THE GURGLING COD

Hugh Acheson still HATES AMERICA

You recall a few weeks ago  The Gurgling Cod dared to reveal a shocking conspiracy -- Hugh Acheson, a proprietor of the National, in Athens, GA, encouraged the good citizens of Athens to do something during the game besides watch the Bulldogs. The Gurgling Cod had assumed that a timely admonition would have recalled the National to its priorities, and it would, by now, have joined with other Athens restaurants in bars in focusing on what is important, which is to say football -- basically, America, in other words. Thus, one could safely go to the National on Saturday, watch the game, sip on a red and black Fan Can, and get some wings, and watch the game on one of several plasma screens. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth:

Disgusting.
A bargain-priced prix-fixe coinciding with the kickoff of an intriguing non-conference matchup for the Bulldogs. This is what people who care about football don't get to eat for $25:

1.

local eggplant BABAGANOUSH with pomegranate, sesame and flatbread

local SWEET POTATO BISQUE with spiced pecans and curry crema

wilted SPINACH SALAD with manchego, almonds, tomatoes, warm bacon-sherry vinaigrette

2.

braised BEEF SHORT RIBS with buttered orecchiette pasta, tomato-horseradish gremolata

NC TROUT with Red Mule polenta, local pepper piperade

VEGETABLE PLATE bountiful assortment of seasonal vegetables and grains

3.

RUSTIC APPLE TART vanilla ice cream, caramel

By offering this special, at this time, the National is actually discriminating against football fans. Discrimination is illegal. And un-American. Which is why Hugh Acheson likes it so much.

Hugh Acheson HATES AMERICA

The National, the downtown sibling of Hugh Acheson's landmark 5&10, claims " we value our local farmers and our dishes reflect the changing seasons in Northeast Georgia." Join with me in standing up and shouting LIAR! Because it is a lie, because National principal Hugh Acheson HATES AMERICA. An email from the National with the subject line "not going to the game?" showed up with this special:

The National's "During the game"
$25 three-course, prix-fixe
starting at 7pm, seating until 10pm
this Saturday, September 12th

 

Well,  you are thinking "a menu that 'reflects the changing seasons in northeast Georgia' would surely reflect that right now it is FOOTBALL SEASON, so surely, the prix-fixe includes an unlimited wing bar, and red and black "fan cans" of Bud Light, and dozens of plasma screens all over the room, as a consolation for the folks who could not get in to Sanford Stadium to see the Bulldogs take on the Gamecocks." As the picture indicates, and my experience confirms, there is not a single television in the place. Not even in the bar. And the menu has boquerones, and octopus, with not a wing in sight. It's sick, really. Is Hugh Acheson really attempting to coerce the good citizens of Athens, GA into ignoring a key early-season SEC matchup by offering a TV-free prix-fixe? What kind of person would do something like that? Oh, I don't know... a Canadian, perhaps? Mark my words, come Saturday, Acheson will be in his underground lair, wearing his treasured Alouettes jersey, stroking a hairless cat, and cackling with delight as phase one of his plan to destroy college football, which is to say, America, comes to fruition.

New Day Riesling

As long as we are jocking Acheson, we might as well mention the future, as well as the past:
Riesling Wine Dinner

Wednesday, July 29th, 7 pm 5 rieslings/5 courses, $85 per person

First course:

Wegeler, Sekt "Brut", NV, Rheingau, Germany with vegetable and curry samosa with tamarind, yogurt and sesame

Second course:

Fritz Haag, 2007, Brauneberg, Germany with Georgia shrimp ceviche (Ecuadorian-style) with popcorn and corn nuts

Third course:

Albert Boxler, 2006, Alsace, France with braised quail with peaches and red bell peppers, wilted watercress

Fourth course:

Domaine Dirler-Cade, Belzbrunnen, 2005, Alsace, France with  crisp house cured bacon, with cabbage, local red potato,parsley salad and ham hock broth

Dessert:

Hermann Donnhoff, Niederhauser Hermannshohle, Auslese, 2006, Nahe, Germany with rustic apple and Vidalia onion tart with goat cheese ice cream

Sounds mighty tasty! Have a good weekend. Play us off Keyboard Cat Husker Du:

 

 

Hugh Acheson, um, cooks the pain away at the Beard house

 A little late on this one, but when the Devil goes down to Georgia, he's looking for a soul to steal. Conversely, when Hugh Acheson leaves Athens for a visit to the Beard House, he brings lots of peaches:

