Biscuit Bonanza

By Isadora Pennington

Ah, the biscuit. I could write sonnets describing your loveliness. Fluffy, buttery, flakey, good with sweet or savory flavors – biscuits are all things good.

The term biscuit is originally derived from the combination of two Latin terms: “bis,” which means twice, and “coctus,” which means “to cook,” roughly equating to the phrase “twice-cooked.” Around the time that the term was coined in the 14th century, the process for making biscuits involved a two-step process, first being baked and then being put in a low heat oven to dry out. The term has evolved to mean a few different varieties on that original invention since then, with notable differences depending on region and languages.

For example, if you were to travel to England and order a biscuit at a cafe, you would get a pastry that’s more akin to what we would call a cookie with a layer of creme or sweet filling in between two flat biscuits. But the origins of biscuits go back even further than that. Starting around the 7th century, bakers in the Persian empire began adding new ingredients to improve the taste of bread with eggs, butter and cream, and as the original biscuits were hard, dry and unsweetened, with creativity came more inventive recipes.

For many of our readers, it’s likely that the warmth of a freshly baked biscuit conjures up warm memories of family breakfasts or sipping mimosas over brunch as it does for me. This month I went out in search of my favorite biscuits and sampled them for your consideration, so check out these great spots the next time you’re craving a biscuit of your very own.

Tasting Intown

By Megan Volpert

Jinya Ramen Bar

When was the last time you ponied up 79 cents at the grocery store for a brick of dehydrated ramen noodles with a tiny seasoning packet? If that is your idea of what ramen is, rejoice, for Jinya Ramen Bar has finally arrived in Sandy Springs, and the ramen there is nothing like the sad, salty snack you remember from college.

Jinya is a small, fast casual chain conceived by Tomonori Takahashi, who moved his ramen joint from Tokyo to California in 2010. Takahashi’s success over the past six years has sprouted more than 20 shops, from Santa Monica to Austin to Chicago to Washington D.C. Our city was overdue – heck, even Tulsa is getting a Jinya this year.

The ramen you slurped in college had only two things going for it: it was cheap and fast. The power of Jinya is that it preserves those two essential values, with the additional two grown-up values of being delicious and healthy. This little 40-seat ramen bar is designed to get you out the door again in under an hour. Enjoy the upbeat dance pop and reggae music while you wait fewer than 10 minutes for your food to arrive. Nobody has time to simmer a 10-hour broth made from scratch at home; Jinya has many varieties ready when you arrive. Just pick your additions and plunge in.

You can’t go wrong with any of the choices, but if you don’t know where to start, pick a number. I had the #1 spicy chicken ramen. It comes with chicken broth, two fat slices of tender chicken chashu, spinach, spicy bean sprouts, Tokyo negi (a type of onion), green onion and thin noodles. All noodles and broths are made in-house. If you like fresh pasta, wait until you try fresh ramen. It comes in a gigantic bowl, and try as you might to put a dent in it, no matter how hungry you are you’ll still be taking half of it home. Well worth the $12, and you can add over 20 different accoutrements for a dollar or two more – anything from extra noodles to a poached egg to bok choy to dried seaweed. My wife ordered the #2 garlic lover’s ramen, a pork broth with pork chashu, seasoned egg, bean sprouts, chopped onion, green onion, fish powder, chili powder and thick egg noodles.

The best additional topping is unquestionably the fresh garlic. They bring out a jar of garlic cloves and a garlic press. You get to pick out however much you want and squeeze it over the bowl yourself, and this customization is free. You’ll want to put garlic on everything. There are a dozen ramens on the menu that run between $10.50 to $13.50. If you’re not feeling soupy, they have rice bowls in two different sizes and a whole bunch of tapas, including the basics like edamame and seaweed salad. The quinoa salad with sesame dressing was light and fresh, a good balance of ingredients not overwhelmed by kale, and a bargain of a meal for six bucks.

