“The Move” is your guide to the top food finds from Rough Draft Dining Editor and Editor-in-Chief Beth McKibben. The guide appears first in her weekly Family Meal newsletter on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. Subscribe for free to Family Meal, which includes exclusive Q&As with Atlanta chefs and bartenders, Beth’s latest dining excursion for The Move, a recipe, and other subscriber-first stories. As a subscriber of Family Meal, you’re automatically signed up for Side Dish, the Rough Draft dining team‘s Thursday newsletter dropping at noon rounding up the week’s Atlanta food news.
Green tea castella from Bread Museum
3473 Old Norcross Road, Duluth
I stumbled upon Bread Museum during a restaurant scouting mission in Duluth. The family-owned bakery, cafe, and coffee shop specializes in French and Japanese pastries and breads.
Located on Old Norcross Road in the McDaniel Square Shopping Center, Bread Museum’s pastry cases are packed with everything from cream-filled eclairs and decadent chocolate brownies to croissants, boules of savory bread, and mini quiches.
I ordered a green tea castella, a Japanese sponge cake flavored with honey ($5.50). Bread Museum filled the middle of this hunk of tea cake with vanilla buttercream, which also crowned the top. It came garnished with a bright red sugared strawberry. But even with the vanilla buttercream, the green tea and honey cut through the richness and kept the castella subtly sweet.
I’m eager to return to Bread Museum to try more of the savory baked goods, including the egg salad salt bread. Make sure to partake in the free samples at the register.
Pesto e Pomodoro from A Mano
587 Ralph McGill Blvd, Old Fourth Ward
With a menu and vibe leaning more osteria than trattoria, A Mano features handmade pastas, a seriously underrated wine list, and cocktails ranging from straightforward classics to wildly original concoctions, like the Banana Daq 3000 with Haitian rum, banana syrup, Montenegro, chardonnay cordial, lime, and toasted sesame.
And while you can’t go wrong with reliable standbys such as the bucatini alla bolognese or carbonara at A Mano, try the pesto e pomodoro ($19). Rigatoni comes tossed in a zesty sun-dried tomato pesto mixed with sautéed rapini leaves and stems, fennel fronds, and crumbles of feta cheese. It’s an especially good choice if you plan to order a heavier entree to follow, like eggplant parmesan or grilled ribeye.
End your meal with an affogato or an amaro with a slice of citrus olive oil cake and a scoop of EVOO gelato ($14).
More dishes to try from “The Move”
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The Tio’s Salad from Tio Lucho’s
675 North Highland Ave., Poncey-Highland
The Tio’s Salad at Peruvian restaurant Tio Lucho’s in Poncey-Highland may not seem like a standout on the menu, especially when competing against more traditional dishes like lomo saltado, causa, and ceviche. But don’t underestimate Chef Arnaldo Castillo, who always finds a clever way to marry the flavors and ingredients of his native Peru with those of the American South.
Nothing on the Tio Lucho’s menu is an afterthought, and nowhere is that more evident than with the quinoa-based Tio’s Salad ($18).
A hearty salad arrives layered with colors and textures from puffy granules of red quinoa, crunchy corn nut kernels, feta cheese, apple slivers, leafy greens and herbs, and chunks of tomato. Tiny aji dulce peppers burst with a mildly sweet and smoky heat.
Castillo tosses the jumble of ingredients in a rocoto vinaigrette. Frequently used to make salsas and sauces, the flavor of the deceptively spicy Peruvian rocoto pepper is lusciously fresh and delicately fruity and necessary to bring this salad alive. For extra protein, add grilled chicken ($8).
Here’s the recipe for Tio Lucho’s Tio’s Salad
The Lunch Box from The Sparrow
950 W. Peachtree St., Midtown
I’ve been impressed thus far with my experiences at Asian tavern The Sparrow, a relative newcomer on West Peachtree, and to the Midtown food scene. The fact that I don’t have to travel outside the heart of the city for a Peking duck spread or dishes like Sichuan tripe doused in chili oil and braised pork ribs cooked with fragrant osmanthus flowers is in itself impressive.
At lunch, The Sparrow offers one of the best meal deals in Midtown. For around $16, the Lunch Box includes entrees like cumin lamb, choice of soup or vegetable spring rolls, a side of kimchi, white or fried rice, and a drink.
I recently ordered basil chicken, white rice, and a cup of wonton soup. I find most wonton soup broths to be thin and under-seasoned. The Sparrow’s wonton soup broth, however, is incredibly savory with a silky texture rendered from fat. The soup also includes anything but wimpy wontons, substantial enough to contain pork meatballs, or without falling apart the minute your spoon comes into contact with the dumpling.
