·Atlanta Trendsetter Weathers Changes, and the View's Still Spectacular
·Canoe restaurant has named Carvel Grant Gould Its New Executive Chef.
·NRN 2005 Fine Dining Hall of Fame
·The Perfect Shower
Atlanta trendsetter weathers changes, and the view's still spectacular
AJC Access Atlanta, June 9, 2005
I IMAGINE FEW PEOPLE in the city made note of the Abbey's closing two weeks ago. The restaurant had been an icon in its time, sitting like a stone marvel for so many years on Ponce de Leon, known to generations as the place to go on a prom date or anniversary.So many restaurants fall out of favor - the chef isn't hip enough, the menu needs dusting off. Newer, trendier spots take their place. Time is the ultimate critic.
Canoe could have been accused once of being just another of the newer, trendier places. It opened in 1995 when Atlanta was in pre-Olympics bloom and we had tired of relic menus that touted biscuits and fried chicken. Nor were we wowed anymore by the tame continental cuisine served at all the "it" restaurants.
"Just when we thought we'd never see a quenelle of coriander whipped cream or a squiggle of creme fraiche across our just-thick-enough mushroom soup, along came Canoe, with an all-star menu of players behind it":
- Chef Gerry Klaskala, who designed the menu and kitchen concept and later opened Aria.
- George McKerrow Jr. of Longhorn Steaks and now Ted's Montana Grill.
- Über-designer Bill Johnson.
In her absence, the restaurant hired Robyn Mayo as pastry chef. Together they make a dynamic duo, a female Batman and Robin creating a relaxed menu of modern American cuisine that has focus and flavor. The eclectic tendencies that once haunted the menu are gone. Gould's touch is steady, like that of a stern but loving mother. Mayo's desserts, while a little rough around the edges, are among the best in the city.
So what hasn't changed? The noisy open kitchen. The high-backed booths and their geometric-patterned upholstery, so telltale '90s. The wrought iron vines that separate them. The power conversations overheard in the men's room. The panoramic view of the Chattahoochee River. The drop-your-jaw gorgeous gardens.
"Canoe has weathered these well.
What has changed, for the better, is the sometimes erratic nature of the menu. But Gould's focus seems more seasonal, heavy on high-quality ingredients. There are menu mainstays such as the "tuna tuna tuna" and the slow-roasted rabbit. But there is also plenty of room for Gould to experiment with her nightly specials, which she does with flourish".
They are usually fish, often a barramundi (an Australian fish a little like bass) served whole and roasted in all its glory, or on a more recent evening, tender rounds of halibut cheeks over a creamy corn and fava bean succotash (my word, not hers) with micro cilantro adding a smidgen of tart nuttiness. Or soft-shell crab, perfectly fried with an ethereally thin crust, surrounded by a light lemon-and-caper beurre blanc.
Even an outdated showing of ostrich (this really is the '90s) rests easily in her hands, the lean meat tender and pink with more lemon sauce and batons of Asian pears for a crunchy twist.
Gould, at her new post since early March, plans to remove some menu items, tweak others and add a few ideas of her own by this week. Most will be seasonally inspired updates.
One that needs to change is a mismatch of caramelized striped bass with a weird coconut-and-kaffir lime rice. The whole thing is cloyingly sweet; the flavor of the fish totally overpowered and the rice a mass of goo. Salmon with tomatoes, capers, olives and lemon is a big yawn.
But a mainstay such as slow-roasted rabbit, as unseasonal as it sounds, is blessedly tender and meaty, with a hearty mushroom ravioli alongside a mound of seasoned Swiss chard with hints of vinegar and garlic. Ditto the pheasant, another dish I long to see appear again on Gould's fall menu. Until then, I'll close my eyes as I sink my mouth into its match of fluffy whipped sweet potatoes with tiny huckleberries and pretend it's almost Thanksgiving.
Regulars needn't worry about changes: the smorgasbord of bread (rosemary lavash, cranberry nut, focaccia, sourdough) brought round and round again by the perennially prompt service staff is still part of the picture. And the raw tuna appetizer that includes thin, shear slices, dices and a mound of tartar is still alive and just as good as it always was, with a pungent sesame dressing that hints of mustard and pumpkin seed oil. Mayo's desserts get better each time I eat at Canoe. She has the innate ability to pair fruits with each other and with chocolate, and knows when to let chocolate take center stage, as with an ooey-gooey molten center cake (another '90s classic), never better than it is here with a crunchy, butterscotchy tuile and candied walnut ice cream.
