Wednesday, December 24, 2014

23rd December (Tuesday),2014 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

State urged to boost rice sales
Ministry determined to reduce stockpile
Published: 23 Dec 2014 at 06.30
Newspaper section: Business
Writer: Phusadee Arunmas
The government is being urged to improve selling procedures next year to ensure faster sales in order to keep pace with market requirements and to classify grain quality more clearly. Prospective bidders inspect the quality of rice prior to the auction called by the Commerce Ministry yesterday. The ministry put up almost 390,000 tonnes, mainly broken rice, white rice and glutinous rice, drawing an active response from potential buyers. KITJA APICHONROJAREK
"Rotten rice stocks should be eradicated to let the market know the exact amount of the government's rice stocks. This will affect rice prices and eventually lead the market to return to normal," said Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association."Given the massive volume held by the government, the chance for prices in the market to increase by US$50-100 a tonne would be difficult."He said the overall market was expected to remain tight in 2015 due to anticipated higher supplies by other rice-producing nations such as Vietnam and India.
Mr Chookiat predicts Thailand will export 10 million tonnes next year.The Commerce Ministry forecasts Thailand will ship 10.7 million tonnes this year, a surge of 60% over last year, with value up by 29% to $5 billion.Of the total, the government has shipped 1.06 million tonnes including 230,000 tonnes sold to China.The Commerce Ministry targets exports of 10.5 million tonnes worth $5.2 billion in 2015. Next year's production is estimated at 35 million tonnes of paddy or 22 million tonnes of milled rice, down from 37 million tonnes and 24 million tonnes this year, respectively.Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who chairs the National Rice Policy Committee, last Friday said the government had vowed to dispose of the 17 million tonnes left in its stockpile over the next two or three years through domestic sales as well as exports.
The government could sell the stocks on both a whole-warehouse and a stack basis and plans to beef up local sales.The committee also acknowledged the recent audit of state rice stocks, which counted 17.8 million tonnes, although that included 400,000 tonnes already sold and 390,000 tonnes missing.Of the 17 million tonnes still present, 2.35 million were found to be of good quality, 14.4 million substandard and 694,000 rotten.
Rice-subsidy schemes covering 15 harvests since 2004 have resulted in losses of 680 billion baht from total costs of 1.1 trillion used to buy 85 million tonnes of paddy. The subcommittee inspecting the accounting of several governments' rice-subsidy schemes earlier revealed that of the 15 programmes, four were rice-pledging schemes initiated by the Yingluck Shinawatra government with total losses of 518 billion baht.The Commerce Ministry yesterday put up almost 390,000 tonnes for the fourth auction, mainly broken rice, white rice and glutinous rice, drawing an active response from potential buyers.
Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the government yesterday agreed to sell 247,000 tonnes from 52 state warehouses to 21 buyers.The ministry sold a combined 348,836 tonnes in the first three auctions, raising 3.6 billion baht.Ms Duangporn said the Commerce Ministry was committed to selling the state rice stocks on a continuous basis until next March before new supply from the second crop entered the market.
Tell
More than 200,000 tons of rice sold in the latest round of auction
Date : 23 ธันวาคม 2557
BANGKOK, 23 Dec 2014 (NNT) - A total of 246,000 tons out of the 400,000 tons of rice were sold in the 4th round of auction this year with 21 companies able to clinch the deal, out of the 34 participants. The Department of Foreign Trade would officially announce the auction result at a later date after receiving the approval from the National Rice Policy Committee which is expected to meet after the New Year’s holiday. The Government would seek to strike a deal with the private sector on the remaining 150,000 tons, whose prices in the last round of auction were still lower than the minimum prices.
Meanwhile, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade Duangporn Rodphaya stated that this year’s rice exports should be as high as 10.7 million tons worth about 5 billion US dollars. She predicted that next year’s volume would be slightly lower, but the value would increase to 5.2 - 5.3 billion US dollars, due to lower global output affected by natural disasters and drought, contrary to the rising demand.
Rice exporters expect weaker sales to G2G markets in 2015

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese rice exporters say they are uncertain about export volume to the concentrated market (government-to-government, or G2G) in 2015 because of stiffer competition in the market.

