How to gain a Food Permit without losing your shirt in the process

To commemorate our opening for lunch service on this upcoming Friday (“July 9th ) we’ve decided to share our journey to towards the privilege to legally prepare food for public consumption.

The road to a food permit can be scary, long, confusing and expensive. We managed to get our food permit in a short record period of time and we managed to not lose our shirts in the process. We purchased equipment, financed renovations, and paid for the necessary permits for about $8,500.00

We’d like to share our experience in hopes of alleviating the confusion in this process.

Ingredients

• 1 Realtor (we recommend Weslee Knapp of Keller Knapp Realty) 
• 1 Location Equipped with Range Hood and Grease Trap
• 1 Underemployed Architect
• 1 Reliable Contractor
• 1 Smurf (We’ll explain later)
• 1 Pound of Courage and Willingness to stop at nothing to reach your goal.

Directions
1. Be humble, don’t be a know it all and forget anything you’ve heard about the employees at the Department of Health (especially in Fulton County). The Fulton County Department of Health inspectors are great people and they only want to help you reach your goals. If they are difficult, it is possible that you’ve done something offend, irritate, or frustrate. Don’t rock the boat.
2. Find a suitable location with an existing range hood and grease trap. At all costs avoid white box spaces, because the costs to build one out suitable for code can be a bottomless pit of money and a series of ulcers. A range hood and grease trap will cost you at least $30,000, but more like $50,000.00
3. Once you’ve found your ideal location schedule a Department of Health pre-inspection prior to actually signing your lease. A department of health pre-inspection will detail everything that needs to be done to bring your place to code.
4. Schedule a meeting with your contractor to get a detailed estimate on the costs to fix all the errors detailed in the department of health pre-inspection report.
5. Sign your lease. 36-60 months is par for the course.
6. Hire an architect to draw up site plans of your space. Don’t have your architect sign your plans. Pass them off as your own homemade plans as they’ll be scrutinized much less.
7. Submit your architectural plans to the Department of Health for approval.

8. Begin your renovations. We recommend paying for supplies and providing final payment upon completion of the work. (No exceptions or excuses)
9. Buy your equipment used and don’t pay the asking price. Shop around to get an idea of what stuff costs and then make your offer.
10. Hire a Smurf. Smurf is a God-send. (I don’t know where we found him) He’s got about 20 years in the restaurant equipment business. If you’ve eaten at a LongHorn Steakhouse chances are he installed the equipment and built out the kitchen.

11. Schedule your final inspection and pray.

12. Collect your food permit.


It is really simple. It shouldn’t take a long time and it shouldn’t cost you 10s of thousands of dollars. Feel free to reach out to us for more detailed questions info@black-tie-barbecue.com

Cinco De Mayo Suggestions

Don't spend your Cinco De Mayo waiting in line

  Don't burn too much money trying to have fun

Come be treated like the VIP you are

 

Click the flier below and join us for a great Cinco De Mayo !!!

Secret Supper Ticket

Spring Break: Navigating the endless food options on South Beach

Starting Black Tie Barbecue has been a labor of love. The key word being labor. We have worked every holiday major or faux that has occurred since we have been in business. (I burned my nose and hand on 4th of July and ate something other than turkey on Thanksgiving.)

We chose Miami as our destination to get away from it all for a few days. We spent so much time deciding on the best place to stay on South Beach that our dining options were nothing more than an after thought. After a $60.00 experience, which consisted of overcooked chicken wings and a margherita pizza, which in actuality was a  microwaved cheese pizza, we recognized the potential traps and pitfalls to avoid when eating on South Beach. In the process we also discovered places that offered memorable meals at reasonable prices.


Pay careful attention to the following pictures and avoid these type places at all costs: 

Try not to frequent establishments that offer breakfast, lunch and dinner "specials" or that prominently display their food. I am sure there are exceptions to the rule, but our experience taught us that these type establishments can be a slippery slope . 

On Ocean Avenue we recommend: 

 Go to News Cafe and get the huevos rancheros. The tortilla is the perfect combination of thin and crispy.













