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emporium
A hair & color salon
AVEDA
Visit us for information on the Aveda
Pure Privilege rewards program.
Members receive 10 points for each
dollar spent on products. Accumulated
points can be redeemed for products,
services, even trips to vacation
destinations!
Sign up for the Pure Privilege program
on May 6, 7 or 8 receive triple points on
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^187 N. Lumpkin Street • 706-546-7598^
Lasting Flowers for Mother’s Day
Give her a
Knockout
Rose
Comes in red, pink,
yellow, dark red.
Blooms Spring
through Fall -
no pruning or spraying!
Everyone loves a
Flowering Hanging Basket for
Mother’s Day.
IVe have hundreds
to choose from!
Dragon Wing, Wave Petunia, Bacopa,
Geranium, Impatiens, Lantana & more!
Gift Ideas
• House Plants
• Garden Statue
• Flowering Plant from our greenhouse
• Park Bench
• Windchime
• Gift Certificate A
Est. 1922
1145 Mitchell Bridge Rd.
Athens, Georgia 30606
Phone (706) 353-1519
Mon.-Sat. 9-6, Sun. 12-5
Endless Summer
Hydrangea
is a repeat bloomer that will
rebloom Spring through Fall.
Your Mom will enjoy those
beatiful blue blooms all year!
Cofer$
CARDEN
SHOWPLACE
All Trees and Shrubs
Guaranteed for 2 years.
/
Staffed by Georgia Green
Industry Certified Professionals
GNAT'S
LANDING
E>e*ach G-setwl
THURSDAY, MAY 5
Qm°> EG GEE®
WE AIN’T MEXICAN. BUT WE
CAN COUNT TO 10 IN SPANISH!
Live Music with Next Best Friend
Drink Specials All Might
1/2 Off Frozen Drinks
s 2 Any Light Beer Bottle
1/2 Off House Wines wSwmii
Mon 4pm-until • Tue-Sun 11:30am-Until • Plenty of Parking
1080 Baxter St. • 706-850-5858 • www.gnatslanding.net
Call us for your catering needs!
Daughters
Qjgffi337
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Gift & Nwettier
for All Oaariow
STEAK AND CAKE
Quality: I know you're probably not going to believe me when
I tell you that, finally, one of the multitudinous hibachi places
sprouting throughout Athens like mushrooms after a storm is
genuinely good, but Sakura Steak House (3557 Atlanta Hwy.)
is exactly that. Despite its location next to a dollar store in
a shopping center that's far from ritzy, the interior tells a
different story, with a full-size recreation of a cherry tree in
the middle of the hibachi dining room, extensive tilework
throughout and a hushed, reverent atmosphere that speaks
to an emphasis on the food. It's the little things that show
the restaurant's attention to your experience. The soy sauce
is in simple white china pots, not in Kikkoman bottles; when
the staff notice a spot of water still on the table, they return
immediately to wipe it up; a sign reminds employees not to
bang the back door but to close it gently. The food shows
equal evidence of the same attention, even in the simplest
items. You've probably forgotten what it's like to eat gyoza
(potstickers) that didn't come frozen in a plastic bag, but the
ones at Sakura are lovely, with a delicate skin and a fresh fla
vor. If you order, say, chicken teriyaki hibachi, it's not unfamil
iar, but the usual white sauce and ginger sauce again taste like
the kitchen actually made them. The prices aren't inexpensive,
especially for the big dinner hibachi combos (up to $37.95 for
lobster, shrimp and scallops, plus soup, salad, a shrimp appe
tizer, vegetables and rice), but there are bargains to be had at
lunch, and sometimes you get what you pay for. The bento box
will run you $9.95, but you get a portion of meat or vegetables
(tempura, teriyako or katsu),
miso soup (from fresh ingredi
ents), salad, rice, shumai dump
ling and a California roll, and
every aspect of the combination
is tasty, including a really nice, thinly sliced, perfectly cooked
piece of beef in my case. The maki lunch is a good way to
check out the sushi, at $8.95 for two rolls plus soup and salad.
Generally, in Athens, I stick to vegetarian sushi, not trusting
the freshness or quality of the fish in this town, but I was darn
impressed with the stuff at Sakura. Even in Atlanta, it's been a
while since I had such good sushi. It's not Michelin-star level
or anything, but it is made with well-cooked and seasoned rice
and good ingredients, tightly wrapped, prettily presented and
assembled without a giant glob of wasabi in the middle that
overpowers the delicate fish. The yellowtail nigiri is sweet and
delicious, the Boston roll (a play on the other kind of shrimp
roll popular in the Northeast, with lettuce, mayo and shrimp)
is refreshing, and the salmon skin roll has great texture and
flavor. Much of the sushi contains cooked ingredients and
isn't terribly adventurous, but it is really well executed, and I
imagine you could do even better than I were you to sit at the
sushi bar, have a conversation with the chefs behind it and
focus on the nigiri. Sakura has some fun options for appetizers,
does hibachi at the big tables and take-out, has a full bar and
takes credit cards. It serves lunch and dinner every day.
...perfectly cooked
piece of beef...
Quiet: Despite its name, Talk of the Town Country Cooking
(401 North Ave.) isn't exactly famous or buzzing with activity,
but the still relatively new Southern restaurant is worth a visit.
Little has changed from the last tenant of the space, Taqueria
Camino Real, down to the tip jar that says "gracias." A steam
table now occupies the back of the room, though, and you can
do rather well for $8.50, which gets you a meat, three vegeta
bles, bread and sweet tea or lemonade. Both the country-fried
steak and the smothered chicken are tender, salty, delicious
and covered in flavorful batter and gravy. The vegetables aren't
out of a can. The cabbage tastes like cabbage, the purple
hulled peas like peas, the green beans like green beans, and
while the latter are soft in the Southern style, most of the
offerings still have some texture. The macaroni and cheese,
served in a scoop, has a wonderful sharpness, and the rice and
gravy is a poor man's feast of starch and fat. Shrink-wrapped
slices of cake on plates sit to the left of the hot stuff, and you
don't have to pay until you're finished, so you can go back and
get one if you're not full. You could also venture next door to
4 Tigers Grocery and pick up a Peco Pie (a peanut-and-coconut
brittle made by Crown Candy, based in Macon) for dessert. Talk
of the Town is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., does
take-out and takes credit cards.
Hillary Brown food@flagpole.com
10 FLAGPOLE.COM-MAY 4.2011