the dining room all added to the atmosphere.

Our reservation was for eight o’clock, and when we arrived the dining room was rather full….always a good sign. The hostess took us right away to a table near the rear of the dining room close the kitchen. At first I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be that close to the kitchen,. and since the dining room was full it was a bit loud. Sara, our waitress, came right over, introduced herself, and took our drink order.

By the time my Martini arrived I had become accustomed to the buzz of conversations all around me and the occasional clank or crash from the kitchen. Perhaps it was the Lemondrop Martini that got me in tune with Stoney River’s atmosphere. The drink was a blend of citrus and sour with a ring of colored sugar around the glass and a lemon slice perched along the rim. I don’t normally order a cocktail, but afterall I don’t turn 46 everyday either. Prior to this I was Martini virgin…..I’m glad I decided to change that.

Sara quickly returned to advise us regarding the specials and to take our orders. Dear Hubby and Dear Daughter decided to share a crabcake…..unlike many establishments this crabcake was large enough to share. While I don’t particularly care for crabcakes I did taste the Lemon Caper Sauce the crabcake sat in. It was great.

For our salad course Dear Hubby chose the Head of Lettuce which was actually a third of a head sliced longways so it would lie flat. It was covered with bleu cheese, tomatoes, and bacon. Dear Daughter enjoyed the Ceasar Salad while I gratefully surrendered to an add-on salad to the night’s menu. It was Heaven sent…..Bibb lettuce with bleu cheese crumbles, sugared pecans, and thin slices of Granny Smith apples. It was wonderful.

For the main course we all had steak, of course. Pure perfection……the kind of steak that would make you slap your mamma! Dear Hubby and I both ordered Bernaise on the side with our steak. Bernaise Sauce holds a special place in our marriage as we ordered it for our wedding night dinner at Hugo’s (used to be located in the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta). Over the years we’ve become experts with Bernaise Sauce. For our sides….Dear Hubby had asparagus while I opted for the baked potato, of course.

We also enjoyed a glass of wine….I had the Shiraz while Dear Hubby savored the Kenwood Jack London Cabernet. Both were perfect pairings with our meal.

While the food was wonderful and the atmosphere interesting, it was the little details that make Stoney River Legendary Steaks so legendary. The way the food was presented, the glass wine decanters, and the impeccable service all made the evening so special.

Today marked the one week anniversary of our visit to Stoney River Legendary Steaks, and amazingly the folks at Stoney River are still serving us. In today’s mail we discovered a nice hand-written thank-you card from our expert server, Sara.

Wow! What a way to remember the beginning of my slow descent into the muck and mire of 50 and beyond.

If this is what it’s going to be like I’m ready to undertake the slide willingly.

Georgia Bloggers: Restaurants, Recipes, Nutrition

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss restaurants, recipes, or nutrition on a daily or regular basis.

Approvechar

Atlanta Dish

Atlanta Foodies

Chow Down Atlanta

Michael Tuohy's Frontburner

Omnivore

Steakhead's Atlanta Eats Blog

Vajra Straight Up

Do you know about a Georgia blog that focuses on restaurants or food in general? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

A Night Out

Dear Hubby and I traveled to the beautiful square in McDonough, Georgia last night for dinner with his business partner, the partner’s wife, and another couple. I have a couple of family members that live nearby, my mother lived there for a time before she went into a nursing home, and back in my legal research days I frequented the courthouse often in McDonough.

The quaint town really does have a lovely square with actual green grass and real trees that haven’t been planted in the last five years like some town square do-overs. There are several old homes that are loved. There are also several that need to be loved, but there original grace and charm are still evident. McDonough really is a lovely town to visit.

We had a very nice dinner at Redz Restaurant. It’s right off the square. The website told me that the owner used to work with the Buckhead Restaurant Group which means he must know what he’s doing. We began with enough appetizers to share that including shrimp, beef, crabcakes, and stuffed mushrooms. The ceasar salad I had was great. The dressing wasn’t what I normally like…..creamy, but it was really good. Dear Hubby had the grilled tuna, I had a nice New York strip with Vidalia onion straws, and one of our companions had the lamb. Rather than a baked potato our meals were accompanied by half of a large peeled and roasted spud with grilled yellow squash paired with zuchinni. It was a nice change from the normal butter and sour cream ladened pile of starch I normally get. Everyone seemed to be really pleased with their meals.

The bar is downstairs and it looked like there were a few tables down there. We were directed upstairs where we sat at a very roomy corner booth. There was lots of red everywhere which I would imagine is where the name comes from. A group was braving the chill after such a nice day and was sitting out on the upstairs patio. It would seem that they welcome children as there was a rather large party across from us with several. They were celebrating someone’s birthday, but they weren’t overly loud.

They are only open for dinner and I would recommend making reservations since they are in a small location and they cater to large parties sometimes.

It really was worth the 45 minute drive to get there.