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BIENVENIDO
Welcome: Sometimes it's good to give a new
restaurant a little time to grow and develop before
immediately barging in, tastebuds raring to go. I
can't say that it was entirely intentional with
Girasoles (24 Greensboro Hwy., Watkinsville, 310-
0410), which has moved into the former Le
Maison Bleu space (that restaurant is moving into
the new Town Center development down the
street). Sometimes your humble columnist is lazy
and doesn't even want to head as far as
Watkinsville. My bad, /alL Jose Zambrano's inter
pretations of Mexican and Italian cuisine are alive
and well in the sort of adorably bot-glued-
together space. The lunch menu isn't large, and
nothing sounds supcr-exciting, but from the com
plimentary salad that arrived (prompted more by
niceness, it seemed, than recognition of my not
exactly famous face), not composed of fancy salad
greens but with a really kicky, tasty, mango-
chipotle dressing, things were looking up. The
attentive waiter recommended the chiocen
chimichanga, which was unexpectedly light and
fresh, rather than a greasy, soggy, leaden horror
(not uncommon). And I can recommend the open-
faced roasted eggplant sandwich, a special that
day, with the eggplant sliced beautifully thin and
the skin charred just enough. Accompanied by a
small mound of pasta primavera, the dish did a
nice job balancing between sophisticated and
hearty. The dinner menu is considerably larger, and
while its choices seem unadventurous (spaghetti
with meatballs, fajitas, burrito, grilled ribeye), the
careful touch on the lunch dishes no doubt carries
over. Even with the lack of margaritas considered.
I'd head back to try more. The restaurant is closed
Mondays and does to-go orders. If you ask for the
rest of your meal to be boxed up, they will actu
ally do it for you rather than plunk a Styrofoam
box on the table for you to deal with. BYOB is
allowed, but note that there is a $4 corking fee.
Expect to spend around $8 for lunch.
On The Other Hand: Sometimes its good to go
ahead and barge in. You have all noticed by this
point that Walter's (S43-1433) is open in the
former Blue Sky space on College Ave. downtown.
Some of you are walking by it and muttering in
pleasant surprise to see folks occupying the tables
outside once again. Yes, you can get your Dancing
i.-oats blend downtown again. The coffee menu
appears virtually identical to the one that Blue
Sky had. Ditto for the preparation. The concept is
a bit different though. Walker's doesn't believe in
.BENVENUTO
lines. Order your coffee as you would your beer at
a bar; i.e., sidle up until you see an opening and
request your beverage of choice. That beverage
could very well be a brew, too. as the new place is
a pub as well The selection of potent potables is
a work in progress, as is the whole thing. There
are plans in the works to make use of the new
kitchen the previous owners installed, and sand
wiches may be available soon. The atmosphere is
low-key at the moment How it evolves once the
students are back in town will be interesting co
watch. Hours are 7 a.rp. to 2 a.m., every day.
Oops: You know how I characterized Farm 255 as
a mostly vegan/ vegetarian restaurant? Totally not
true. This is what one gets for relying on ancient
information. They are, in fact, quite proud of their
meats. Key words include: sustainable, humane,
hormone- and antibiotic-free.
WHAT UP? Ru San's will be open in Beechwood,
near the movie theater and CVS, by press time.
The former Bolster's space in front of the Carmike
12 has been taken over and turned into the Quick
Lick, serving up homemade-style ice cream and
including gelato and a bunch of desserts incorpo
rating such. The third DePalma's is also open, this
one in Homewood Hills shopping center on
Jefferson Road. Some new menu items are
expected to appear. Also in Homewood, Kingpins
Bowl and Brew is proposed. Mostly a bowling
alley, it should serve as a bar too, with a bigger
space than usual designated for sufh. It looks like
two wine bars are upcoming in Athens. The Arch
Bar (between Nowhere Bar and Tht Basil Press)
is rumored to be such, and Tha Mercury Lounge
(on W. Clayton, near The Caledonia) is con-
firmedly so. The latter will feature live jazz as well
and projects a June opening. Donderos' Kitchen,
an international food mart retailing prepared
foods, deli items, imported goodies, cookbooks
and suchlike, is going into a historic building at
584 N. Milledge. No dining in, but an opening
later this summer, if the zoning waiver goes
through. A sign reading ‘’tamales* and another
'delicious tamales' was spotted on the side of
Glenn Carrie Road between 29 and 72. Really? You
promise? Inquiring minds want to know.
Hiltary Brown
Send your road tamale details or whatever else
to food@Jlagpole.com.
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JUNE 8, 2005 • FLAGPOLE.COM 15