Friday, December 30, 2011
City is losing ground in the Southern Living contest.
With about a month of voting left, Decatur holds eighth place in Southern Living's "Tastiest Town" competition. As of 9 a.m. Friday, Decatur had collected 2,325 votes and now leads Raleigh and Baltimore. Voting started Dec. 22. Decatur held sixth place that night with 184 votes. The voting ends Jan. 31. It would be hard for Decatur to catch up to leader Lafayette, La., which holds the No. 1 spot with a whopping 28,600 votes. Judging from comments around town, Decatur is kind of proud just to be incuded in the competition. Southern Liivng picked 10 towns in the Southeast with strong food scenes and set up an online contest. The magazine said it made the list based on the following criteria: Food as a cultural identity, growth of a culinary …
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Go to a Southern Living website to cast your vote.
UPDATE: You can now go online to vote for Decatur as the 'Tastiest Town' in the South. Visit the Southern Living website, click on Decatur and follow the instructions. The magazine says, "Cast your vote daily from "December 22 through January 31 and you'll help name The South's Tastiest Town to be announced in the April issue of Southern Living magazine. Plus, you'll be entered for a chance to win a $2,500 cash prize for a trip to any Tasty Town of your choice." As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Decatur was in sixth place with 184 votes. Lafayette, La., was in first place with 1,265 votes. Below is the first story on Decatur being in the running as one of the South's Tastiest Town. Decatur has entered the big time, at least in the food world. …
But reviewer says the bakery is still evolving.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Magazine puts a lamb dish from the Decatur restaurant on its list of the 50 Best Southern Foods.
Somebody from Garden & Gun, the Charleston-based glossy magazine that claims to cover "the Soul of the South," must have enjoyed their meal at Cakes & Ale. The magazine's October/November issue puts the restaurant's Border Springs Farm lamb saddle on its list of the 50 Best Southern Foods, saying it's "a veritable monolith of meat that sure to elicit gapes as it crosses the dining room." No other Decatur restaurants made the list. However, other Atlanta-area restaurants were included: the crispy pork belly at Peter Chang's Tasty 2, the seasonal vegetable plate at Restaurant Eugene, the baked egg in celery cream at Miller Union and the boiled peanut humus at Empire State South.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Refugee women from Burundi would keep the garden at the United Methodist Children's Home.
Refugee women from Burundi, a strife-ridden nation in eastern Africa, will be tending an urban market garden if the Decatur City Commission grants approval Tuesday night. The city has spent about two years looking for ways to develop an urban market garden that could sell fruits and vegetables directly to consumers. The city recently reached an agreement to use 2 acres at the United Methodist Children’s Home, Assistant City Manager David Junger said in a memo to the commission. The next step was finding a group with expertise to operate such a garden. Staff members became aware of a garden along Sams Street in the former Friends School playground that was clean and productive. The Refugee Family Services Inc. operated the garden. Most …
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
David Sweeney started work Tuesday at the Decatur restaurant.
Cakes & Ale confirmed that David Sweeney, formerly the chef at Dynamic Dish, started work at the restaurant on Tuesday. He’ll be helping with the lunch menu and establishing the bakery. The move was first reported Monday by the blog Foodie Buddha. Sweeney takes the place of Cynthia Wong, the baker who left Cakes & Ale for Empire South. Cakes & Ale recently moved from a location on West Ponce de Leon Avenue to a larger spot off the Decatur MARTA plaza.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
What are you? Animal, vegetable, mineral? How do you define yourself?
My column about “The Help” got lots of people whispering to me this week. They stopped me in the school parking lot, at church, and around town. Even though it is taboo, we want to talk about race. Years ago my father-in-law asked me what language Jamaicans speak. He looked doubtful when I said English. I was both Black and foreign, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was just curious. I wish all racial issues were so easily handled with a question and friendly dialogue. I’m sorry that I can't fix all racial issues everywhere, but my life’s goal is to try. I'm not even touching economic issues until the holiday shopping season. Here’s a preview: Don't buy a Wii unless you can afford it. Economic crisis solved. As for race, a while ago I asked …
Monday, August 15, 2011
Award-winning restaurant opens for dinner Tuesday, with bakery having a soft opening the same day.
Cakes & Ale, one of Decatur's top restaurants, prepares to reopen Tuesday in clean, well-lighted rooms off the Decatur Court Square. The restaurant has moved into the space formerly occupied by a Chinese buffet near the Church Street entrance to the MARTA station. Cakes & Ale will have several new features, such as a bakery, a wood-burning oven, and a patio that should open in about a month. Most notably, the restaurant will have a bright, airy feel and much more space. The new place at 151 Sycamore St. will seat about 25 in the bakery and about 80 in the dining rooms, said Kristen Allin, who owns and runs the restaurant with her husband, Billy. The old Cakes & Ale 254 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. seated only 56. Cakes & Ale was an immediate …
Ralph Ellis
9:18 pm on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A FIX ON THE CAKES & ALE STORY: Kristen Allin, one of the owners at Cakes & Ale, sent me an email Wednesday night saying that David Sweeney is not actually replacing Cynthia Wong, the former baker at the restaurant. "David is heading up the lunch service in the new bakery. We have a team of bakers and pastry people listed on our website that are in charge of baking and pastry," she wrote Sorry … more ›