Pizza? Pizza? Eric, how can you be eating Pizza?? There are grains in Pizza, and you hate grains!
Correction, I love Grains! I wish I hated them, it would make life so much easier. But the truth is that I love them, I just take them for what they are. A food designed to be a part time enjoyment. I have many Paleo dieting friends, who might argue that there was a man once upon a time that walked around eating what he could kill or see growing in plain sight. I do not believe that man existed, and therefore, I have a belief that man knew the skills of farming very early on.
However, his diet, was never a grain as the primary source of food. It tasted bad (he was not baking bread), it was tough and hard to chew (try chewing a mouthful of unmilled, uncooked wheat, tell me what you think). And there were other more plentiful food sources around. Have you ever seen how many peppers can grow on a well cared for pepper tree? (I called it a tree on purpose)
I do not condone excessive grain consumption for that reason, but once you have healed your leptin and insulin receptors there is no need to be completely off of grain (unless you still need to heal your GI tract lining, that could be a good reason to, but lets move forward). So in my life, I enjoy some grain, usually a serving a day. So this day, I enjoyed an incredibly prepared grain!
I have been taking care of the Sigley family for awhile now, not sure how long, but a decent amount of time. And in that group is Chef William. Chef has been an executive chef in some fantastic restaurants in Atlanta and across the country. This new restaurant, Firestone Wood Fired Pizza and Grill, represents his crowning achievement, as he is partnered up on this one, and it represents a great chance for him to have a successful restaurant very close to home! So let me tell you about it, because I want him to do well, thus I want you to try it out, but on top of that, I would like for you to eat healthy while you are there!
First off, he does not follow my no pork, no shellfish rule; so for all of you who have resisted my attempts to rehabilitate you, this place is for you! So what I didn’t have, but what I would recommend from the menu… Braised Lamb Shank for $14.50 (you will notice you can get some pretty nice entrees, very reasonably priced), Baked Atlantic Salmon for $13.50!! And a grilled hangar steak, which is likely to turn into a grilled Grass Fed hangar steak at some point… this for only $14.50. I tell you I love the prices he has come up with. This ambiance is much like an upscale downtown wood fired grill. Take the word Pizza out of the name and you feel like you need a babysitter and three hours to go have dinner here. But with the word pizza, it is a place that is priced in a way to bring the whole family, and so (like me) you do!
My girls loved it, we ordered artichoke hearts for a vegetable, on top of the house salad, and they enjoyed them both. This menu (which we will be handing out in the office today) had a bunch of tapas plates. A lot of pork and shellfish here, so we went with the trio of crostinis (more bread) each covered with a different topping from roasted eggplant, to white bean hummus and finally ricotta cheese. We loved them all!
Chef William has an olive tree in the middle of his patio, and on one end a stack stone outdoor fireplace about 16 feet high. I can’t wait for the cool weather to stick so I can go sit in front of that thing. He pulls seasonings from his herb garden right on site, and makes practically everything right on site, including his ice cream. It really is a great addition to Woodstock, and with a chef as talented as he, I can almost guarantee as we (HealthSprout collectively) begin to push for certain tastes, we will see them emerge from this great restaurant.
Brooke and I for a leisure ride up the gondola, right after the S'mores!
So we finished the night off with a pretty nice splurge. S’mores that you fire at your table. My wife and I did these in Aspen with my daughter Brooke a few years back, on an outdoor patio in 40 degree weather, but with a huge firepit that made you completely comfortable. It was nice to be transported back to that day, right here in Woodstock. I will eat here pretty regularly, and I will typically use the tapas menu to find myself some low grain options. But if you want to pull out all the stops, the pizza is awesome!
Be well, Eat well, God Bless! Dr. E
Last thing – please pray for those who suffered damage from the tornado the other day!