Tropical Delights

Get a taste of the South Pacific at a local tiki bar

Trader Vic’s tradervicsatl.com

(404) 221-6339

255 Courtland St. NE, Atlanta, 30303

Cosmo Tidbits - “Trader”

Vic Bergeron’s original PuPu platter with crispy prawns, crab rangoon, pork belly and BBQ ribs for two, $19.25. Mai Tai

- The original and most famous rum drink, $9.

By Isadora Pennington

You can almost hear the sound of waves crashing outside, and for a brief, glorious moment, the stifling city heat feels like it could be the balmy air of a South Pacific jungle. Beachy tunes play faintly in the background, and you kick back, sipping a cool, boozy beverage out of a funky tiki mug, thanking your lucky stars for a few days of respite from dayto-day life. But this is not your vacation, you’re still in Atlanta, and that heat isn’t going to be matched by a glistening blue ocean just outside the cabana door. This, my friends, is the power of the tiki bar.

Tiki culture has a long and interesting history in mid-century America, mostly arising due to the food industry. Don the Beachcomber’s in Hollywood is considered to be the original tiki bar that inspired the trend of Polynesian eateries and bars across the country. Don is also considered to have singlehandedly invented the tropical drink genre. Quickly, the trend caught on and spread. His rival, Victor Bergeron, would go on to found Trader Vic’s and is credited with creating a variety of “Polynesian” dishes and drinks, such as Crab Rangoon and Mai Tai.

This passion for Polynesian style, meals, drinks and music, can be traced all the way back to World War II, in which American servicemen returned from the South Pacific with stories and souvenirs.

Affordable travel also enticed many middleclass families visit, and American families fell in love with a romanticized idea of South Pacific

The S.O.S. Tiki Bar vicsandwich.com/sos

(404) 377-9308

340 Church St., Decatur, 30030

Pineapple guacamole with malanga chips, $8. Ghost Face Kula - Rum, gin, falernum, apricot brandy, orgeat, lime, orange juice, $10

Tiki Tuesdays at The

Bookhouse Pub thebookhousepub.net

(404) 254-1176

736 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta, 30306

Spicy Bleu Cheese Chips - Homemade potato chips, bleu cheese, tomatoes, bacon, cilantro, chipotle sauce, $8. Vodka PunchA refreshing alternative to rum drinks, $9.

So, if you can’t get to the beach this summer, I stopped in at some of my favorite tiki spots and photographed the experience. If you need a little staycation, step inside one of these fun spots and get carried away

By Megan Volpert

What is happening to Italian food in Atlanta? The fact that the Castellucci family is soon moving Double Zero from the Perimeter to Emory is bad news for the suburbs. The fact that the Karatassos clan has closed Veni Vidi Vici is bad news for the city. People are whispering that the next great Italian hope is il Giallo, a block away from Double Zero and possessed of most of the key staff from Veni Vidi Vici. Can il Giallo capture what is best about both places and still project a personality of its own?

Karatassos and Castellucci are names synonymous with exceptional service. For il Giallo, I waited four additional months beyond my normal three, because I hoped to see a waitstaff that could really show me a good time. The service was not bad, as servers were respectful and attentive, and the plates arrived pretty quickly. The service was not good, as servers weren’t very personable, nor did they seem to possess much deep menu knowledge. I’m not talking about wanting a long pontification about the farm where one pig was raised; I just like to hear familiarity with and enthusiasm for the culture of a restaurant.

If you’re bringing the kids or having a business lunch, maybe you don’t care about that higher standard of service. Can il Giallo hack it on food alone? On taste, there is no question that il Giallo is producing the best, freshest pasta on the planet, thanks to Jamie Adams. Watching him at the chef’s table making my pasta right there in the dining room and then eating that pasta just eight minutes later is truly the greatest thing about il Giallo, and there is no experience like it on offer at any place else in the entire metro.

The day’s special was a fettuccine with greenery and speck, easy on the oil for a lightness that made it hard to put down my fork. We also ordered the agnolotti with brown butter, sage and pecans because this dish had been featured on Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate. It tasted delicious, too, but I was left with three questions. One, where is the Big Green Egg smoked flavor I was promised on the duck stuffed inside those delightful pasta purses?

The sauce was drowning it out. Two, why is this classic staple of November menus available to me in May? I guess they worry about needing to capitalize on television publicity, when in fact the pastas can speak for themselves. Three, why is this plate so ugly?

That last question is tough to answer and it was one I repeatedly had to ask myself through the meal. No attention was given to nicely presenting the agnolotti or even to simply prevent the pasta from smushing together because of cramping on the plate. The prosciutto and cantaloupe was likewise hard to photograph in its symmetrical but lazy way, even though this dish is usually very easy to make pretty. Even our panna cotta looked so lonely and naked on its plate. If you’re not keen on Instagram, perhaps weak plating doesn’t concern you.

The best thing we ate that wasn’t pasta was the grilled octopus. Its medallions de-emphasize the tentacle, so it’s a good entry point if you’ve been afraid to try other octopus dishes increasingly proliferating in the city. The olive oil smashed potatoes beneath the octopus are delicious and the first few bites were great, only to be later overpowered by too much pickled red onion on top.

