From Kristin at Cakes & Ale…

We are thrilled to report the Bakery has a new Pastry Chef at its helm!

Eric Wolitzky comes to us from Baked in Brooklyn and is already putting his touch on the Bakery goodies. Several items already finding a happy home on our menu are the salt & pepper cookies, hazelnut cream filled puff pastries, brioche cinnamon rolls, banana s’more nut bars, and marble citrus cake with chocolate pudding & chocolate ganache frosting. Eric’s recipes have been featured in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, O Magazine and Daily Candy. He has presented desserts at many food & wine shows including the New York Chocolate Show and Martha Stewart’s Milk and Cookies. Most recently Eric, the “Zen Baker” appeared on Bravo’s reality show Top Chef Just Desserts (Fall 2010), competing in 8 out of 10 episodes.

The AJC dining critic, John Kessler, has talked a lot about Cakes & Ale lately.  But as he notes himself, he hadn’t reviewed it since it’s move to its new, larger digs at Church & Sycamore.

Today’s review of Cakes & Ale and its accompanying bakery is lengthy and in-depth.  It is gracious and occasionally critical.

Kessler provides this summation at the start…

So let me cut to the chase: With the move, Cakes & Ale has taken a tremendous step forward and now counts among the handful of top Atlanta dining destinations. The restaurant no longer seems a work in progress. It’s here. More than just about any spot in the metro area, it celebrates local produce. Though far from vegetarian, the menu lets vegetables in season call the shots and determine the flavors in nearly every dish. It’s a Southern restaurant inasmuch as the menu feels deeply tied to place, but Allin’s seasonings and cooking ideas range broadly.

The bakery is a different beast, with a different menu and guiding spirit.

In the end, a relocated, more mature Cakes & Ales garnered four out of five stars from Kessler, while the still evolving bakery received three.  A four-star rating places Cakes & Ale in the top echelon of Atlanta restaurants with Bacchanalia , Rathbuns, and other top tier of Atlanta restaurants (which I can’t fully list because the AJC maddeningly doesn’t have an obvious grouped list of restaurant reviews on its website!).  Last I had heard, there are currently NO five star restaurants in Atlanta, according to the paper.

Congrats C&A!   A huge accomplishment!

Photo courtesy of Cakes & Ale’s website

Kristin Allin of Cakes & Ale confirmed to DM last night that Dynamic Dish’s David Sweeney will head the bakery and will head up the restaurants lunch menu going forward.

Above is a short Youtube video that featured Sweeney back during his Dynamic Dish days.

h/t: FoodieBuddha

Co-owner Kristin Allin tells DM that Cakes & Ale will reopen to the public at its new Decatur Square location (HERE) this Tuesday night.

As for the bakery, Kristin says they’ll be doing a “soft opening throughout the week”.

Thanks to altmod for the heads up!

Kristin Allin of Cakes & Ale sends along this note detailing their move this coming Saturday, August 8th and all that’s in store at their new, Sycamore/Church Street location come Saturday, August 16th.

There’s lots of great info in the letter (wood-burning oven, oyster bar, bakery items, new staff), but it’s a pic file and not copy-and-paste-able text, so I can’t easily insert a tease above the fold.

So click on dear friends!

Read the rest of this entry »