Ahhhh….It feels damn good to be back in town. I have had a long and decidedly AWESOME 2 weeks. First Costa Rica, then immediately off to New Orleans for work. Fortunately, my “work” had a hell of a lot more “play” to it, and I stayed right in the heart of the French Quarter on Bourbon Street.
As of Monday night, my liver is still not speaking to me.
What better way to get back into the swing of things, after the week that I have had, than to FINALLY write my post on Atlanta’s New Orleans inspired Parish Foods & Goods?

Some of you might remember that I got all excited about the Ibérkshirco pork that showed up at there back in December. Those that don’t know what I’m talking about will want to read my post on it, as I won’t be re-hashing the Ibérkshirco story here. I know, I know….that was a month and a half ago. Well, despite what my lack of a follow up post might suggest, I actually made it down there that night and I BARELY got my hands on that pork.
Why the delay? I distract easily …rampant ADD and the desire to provide you with some pretty pictures to enjoy while you read caused me to put it off. Thankfully, even though my iPhone couldn’t handle the low light that evening, my buddy with Concentrics (or should I say Boudreau?) hooked me up with a few pics that I could use instead.
So, for those of you that just scan my longer paragraphs: I didn’t take these pictures.
I should probably start the actual review with some good ole fashioned “full disclosure”. I have a few friends that work at Concentrics, one of them at Parish, and occasionally while eating there we get treated to a free appetizer or drink. This started long before I began writing a blog, so there was no “blogger favoritism” going on. They also know me well enough to know that if they treated us to a sub-par meal, I’d call them on it.
I have always loved the decor at Parish. I think that they put a great spin on the whole New Orleans thing…it is warm and distinctly NOLA, but without being gaudy. With lots of exposed brick, the interior is….oh hell, I don’t have the energy to pretend to know interior design…I dig their style, and I’m betting you will to.

Though this review will focus on a single night, I have probably been 4 times since they opened in May, 2008. And I’ve noticed that it seems like they are dialing the “Cajun” thing back and the southern up a little. It was at a 9, now it is more like a 7, and I personally think it was a good move. I’d assume that this transition began with the pickup of current Chef Nick Melvin in March, ’09.
Melvin, a New Orleans native and Concentrics alumni (Murphy’s/Tap/Room At Twelve), has, in a lot of ways, made Parish’s menu MORE authentic while making is less stereotypically “New Orleans” than it felt in their earliest days. No matter how creole it is, New Orleans is also still southern, and there is more to it than gumbo, jambalaya, oysters, and hurricanes. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed the food here on day 1, but I’m glad to see the improved sense of balance that Melvin has brought to the menu. The concept has remained intact, but it feels less like a CONCEPT than it used to.
As we were seated, I immediately asked about the Ibérkshirco pork and it was a good thing that I did. Though it was supposed to be on the menu for 2 nights, by 8:00 PM they had realized it wasn’t going to last the evening. I’d like to take credit for the high demand….but let’s be honest….Kessler posted about it too, sooooo, yeah….
Either way, I ordered that before I even got my water. The last order was taken by 8:30. Whew.
For our appetizers, we got the Seasonal Savory Cheesecake and the Squash and Dumplings.
I’d really enjoyed the last version of their savory cheesecake special that I’d had, and I just couldn’t say no to this one: Pulled pork, sweet potato cheesecake, with a Worcestershire reduction. Yup, I doubled up on the pork. And the pork in this cheesecake, though it wasn’t the Ibérkshirco I’d come for, was fantastic. The pork was tender and the pairing with sweet potato was ideal. I know it isn’t a new flavor combo, but it should be more common.
To those that say that is too much pig for one meal, I say “suck it”.
This isn’t a misnomer; it really is a savory cheesecake. To many, the idea of pork flavored cheesecake sounds either revolting or amazing. But the sweetness is almost non-existent, and you don’t have the conflict with the savory ingredients that you’d expect. I actually didn’t even order this the first time that I ate it. If the fillings of the day sound remotely enticing to you, I highly recommend you try this. So far, they are 2 for 2 with the cheesecakes for me.