Hors d’Oeuvre
Tomato, Peach, and Basil Salad

Georgia Sturgeon Caviar with Pickled Peaches, Mimosa, and Daikon

Pimientos de Padrón with Maldon Salt

Boiled Peanuts

Bisol Crede Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut 2007

Dinner
Georgia Shrimp a la Plancha with Peaches, Cucumbers, Aleppo Peppers, and Lime Raita
Terredora Falanghina 2008

Foie Gras Torchon with Peppered Peaches
Colosi Passito di Pantelleria 2004

Halibut with Grilled Peach–Red Pepper Salad and Serrano Ham Chips
Suavia Soave Classico La Rive 2005

Pork Duo > Braised Nature’s Harmony Farm Pork Shoulder with Peach Couscous, Avocado, and Roasted Peanuts; and Crispy Pork Belly with Tarragon Creamed Corn and Peach Gastrique
Castello Dei Rampolla Chianti Classico 2005

Sweet Grass Dairy Georgia Pecan Chèvre with Peach Compote and Pecan Bread
Damilano Barbera d’Alba 2007

Peach Finale > Peach–Blueberry Crisp with Fromage Blanc and Champagne Syrup
Marenco Pineto Brachetto d’Acqui 2008

Do I bring this up simply so that I can post a picture of Zooey Deschanel? Surprisingly, not. I'd been planning to use this (Peaches, Acheson is from Canada, get it?), when the fates wafted me a the Zooey pic.

The Grey Lady goes South

Late to the game, but it's nice to see* local hero Hugh Acheson getting some love from the Grey Lady (along with a Beard nom). The Benton's-enriched empanada does sound good, and at $2, as the article points out, represents the kind of value one is unlikely to find at Balthazar. Then they go and say something that makes you wish they'd stayed in Soho:
At night, the small bar area is filled with Williamsburg-ready foodies and music lovers on their way to and from nearby clubs.
What with the convenient proximity to Cine Athens, the cinetrix and I have had a few meals at the National. "Williamsburg-ready foodies" makes it sound like the place is crawling with douchebags. Rest assured, it is not.

Then again, considering the lede...
Breakfast on the road can either be triste or transcendent. Last week in Athens, Ga., I found two things to write home about. Looking forward to a biscuit at the Waffle House chain (love those light fixtures), I was rerouted to The National by Hugh Acheson, the extremely talented (and cool) chef at Five & Ten, who’s one of the partners.
...it's surprising Christine Muhlke found her way out of her motel parking lot. As a couple of commenters point out, Waffle House does not sell biscuits. But, you know, biscuits are Southern, and Waflle House is a predominantly Southern chain, so, they must sell biscuits, right?** My Cousin Vinny figured this stuff out quicker than this, and he did not even write for T:
*via JTE, via AFB.
**I mean, you can usually get sushi at a Korean place, right?

Marching Through Georgia, Pt. 2

After the aforementioned disappointment at Parish, woe compounded as I delivered the cinetrix to the airport, and thus to SXSW. Meanwhile, I faced a trudge home back across Georgia, and an afternoon of proof-correcting (tedious), as TGCHQ is currently deserted, (w00t) I opted to hole up in Athens, where there would be a bit of human activity to distract me. As it happened the coffee shop I found self in was not far from 5&10. I'd heard rumors of a new prix fixe menu, and wanted to see if they were true. They were.* I elected to stick around long enough for an early solo dinner, in order to console myself for grim Friday meal.

It was a good choice -- there are 2 PF menus, and I opted for the one that was fava & mint & Benton's ham / pork confit & pimento grits /chess pie.** It was a revelation, and everything the previous meal had not been. The app was understated and intense at the same time, and made you think about what you were eating. The pork confit, which could easily go in the direction of "Tonight I'm gonna rock you tonight"*** excess" was everything the previous night's pork had not been - ridicuously tender, but not unctious, with just a hint of crisp via the confiting. I was wary of the pimento grit combo, but there was just enough of it to set off the confit. The chess pie, if nothing else would suggested the benefits of having a pastry chef, rather than a microwave, but it was also a solid take on a Southern classic.

