Food - Chefs dish on 100 Dishes at Taste of Atlanta 2015

Robert Phalen, Ron Eyester, and Grand Champion BBQ’s Gregory Vivier share the stories behind their dish’s success

Earlier this year, Creative Loafing’s dining brigade went on a mission. We canvassed the city for the most inspiring, delectable, and destination-worthy eats to compile our biennial 100 Dishes to Eat in Atlanta list. This weekend, at the 14th annual Taste of Atlanta Festival, the creative forces behind three of those can’t-miss 100 dishes — chef Robert Phalen (One Eared Stag’s celery salad), co-owner/chef Gregory Vivier (Grand Champion BBQ’s sliced beef brisket), and chef/owner Ron Eyester (the Ultimate Pancake at Rosebud) — convene on TOA’s Chef’s Table Stage for a panel titled Finding the Fork in the Road. Moderated by radio personality, emcee, and Emmy-nominated TV host Tom Sullivan, the panelists will share the secrets and stories behind their individual dish’s success. We caught up with the chefs ahead of the event to get a taste of what to expect:

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Describe the dish in three words.

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Robert Phalen: Classic fall dish.

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Ron Eyester: Sweet, salty, and interesting.

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Gregory Vivier: Tender, smoky, and delicious.

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How’s it made?

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RP: This dish is very simple: All the ingredients are mixed together and well-seasoned.

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RE: Basically we spread the pancake batter in an oblong direction on the griddle and top the batter with soft scrambled eggs that have been scrambled with crumbled, local breakfast sausage. We then fold the pancake over twice to seal it and allow it to brown lightly.

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GV: The brisket is dry rubbed with Grand Champion’s Cow Lick rub and placed in our smoker.  The brisket is smoked low and slow for 12-16 hours with oak and hickory wood.

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What is the secret to this dish? What makes it work?

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RP: Keeping it simple.

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RE: I guess the secret of the dish is the use of an extremely high-quality breakfast sausage from Riverview Farms and the scrambled egg, which suspends the bacon and sausage to a certain degree and allows these flavors and textures not to simply get lost in the pancake batter.

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GV: The secret is using quality brisket and investing the time to coax out the flavors. What makes the dish work is our love of barbecue and truly enjoying the time it takes to get that perfect balance of smoke and seasoning. 

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OK, we gotta know. Have people come into your restaurant and ordered this dish specifically because it was on 100 Dishes? If not, NBD ...

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RP: Not to my knowledge.

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RE: Not sure ... it’s been a very popular dish since we put it on the menu almost five years ago.

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GV: Yes, our Krog Street Market location has had many guests come in specifically citing CL’s 100 Dishes article.

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Catch the Finding the Fork in the Road panel discussion at the Taste of Atlanta Chef’s Table Stage on Sat., Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m.






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