4TH & SWIFT- A GOURMET GEM IN ATLANTA

By Doc Lawrence

ATLANTA--Location, location. It remains important in the success formula and 4^th & Swift, Chef Jay Swift’s wonderful restaurant is a stone’s throw from the busiest thoroughfares in the South, yet comfortably nestled in a quiet location with very ample parking. The adventure is confined to the dining experience, not the nightmare of navigation and parking which burden many Atlanta restaurants.

A Baltimore native, Jay Swift has a menu reflecting Deep South preferences, all enhanced with an imaginative cocktail and wine program that blends into the overall enjoyment.

I was asked by my companions, a distinguished assemblage of ranking officials from North Carolina’s renowned Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and the Cherokee Tribe to select a restaurant for an evening of food, drink and conversation that was emblematic of Atlanta’s reputation as the unofficial headquarters of New South cuisine. That’s daunting if you take such requests seriously. New South is in the eyes of the beholder and since I am an Atlanta native and have a track record that includes years of dining in many other Southern cities, I made a studied decision.

For one evening, I was a prophet: 4th & Swift, featuring Chef Jay Swift.

Begin at the bar. There are bottles upon bottles of handcrafted bitters along with standbys like Peychaud’s, the magic potion in the Sazerac cocktail. The cocktail menu features some high-octane delights like “The Cries of Silent Men,” invoking images of Southern existentialists like Walker Percy. It’s a Gin-based witches brew with secret elixirs. Maybe topped off with  eye of newt? One can only guess, but all can enjoy.

Dinner was a gentle immersion into the best of Dixie. Several ordered the chef’s special, Three Little Piglets, while I spotted braised short ribs from Will Harris’ renowned grass-fed beef farm in South Georgia. A bottle of Argentine Malbec enhanced the experience, and the Chef’s special ricotta-stuffed squash blossom appetizer paired well with chilled Pinot Gris from Oregon. The wine list symbolically states that management takes its diner’s needs seriously. What you see is reasonable and compatible. Many outstanding wines are also available by the glass.

An evening here includes amenities that make pleasant memories. Spacious seating with comfortable tables. The noise level is low. Conversation flows uninterrupted by those dreaded cries of dining banshees, something that can ruin an otherwise terrific evening. They must have been in other restaurants on this evening.

Jay Swift has perfected the balance in great dining: Food, wine, cocktails and ambience. Here’s a place to get to know someone. The dining ritual is the near perfect way to reach out and build bridges of understanding; and 4^th & Swift must have had this in mind from the inception.

Turning vision into raves from happy diners isn’t easy. 4th & Swift is a template for gourmet excellence. This is easygoing, elevated dining, the Atlanta food experience we deserve.

And you thought you knew Vidalia onions? Enjoy Lynne Brandon’s wonderful story about America’s favorite vegetable:

http://www.winesdownsouth.com/Recipes/Vidalia_by_LB.pdf

TENNESSEE’S MOONSHINE TRAIL

Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Aint' no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Rocky Top you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top Tennessee.

“Rocky Top,” by Boudleax and Felice Bryant

By Doc Lawrence

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE-A journey into the land of White lightening, 200 miles of history, beauty, adventure, and charm, begins just outside of Knoxville’s famous attractions and little-known sites. This trail gets its name from the route’s legendary history as a moonshine-running corridor during the prohibition era. It was a time when rebels careened around these curves, transporting illegal, homemade corn whiskey under the cover of darkness to avoid the law.

I’m off to visit historic towns whose famous thrill-seeking outlaws unknowingly laid the foundation for today’s stock car racing, experiencing the natural beauty of East Tennessee, anticipating that much of it remains as it has for hundreds of years. Its mountains are laced with might streams like the Powell, Nolichucky, French Broad and Holston Rivers. These ancient forces, harnessed by the Tennessee Valley Authority to generate electricity, created vacation hotspots Norris Lake, Douglas and Cherokee Lakes, beautiful bodies of water that draw thousands of visitors each year. Along the way, my journey will explore the picturesque mountains, traveling along the path first cut by Daniel Boone.

Highlights include a stop at Dandridge, the second oldest town in Tennessee (ca.1792), a delightful mixture of old and new. Today, downtown Dandridge is a National Historic District showcased by the courthouse completed in 1845, a prime example of Greek Revival architecture. Next is Russellville and an opportunity to learn about the headquarters of Confederate General James Longstreet during the winter of 1863-1864. Morristown is home to Bethesda Church, a quaint old building with high-backed pews and an enclosed pulpit, one of the oldest churches in this section of the state. The church was built in 1835, and was later used as a hospital for wounded Union and Confederate soldiers. There are approximately 82 unknown soldiers buried nearby.

When you think of Tennessee, Davy Crockett comes to mind. Morristown was the American hero’s childhood home and has a museum containing artifacts from Davy's childhood, telling the story of this legendary figure in American history who died fighting at The Alamo.

I’ll be reporting on legendary places like Clinch Mountain, Cumberland Gap, Joppa Mountain Pottery, and describing the museum in Maynardville that provides a glimpse of the heritage of Union County. The museum has a reference library with genealogy lines of many families connected to Union County, known as the "Cradle of Country Music." This is the home of the Grand Ole Opry’s Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Kenny Chesney, Lois Johnson and Carl Smith.

This will be the launch of a series of vacation ideas that appeal to those visiting the South during the Civil War Sesquicentennial as well as those who yearn for real adventure, preferring travel closer to home.

Join me in all the fun.