The takeaway? Finesse and restraint are perhaps the most underrated and valuable assets for a restaurant working in a vaguely Southern idiom. I've said this before in other contexts, but it's the boxing, and not the punching, that makes a meal.
*Now the 3 course PF is available throughout service, rather than just at AARP hours.
**To get a better bargain at a serious restaurant, you'd need to make Eric Ripert fix you a truite au bleu for free at gunpoint. And that there are 2 menus suggests that it might not be a bad spot for a date.
***Lest we forget:

Red Blazer

To return from bitching about how America's paper of record covers gentrification like it was a miracle, and not cultural imperialism, not one, but two new cocktails to celebrate. Athens, GA's Manhattan Lounge has bolstered its familiar Blenheim and Maker's Mark  with another whiskey and regional soda concoction -- the Red Blazer. This is Cheerwine,* a dash of bitters, with Old Overholt Rye. As a fan of all three, it was a must-try. I will say that I will continue to enjoy the three separately -- the Cheerwine on drives through the Carolinas, the Overholt on the porch, and the bitters on a grapefruit, but this certainly would be a tasty way to drink a considerable quantity of rye without realizing it immediately. Better yet was the glass it came in -- not only one of the excellent old school NFL glasses they used to give away with a tank of gas, but also the right franchise.

As I contemplated the offerings at Five and Ten, I tried a different new cocktail -- the name escapes me (it is a person's  name), but it was Hendrick's gin, shaken with fresh grapefruit juice, in a salt-rimmed glass. I have formally petitioned to have the name officially changed to Gin 'n' Juice. This was very refreshing - if gin were good for you, and you were looking for new ways to get it into your diet, this would be a good one.
*The Cheerwine website is an unexpected joy, in that most regional soft drink brands do not have their homepage laid out like a fake Fox News/Colbert webpage, with an investigative report on Yankees hoarding Cheerwine. Well played.

Come back to the Five and Ten, Col Benton

A recent swing through Athens, GA prompted the obligatory stop at 5 & 10 on Friday night.* The menu changes a good deal from visit to visit, and reading through a stack of them would be an education in running a fine restaurant out in the hinterland beyond the pale of M. Bib. As the occasional stripper heels and ill-fitting tux jacket visible in the dining room attest, the formal/prom market is not one a restaurateur in a college town can afford to ignore. Same goes for the high-rollers eager to eat indoors before the next day's tailgate odyssey. The junior in comm studies with sweaty palms, or the insurance executive with seats on the 40, want something nice to eat, but may not be so psyched to try crisp veal sweetbreads with Red Mule custard, field pea and okra succotash, and tarragon jus. So there's oysters Rockefeller and a tweaked Caesar.

In the same vein, the Frogmore stew and a Bell and Evans chicken breast in some form have been anchoring the entrees every time I've been there. And some kind of steak. And, as I have learned to say, bless their hearts, because those staples give Hugh Acheson the chance to play around, and keep the regulars, his kitchen, and himself, engaged. The poached egg with frisee and duck confit was one new-to-me item, and worked out well, but this spirit is best illustrated in the new "Yokel Risotto," which features crisp okra, boiled peanuts, local cress, underscored by Meadow Creek Appalachian cheese. It would be possible to ham up a dish like this, figuratively, as well as literally, but the combination worked -- celebrating local and indigenous foods without being ostentatious. It was the best of the Dirty in a bowl, and they did not forget to do a good job with the risotto part of the dish. In a similar vein, but less successful, was a new housemade pimento cheese. Acheson roasts his own peppers for this, but to my mind, he was a bit near with the Duke's resulting in a slightly austere pimento cheese easier to admire than to cherish.

In  a market like Athens, GA, you could probably make a go of it grilling steak and thawing shrimp night after night, until you retire or go Plath, but it's good to see a chef using the steady sellers as a foundation for thoughtful cooking. Given the recent events in Jacksonville, I'd hoped that the 5&10 crew would emulate their neighbors between the hedges, and spill out of the kitchen to celebrate a successful risotto, but Acheson's residual Canadian reserve may have but a damper on it.

*I work with the chef's father-in-law, and he knows me a little bit, so I got good guy treatment. However, he had written the menu before I got there.

Duck Ham

The envelope with the Easter dinner winner is in a suitcase handcuffed to the wrist of a trusted representative of Ernst and Young, but first, what made Friday not just good, but awesome.  A pre-Easter warmup at Five and Ten with the whole school was a delight. The menu is seasonally driven, but as a means to and end, rather than as an end in itself. The last meal cinetrix and I enjoyed there was early Feb, and it was good, but sound, rather than inspiring.This was inspiring, in both the sense of the word as a platitude, and inspiring, in that I am gonna roll around like The Child Buyer, except for ducks, take them home, and smoke their breasts.