At this point, my buddy, who likes to run newer dishes by me when I eat here, appeared at the table with the Squash and Dumplings, and strongly suggested that we try it. That was actually how I got the Savory Cheesecake at my table for the first time last spring. Thanks buddy, you are batting 1000 so far.
This is a hollowed out maple roasted acorn squash filled with buttermilk parmesan dumplings and topped with toasted pecan sage pesto. Hot damn…it was the perfect comfort food for the cold and icy night we’d braved to drive there. The combination of the maple squash, fluffy cheese dumplings, and buttery toasted pecan flavor in the pesto was fabulous. Seriously…can’t you just FEEL your stomach getting warmer thinking about that in your mouth? We ate the whole damn thing, squash and all.
Finally, it was time for our famed Ibérkshirco pork to arrive. Just for kicks, I’ll show you what MY picutres turned out like.

Thank GOD I got a real camera since then....
Now do you see why I didn’t want to use any of my own pictures from that night? That is the food porn equivalent of sex with the lights off- just not as much fun.
Ohhhhh, that sweet, sweet pork. This was totally worth the hype, and not just because I hate to be wrong. There were 2 things that I loved about this dish, so I’ll tackle them one at a time.
First- The Ibérkshirco:
Despite my passionate love affair with pork, having never had Jamón Ibérico de Bellota (Ibérico Ham), I couldn’t really wrap my head around how different this pork could really be. Now I totally get it. The nutty flavor that the pigs pick up from their acorn/chestnut diet really jumps out at you, and wasn’t something that Melvin could have easily cooked into the meat himself. In addition to being a top-tier piece of pork, the flavor was sweetly unique, and I will honestly go WAY out of my way to eat at any restaurant that I know is serving it from now on.
Second – The preparation:
Even the best meat can be ruined by a moron in the kitchen, and Melvin definitely respected his ingredient. The pork was served on a bed of Noring Farms garlic braised mustard greens with a sherry and pork reduction, alongside a cast-iron pan of breaded Hakurei turnips and chestnut gratin. Everything on the plate complemented the sweet/nutty flavor of the pork without coming close to overpowering it. The greens had a great vinegary bite and the sweetness of the reduction balanced that acid perfectly. It stood up to the pork without trying to hold it up.
Melvin did a damn good job of letting the pork stand on its own, which is one of my favorite things a good chef will do. When you have something as amazing as pork like this, it would be arrogant to try to outshine it by overpowering it.
Though the Ibérkshirco was great, and I wish that everyone had the chance to try it, it wouldn’t have been worth a damn if the guys at Parish didn’t know what they are doing. And after tasting this dish, and the cheesecake, I will have a hard time passing up getting at least SOME of Melvin’s pork the next time that I go, Ibérkshirco or not.
If you have never tried Parish, I’d strongly encourage getting them onto your to-do list. And even if you aren’t into pork (in which case I’m shocked you read my blog) I think you’d be hard pressed not to find something here that you will love.


















Better Breakfast Series- Review: Noon Midtown
Thank God I decided to write the Better Breakfast series. Otherwise, I might have never found Noon Midtown.
Owner/Chef Katie Birmingham’s story is one that adds just a little bit more fuel to my fantasies that I will one day shed my corporate shackles and live out my life cooking food that makes people smile two days later. Birmingham spent over seven years working in some impressive Atlanta kitchens, Bacchanalia amongst them, before she decided to pursue a career in law. Thankfully, the life of a lawyer wasn’t for her. In April ’09, some five years after leaving the restaurant business, she opened Noon Midtown.
Noon is one of the best surprises that I’ve happened upon while writing this series. I’d heard rumblings of a great new spot serving exceptional sandwiches for the midtown crowd, but I worked too far away to make it down there during the week. It wasn’t until I began an active hunt for an exceptional breakfast that I really learned about Noon.
