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GNAT'S
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HAPPY
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LIFE AFTER BISSETT'S
A Nona Gain, Naturally: Despite all the local tears about Harry
Bissett's dosing, there's no question that the beloved busi
ness had slipped a bit in recent years, whether it was spread
too thin with the additional locations on Mitchell Bridge Road
and in Atlanta (both also closed now) or was a casualty of the
economy, in which the already tough restaurant business was
made far tougher. But could new folks get it going again? The
answer, after months of mystery during which the old place
kept promising to reopen, a lot of renovation and the usual
sorts of delays in opening, appears to be yes. NONA (279
E. Broad St., 706-353-7065, www.neworleansnathens.com),
which is co-owner Mike Thornton's wife's name as well as the
acronym the website address spells out, opened in September,
and aims to carry on the tradition of the previous tenant. The
menu is similar, and some of the personnel (chef Justin Gregg,
who cooked at Bissett's for four years) are the same. The inte
rior is a bit spiffed up but not dramatical different. Mostly,
there seems to be a new professionalism at work, a cheerful
but focused attitude on the part of everyone involved. The
waitstaff, for example, is excellent. Glasses are refilled with
alacrity but not so often it becomes annoying. The specials are
promptly recited, with prices, and there's no hint of upsell. On
the other hand, I expect that some folks will think those prices
are too high. NONA is a bit more of a special occasion restau
rant, but you can get lunch there for around SlO, which isn't
exactly Alain Ducasse.
So, how is the food? It's not culi-
narily ambitious, but that's not the
aim. Instead, it is mostly well executed
and, again, better than it had been at
Bissetfs of late. A ribeye on special,
served with bleu cheese mashed pota
toes, is tasty, beautifully cooked, sizable, well seasoned and
so on. The potatoes could have been heavy and gross but were
flavorful and, while not exactly diet food, certainly a step up
from what passes for the side most places. An entree of cor-
vina (a whitefish known, less glamorously, as croaker) topped
with crab was nicely done, too. On the other hand, the veal
Lafayette—breaded, fried, topped with a sauce that supposedly
contained sherry cream, dill and crawfish tails and served with
basmati rice—just kind of sat there on the plate being boring.
One of the things I like the most about NONA is that,
depending on what's on special, you could potentially order
both a croque monsieur or madame and a Monte Cristo, two
delicious and famed sandwiches that are always hard to find
in Athens. Both are variations of ham and cheese, but the
former adds bechamel, a parmesan crust and, in the case of
the madame, a fried egg, and the latter dunks the bread in
French toast batter before pan-frying and comes with jelly
(often grape, in this case strawberry). Cholesterol-fests to be
sure, they also add some excitement to the basic sandwich,
and while the Monte Cristo was-on the soggy side, the croque
madame held up well. NONA has a lot more ori its menu than
these items, including a lot of oysters, a burger topped with
bleu cheese, a vegetable plate that can include maque choux
and creamed spinach and a good array of both seafood and
Cajun/Creole specialties. The restaurant does brunch on week
ends, lunch every weekday and dinner every night It has a hill
bar, as ever, and space available for private parties.
MONDAY-FRI0AY 4-7pm
$ 2 DOMESTICS
*3 CRAFT/IMPORTS
Monday - $4 Wells, $4 Regular Mojitos
Tuesday- 1/2 Off All Tequila (inducting specialty drinks with Tequila}
Wednesday - $ 10 Bottles of House Wine
Thursday - $3 Signature Martinis
Sunday - Happy Hour AH Day and 1/2 Off All Sangria
Milligan
Holiday Downtown at the comer of Hull & Clayton Streets
GHtCards 706.227.4444
available! Check out our website for events & specials
www.casamiatapas.com • .
Mon 4pm-unUI • Tue-Sun 11:30am-Untll • Plenty of Parking
1080 Baxter St. • 706-850-5858 • www.gnatslandlng.net
Call us for your catering needs!
The waitstaff,
for example,
is excellent.
You are not alone
No estds sola
If your partner objects when you use the phone, limits your
everyday contact with family and friends, and you restrict
yourself to avoid angry, aggressive confrontations, you need
to step back and take another look. How can you cope once
you are involved with a controlling partner? Call Project Safe
for help. Our hotline is confidential, and counseling is free.
Get your life back. Get help.
706-543-3331 ^g
Hotline, 24 hours/day ®
tinea de crisis, las 24 horas del dla
Restaurant
Lunch: A Tavola! (237 Prince Ave., in the Bottleworks, 706-
549-7520, www.atavolarestaurant.com) is now open for lunch
again, and I hope it succeeds. The lack of customers is not
quite explicable. The prices are comparable to De Palma's, the ,
food is consistently good, the service is professional, the loca
tion is near hundreds of potential diners, and yet the room
always seems empty. Let me encourage you, once again, to hit
it up. The pizza napoli, for example, with capers and ancho
vies, may not endear you to your cubide mates within breath
ing distance, but it's worth being snubbed. The pasta is always
cooked just right, with complex sauces that seem to have been
simmered for hours, and the salads, made with organic let
tuces, are bright and fresh. Lunch is weekdays at the moment,
with a $9.99 special that includes* soup, salad, drink and your
choice of pizza, pasta, sandwich or perk Milanese, and there's a
coupon on the website that entitles you to 20 percent off your
dinner bill Monday through Wednesday.
For a Limited
706-542-3243
r 1-800-877-3243
See your academic advisor about
applying specific IDL courses to
your program of study
Alt bay Long.
Domestic Beer $ 1
Imported Beer *2
DINE IN • TAKE OUT • DELIVERY
706-549-0274
Major Credit Cards A Checks Accepted
Acres Stowing Center • 1935 Baraett Stoats Rd.
Ill, Censer for Continuing Education
•7» t 4
independent and Distance Learning (IDL)
Suite 193 • 1197 South Lur-.pkin Street • Athens, GA
Via Web-Br*ed E-Cor -espondence
Hillary Brown (ood@fiagpol8.com
12 FlAGPOLE.COM DECEMBER 8,2010
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