The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cabbage and crispy rice salad at Breaker Breaker
I came to Breaker Breaker for an indulgent basket of fried seafood. For a healthy balance, I ordered the salad to start my meal.
Now I go for the cabbage and crispy rice salad.
It’s as if the restaurant, located next to the Beltline Eastside Trail, put a burst of sunshine on your plate. It brings together raw veggies that pack a healthful and satisfying punch with other textures, flavors and vibrant colors.
Pale green and purple cabbage — cut into slim, sturdy ribbons — provides a great crunch. There also are herbs — mint, cilantro and basil — mingling with soft avocado hunks and shredded carrots. Oranges that have been supremed add a welcome citrus kick, along with a tangy vinaigrette. And there is nuttiness from toasted pumpkin seeds, plus more fun munching from crisp, puffy rice.
Being cabbage-based, the salad maintains a nice crunch, even if you let it sit while the flavors fuse. And you can take it up a notch by adding the savory pop of blackened shrimp. 921 Wylie St. SE, Atlanta. 404-254-2969, breakerbreakeratl.com ously while on the campaign trail, Gates said.
Dave Poe opened his namesake barbecue restaurant near Marietta Square in 2006. He has played host to campaign events and provided catering for Republicans in the U.S. Senate. “Barbecue and politics go hand in hand,” Poe said, adding that there’s something about barbecue that “levels the playing field.” You can find pickup trucks and Mercedes-Benzes in the same restaurant’s parking lot.
Dave Poe’s BBQ is typical of a Southern barbecue place, from the wood-paneled surfaces to the license plate wall decorations and the menu featuring redneck lasagna, in which mac and cheese is mixed with Brunswick stew. His eatery also has made cameos in a few campaign videos, including one for Attorney General Chris Carr in 2023.
Heath Garrett, the Marietta-based political strategist behind Carr’s commercial, said Poe’s has a “feel of sincerity. It’s the kind of place that everybody in Georgia would have gone to, even in their hometown.”
Poe is ecstatic that his restaurant gets used for political campaigns, because it brings in plenty of extra business.
Garrett noted that barbecue events are a part of the “Georgia political tradition.” The food is affordable, easy to eat on the go and suits a variety of tastes.
But despite it being traditional in Georgia, Garrett said, he sees this type of campaigning declining, which he considers a loss. Candidates interacting in person with people keeps them grounded, he said, and that seems to be missing in the current “hyperpolarized, hyperpartisan environment.”
Manuel’s Tavern on North Highland Avenue in Atlanta has been a center for political campaigns and discussion for decades, particularly among
Democrats. Brian Maloof said it was his grandfather, Brownie Maloof, who started the tradition when he owned downtown Atlanta’s Tip Top Billiard Parlor, which found a ready clientele of judges and lawyers. Brownie’s son, Manuel, later opened his own tavern after the Tip Top closed.
Former Atlanta Journal columnist Paul Hemphill drank at Manuel’s and often quoted the proprietor, which helped the tavern cement its status as a bar with a history of political visitors, including presidential candidates Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, as well as President Barack Obama. Manuel Maloof entered politics himself, getting elected as a DeKalb County commissioner and later serving as commission chairman and CEO.
Since his father died in 2004, Brian Maloof has carefully maintained Manuel’s status as a political bar. But, he said, through the years he has observed a growing “lack of enthusiasm in politics.” He said he doesn’t see the same level of excitement or commitment, and some groups that used to meet at Manuel’s have “disappeared.”
“To hear what a candidate is saying in the full context of his visit is very important, and I think that gets missed on social media a lot,” Maloof said. Only so much of a campaign can be conducted online, he said, and “in the end you have to eventually get together.”
As the 2024 election season begins to rev up, Poe said he expects to hear from politicians more frequently.
“You come to realize that there are Democrats and Republicans all eating together, and they don’t have any problems with each other,” strategist Garrett said. “They’re finding commonality around a hot dog or a barbecue sandwich or something like that, and I think this is one of the traditions that I do see starting to decline, but I’m hoping it’ll see a resurgence.”
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, honey and salt. Add the beer and melted butter. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. (The batter can have some small lumps; do not overmix.)
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake the loaf until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool slightly, then turn the loaf out directly onto the cooling rack. Flip it right side up to allow it to cool enough to slice. Use a serrated knife to cut the loaf into slices about 1/2-inch thick. Keeps for up to 2 days wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container at room temperature.
Serves 8.
Per serving: 138 calories (percentage of calories from fat, 22), 3 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, trace total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 3 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 8 milligrams cholesterol, 428 milligrams sodium.