The Codmother, making her Athens debut, started with the simple spring plate of Benton's prosciutto.* She was a bit concerned when I told her between ordering and appearance of food, that it was from Tennessee, not Parma, but the cress, parm, and fava, and the subtle flavor of the ham prosciutto made a believer out of her. The cinetrix and I both started with crisped shad roe. As it turns out, we could have shared it, as the roe reached nearly schnitzellian proportions. Out of professional interest, other family members investigated the pickle plate, with fennel emerging as best in show, and La Femme Covert toyed with a pea soup, if memory serves. I had a squab main, the cinetrix had a catfist, okra, grits concoction, and I sort of lost track. I blame the shad schnitzel. As viewers of Blazing Saddles will recall, schnitzel does have the power to cloud men's minds.  As a party of five, rather than two, we got to try more stuff, but more than I can adequately recall. My brother ordered a Frogmore stew, which I'd been interested in but steered away from on several visits. It is good, but as our excellent waiter Bob said, more like what you can get elsewhere than the rest of the menu. The duck ham, though, was a revelation. We were fortunate to be allowed to take some home, and it was as good sliced thin on a plate solo as it was with frisee and a poached egg. Because there is still half a breast in the fridge, and my POSSLQ reads this, I am reluctant to share my duck ham brunch plans, but dang, is it good. It did not move me to want to slap my conveniently adjacent mother, but just to eat more duck ham. Lots and lots more duck ham.**

I would encourage all Cowboys, Catamounts, Rebels, War Eagles and Wildcats planning visits to Athens to stop in here.*** If your plans do not include an upcoming visit to Athens, but do include attending the Beard awards, Five and Ten proprietor Hugh Acheson will be there. I suggest having a friend distract him while you conduct a discreet frisk to locate any portions of duck ham he may have secured about his person.

*This is not menu sortilege-- Benton's has a product they sell as prosciutto, as distinct from their hams.

**YMMV. I work with the father-in-law of the chef, and know the chef  a little bit, so you might not get a duck ham goody bag. But it would not be worth writing about if it weren't worth paying for.

***If your mascot does not appear here,  it is not an accident. You'd probably be happier brownbagging some of the fried gizzards they sell at gas stations around Columbia.

Truffled Grits!

Truffles seem to be in the news, thanks to Graydon Carter's Waverley, and his notorious $55 mac & cheese.  If you are willing to travel outside of Graydon's neck of the woods, they pop up elsewhere. Work brought me to Athens, GA, and I ended up more or less by accident at Farm 255. An enterprise this high-minded is at risk of becoming overwhelmingly precious, but they seem a) sincere about what they are doing (I spotted an Emile bumper sticker in the kitchen) b) not dogmatic (the prosciutto is di Parma, [not di Iowa, of which more soon]) and c) they have a sense of humor (at the bottom of the print menu, though not the online one, they namecheck all the chefs, and add "6-packs of PBR tall boys are available to send back to the kitchen").

I could not stay for a full meal, but I did fortify myself for my schmooze with a side of truffled Red Mule grits. In the Southeast, at least, "Red Mule" seems do be to grits what "Berkshire" is to pork, in that if you are in the kind of place that uses the word "dayboat," and they have grits on the menu, the grits will be Red Mule. I am partial to Timms Mill, but the big thing is not Quaker and not instant. Grits are improved by a judicious application of butter and cream, and the Farm 255 kitchen had not stinted, but they had not enriched them to a flan-like consistency, a common pitfall for restaurant grits. Rather than a theatrical tableside grating, a la Graydon,  the truffles come in the bowl, and they add a distinctive and subtle note. You do not get to show chunks of truffle off to your neighbor, but the bowl of truffled grits costs $51 less than the Waverley mac & cheese. That's right -- if you are willing to travel to Athens, you can have your truffled comfort food for four George Washington dollars. To put that in perspective, you could buy a bowl of truffled grits for the active roster of your favorite baseball team for $100.

It is not remarkable that the Waverley makes restaurants elsewhere seem like an exceptional value. (In fairness, you are less likely to bump into Julian Schnabel in the restroom at Farm 255.) This is not the first time that a chef has paired a haute ingredient with a humble southern staple. But I was warmed in more ways than one by my truffled grits. I've had some meals recently -- Savoy comes to mind -- where the provenance of what arrives in the kitchen seems more important than what happens after it gets there. At Farm 255, the eat local ideal is manifest, but they treat ingredients with wit and imagination, rather than reverence.