“We have sufficient information to predict demand in the G2G market in 2015,” said Huynh The Nang, general director of the Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2), one of the two most powerful rice exporters.However, the market will be fiercely competitive because of the presence of strong rice exporters.Nang said the Philippines, which has suffered from typhoon Hagupit, now has the demand for 600,000 tons of rice.The country plans to invite bids in January 2015, though NFA, the country’s national food agency, has denied the possibility of importing more rice than was initially planned, because of Hagupit.

Some other markets including Malaysia and Indonesia have also announced their estimated demands.It is expected that the demand from G2G markets, including the Philippines, may reach 2.5 million tons in 2015 (common white 5 percent, 15 percent and 25 percent broken rice).
Also, according to Nang, though Vietnamese rice exporters have received signs from importers about demands, they still have not obtained any contracts with considerable export volume for 2015.“The demand is big. But whether we can sell rice will still depend on the competition between us and other exporters,” Nang commented.


Meanwhile, analysts warned that Vietnamese exporters should be aware of Thailand, a strong rival that now has a high inventory index.An analyst said it is difficult to predict how much rice Vietnam will export in 2015 because of the instability of the Chinese market.China is now Vietnam’s largest rice importer. However, according to Nguyen Dinh Bich, a renowned rice expert, China is also being eyed by Thailand and India.“We have been relying on the Chinese market, but the market’s demand remains an unknown,” he said, adding that Vietnam will face big challenges in the short term and medium term with other exporters, especially in exporting common rice.
An official of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) noted that the existence of too many rice varieties has reduced Vietnam’s rice competitiveness.“In the common white rice market segment, for example, we offer at least 10 rice varieties. Meanwhile, some importers only accept rice with homogenous quality and variety,” he said.The official noted that Vietnam has not been able to successfully exploit African markets which import 14 million tons of common white rice a year. It still cannot penetrate East African markets, and has only exported small volumes of rice to Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa.

Thanh Lich

Tags:    Rice exporters,rice exporting,  rice farmers,

Using weedy rice traits to boost cultivated rice yields


Weedy Rice

Genetic traits in the taller weedy red rice scattered in this field may help new varieties of cultivated rice adapt to climate change. (Photo courtesy of ARS News Service.)
Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2014 12:00 am
By Sharon Durham, ARS News Service
Genetic traits in weedy rice may someday be used to develop sturdy, high-yield varieties of cultivated rice that will flourish in the face of climate change, thanks to findings by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This work, conducted by Agricultural Research Service plant physiologist Lewis Ziska and his colleagues.Ziska, who is with ARS’s Crop Systems and Global Change Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, studied several rice cultivars to determine if changes in temperature and CO2 levels affected seed yields.


He also looked for visible traits that could signal whether a plant cultivar has the genetic potential for adapting successfully to elevated CO2 levels.The investigation included weedy red rice, which infests cultivated rice cropland. Despite the plant’s downsides, previous assessments indicated that weedy rice growing under elevated CO2 levels had higher seed yields than cultivated rice growing under the same conditions.Ziska monitored the different rice cultivars at current and future projections of atmospheric CO2 and a range of day/night air temperatures. He observed on average, all the rice cultivars put out more aboveground biomass at elevated CO2 levels, although this response diminished as air temperatures rose.For seed yield, only weedy rice and the rice cultivar ‘Rondo’ responded to elevated CO2 levels when grown at optimal day/night air temperatures of 84 degrees F and 70 degrees F.

 In addition, only the weedy rice gained significant increases of aboveground biomass and seed yield under elevated CO2 levels at the higher temperatures expected for rice-growing regions by 2050.Seed yield is a trait linked to seed head and tiller production. Tillers are stalks put out by a growing rice plant. As the plant matures, the seed heads-where rice grain is produced-develop at the end of the tillers. This suggests that crop breeders might someday be able to use this weedy rice trait to develop commercial rice cultivars that can convert rising CO2 levels into higher seed yields.These findings were published in “Functional Plant Biology” in 2013. This work supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

Pier 1 Imports Now Covered by Johnson Rice

Equities researchers at Johnson Rice initiated coverage on shares of Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) in a research report issued on Monday. The firm set an “overweight” rating on the stock.Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) opened at 15.23 on Monday. Pier 1 Imports has a 52-week low of $11.42 and a 52-week high of $23.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.6 and a 200-day moving average of $14.39. The company has a market cap of $1.394 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05.Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th.
The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.20. The company had revenue of $484.50 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Pier 1 Imports will post $0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th.PIR has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Pier 1 Imports in a research note on Friday.