More specifically, I learned about The Stack.
Before I get into to the awesomeness of The Stack, I should give you a little background on myself that I don’t often discuss in while in my guise of sophisticated foodie.
I love Chik-Fil-A chicken biscuits.
Actually, let me be more specific: I really fucking love Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits.
I know many of you reading this in Atlanta are thinking “Well, no shit man! Who DOESN’T love Chik-fil-A chicken biscuits?! I sure do!”
Not like I do, dude.
I won’t get into details, but I’ll just say that they dominate most of my weekday breakfasts. And some weekends. When I’m feeling a little extra fancy-free with my arteries, I’ll add egg and cheese. And then take it to the face.
So, taking into consideration my love for this mass produced fast food breakfast, I ask you, dear reader: Can you think of any food that, when made from scratch, isn’t going to be VASTLY superior to its fast food counterpart? I know that I can’t. Except for Krystal.
So, imagine my jubilation when I first bit into THIS:
That’s right. It’s the chicken biscuit that wet dreams are made of.
For those that aren’t busy counting the layers, this consists of a fried chicken breast, Benton’s bacon, cheddar cheese, sausage gravy, and a fried egg sandwiched between a homemade biscuit.
There really isn’t anything I should have to say about it. I could talk about the fact that the chicken is moist and perfectly fried. Or I could discuss how ingenious it was to add sausage gravy to this hearty breakfast sandwich. But come on! Just LOOK AT THAT THING:
Maybe I should have held up my hand for perspective, but The Stack (only served on Saturdays) is a beast. I didn’t even attempt to eat it without cutting it in half first, and I had to use a fork for the majority of the meal. That said, I have to acknowledge the fact that on my way out I spotted Savory Exposure taking down his Stack, whole, with his bare hands. Respect.
[Side Note!] Before I forget, I should mention that Noon Midtown also serves fresh Sublime Doughnuts every day. Bonus!
After leaving Noon that morning I knew that I had to come back again before I wrote a review, which is something I don’t always do. Not just because I ate only one dish and left with just two pictures, but also because my inclination towards chicken biscuits could have been affecting my judgment. So, a few weeks later I made the steadfast decision that, come hell or high water, I was going back to Noon for breakfast the next morning.
And then the ice came.
I awoke to icy streets, empty bread isles, and the morning to myself. At 10:45 AM, after the perilous trek through the frozen tundra of Buckhead to Midtown, I settled in at Noon with my laptop for the day. And I had the place all to my lonesome.
Beside myself for making it there alive, I started talking my way through the breakfast menu to the guy at the register, asking for suggestions and whatnot, only to learn that breakfast had stopped at 10 AM.
Bummer.
I grabbed a Sublime doughnut and a coffee, and sulked my way back to Twitter to bitch about it. Shockingly, Katie actually follows my Twitter account, something that I hadn’t considered before griping about my failed breakfast expedition on the internet. Some 5 minutes later, she comes over and tells me that she feels bad that I drove all the way down there and would be happy to cook me something off of the breakfast menu if that is what I wanted. I thought that was pretty cool.
And to make things even cooler, the Fried Egg sandwich that I ordered was outstanding. On paper, it looks pretty simple: Fried egg, capicola, and provolone on a baguette. That’s it.
The baguette is thick, soft, and buttery. But the capicola is the game changer: Subtly smokey and noticeably salty, almost at the level of country ham, yet sliced thin enough to still allow the egg and cheese to retain center stage. It complements without overpowering. I was so into this sandwich that I seriously had to force myself to slow down so that I could actually enjoy it.
If you work or live within walking distance of Noon Midtown, I kind of hate you. And if you ARE one of those lucky bastards and still have not eaten here, I feel sorry for you.
Some folks may joke that the world is always a better place when there is one less lawyer in it. I can’t really say one way or the other. But I do know that, in the case of Katie Birmingham, Atlanta sure as hell is.
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