Chef survives virus, hopes restaurants can

Takeout, limited dine-in available at Jamie Adams’ Lagarde.

Leonardo Moura and chef Jamie Adams, co-owners of the popular il Giallo Osteria & Bar in Sandy Springs, opened Lagarde American Eatery in Chamblee this past December.

The restaurant celebrates the culinary traditions of New Orleans, where Adams’ parents were born and raised. And, many of its dishes are based on Adams’ mother’s recipes, including andouille and shrimp gumbo, red beans and rice, and daube, a traditional braised beef dish served with crispy onions.

Since mid-March, all of those things — plus such items as plancha or barbecue shrimp, and fried oyster and shrimp po’boys on Leidenheimer French bread — have been available for takeout.

And, Lagarde recently reopened its dining room and bar for full service, though it’s still operating on a limited schedule.

The same goes for il Giallo, which remained open for takeout, and also recently reopened its dining room.

But, Adams’ personal pandemic journey has been much more complicated than the easier trajectory of his two restaurants.

“Part of the story is that I got COVID,” Adams said over the phone last week, shortly after having a reassuring follow-up physical with his doctor.

It all started when he got on an airplane on March 10, and flew to New York City to see an Allman Brothers Band 50th anniversary celebration at Madison Square Garden.

“It was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot,” said Adams, who enjoys playing guitar and cycling when he’s not in the kitchen.

But, the following Saturday, he developed a fever, then a sore throat and fatigue. In all, the symptoms lasted 15 days, while he remained in quarantine, and ultimately tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

“The hardest part was being quarantined at home, you know,” Adams said. “It was very stressful on my wife and the kids. My wife is a nurse at Piedmont, and she was not very proud of me in those moments. But, nobody else in the house got sick. That was the biggest upside. And I just got the antibody test done, in case I can be of help down the line by donating plasma.”

Given his experience with the

CONTRIBUTED BY BOB TOWNSEND This to-go order from Lagarde in Chamblee includes a po’boy with fries, red beans and rice (left), plancha shrimp and gumbo.