My sense is that il Giallo just doesn’t quite know itself well enough yet. Having also been granted honorable discharge from Buckhead Life, General Manager Leonardo Moura should have a confidence in his attention to service detail that rises to the skill level of Chef Adams’ pasta. The kitchen may likewise still be feeling out differences between its own instincts and the restaurant group oversight with which it had been saddled for so long. It’s not yet worthy of date night, but il Giallo is one to watch.

il Giallo is located at 5920 Roswell Road, B-118, in Sandy Springs. ilgialloatl.com gusto!, the fast-casual concept that started in Atlanta’s Brookwood Hills neighborhood, will open its second location at 782 Ponce De Leon Ave. in July. Created by former NFL quarterback Nate Hybl, the restaurant allows diners to choose a base of greens, rice or flatbreads, and then add grilled chicken, portabella or avocado and other toppings. For more information, visit whatsyourgusto.com.

Fifth Group Restaurants opened South City Kitchen Buckhead at 3350 Peachtree Road for lunch and dinner. Executive chef Jason Starnes, previously of The Sun Dial, will be cooking up a menu of traditional and contemporary Southern cuisine. For more information, visit buckhead. southcitykitchen.com.

Richards’ Southern Fried is now open at Krog Street Market in Inman Park. Created by Chef Todd Richards, the Southern fried chicken shack is offering up sandwiches and plates with sides. For more information, visit facebook.com/ RichardsSouthernFried.

Hundreds camped out overnight for the opening of the new Chick-fil-A at Glenwood Place, 401 Bill Kennedy Way. The first 100 customers through the door got free food for a year.

5Church is open at the corner of 14th and Peachtree Streets in Midtown serving dinner daily. The menu at the modern American restaurant includes charred octopus, hearth- roasted whole fish, smoked duck and a 200-bottle wine list. This is the third location (others are in Charlotte and and Charleston) from restaurateurs Patrick Whalen, Ayman Kamel, Alejandro Torio and Jamie Lynch. For more information, visit 5churchatlanta.com. As

Restaurateurs Billy and Jenn Streck have opened Hampton & Hudson in Inman Park at 280 Elizabeth Street. The bar features craft beers on draft, wine, cocktails and ice coffee on draft, while the pub food menu features locally sourced ingredients and covers all the bases, from snacks, salads and sharable dishes to entrees, desserts and late night offerings. Visit hamptonandhudson.com for more information.

Shannon and Florian Radke pitched their California-based vegan gourmet cinnamon roll shop, Cinnaholic, to the sharks on the ABC show “Shark Tank” in 2014. Since then the business that entices the customer to create

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Quick Bites

Continued from page 43 their own custom cinnamon roll from a selection of 30 different flavors and toppings has sold 40 franchises. The latest is open now in the Edgwood Retail District at 1230 Caroline St. Music venue and eatery City Winery Atlanta is open for business at Ponce City Market. While City Winery has already hosted sold-out shows, the restaurant is now serving a full dinner menu from Executive Chef Jeffrey McGar and a full bar, which includes a variety of delectable wines. City Winery has scheduled upcoming shows for international touring acts including Leon Russell, (July 7-8), Robert Earl Keen (July 11-12), Amel Larrieux (July 16), Macy Gray (July 18-19), Aaron Neville (July 22-23), JD Souther (July 27), Cracker (July 28), Matthew Sweet (July 31), Louis Prima, Jr. (Aug. 1) and Rickie Lee Jones (Aug. 14) with more announced weekly. For tickets and to sign up for the newsletter, visit citywinery. com/atlanta.

Betty Hsu’s Baos, a 420-square-foot market stall featuring a selection of steamed buns and seasonal dishes, will open this fall at Krog Street Market in Inman Park.

Original Atlanta food truck Yumbii will open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Yumbii Taco Shop , at 1927 Peachtree Road in Buckhead this fall. The 1440-squarefoot restaurant will offer counter service for easy takeout and seating for dine-in guests. For more information, visit yumbii.com and follow on Twitter @Yumbii to find where the food trucks are located.

Speaking of food trucks, Colony Square in Midtown is now hosting Food Truck Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the plaza at the corner of 15th and Peachtree. There will be a rotating roster of food trucks.

Empire State South, Miller Union and Restaurant Eugene have made Wine Enthusiast magazine’s annual America’s 100 Best Wine Restaurants list for 2016.

Doc Chey’s Noodle House donated $11,000 in proceeds for the restoration of historic Fire Station #19 in Virgina-Highland after the annual Morningside Mile block party and one-mile race fundraising event. The event has raised $55,000 for the restoration of the city’s oldest firehouse.

The 10th annual Give Me Five Dinner featuring Atlanta’s premier chefs and sommeliers will benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign on Sunday, Aug. 14, at Piedmont Driving Club. Featured chefs will include Chef Chair Jay Yarbrough (Piedmont Driving Club), Christopher Grossman (Atlas Restaurant), James Neale (Rathbun’s), Piero Premoli (Pricci) and Wesley True (The Optimist). Sommeliers include Gil Kulers (Piedmont Driving Club), Clarke Anderson (No. 246), Joon Lim (Rathbun’s), Caleb Hopkins (Atlas Restaurant) and Linda Torres (The RitzCarlton, Buckhead). For more information, visit givemefivedinner.org