Jawja on my mind...

Café Intermezzo @ 1845 Peachtree Road

So yeah, I’m down in Atlanta, Jawja for the nuptials of my beloved niece and I said to myself, ‘Self, you have GOT to see what Jawja’s working with on the tuna-melt side of things.’ So on Thursday night I stopped by a gourmet sub shop by the name of Jimmy John’s but I didn’t get a tuna melt because on the way I saw a nice spot that had a TM on their menu. That spot was Café Intermezzo. Since I was checking out of my dusty motel at around 11 on Friday morning, I figured I’d drop by for a quick bite. The place itself is very nice, good atmosphere, and a 40+ page beverage menu that had it all from coffee to tea, to wine, to beer, to cocktails and beyond. But I didn’t come for all of that fly shit; I came for the sandwich, dammit! Let me tell ya, I knew I was in for a treat when I ordered the TM and the waiter asked me what kinda bread and listed everything from wheat to rye, to croissant to foccacia. Then he asked me what kinda cheese I’d like and ran thru a list that’d make a Wisconsinite blush. I settled on foccacia and smoked gouda. From the list of a thousand beverages I ordered something called a sweet lemon candy, which consisted of vanilla syrup, orange juice, lemon syrup and club soda. It was a pretty nicely put together Italian style soda, not too sweet and not too carbonated. The star of the show arrived and I was instantly smitten. The focaccia was perfectly toasted with what appeared to be thinly sliced tomatoes and onions cooked into the top of the bread with almond shavings as a garnish and a single pickle spear. That’s right true believers, not a single French fry on the plate. Now U may be unaware, but I am a French fry whore, a crack-head for fried potatoes, if U will. And U know what? I did NOT miss ‘em. I’m not gonna mince any words here, folks, this was the single best tuna melt I have ever experienced, bar NONE. The plate was beautiful in its presentation, the tuna alone was excellent (diggin the choice of red onions in the tuna, btw). There’s nothing worse than taking a bite of your sandwich and the cheese sliding right off in a single sheet, but I didn’t have to worry about that here. The melted, smoked gouda behaved perfectly. I advise ANYone who might be visiting Atlanta any time soon to make sure that they get themselves down to Café Intermezzo at 1845 Peachtree Road and pay homage to this masterpiece of a tuna-melt. I have no choice but to give this beauty The Tuna Melt’s highest honor, five fried green tomatoes (since we ARE in the south). New York, I’ll be home next week and somebody’d better show me SOMEthin!

Next Up, Act Two of The Summer Brew Tour.

The New Wave Diner...

So Saturday I went by Filene's Basement to do a lil shoppin for a couple of items and afterward, I happened upon a diner on 78th street and Broadway so I went on in to see what these good folks had for me. I decided to sit at the counter because, hey, I never sit at the counter. So, of course, I order my tuna melt, and they had fountain drinks so I went with the grape. After a bit of waiting my melt arrives and I gotta say, this was the grayest looking creation that had ever been laid before me on diner china. Open-faced on toasted rye with swiss cheese that didn't fully cover the tuna. So some of the tuna gets discolored in the melting process of the sandwich. Just doesn't look sexy. Okay, so moving right along. The swiss cheese. Not a good fit. When swiss melts, as it cools, it separates poorly. U can have teeth like JAWS and it'll be a chore to get a clean bite without pulling all the cheese off like a sheet. As a result U have to place your index finger atop the sandwich at every bite to hold the cheese in place. Call me lazy, but really, should I have to worry about where my queso is gonna go with every bite? I'd like to just enjoy the sandwich! The tuna itself wasn't bad. I'd certainly had worse in my adventures. The fries were really good, but then, I'm a whore for french fried potatoes. My pickles showed up after about 90 percent of my sandwich was gone, but I'll cut the guy at the counter some slack because he was suffering from sunburn. Hey, buddy, that's what happens when U fall asleep on a beach during a heatwave while wearing NO SUNBLOCK. But I'll cut the guy a break cause he seemed pretty flustered back there with arms that looked like they belonged to a hairy lobster. And the grape fountain drink was great! Not too sweet, which is a risk U ALWAYS run with the glorified Kool-Aid®. I would normally have ordered a beer, but the fountain drinks, I was just so surprised to see them that I hadda have one! The funniest thing was, it was bright and sunny when I entered the diner and when I looked out the window about halfway thru my second half, it was POURING! And me with no umbrella. So the sandwich was subpar, but the fries and grape fountain drink were excellent. What are ya gonna do, y'know? On to the next one!

ps: The sandwich my have suffered aesthetically due to the salmonella scare in east coast tomatoes, cause I sure left MINE on the edge of my plate. In honor of the salmonella tomato recall/scare, I shall henceforth rate tuna melts on a tomato scale! Out of 5 tomatoes, New Wave Diner's tuna melt gets two tomatoes (insert tomato graphic here).

Till next time, people, and stay tuned for Act Two of The Summer Brew tour!

The Summer Brew Tour, Act One...

Last summer at my friend's wedding I bumped into Samuel Adams' Summer Ale. Aside from the 21 year old single malt scotch later that evening it was all I drank. Yeah, it's that good. So this year, with the advent of The Tuna Melt, I decided I was gonna go on a "Summer Brew Tour". Now I know it ain't summer yet, but the early bird gets the worm, right? Right. So I started my tour off with Sam Adams' summer ale which, as I already explained is an excellent wheat ale brewed with lemon and a mysterious old school brewing spice called grains of paradise. I dunno what the hell those grains are, but I will not refute their claim of heritage. I can't keep enough of this stuff around and come September, I'll be sad to see it go.


The next summer brew I tried was Magic Hat Brewing Co.'s Hocus Pocus. Magic Hat is a Vermont based brewer who specializes in unique and clever flavor blends and the Hocus Pocus is no exception. It's a very light ale that doesn't rough up the palate and goes down easy. Not on the same level as Sam's summer ale, but there's definitely room for a lil Vermont Magic on my summer tour. Currently I rank it a strong third on my lil list. Give this brew a shot if ya see it in your freezer or supermarket.


The final brew in Act One of The Tuna Melt Summer Brew Tour is Brooklyn Brewery's Summer Ale. I have to admit, I was kinda disappointed in this summer offering from this great NYC brewer. The flavor just didn't do it for me. Admittedly, it's MUCH better when it's ice cold, but brews tend to warm as you drink them unless you're a guzzling fool, then it's easy to love. I prefer a brew that maintains its taste and flavor as it warms. Brooklyn Brewery's summer ale just doesn't do that.

That's it for Act One. Act Two is just around the corner, so stay tuned and keep 'em cold!