Ladies Who Brunch: 5&10

Apparently, I’m on a Hugh Acheson restaurant tour every other weekend…. and that’s totally fine with me! (So Savannah- you are warned. It’s high time I paid y’all another visit anyway.) I’m going to blame this on Eleta and Alex of Bungalow Kitchen. They’re the ones who *really* first turned me on to the whole farm to table concept that Acheson has helped to popularize. Let me back track just a little bit to explain how I got here- just a little bit I promise!

 

So I’ve written before about how it was thanks to a boy that I really got interested in fine dining and eating anything other than chicken fingers.  (Sidebar: I hope y’all appreciate that I am willing to make a complete fool out of myself for the sake of a- being honest and b- making y’all laugh. Cause this “ish” is funny.) Ok fine. But it was working as a manager for Tic Toc Room and Luigi’s Bistro that really made me love not just food- but the art behind making it.

 

Getting to work on menus for catering events with my boss at the time, Cesare Mammarella, was just damn fun. (Note: Cesare has a new restaurant opening this week in Macon: Yabu- a sushi place. I’ll be reviewing it soon!) Getting to work on the super secret menu for the anniversary of the restaurant was fun. And the memory of getting to watch Julio make the food and the craft behind it still makes me a little bit giddy- like a child watching their mother or grandmother make Thanksgiving Dinner.

 

It was at this time that Top Chef was really picking up steam on t.v.- and I was newly engaged and living with my fiancé (now ex-husband). I vividly remember Season 2 because that was on when I was working at Tic Toc. I would watch it with my fiancé in an effort to get him more interested in my work and because I am a fiercely competitive person, and watching how food and competition could come together was damn near orgasmic for me. If you know anything about this series, you know that Georgia chef Hugh Acheson has graced the show with his presence more than once.

 

Fast forward to post-divorce Molly. I am discovering a whole new world apart from working all of the time at a car rental business, my kids are a little bit older (so no more making bottles every night for daycare), and at least two weekends a month I have to myself. Eleta and Alex, as well as others, are becoming friends of mine. And there is this whole farm to table food movement I’m hearing about. I’m also still writing fashion for Macon Food and Culture Magazine (which would also have an Athens version for a time)- which means I am also exposed to food trends through that. This whole idea of traveling outside of Macon is something that I am warming up to. And there’s all these articles and stories about eating better, closer to the source, how it’s better for your kids- something I’m really paying attention to being a mom whose kids are now eating solid foods, and we have more local famers markets popping up.

 

Then, there is the closing of Farm 255 in Athens a year ago- a place I had heard much about. I am also writing about food for The Telegraph, and starting to branch out to other publications like Bourbon and Boots, who would ask me to do a piece on Athens- a town I had once lived in. Imagine my great surprise to see how much the town has changed in the nearly eight years since I had spent a large amount of time there.

 

Earlier last month I am in Atlanta with a friend, and after writing about my trip to Empire State South and posting it on social media a conversation strikes up. Friends say anytime I want to go to ESS or 5&10 they will come with. Since I am more spontaneous now- I take a look for the next weekend the kiddos are with their dad and say let’s go! And here we are, the day when I drove nearly two hours simply for brunch. Because I can, because I want to, and because it’s just damn worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

Had I realized I would be playing photog as well (I should have known) I would have brought in my real camera- but no, I had to carry the cute Tory Burch which also made the trip to Empire State South. <sigh> Life is hard. (Sarcasm- please know this is sarcasm.)

 

Thankfully among this group of friends are Alex and Eleta, otherwise I likely would have never ordered this creation above, as Eleta said they wanted to order it and split with us.

 

The above picture is of the pimento cheese and bacon marmalade tart. I don’t know WHY I wouldn’t order this otherwise. Perhaps it’s because I’m only recently discovering the joy of a truly good pimento cheese. Perhaps it’s because I would give this item the side eye of doubt- unless someone were to tell me it’s good. But good it was- it might have even been the best part of brunch. I’m kind of crazy about really good tomatoes, and when they’re easy on the eyes that’s an added bonus.

 

 

 

 

The Gravlax Benedict: poached eggs, dill pickle hollaindaise, fennel sausage, and fennel slaw. Ordinarily- I don’t order anything that says “pickle” in the description. I just don’t like pickles of any kind. However once again the chefs at Five and Ten have proved me wrong (see previous experience here with pickled beet soup). This is one of the reasons why I like to travel around for food- because I like to experience new things, and learn something new. 

 

 

 

 

The Gulf Shrimp and Grits, with baby carrot, okra, mushrooms, and country ham broth: this is what my friend with Celiac disease ordered (and thus needed to eat gluten free). She’s a huge fan of everything Hugh Acheson because it’s fairly easy for her to eat at his restaurants- and I found out on the drive that her brother lives in Athens and first started taking her to 5&10 back in the early days.

 

 

 

 

We didn’t ordered dessert- but it was forced upon us anyway. (Hahaha as if you could *really* force someone to eat dessert.) I’m not really a person for figs, probably because I did not grow up an adventurous person with my food (thank you Mom and Dad), but this was really good. So much so that one of my companions crafted a plan to team up with another person to take down the kitchen staff to take the bourbon based syrup.

 

 

 

 

 

And of course, this is me with my dear friend Jen- she’s the styling master at Flirt Fashions in Athens. Go and see them! They’ve got super cool clothes and accessories. I will also be writing about that outfit later and how you can take it from brunch to a night out.

 

Be sure to take a look at the Athens based online magazine The Broad Collective– per their Instagram account they’re going to feature a review of A New Turn in the South- the cookbook by Hugh Acheson.

 

Also…. keep your eyes open guys and gals…. I’ve got some surprises in store for y’all here!

 

 

Love to all y’all,

 

Molly