HONORABLE FARE
Drink, threecourse dinner inspired by Academy Award nominations.
On Sunday, Hollywood will honor the best films of 2017 at the 90th Academy Awards ceremony.
All the beautiful people of Tinseltown will be inside the Dolby Theatre, but scoring a ticket to this star-studded event is next to impossible. The rest of us will have to be content consuming it from the comfort of our couches. We’ll ooh, ah and heckle – talking back to the TV as we judge red carpet walks, emcee Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes, and acceptance speeches, all the while watching for #metoo moments or faux paus that’ll become internet memes in an instant.
But before you get to park yourself on the sofa and listen again and again to the phrase “and the Oscar goes to,” there’s one more thing to do in preparation for the big night: get the food spread ready.
Hollywood is going all out, so why not you, too – and with a menu inspired by Academynominated flicks?
I browsed through the lineup and found four movies around which I planned a three-course meal, plus a frosty drink.
To start, make it crab fritters. But not just any old crab fritters. Make the ones from Atlanta’s Bacchanalia, which got a shout-out in bank-heist flick “Baby Driver,” nominated for film editing, sound mixing and sound editing.
In the movie, Bacchanalia is referred to as “the finest wining and dining of all the wines and dines in town.” And, while its menu changes with the harvest, one thing that remains the same is its crab fritters.
“I love the dish because I think it’s very well balanced,” said Bacchanalia chef and coowner Anne Quatrano. She ticked off the various fritter components, including a hot pepper essence that holds fish sauce for umami funk and maple syrup for sweetness. There’s also the texture because “everyone loves something crunchy.”
For the main affair, I propose serving the Hot Mess Burger in honor of “Lady Bird,” nominated for best picture, actress, supporting actress, director and original screenplay. The story is about a strong-willed teenager who has a heated relationship with her mother. It’s not just Christine aka, Lady Bird (played by Saoirse Ronan), who is the hot mess. The entire thing is one big hot mess.
The edible hot mess, which hails from Park Bar in downtown Atlanta, includes fixins’ of bacon, broiled pimento cheese and crisped jalapeño rings on a brioche bun.
“It’s just something that is a term of loving endearment for someone that is a hot mess,” said Park Bar co-owner Mat “Quickie” Tainow as we talked about the backstory for this burger. “It has the melted pimento cheese and spicy jalapeños. It’s messy and it’s hot and works out perfectly,” he said.
For dessert, there’s no arguing against a Mississippi mud pie. It would be a nod to “Mudbound,” a Netflix feature film that earned four Academy Award nominations, including one for Mary J. Blige for supporting actress and for Rachel Morrison for cinematography – the first for a female cinematographer.
Atlanta’s Joy Café has a Mississippi mud pie that sees layers of decadent chocolate mousse and freshly whipped chocolate atop a crust made from salted caramel brownies.
“I am one of those people who doesn’t like to waste anything,” said Joy Café coowner Joy Beber. The edges of the brownies “get a little more dark and done than the center,” she said. Rather than sling those sweet bits into the trash, Beber saves them, crushing them into crumbles for the pie crust.
Finally, there must be something to wash it all down. After all, these awards go on for hours and you don’t want to get dehydrated. Sure, there’s plain old water. If you’re a fan of “The Shape of Water,” which got a whopping 13 nominations, drink up the stuff from the tap. But for a more sensationalist sip, how about a frozé that raises a glass to ice skating-class war saga “I, Tonya”?
The recipe you’ll find here comes from The Canteen, a micro-food hall in Atlanta from chef-restaurateur Todd Ginsberg. At The Canteen, the frozé does flips and turns in a classy frozen drink dispenser. Classier still: They make it with boxed wine. Nice.
On Oscars night, popcorn and soda just won’t do. We might not get to strut down the red carpet in a gala dress or tux, but we can win with food and drink right for the occasion.