Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

Spring is the season for our various “Taste of” food festivals. I try to hit most of these and it seems I’m not alone. Their popularity continues to grow. Some of these events are growing beyond their capacity.

Yet even though it is cool to sample food from many restaurants, I’m starting to feel a little disappointed after each event. Maybe it is because I’ve been intentional in trying new restaurants as they open. Most restaurants at these events are already very familiar to frequent restaurant patrons in Alpharetta. But nevertheless there are always a few that surprise me and occasionally you’ll discover a gem, such as a catering outfit you never knew about.

Let’s get onto the list!

Alpharetta Public Safety Chili Cookoff

Saturday March 10, 2012
11:00 – 2:00
Alpharetta Fire Services Headquarters
2970 Webb Bridge Road

It’s not exactly a “taste of” event, but I’m not going to pass up chili! Alpharetta’s police go head-to-head against the firefighters in this event to raise funds for the city’s Public Safety Foundation. Bring the kids for an up-close look at the fire trucks.

Taste of Webb Bridge

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
5:00 – 8:00 pm
Webb Bridge Middle School

This event is growing very fast, almost become a preview of the mammoth Taste of Alpharetta event in May. Their list of restaurants has grown and is spilling out beyond the east Alpharetta area. Look for notable restaurants like Bite, the Sage/Spice/Northpoint Diner family of restaurants, and Mr Taco among others. Also on the list is a catering outfit called Christophes Kitchen that’s worthy of a few tickets.

Taste of Forsyth

Saturday, April 7, 2012
11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Cumming Fairgrounds

Talk about a great place for a festival, the Cumming Fairgrounds is the perfect venue. There’s a lot of space and you can be comfortable eating food at an honest-to-goodness table (imagine that!).

Unfortunately this event has suffered over the past several years. Participation is way down. I’d wait for the list of restaurants to be published before making the trip up there.

Taste of Alpharetta

Thursday, May 10, 2012
5:00 – 10:00 pm
Old Milton Parkway at Wills Park

The granddaddy of them all! Tens of thousands of visitors, shuttle buses, games, prizes oh my!

It’s probably a bit premature to talk about this event. The list of participating restaurants isn’t even out yet. I’m likely to devote two Foodie Friday columns to Taste of Alpharetta. Stay tuned.

Flavors of Forsyth

Sunday, May 20, 2012
Noon – 6:00pm
Lanier Technical College

This will be only the third year of this event and they’re growing by leaps and bounds. This year it will be organized by the United Way. They’ve also moved the event from the Avenue Forsyth to the Lanier Technical College just down the street.

I have a foolproof way to learn of the latest news in restaurants… Work all your sources then write an article about new restaurants. The very next day you will undoubtedly learn of something new that you missed. This month is no exception – except the restaurants I missed are pretty big ones. It’s worthy of publishing a Foodie Friday article mid-week to make up for it!

Joe’s New York Pizzeria – Mansell Road

A rather vanilla-sounding name for a pizza shop, don’t you think? We’ve got a lot of very good joints making New York style pies here in north Fulton. How will this place stand out? Because Joe Amitrano is behind the effort.

Amitrano is the owner of Verra-Zanno Pizzeria in Johns Creek. Regular readers of my blog will know VZ as my favorite pizza in town. The fact that he’s branching out is exciting! Look for his new shop at 1605 Mansell Road in a former Starbucks store.

The Velvet Note – Old Milton Parkway

“The Velvet Note is a modern version of the traditional English gentleman’s club.”

You might get a completely wrong impression of the place after reading this on their website. I’m pretty sure clothing stays on at this new music venue coming to Old Milton Parkway. They will feature live music in a small setting. And the menu they have posted online looks very promising. Look for them to open in April in the stripmall at 4075 Old Milton Parkway with Cuzi Fresh and the new Ipanema Grill.

The Crab Trap – Closed

Thanks to blog reader Darryl for this one. The Crab Trap on GA141 in south Forsyth has closed. They were in the old SEN Vietnamese location near the Brookwood Target. I can’t say this one surprised me much.

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

Lobster stuffed filet mignon on a bed of lobster mashed potatoes.

Did I get your attention? Those are not my words but rather an Alpharetta-area restaurant trying to entice lovebirds on Valentine’s Day. It’s a busy night for higher-end restaurants and some are pulling out all the stops to get your reservation. Here are some specials I’ve found along with some others that might be a decent choice for a romantic meal.

Milton’s Cuisine

I’ve always thought of Milton’s as higher-end comfort food in a beautiful setting. You’ll never get any complaints picking this favorite for a romantic meal. On Valentine’s day they are offering a three course meal for $95 per couple. You can choose from scallops, cajun lamb lollipops and others. Don’t miss their famous carrot cake.

Village Tavern

Starting today through the 14th they are offering a four course prix fixe menu. There are several options in each course including a calamari appetizer, lobster bisque soup and filet. Their regular menu is still available.