Two of the tapas are out-of-this-world delicious. You’ll definitely want to get the brussels sprouts tempura with truffle oil. The truffle scent is strong enough to guide the generally louder scent of the halved sprouts, and the fluffy tempura batter delivers a nice sea-salted crunch. This solid evidence that sprouts can be terrific without bacon can be had for six bucks, or during 3-5 p.m. happy hour for just four bucks. The other great small plate is the spicy creamy shrimp tempura, which turns everybody’s favorite flash-fried sushi roll inside out, leaving just the big shrimp with its light batter coated in that spicy mayo sauce you crave.

Drink a craft beer or a cold sake, but don’t linger. Jinya is here to feed you right and let you get on with your day. It is efficiently friendly there; they greet everyone with a exclamation of welcome in Japanese and servers are on constant alert so that you don’t wait for anything for very long. Hopefully we will not have long to wait before Jinya opens additional locations.

Jinya Ramen Bar is located in the Hammond Springs Shopping Center, 5975 Roswell Road, B-217, in Sandy Springs. For more information, visit jinya-ramenbar.com.

Quick Bites

Midtown Restaurant Week is set for Sept. 10-18 with more than 40 restaurants offering brunch, lunch and dinner options from $15, $25 and/or $35 prix-fixe menus. Prices are per person and exclude alcohol, tax and gratuity. A complete list of those participating is available at mrwatlanta.com.

The 10th annual Kirkwood Wine Stroll returns Sept. 23 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. along Hosea Williams Drive. There will be 35 pouring stations serving up a variety of wines. There will also be food served by local businesses, and music by DJ Ronnie Thomas and Karoke Guru. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 the week of the event or at the door. This is a 21-year and older event. Photo ID is required. Organized by the Kirkwood Business Owners Association, proceeds from the event support local schools and initiatives and fund other KBOA events throughout the year. For more information, visit kirkwoodwinestroll.com.

Chefs from all over the Southeast will bring the best wings they have to offer to the inaugural Atlanta Wing Fest on Sept. 25 starting at 1:30 p.m. at The Foundry at Puritan Mill. This festive “party with a purpose” will provide wings, beer, and local music to benefit Atlantabased charities Angel Flight Soars and Second Helpings Atlanta. Tickets are $20 for general admission or $45 for VIP, and can be purchased at freshtix.com/events/atlanta-wing-fest.

Open Hand Atlanta will host the 13th annual Party in the Kitchen fundraising event at American Spirit Works, 199 Armour Drive, on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $250 each and will provide guests with an evening of tastes from the city’s most talented chefs and bartenders, as well as access to the event’s auctions – silent and live – and live entertainment. For more about the event and tickets, visit partyinthekitchen.org.

The Organized Neighbors of Edgewood will host the first annual Atlanta/Edgewood Mac and Cheese Festival on Oct. 8 in Walker Park. Featuring macaroni and cheese samples from more than 20 vendors as well as music from local bands, the event will take place from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include five mac and cheese tastes from a variety of restaurants, caterers and private chefs. Proceeds from the festival will benefit Neighbor in Need, a nonprofit organization that helps low income elderly living in the communities of East Lake, Kirkwood, Edgewood, East Atlanta and Decatur’s Oakhurst community with emergency home repairs.For more information, visit atlmacandcheesefestival.com.

Tickets are on sale now for Sunday Supper South on Oct. 30 at 5:30 p.m. The annual family-style supper will benefit the James Beard Foundation. This year’s theme is taken from John Updike’s novel and film “The Witches of Eastwick.” Hosts/chefs Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison will welcome an all-female line up of award-winning chefs at Ponce City Market for the event. Tickets are $250 for James Beard Foundation members and $275 for non-members. For more information and the chef lineup, visit sundaysuppersouth.com.

After being destroyed by a fire in the summer of 2014, the LongHorn Steakhouse has reopened at Toco Hills, 2892 N. Druid Hills Road. The 5,620-square-foot restaurant seats more than 200 guests. Restaurateur Chris Martha and Chef Michael Semancik are expected to open Scout in Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood any day now. The menu will feature “interpretive regional cuisine” alongside a craft cocktail menu from beverage director Nate Shuman. The restaurant is located at 321 West Hill St.

