Try this at home: Sun in My Belly's Hermes Salad

The best salad I've ever had was at Sun in My Belly, a lovely little restaurant in Decatur. I was taking advantage of a ScoutMob hand-picked deal for dinner for two (they've got one right now and it's almost gone! go get it!) and that included your choice of salad to start.

I chose the Hermes, and it changed my life forever. I would definitely not say that I'm a salad person, but I would eat this happily any/every day.

I decided it'd be really simple to recreate at home, so I decided to give it a go. Sure enough, totally doable and so delicious. I don't think they used gorgonzola as their bleu cheese, but that's what I had on hand from my baked sweet potato the night before.

Usually by the end of a salad I'm having to convince myself to keep eating it, but no so with this one. So even if you have a salad aversion, I dare you to give this one a try! The arugula is perfectly peppery and pairs beautiful with the bite of the bleu cheese and the sweetness of the roasted pears.

Arugula with bleu cheese, toasted walnuts, roasted pears and champagne vinaigrette

For the salad you'll need:
a plateful of arugula
a little bleu cheese (I used gorgonzola)
a handful of walnuts, lightly toasted (pop em in the oven for a couple minutes)
roasted pears, chopped (recipe below)
champagne vinaigrette (recipe below)

For the roasted pears:
2 pears, cored and halved
1 Tbs melted butter
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400. Cut each pear half into 4 lengthwise slices. Toss in the butter, sugar and lemon juice and spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 20-30 mins, stirring them around every 10 or so minutes. They'll be ready when they're golden brown and slightly soft.

For the champagne vinaigrette:
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

Combine mustard and vinegar. Then, whisking the whole time, slowly drizzle in olive oil to emulsify (mix oil and vinegar). Season with salt and pepper!

Now, assemble away! To your plateful of arugula, crumble some bleu cheese, sprinkle on some toasted walnuts, top with the roasted pears, and finally drizzle on the vinaigrette!

Bon app!

     

Go to there: Verde Taqueria

There are a few restaurants that I could imagine eating at every single day. Fortunately/unfortunately one is within (almost) walking distance of my apartment: Verde Taqueria.

Verde has become a great go-to place for group gatherings and last minute dinner plans. Their menu consists of delicious taqueria things, including guac, queso and salsa, quesadillas, and lots and lots of tacos of course. oh, and the best margarita you'll ever have.

[House marg with a "trio" in the background.]

Highlights: the "trio" to start, which includes salsa, queso and guac. And, of course, the margaritas. They offer a Texas version and a skinny version among others--but I can't NOT order the House. and, I found out only recently, house margs are only $4 on Mondays! This is going to be a real problem/amazingness.

I've really liked all of the tacos I've tried but my favorite is the pesto chicken: panko-fried chicken with pesto, roasted red peppers and mozzarella. It's one of 18 specials that rotate weekly, including a shrimp & grits taco that is to die for! My favorite from the regular menu is the fried chicken: panko-fried chicken with lettuce, diced tomatoes, bacon and chipotle sauce.

 

[top: fried chicken. bottom: special, carolina bbq.]

 

[top: veggie. bottom: ground beef.]

 

[top: short rib. bottom: buffalo tofu.]

Hope you Eaters get a chance to check out either the Brookhaven or the Westside location! Especially on a Monday for those $4 margs!

Cheers!

    

Go to there: The Pinewood

 

[whiskey on whiskey on whiskey.]

Last week, Amanda called me up (and by that I mean g-chatted me) to see if I wanted to join her for dinner and cocktails at The Pinewood in Decatur, known for their whiskey selection and home of Whiskey Wednesdays (50% off whiskey cocktails!). She had an awesome ScoutMob Hand-Picked deal (sorry, it's over) that was going to expire, so off we went!

When they opened at 6, we were one of the first parties in the door. It was such a fun, not-overly-hipster atmosphere with a very cool looking bar and all the staff looked like they walked out of a Madewell magazine.

[The menus were in up-cycled legal file folders.]