Alpine Bakery and Trattoria

I teased this article with Alpine’s lobster-loaded surf and turf entree. Also available as a Valentine special is a sauteed salmon with passion fruit risotto. You can still order off their regular menu and the bakery is always there to tempt you. If you can’t make it there for dinner, a few tuxedo strawberries might make a neat little gift.

Sage, Spice and North Point Diner

These sister restaurants are all offering live music and candlelight dinner on Valentine’s Day.  Unfortunately they have no special menu offerings. Sage is by far the sexiest and swankiest restaurant in Alpharetta.

Windward’s Expense Account Restaurants

This is what I call Cabernet and Vinny’s. Cabernet is a great option if you’re spending someone else’s money and want to impress a client with a prime steak. It’s not a bad choice for a date night but far better alternatives are available. They are not offering a Valentine’s special.

Vinny’s (part of the Sedgwick family of restaurants) is a better alternative in this category. Someone asked about Valentine’s specials on their Facebook wall and the restaurant responded “We will have an extra special menu Valentine’s Day that will include some of our all time favorites from the regular dinner menu.” Sounds like a clever way of saying that nothing different is being offered.

There are so many others I haven’t mentioned that would make a great choice for a romantic meal. I’d consider Ray’s Killer Creek on Mansell or Sip Wine and Tapas in Crabapple. And I haven’t even touched on anything in Johns Creek. Don’t tell my wife but I have reservations at Dal Cuore tomorrow night!

If you’re all out of ideas there’s always the Johns Creek Waffle House. They are known far and wide for their white tablecloths, mood music and sharp-dressed staff on Valentine’s day. Check please!

What Valentine’s plans do you have or what romantic restaurants have I missed?

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

It is truly pitiful that I draw blogging inspiration from stuff at work. But indeed it happens and has resulted in this yearly article, now in its third year of life! Here’s how it works…

At the office we follow this routine during annual reviews. Your peers are asked to list things you should start doing in the new year, bad habits you should stop and activities you should continue. It is sort of a kinder and gentler way of telling someone what they should or shouldn’t be doing. I’ve adapted this theme for Alpharetta’s restaurant scene.

Start – Hot Dogs

Yeah, that’s right, I want hot dogs. Or maybe I should say “haute” dogs. They’ve got the potential to be our next great food craze. Hot dogs provide the chef a platform to be creative and innovative in a lot of ways – from the toppings to the protein and even the bun. They can be versatile culinary creations or simple ballpark grub, and everything in between. On top of that, hot dog margins are better than that of say a hamburger or pizza. I’d love to see a suburban restaurateur take a chance like this.

Stop – Self-serve Frozen Yogurt

I’m totally ripping this off from last year. It didn’t take a crystal ball to realize that closures were coming in the froyo space in 2011. We lost Tutti Frutti and Yoforia on Windward. Yoforia’s Alpharetta closure was significant as this was the franchise’s first failure. Also closing was the froyo shop in the Northpoint Mall food court (can’t remember their name).

I don’t wish failure on anyone, but I really would like to see a return to real, honest-to-goodness ice cream. Is that too much to ask?

Continue – Food trucks

2011 saw at least three food trucks make the drive up GA400 to Alpharetta. It’s a trend I’d very much like to continue. The suburbs could use the diversity and creativity these guys bring up from Atlanta. I’ll write more about this topic again.

What restaurant trends would you like to see begin or end in 2012?

Photo Credit: Maura Neill (creative commons)

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

So you want to open a restaurant. It’s a romantic idea at first, the notion that you could put together a beautiful space with a fabulous menu. Food writers would craft eloquent prose about your culinary creations and paste beautiful photographs in glossy magazines.

And while we’re day dreaming, let’s make this big! We don’t want a strip mall space next to a frozen yogurt shop or anything. Not a chance. Go big or go home, right? We’re talking free-standing building with cavernous space and sprawling patios.

Cue the record scratching sounds. Back to the real world of 2012 for a moment… No one is opening places like this. Today most new restaurants rarely exceed 2,000 square feet. However, if you do feel so inclined to open such a monster of a restaurant, there are options available! I’ve got three spaces ready to turn your dream into reality (or possibly bankrupt you).

45 Roswell Street

If you build it, he will come? Not exactly. This restaurant space was built about three years ago and no one came. It’s in the heart of what might someday become Alpharetta’s hip downtown restaurant scene. Pure Taqueria is a stone’s throw away. La Casa is across the street.

45 Roswell is 5,300 square feet of unfinished restaurant with a 1,400 square foot patio. It’s a beautiful building with nice landscaping and decent parking. Last year a film production company nearly purchased the building but the deal fell through. It’s a shame a thriving restaurant doesn’t live here.

Rainwater – 11655 Haynes Bridge Road

The grandaddy of all empty restaurant spaces in Alpharetta. The old Rainwater restaurant building has two floors, an elevator and measures in at over 20,000 square feet . The architecture is similar to that of a vineyard estate. It’s much more than a restaurant as this place was built for events like large wedding receptions. It’s been vacant for over three years.