Octane Coffee has opened its fourth location at The Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St., in Midtown. The shop, offering coffee, teas and light fare, is open

7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday,

8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. For more information, visit octanecoffee.com.

Staplehouse restaurant in the Old Fourth Ward has been named the best new restaurant in America for 2016 by Bon Appétit magazine. From the lengthy article and review by Andrew Knowlton: “In every way imaginable, it floored me. It’s the best restaurant experience I had this year. Hands down.”

Whiskey-maker joins Buckhead’s craft-brewing hotspot

By Grace Huseth

Jim Chasteen pointed to the copper still inside American Spirit Whiskey Distillery, his new whiskey-making business that opened for public tours and tastings last month in Buckhead.

“The next flavor trend is not going to come from tweaking a factory still in Kentucky. It’s going to come out of a little still like this,” said Chasteen.

Chasteen and ASW co-founder Charlie Thompson met at the University of Georgia. In November 2011, they founded American Spirit Whiskey and after distilling in Charleston, S.C., for the last five years, they returned to their Georgia roots.

ASW stands in the former Mason Murer Fine Art gallery on Armour Drive in Buckhead. They chose the location in hopes of attracting visitors from SweetWater Brewing Company, a well-known craft beer-maker headquartered just around the corner.

A change to state alcohol laws last year, known as the “beer jobs bill,” allowed distilleries to start charging for tours, and increasing alcohol-tastings to 1.5 ounces per person. That legal change allowed ASW to open its doors for public tours.

Their stand-out piece is a copper still made by Vendome Copper and Brassworks, a big still-maker for all Kentucky bourbon manufacturers. ASW spent time researching and collecting each piece of equipment, and everything is handmade in the U.S., except for the bottler made by Italian manufacturer Mori.

The first step is the mash cooker, where grains like corn, rye or malted barley are soaked in hot water to break down the complex carbohydrates of the grain into simple sugars. Yeast is added, and then it’s off to the fermenter to make a basic form of beer. After fermentation is complete, the distiller’s beer gets to visit the prized Vendome copper stills where whiskey will be made in a traditional, Scotch-style double-pot still system.

To better explain this whiskey-making system to visitors, ASW created a chart that is now painted as a large mural in the tasting room. Head distiller Justin Manglitz, along with medical artist Aaron Fu, took ASW Distillery’s equipment schematic and created the mural. ASW will create posters of this process, for both whiskey connoisseurs and educational purposes.

Toward the end of the distilling process, the whiskey is evaluated by Manglitz to make “cuts,” or decisions of what to put in a barrel to become whiskey and what to redistill. The cuts are based on taste and smell. ASW uses both a traditional, Scotchstyle system and Southern flavors like native grains while also experimenting with different flavors.

“Whiskey is all about cuts, what you take out and what you keep in,” Chasteen said.

ASW says its flavors are exclusive—from its original are going to be focused on Georgia for the foreseeable future and grow organically.” product, American Spirit Whiskey, a mild whiskey, to its forthcoming bourbons and single malt whiskeys.

American Spirit Whiskey can be purchased in over 500 bottle shops and restaurants in the state and others in the nation.

ASW Distillery is located at 199 Armour Drive, Suite C, in Atlanta. Learn more at aswdistillery.com.

In September, American Spirit Whiskey will produce more original bourbon recipes. The corn comes from Riverview Farms in Ranger, Ga. For a whiskey to be classified as bourbon under federal regulations, it must be produced in the U.S. from a mash of at least 51 percent corn and matured in charred, new American oak barrels.

Thompson said the ASW Distillery team is proud to be from Georgia. They are making every effort they can to source from Georgia farmers and want to give back to Georgia first during their initial years.

“We need to pull back and really dig deep in Georgia. We are in the best city in the Southeast to build a type of whiskey brand that will endure,” Thompson said, “We

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