The menu--food and cocktails--had us drooling as soon as it was handed to us (and by that I mean when we looked it up online earlier that day). I ended up going with a whiskey drink called the Day That I Die, with a big slice of ginger in it! Amanda went with the Van Lear Rose, gin mixed with rosewater.

[left, Amanda's Van Lear Rose. right, my Day That I Die]

Both were so beautiful and delicious that we had to try more. But first, the food.

[see that? that's andouille. in the dressing.]

We started with the jumbo sea scallop because, when you have a deal like this one, of course you go for the most expensive thing you can get! It was served on a bed of creamy grits and frisee with an andouille vinaigrette. You know something is good when there is sausage in the dressing. It didn't have the crisp you hope for in a scallop, but overall very, very tasty.

[photo from The Pinewood's website. I was too hungry to take one myself.]

I was thrown off by one of the items on the menu--a bolognaise pasta with a fried egg on top. What. I had never heard of such a thing. So I asked our waiter about it and he said it was his favorite dish on the menu. So of course that's what I ordered. and it was delicious indeed--such an unusual combination (to me) but the egg married so well with the spices in the sauce. I was very happy with my choice.

[That's a gala apple puree on top.]

Amanda ordered the grilled pork chop with sweet potatoes. It looked, smelled and tasted divine (isn't that just what you hope for in a meal?), and I know this because she was kind enough to share a bite with me. The sweet potatoes were caramelized so they were slightly sweet, which was just right with the pork chop.

So now, our second round of cocktails. We both chose from the "Monday laundry list" of New Orleans-inspired specials--a French 75 for me, and an absinthe frappe for Amanda.

[so pretty and elegant!]

I love a good French cocktail (champagne and gin. heaven.) so I was thrilled with mine. The only thing that could have made it better would have been drinking it in actual France.

[crushed ice = frappe.]

Amanda's, on the other hand, was super bizarre. Probably shoulda guessed that from the phrase "absinthe frappe," but still, we were surprised. It was exactly what it said it would be, with a heavy licorice flavor from the absinthe. Probably wouldn't choose it again, but the fault was ours, not theirs.

I'm eager to go back to Pinewood for Whiskey Wednesdays and try more of their cocktails. and food. Maybe the ScoutMob gods will hear our roar and have another Hand-Picked deal.

In the meantime, get yourself there! It's on the opposite side of the block from TacoMac. and remember they open at 6--so if you get there at 5:45 you'll have to kill time in the shops next door. or so I hear :)

    

Go to there: Buttermilk Kitchen

Since the first time I saw this logo, I've wanted to eat here. 

Vasily and I went to Athens on Saturday, but had no time for the pilgrimage to Mama's Boy. After I was finished pouting, I realized that we could still get a yummy brunch on Sunday! So I suggested we check out Buttermilk Kitchen. And holy cow am I glad we did.

Located off of Roswell Road in Buckhead, this little gem is a breakfast and lunch concept from chef Suzanne Vizethann who, I learned mid-bite-of-biscuit, won Season 8 of Chopped! 

from Buttermilk Kitchen

I was too excited about the food to take pictures. 

We ended up sitting at the bar and had so much fun peeking into the kitchen (couldn't see everything, but I knew things were happening.) 

Bartender Brian told us his favorite things on the menu and all of them sounded freaking amazing -- I ended up getting the Pimento Cheese Omelet and Vasily got the Chicken Biscuit. (Not just any chicken, though -- the chef soaks the chicken in sweet tea overnight! YUM) Both were fantastic. The atmosphere was really fun, too. 

Even the woman at the other end of the bar was singing Buttermilk Kitchen's praises -- she said this was her third day in a row to eat there and she takes a to-go biscuit every time. She was superskinny though, so the biscuits are probably zero calories. In fact, they're probably so good / good for you, I bet you burn calories eating them. Yes. So I should go every day. 

pulled from Buttermilk Kitchen's site

This is definitely my new favorite brunch place. You've got to check it out. 

Oh and don't go without me.