Ocean Prime

Becoming an executive chef was a long journey for Mitchell Brumels. Coming from Grand Rapids, Michigan, the young Brumels started out as a dishwasher at the age of only 16. He quickly advanced in the kitchen, moving to a fine dining Italian restaurant to work under a Culinary Institute of America graduate. The chef strongly encouraged him to further his career by attending CIA once he finished high school.

He did just that and went on to graduate from CIA in 1999. He says that the wine course was very challenging but his greatest obstacle was being the speaker of his graduating class. Two years later, Brumels found his first position as an executive chef at the award-winning Italian restaurant Tre Cugini in Grand Rapids, Mich., which received “Restaurant of the Year” awards twice from On The Town magazine. Shortly after, he took over Vitale’s as executive chef for the next nine years which received “Italian Restaurant of the Year” award four times while under his direction.

Brumels received his greatest opportunity yet by relocating to Atlanta and accepting an offer to become Ocean Prime’s current executive chef. He is truly a master of his craft and an excellent mentor who possesses an outstanding management profile.
Ocean Prime is showing signs of his intuitive leadership with several new dishes from which I had the pleasure of tasting.

As I sat down, I was greeted with Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, followed by Housemade Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli. Meanwhile, I learned that the restaurant features 100% USDA-certified Prime Beef and all of there steaks are wet-aged to ensure maximum flavor and tenderness except for their 16oz Bone-in Kansas City Strip which is dry-aged to boast a robust, nutty-like flavor.

So be on the look-out for some of their other creations the next time you visit such as the Chilean Sea Bass with Whipped Potatoes and Champagne Truffle Sauce, or one of the many delicious steaks that will absolutely make your mouth water.

Ocean Prime is located at 3102 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30305. Their hours of operation are Monday – Thursday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm, Friday – Saturday 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm and Sunday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. To make a reservation, please call (404) 846-0505, or visit http://www.oceanprimeatlanta.com and click “Online Reservations.”

Tinsel & Twine

‘Tis the season! Saturday, December 7, and Saturday, December 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. join Westside Provisions District for Tinsel & Twine, the third annual curated holiday celebration featuring plenty of fine retail and really good festive favorites! Sing-a-long with carolers, sit on jolly ole Saint Nick’s lap, stuff your stockings with Seed Factory goodies and enjoy holiday snacks from West Egg, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and JCT. Kitchen. Shop the craft market featuring Billy Reid, Calypso St. Barth, Dragonfly Salon, Le Jardin, Preserving Place, Steven Alan and guests The Cinnamon Bears, Emerald August, Fawn Jewelry, Lyonstate, Olaria Studios, The Small Object, Sugarboo Designs, and Willaby Handmade.

Want Great Deals?

Scoutmob is an Atlanta-based startup company that provides location-aware coupons to users on their mobile phone. Deals offered on Scoutmob are free, so users can decide to get the deal on the platform but will only pay when they redeem it at the venue. Scoutmob currently provides users deals in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The website also has a mobile app available for Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone users. The site provides deals to local food and drink venues as well as shops. Deals offered on Scoutmob are free, so users can decide to get the deal on the platform but will only pay when they redeem it at the venue.

 

Scoutmob differentiates itself from sites like Living Social and Groupon,  deal-of-the-day websites that feature discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies, by providing users deals on their mobile phone and by being instantly redeemable. Deals are presented daily and have a “limited time discount”. After choosing the deal, users have the option to have a notification be sent to their email or to have it be directly sent to their mobile phone. Smartphone owners can also redeem the deals on the Scoutmob app. The user can redeem it at their convenience. Although deals move quickly, once claimed, users can take their time to use it. Deals on Scoutmob are for locals places “that locals actually go to”. Scoutmob makes money by “charging the merchant once the coupon is redeemed, which is tracked by the GPS in a user’s phone.

So the next time you think about going out, check to see if ScoutMob can save you some money.