Eatzi's
Buckhead is, for many, the jewel in Atlanta's crown. For others, it is the thorn in Atlanta's side. For me, it is a place to go for a salad.For non-Atlantans, Buckhead is the trendy, yuppy high-end shopping district with clubs, bars, fancy restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory, The ESPN Zone, the Lenox Mall, the Phipps Mall, the Ritz Carlton and The Container Store. I think the Container Store symbolizes everything you need to know about Buckhead: they sell containers at double the price of anywhere else. (However, according to Forbes, they're one of the best companies to work for in America). (And they sell jars that are good for making jams).In any case, Eatzi's sits in the heart of Buckhead, across from the Rooms To Go where I got my furniture at the intersection of Peachtree and Piedmont. A large green and red neon sign beckons yuppies to their high-end already prepared food:It beckons me because they have good salad. In college, we would go to Eatzi's for their salad. It's not that their lettuce is wildly superior or that their dressings are that earth shattering. It's just that it's convenient. They'll cut up a chicken breast for you. There's bacon and hard-boiled egg. They toss it, they package it and they give you a fork. They kiss you on the forehead and call you in the morning.I walked into Eatzi's tonight and encountered a strange display of wine:
Then I shot a picture of one of the service counters:
After which a man in a Britney Spears headset told me there were no pictures allowed. I apologized and made my way around the store. Classical music blares overhead. You feel like you're trapped in a Zales commercial. Then hordes of well dressed women, business-suited men, and Emory sorority girls line up for salad. Again, the Eatzi's salad is very convenient.Here's mine (I shot the picture covertly):
I went minimal on my toppings this time (you get charged per topping): chicken, eggs (<--a Jewish no-no: you don't eat mother and child together; some kind of Kosher law), bacon (<--another Jewish no-no) and croutons. Boy today I was a Jewish food rebel: ham, bacon, egg and chicken. Maybe I'll go sneak out and watch "The Passion" and really guild the lily. Or, more appropriately: guilt the Lily.