All are pretty (some more than others) and they all taste splendid, especially a Meyer lemon pound cake, delicate and buttery, surrounded by a syrupy compote of blueberries and topped with a tiny scoop of house-spun poppyseed ice cream. A pretty little cookie tuile is twisted on top of the ice cream for effect. Roasted banana cheesecake is a perfect disc of fluffy, mousse-like heaven, part banana, part caramel, with a sweet-and-salty marcona almond sherbet. But now that I'm thinking about it, it's hard to beat the orange-mascarpone ice cream nestled between the poofy layers of shortcake and strawberries in Mayo's strawberry shortcake.
And so it goes. Gould and Mayo are poised to take Canoe into a new decade, where yet another generation of prom-goers and anniversary celebrants can bask in the glow of the gardens.
CANOE
Overall rating: **
Food: Modern American cuisine, drawing from global and local ingredients with a sophisticated but approachable attitude
Service: Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and prompt. This is a busy restaurant, yet the staff never seems harried. The only compliant would be how tiresome it is to hear from every server that "everything here is delicious."
Setting: Rugged '90s look, with high-backed booths, wrought iron and slate flooring. The restaurant's layout has many layers, though, and the best tables are on the patio or on the second-tier that wraps around the main dining room. The views of the gardens and 'Hooch are mesmerizingly romantic.
Address, telephone: 4199 Paces Ferry Road, 770-432-2663
Hours: Open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., brunch on Sunday from 10:30 to 2 :30. Dinner Sunday through Thursday 5:30 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m.
Price range: $$$
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club
Best dishes: Specials of soft-shell crab and whole roasted fish, "tuna, tuna tuna," slow roasted Carolina rabbit, roasted banana cheesecake, Meyer lemon pound cake
Full bar
Reservations: Recommended
Vegetarian selections: Arugula salad with spicy walnuts and shaved Parm, pistachio-seared goat cheese
Children: A bit formal for evening hours, but the perfect setting for special occasions that include little ones
Parking: Complimentary valet Wheelchair access: Yes
Smoking: No smoking inside; allowed on patio
Noise level: High
Patio: Yes, yes, yes
Takeout: Yes
Canoe restaurant has named Carvel Grant Gould Its New Executive Chef.
Atlanta Business Chronicle, March 25-31, 2005
Can You Canoe? Canoe restaurant has named Carvel Grant Gould its new executive chef.
Restaurants & Hospitality
Mary Jane Credeur
"Gould has been chef de cuisine at Canoe for the past eight years and was part of the opening team when the restaurant was established nine years ago. She previously worked for the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group."
NRN 2005 Fine Dining Hall of Fame
Nation's Restaurant News, May 23, 2005
By Jack Hayes
"?George McKerrow, Jr. and Gerry Klaskala?joined in the mid-1990s with money adviser Ron San Martin to launch Canoe as a venue that would showcase eclectic American fusion cuisine."
"?The partners elevated chef de cuisine Carvel Grant Gould, a nine-year veteran of Canoe's kitchen, to the executive chef slot and garnered her commitment to maintain the operation's fine-dining integrity."
"With her fresh approach, Carvel is taking Canoe to the next level," says McKerrow, who founded LongHorn Steakhouse in Atlanta in the early 1980s, and then developed the Ted's Montana Grill brand two decades later with media mogul Ted Turner.
McKerrow, Klaskala and San Martin, through their We're Cookin' Restaurants group, have partnered in other fine-dining ventures, among them Restaurant Aria, featuring new American cuisine in Atlanta's Buckhead area.
"We'd been looking at another restaurant in the [suburban northwest Atlanta] Vinings community," says Klaskala, who spent six years at The Buckhead Diner and another two consulting before the We're Cookin' venture. "But the way we did Canoe turned out right," he adds. "It sits on the river in the best demographic in Cobb County - and right across the river from the best demographic in north Fulton County. The previous concept had run its course, and we chose to create a venue that communicated with the water."
The partners hired then-emerging Atlanta restaurant designer Johnson Studio and a team of local craft artisans whose work since then has won international recognition. On the culinary side Klaskala's vision was a town and country destination with strong ingredient integrity.
The Perfect Shower
Access Atlanta March 17, 2005
"Looking for that picturesque setting that only a girl can appreciate? Search no more."
CANOE
Vinings **
4199 Paces Ferry Road N.W.
770-432-2663
The spectacular gardens, lodged on the banks of the Chattahoochee, bring throngs of diners to this Atlanta favorite night after night, brunch after brunch. It's the type of English garden setting that has "bridal shower" written all over it. The new American menu is an attraction, too, with pleasing brunch favorites like the crispy banana fritters and smoked salmon Benedict. Lunch: 11:30a.m. - 2:30p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Dinner: 5:30 -10p.m. Mondays - Thursdays, 5:30-11p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 5:30 -9:30p.m. Sundays. Brunch: 10:30a.m. -2:30p.m. Sundays. $$