Our favorite dining experience on South Beach was the Latin American food served at a street fair on Lincoln (if you're lucky enough to catch the street fair on a Sunday)

For tasty yet inexpensive dining we recommend crossing the bridge and going to Little Havana. 
Versailles offered traditional Cuban fare. Dinner for 4 with appetizers and Sangria came out to $80.00

La Camaronera, also in Little Havana,  is a great seafood location.  It is a standing only diner and everything offered is fried, but La Camaronera has some of the freshest tasting seafood that I have tasted in a while. 

Now about the drinks:  
BYOB is probably the best policy. Again, beware of the large garnished glasses that are offered by the same woman or man trying to "sell" you the Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner special.

As for Wet Willies, be sure to ask for the drinks made with rum, because the "other" drinks are made with grain liquor, which can ruin your Spring Break and the days and weeks to follow.

In conclusion: 
We had a blast on SoBe. By no means is this a comprehensive list of dining options in Miami.  If you're ever in Miami for a short period of time and on a limited budget keep our recommendations and warnings in mind. 

By: Spencer Humphrey 

Who Knew Salad Could Be So Complex?

Earlier this month, I had the awesome privilege of attending a food styling workshop with the amazing @runwithtweezers (Ms. Tami Hardeman), food stylist extraordinaire. As the designated food stylist for Black Tie and just being a natural perfectionist, I wondered how much I’d really learn at an afternoon workshop. Boy was I over-confident! We only worked on a salad, but Tami broke that salad down like it was the most complicated entrée ever plated. And I realized that the skills I thought I had were minor in comparison. She had tools, strategies and secrets that were well worth the price of admission.

In addition to learning some really cool tricks, I met a great group of “foodies” and together, we had the opportunity to try those tricks out ourselves. Though it was a styling workshop, in some ways it was a photography course as well. We talked about proper angles to shoot from and simple tools that help you get the best shot of your plate. By the end, I was ready to sign up for Part II. So, if you love food as art and have a free Sunday afternoon, please check out Tami’s styling workshop. You won’t regret it! You can find Tami at: www.tamihardeman.com or on her blog http://www.runningwithtweezers.com/


by LaToyin Rollins

Napa Valley an Hour away from Atlanta: Our time at Montaluce Winery

 We started our blog in December 2009, but between the Secret Suppers, tending to meat on the smoker and trying to find inventive ways to keep our product relevant while we define who we are as a company we’ve lost our way as bloggers and our Blog has well, died in the process.  Our goal is to take more time to blog in an effort to share our thoughts and help us reflect on the rich and rewarding experiences we’ve been blessed with.

            Back in January we had the pleasure of being the guests of Rob Beecham (@MontaluceWine) and Brent Beecham (@MVineyards) for their Food and Wine Conclave.  Prior to visiting Montaluce (www.montaluce.com) my Georgia wine experience was limited to an establishment off I-85.  I had no clue that Georgia had a wine country. (Yes, our meal was free, but our opinions are our own.)

Montaluce offers the charm and romantic scenery of Napa or a Tuscan get-away without the expensive plane tickets, time zone changes, etc.  Our time at Montaluce started with a tour of the winery sprinkled with details of the art and science wine making according to Oliver Asberger, Montaluce’s vineyard manager. Oliver told of his resourceful ability to keep birds away from the grapes and of course his farmer’s intuition, which enabled him to predict last fall’s monsoon season and thus pick the grapes before this year’s crop was ruined by rain. 

Above is a picture of me inside one of Oliver's fancy wine things used in the fermentation process

Since a picture is worth a 1000 words, I’ll let photos from the day speak for the wonderful 5 course meal paired with Montaluce Wines prepared by Chef Steven Hartman of Le Vigne Restaurant.

1

My favorite thing on the menu was the chicken liver mousse. I have never had anything like it. The key to getting your kids to eat  liver is to have Chef Hartman prepare it for them.  Chef Hartman's cooking demonstration on the chicken liver mouse also inspired me to learn how to sous vide our favorite cuts of meat (more to come on that in future blog posts.)