Champps – 7955 North Point Parkway

When Champps opened here they spent $4.5 million on the real estate, buildout and fixtures. They’ve had the building on the market for a while now but about two weeks ago they closed up shop. If you’re interested in this joint you’ll find 9,000 square feet of restaurant space, a beautiful bar, 1,500 square feet of patio and an exceedingly large kitchen.

Every Friday Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series called Foodie Friday.

I search a lot of sources to keep up with restaurant changes in our area. But by far my best source of information is you! My readers are always sending me emails and tweets about new joints or places that have gone tango uniform. Thanks a bunch guys!

Unfortunately you guys sent me a lot of closures. Let’s get them out of the way first…

Champps Americana – Closed
Champps has wanted out of Alpharetta for some time. They employed a broker to find a new restaurant for this space. They even went so far as to offer rent concessions if someone would take over their lease. It isn’t clear at this time if they found someone or just closed. Let’s keep a close eye on this space in the weeks to come.

Tre Vietnamese – Closed
Tre never got great reviews and their prices were a little high. They closed their doors right at the new year. I wonder if the threat of a new competitor (Saigon Cafe) played a factor in their decision?

Legends Deli – Closed
This strip mall on McGinnis Ferry is a tough one. It doesn’t have good visibility from the road and obtaining a liquor license is difficult due to school/church proximity.

Rosa’s Pizza – Closed
This is a competitive market for New York-style pizza and Rosa’s couldn’t cut it. A poor location on Jones Bridge didn’t help. It’s interesting to note that this was the original Bassano’s location. We’ll talk about them in a bit.

Movie Theater – Northpoint Mall

The operators of Northpoint mall have requested a conditional use permit from the city to allow a movie theater in a vacant anchor store. One must assume this is the Parisian space. The mall did not identify which chain is interested in this location but I’m told we will know in a few weeks.

I wonder if it will be a dinner/movie combination along the lines of Studio Movie Grill (perhaps AMC Fork and Screen)? SMG’s been stealing movie goers from the two existing Northpoint theaters. It’s a total guess on my part, but we’ll know soon enough.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill – Avenue Forsyth

My friend Aldo Nahed at the Forsyth Herald broke this story last week. Carrabbas submitted plans to Forsyth County to build on the empty parcel between Chic-Fil-A and Red Robin. It’s a prime spot although traffic sometimes jams up here. And while chain Italian restaurants don’t get me very excited, I expect this location to do well.

Ipanema Grill – Old Milton

I don’t have a lot of information on Ipanema at this point. They are looking at a strip mall on Old Milton in the space where Chip’s Southern Cooking used to be before they closed… a second time.

Cafe Efendi – Main Street

They re-opened Wednesday! Go check out their new digs in Durty Kelly’s former location on North Main Street. I went for lunch yesterday and really enjoyed my doner wrap. I wouldn’t expect any opening jitters from this established player.

Brindavan – Windward

Yet another name/ownership change for this small Indian restaurant in the double-decker strip mall on east Windward. My co-workers and I still call this place Andy’s, the original name of the joint. It became Dosa Houze followed by a series of increasingly more difficult names to pronounce. I ate here Tuesday and found the food and price to be almost the same as Sai Murali, the previous restaurant.

M Chocolat – Old Milton

Turns out this is the name of the chocolate store I’d been calling Dulce Chocolat. They’re now open on Old Milton Parkway just west of Park Bridge Road. I tried a few truffles and was impressed. They’re made in-house and the prices are more than reasonable relative the competition. Being so new I’d give them some time to expand offerings before passing judgment.

Jilly’s Cupcakery – Roswell

Yesterday Jilly’s opened their second location in a strip mall on the corner of Mansell and Highway 9. I normally don’t cover events in Roswell but I thought this was noteworthy. I’m happy to see these ladies doing well as they run a fine shop.

Coming Soon

Saigon Cafe - Their opening seems imminent yet the chain isn’t publicizing a date. I talked with them over email this week and still couldn’t get a date out of them.
El Molcajete - Mexican restaurant set to open in Zola Bistro’s old space on Highway 9 in Milton.
Alfresco - Corner of Old Milton and Main Street in Alpharetta.
Bread Time - Still no word on when this German bakery will open on South Main Street in Alpharetta.
China Inn - A relo from Chamblee. They’re still building out their location on 141 in Johns Creek near the hospital.
Bassano -I was able to confirm with the new owner that they are NOT affiliated with the former Bassanos on Jones Bridge in Johns Creek. Look for the new Bassanos on State Bridge were Tasca Latin Bistro used to be.
Construct a Burger - They are looking at space near GA-400 at exit 13. Still no word on exactly where that might be. If I had to guess I’d say the Hangry’s space or Bad Bob’s old location.
Meat & Potatoes - The potential name of a restaurant to be located in the old Rio Bravo/Star Diner space in Johns Creek.

Photo credit: Ildar Sagdejev (creative commons)