The Atlanta Foodcast: A Food Podcast

Kevin and Megan Ouzts.... Folks, these two are heroes. The Spotted Trotter is a wonderland for anyone with an appreciation, affinity, slight interest, or palate for incredible cured and prepared meats and charcuterie. They have incredible roots here in Atlanta and throughout Georgia and have established an avenue of the culinary community that makes this city so wonderful -- albeit delicious. 

This interview is a special one. For the first time, we're bringing you a story in two parts. Thus, welcome to Part 1. The other half of this story will be available the following week. 

Check back next week for some great news about this wonderful pair and their incredible business.

Witnessing pizza emerge from an oven that was so painstakingly built as the oven at Varuni Napoli is akin to witnessing a great artist sling paint onto a canvas or a wall. You've long surpassed the realm of just dough, sauce, and cheese -- You've stepped into the realm of real pizza. 

Luca Varuni built Varuni Napoli on the foundation of his culinary youth in southern Italy. Any individual ingredient to every fully-executed pizza will leave you with an appreciation for how Luca and his team builds flavor around this menu daily. 

I caught up with Luca on a Sunday afternoon and left wanting to hear his story five more times -- over a pizza, and another, and another....

You can visit Varuni Napoli at their flagship location on Monroe or grab a counter seat at their stall in Krog Street Market.

Also, make your plans now for a weekend brunch as the team just rolled out a killer brunch menu.

Witnessing pizza emerge from an oven that was so painstakingly built as the oven at Varuni Napoli is akin to witnessing a great artist sling paint onto a canvas or a wall. You've long surpassed the realm of just dough, sauce, and cheese -- You've stepped into the realm of real pizza. 

Luca Varuni built Varuni Napoli on the foundation of his culinary youth in southern Italy. Any individual ingredient to every fully-executed pizza will leave you with an appreciation for how Luca and his team builds flavor around this menu daily. 

I caught up with Luca on a Sunday afternoon and left wanting to hear his story five more times -- over a pizza, and another, and another....

You can visit Varuni Napoli at their flagship location on Monroe or grab a counter seat at their stall in Krog Street Market.

Also, make your plans now for a weekend brunch as the team just rolled out a killer brunch menu.

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is an event that I look forward to every year. The event takes over the Loews Hotel in Midtown and the north portion of Piedmont Park over four days. You're treated to an incredible lineup of chefs from Texas to D.C. with opportunities to eat, drink, and learn about their passions and craft.

I sat down with Elizabeth Feichter, Co-Founder of the festival, for a conversation about how the festival came to be 8 years ago and what to look for at this year's festival.

Tickets are on sale now at the festival's website.

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is an event that I look forward to every year. The event takes over the Loews Hotel in Midtown and the north portion of Piedmont Park over four days. You're treated to an incredible lineup of chefs from Texas to D.C. with opportunities to eat, drink, and learn about their passions and craft.

I sat down with Elizabeth Feichter, Co-Founder of the festival, for a conversation about how the festival came to be 8 years ago and what to look for at this year's festival.

Tickets are on sale now at the festival's website.

There's something about the way a biscuit says, "Welcome to the south" more than other starchy staples on any kitchen table. Punctuate that biscuit with a hearty "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am" and you're made in the shade. A biscuit isn't just food. It's the quintessential hug and handshake to a greeting or a goodbye in a southerner's kitchen.

Carrie Morey of Callie's Hot Little Biscuit in Virginia Highland has made her biscuits known throughout the beloved south. With two locations in our sister, eater city of Charleston, and her first Atlanta outpost here, she's well on her way to growing the brand's footprint with the biscuits of her youth.

Should you be looking to expand your biscuit knowledge, pick up Carrie's exhaustive cookbook on all things biscuits right here.

Or, for those looking to impress friends and loved ones with a homemade brunch, team up with a few pounds of butter and crank out Carrie's kick-ass biscuit recipe.

There's something about the way a biscuit says, "Welcome to the south" more than other starchy staples on any kitchen table. Punctuate that biscuit with a hearty "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am" and you're made in the shade. A biscuit isn't just food. It's the quintessential hug and handshake to a greeting or a goodbye in a southerner's kitchen.

Carrie Morey of Callie's Hot Little Biscuit in Virginia Highland has made her biscuits known throughout the beloved south. With two locations in our sister, eater city of Charleston, and her first Atlanta outpost here, she's well on her way to growing the brand's footprint with the biscuits of her youth.

Should you be looking to expand your biscuit knowledge, pick up Carrie's exhaustive cookbook on all things biscuits right here.

Or, for those looking to impress friends and loved ones with a homemade brunch, team up with a few pounds of butter and crank out Carrie's kick-ass biscuit recipe.

Guys.... let's talk about butter. I'm not talking about the type of butter that you're dragging out of a box from your local grocery. Good butter. Butter that is made the right way. That's where our friends from Banner Butter come in. 

Drew McBath and his wife Elizabeth have turned a small operation here in Atlanta into a truly celebrated product. Cultured butter is what this crew makes locally on a daily basis -- sourcing local ingredients, developing amazing compound flavors, and continually capturing the hearts of the culinary community time and time again. 

Elevate your butter game next time your shopping. Full list of stockists here.

Visit their website and buy direct here.

Any great team of culinaries, like Linton and Gina Hopkins, have the foundation of a crucial team beneath their restaurant world. It takes an amazing group of individuals with crosshairs locked on the same vision, drive, and roadmap on how to arrive there. Chef Jen Yee and Chef Damon Wise are two of those people. 

Jen and Damon are relatively new to Atlanta, but they each bring a host of incredible stories and diverse paths to the table. Their hands touch quite the array of corners at Resurgens Hospitality Group. Get to know these two. They are both bound for great things.

Check out the wonderful list of restaurants they work on here.

Also, one of my favorite articles on Chef Linton Hopkins here. It's a good'n.

I've been a long-time fan of several concepts under the Castellucci umbrella - be that Double Zero and The Iberian Pig. Sitting down with these two was such a treat and rekindled the love I've had for their hard work over the years.

For anyone one out there, after meeting Fred, Stephanie, or anyone from the Castellucci family, and/or the extended restaurant family, you'll never forget that moment nor will you be forgotten. These guys are doing it right. You win yourself a seat at their table for life.

The story of how this family has come to open some of the most acclaimed restaurants in Atlanta is so killer. They continue to play the hits at the original concept, Sugo, and have rolled even more under the name in the recent past -- Bar Meracdo and most recently Recess. 

Pay these guys a visit at the many, many wonderful restaurants they run here in Atlanta. 

Castellucci Hospitality Group Home Page