Don't take our word for it. Pay Rob and Brent a visit and experience Montaluce for yourself. The drive is scenic, the wine is top quality and the food is worth the trip by itself. If you're willing to wait an hour outdoors for brunch in Atlanta, you can certainly take the hour drive for this special experience.
by Spencer Humphrey

Black Tie Bok Choy

Our friends who attended Sugar Coma have been begging us for our bok choy recipe. We catered the lunch for this wonderful event and bok choy was one of our side dishes! We have not been holding out on you. We've just been really busy - tweeting, catering, planning our next  Secret Supper, watching Jersey Shore.
We are so glad that you enjoyed the bok choy and we would love for you to be able to enjoy it at home.
So let's get started.

Ingredients:
8 oz Bok Choy (1 bunch if you get a nice healthy one from the farmer's market - the grocery store bok choy can be a little anemic)
2 Tablespoons Sunflower oil  or Peanut Oil (good for high heat)
2 Tablespoons of white wine (any white wine will do - water will work if you don't want the alcohol) 2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
Crushed Red pepper flakesSesame Seeds

 Steps
1. Heat your wok or frying pan.  The best stir fry is on the highest heat you can manage on your home stove. Just set the wok on the stove and turn up the gas.

2. Wash your bok choy. It's one of those vegetables that is usually visibly dirty when you buy it.

3. Add  your sunflower oil or peanut oil to the wok and let it heat up.

3.  Chop up your bok choy.  Discard the white part.  We're only using the leaves.
How finely should you chop it?  Chop it however you chop your collard greens.  You can chop it really fine or you can just rip the leaves into a few pieces.  I like to roll a bunch into a cylinder and slice. Here's one of my bunches chopped.

 4. Put your bok choy in your hot oil.  You should hear a big swoosh and it should sizzle because your pan and your oil are nice and hot. The noise will be loud.  Don't be startled and drop your leaves.  And be careful. Cook the bok choy for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. In a small sauce pan, heat the sesame oil, water/wine, and soy sauce.  When it starts to bubble, stir in the sugar.  Then turn off the heat and let it sit.

6. Check on your bok choy.  If it's starting to stick to the pan, add a tablespoon or two of water.

7. After cooking the bok choy for five minutes, pour your sweet sauce over the bok choy.

 

8. Cook the sauced up bok choy for one more minute.

9. Turn off the heat on the stove and the heat to the pan, i.e. sprinkle in a few crushed red pepper flakes according to taste.

10. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds for garnish.

11. Enjoy!
 

Recipe Notes

• Bok choy cooks down.  Way down. My final "Enjoy!" picture actually triples the recipe. The original recipe only serves 2.  Why did I do that?  To make it easy for you to adjust the recipe to cook as much as you need.  For every two people, add an additional bunch of bok choy, add 2 more tablespoons of sesame oil and wine, and  add 1 more tablespoon of sugar and soy sauce.

• To vary the recipe with more color or just to vary the taste if you want this bok choy often, add red cabbage or red onions or both. Add to the How much cabbage? A third of a head of cabbage per bunch of bok choy.  Three bunches=whole cabbage.  How much onion? Depends on how much you like onions. The onions in my picture are raw and are only a garnish.  Add your red onions to the hot oil 5 minutes before you add the bok choy.  If using cabbage, add your red cabbage to the oil 2-3 minutes before you add the bok choy.

•  To vary the texture, add roasted cashews!  Roast your cashews first. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Spread raw cashews on a baking pan. Add cooking oil spray and just a little salt. Roast 15 minutes.  Stir well and roast another 10 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the bok choy. Sprinkle over the cooked bok choy.  Yum!

• To get more bang for your buck out of those sesame seeds, toast them and add a wonderful flavor.  Put sesame seeds in a medium frying pan on medium low heat.  Shake them around in the pan until they darken and become fragrant.  Allow to cool and add to your cooked bok choy.

 Try our Black Tie Bok Choy and let us know what you think.  It's easy to make!