Relish

Jay,

Since you often blog about food, I just have to tell you about the place where I and a co-worker had dinner tonight, Relish, in Roswell GA.

I had seen a bit about this place when Alton Brown mentioned their deep fried black eyed peas on an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ateon the Food Channel. Since it is only about four miles from our hotel, I just knew we had to try it.

We orderd two appetizers, the fried peas and crusted cheese balls with four pepper jelly. I must say that the peas were the least good thing about the meal. They were OK, but the cheese balls were crusty on the outside, gooey in the middle, and lying in a goodly amount of sweet, spicy, tangy, vinegary, pepper relish, Patrick ordered the meatloaf with green beans and mashed potatoes. I ordered the chicken and dumplings. Then we had them split the two entrees so we could each have some. The meatloaf was still a large portion with really good potatoes and rich gravy. The beans were just beans, but then, that's what they were supposed to be. The chicken was crisp pan fried (no breading) with rosemary. Even the fatty skin was great. It was lying in a rich, thick chicken stock/gravy with carrots and potato gnochi. I dunno which was better. I think it was the chicken, but it was a close deal. And I am not overly fond of hot meatloaf, but this was excellent.

We were both fulll at this point, but he ordered a Krispie Kreme bread pudding and I ordered fried peach pie. The pudding came with a cinammon whipped cream, and it tasted just like a Krispie Kreme donut with custard. It had to have used the donuts as the bread. (There was a Krispie Kreme about two blocks away so I suspect I know where they came from.) The fried pie looked like the fried pie turnovers you buy out of a vending machine, but that is where the resemblance stopped. I got three of them (one is in my fridge and might just be breakfast). The peach flavor was stunning. I commented that I wondered if they were roasted or dehydrated to get the intense flavor. Turned out they start with dehydrated peaches, rehydrate them in brandy, put them in the filling, and then fry them. (Or so our waiter said, and I suspect he knows.) Oh yes, cinammon sugar on top plus a scoop of ice cream. Along with a bottle of locally brewed rye ale, my bill came to a grand total of $30. Patrick had two beers so his tab was a few dollars more. Yummy. I am back here in two weeks and I can practically guarantee where I will be going for dinner.

Oh yes, the waiter also told us about a place just down the road called the fickle pickle. Owned and operated by the same owner as Relish. Their breakfast menu includes:

Brie, bacon, and egg with tomato on sourdough
Chicken and Waffle sandwich with bacon and egg
Corned Beef Hash with potatoes, onions, peppers, eggs, and creole hollandaise
FGT scramble, 3 eggs with arugula, onion, pepperjack, & tomato jam over fried green tomatoes
and the list goes on.

I think breakfast will have to wait for another trip as well.

Don

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Donald E. Mosier