Arepas and Gravy

I recently posted all the reasons why its better to buy holiday gifts from local businesses. For the next few days, I’m going to be a little more helpful and actually make some Atlanta-centric local gift recommendations. I’ll go straight down the list in the original post, meaning today’s recommendations are all about local restaurants.

1.) Gift Certificate to a Locally Owned Restaurant – In this economy, going out to eat is a luxury. And so when people do get a little extra cash they often stick with what they know (i.e. chain restaurants) so they can be sure they’ll get bang for their buck. Buy your friends gift certificates to locally owned restaurants and get them out of their dining shells

Pura Vida – At Pura Vida, Chef Hector Santiago offers tapas (i.e. small plates in the Spanish tradition.) One the ever-changing menu you can find everything from duck confit to gourmet mini-burgers (and they will be the best burgers you’ve ever put in your mouth.) If you go, order a pitcher of sangria to wash everything down, and ask Chef Hector to please, please, please put the foie grois with passion fruit sauce and chocolate ganache back on the dessert menu.

Woodfire – This restaurant is in the public eye right now because chef Kevin Gillespie is a Top Chef: Las Vegas finalist (and one of the few chefs on the show that makes food you would conceivably want to eat every single day.)Not only is eating at Woodfire good for the local economy, its good for the environment.  Woodfire’s offerings are made up of only locally grown ingredients, meaning that it is a true farm-to-table restaurant.

Il Localino – This restaurant is a hidden gem in the Inman Park area. Where else can you find authentic Italian food paired with disco music? Everybody is smushed together like family in the tiny main dining room, and if the owners Giovanni and (crap I can’t remember his name!) will find you, give you free pasta, chase you outside to call you back in for a second complimentary dessert, and give you a rose at the end of the night. I’m not kidding. Il Localino is what a restaurant is supposed to be.  Don’t believe me? The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution declaring it so.

Cho Sun Ok – Sometimes people have to psych themselves up to dine on Buford Highway.  With the plethora of authentic international restaurants around, sometimes you don’t know what to order. Sometimes you can’t read the menu.  But Cho Sun Ok is a must-visit for a real Korean dining experience. Go in (it’s easy to find – it’s next to the Tower Liquor Store in Doraville), tell the hostess you want barbeque and be prepared for a treat. The servers will bring you a bunch of small dishes (collectively called panchan), which you can eat right away or use to compliment the main course which is… Korean BBQ cooked right at your table!  Watch your elbows because a burly guy is going to bring a big tub of fire to your table, and then your server is going to cook whatever meat you ordered (get the rib meat!) for you.  Ask her (it’s usually a her, we always seem to have the same, awesome server) to show you how to make lettuce wraps.  Once, watching Señor and I struggling, she fashioned a lettuce roll for each of us and popped it straight into our mouths. Talk about a restaurant where you don’t have to lift a finger.

Kang Nam – Another Buford Highway favorite. Kang Nam is a Korean-owned sushi joint that’s open late for when you absolutely, positively just have to have sushi at night. The best thing about Kang Nam, aside from the scrumptious sushi and sashimi, is that you get tons of little extras with your meal. No matter what you order, your server will bring you an appetizer, such as edamame, corn with cheese, or a Korean pancake. Sit at the bar and make nice with your chef and at the end of the meal he just might make you a surprise sushi roll of his own creation.  But save enough room for green tea ice cream for dessert!

So there you have it. The only 5 local restaurants in Atlanta. …I kid. Food is so subjective that I know you guys will all have local restaurants you want to promote. What are some of your favorite locally owned Metro Atlanta dining spots? Tell me about them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

The next Atlanta local gift guide? #2 – Jewelry from a Local Artisan.

Tags: Local Holiday Shopping

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Holidays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.