They now have a $15.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $13.00. Separately, analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their price target on shares of Pier 1 Imports from $15.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Nomura set a $19.00 price target on shares of Pier 1 Imports in a research note on Friday. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock.
The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.35.In other Pier 1 Imports news, EVP Gregory Humenesky sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock on the open market in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.Pier 1 Imports, Inc (NYSE:PIR) is a global importer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts. Receive News & Ratings for Pier 1 Imports Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pier 1 Imports and related companies with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter.


Rice exports are expected to total more than 1.5 million tonnes this financial year, the largest quantity since the 1960s

The rise comes despite the rice trade being slowed by an import clampdown from China, Myanmar’s biggest rice export market.About 900,000 tonnes have been exported so far in 2014-15, according to Myanmar Rice Federation joint secretary U Lu Maw Myint Maung. The Myanmar financial year begins April 1.“At present, things are going well,” he said. “Over the next three months, we hope to export much more to China, Europe and Africa.”U Lu Maw Myint Maung, who is also one of the country’s largest rice exporters, said he anticipates exports totalling over 1.5 million tonnes this year.

The export industry had been hard-hit by China’s decision in September to crack down on rice shipments from Myanmar. While rice exports to China are legal from Myanmar’s point of view, China officially outlawsrice imports from Myanmar, though had been generally turning a blind eye. While Chinese officials have not publically explained the crackdown, traders say it has been loosening since mid-November, and most rice shipments through the Muse-Ruili border crossing are now making it through.“Rice exports to China have now almost returned to a normal situation, though the price is a bit lower than what was offered two months ago,” said U Lu Maw Myint Maung.He added Myanmar has also been exporting small quantities of high quality rice to Europe and larger volumes to Africa. It has also been adding new buyers, most recently Sri Lanka.African countries together have traditionally been the largest importers of Myanmar rice until the last two years, when Chinese demand grew.
The country is also set to top its 2013-14 exports of about 1.2 million tonnes, despite the border shutdown.Officials and businesspeople from both China and Myanmar have held negotiations to ensure similar problems don’t happen in the future. Myanmar has put together a 36-member team to negotiate the issue, including representatives from the Myanmar Rice Federation, traders, millers and commodity market officials.Much of the talks have been aimed at finding a way to comply with the health standards China demands for its rice imports. There are signs of a breakthrough, and Myanmar Rice Federation secretary U Ye Min Aung has said the first-ever official exports to the country would start with 200,000 tonnes this month. Half of this quantity is to follow the usual route by land across the Muse-Ruili border crossing, though the other half is to be transported by ocean vessel to China’s eastern seaboard for the first time.

The quantity of rice Myanmar is able to export to China each year is still under discussion, with the Myanmar side requesting to be excused paying tariffs for a specific quantity each year. China for its part has offered to lower the tax rate it has been levying at the border.“After finishing the process of making the market legal, the current methods of rice trading will not be favourable, and doing things legally will be better for both sides,” said U Ye Min Aung.

Adani Wilmar forays into branded basmati rice segment

Company says many families are actually switching over to branded basmati rice over loose ones
BS Reporter  |  Ahmedabad  
December 22, 2014 Last Updated at 20:57 IST
One of India's leading cooking oil brand Adani Wilmar is foraying into the basmati rice market this season.Traditionally, in Gujarat households stock up rice and other grocery essentials during this season, and Adani Wilmar's release claimed that many families are actually switching over to branded basmati rice over loose ones.Atul Chaturvedi, chief executive officer, Adani Wilmar said, "Our experts source the finest quality of basmati paddy from the basmati growing regions of Punjab and Haryana.”Fortune Traditional Basmati Rice is available in packs of 5 kg, 10 kg and 25 kg.


Adani Wilmar has plans to invest Rs 600 crore this fiscal to expand capacity in its refineries across the country, the company had said in July this year. It has already forayed into the soya chunks market under its 'Fortune' brand.The company's revenue stood at Rs 17,300 crore in FY14. The company, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Adani Group and Wilmar International of Singapore, exports its products to 19 countries in the Middle East, South East Asia and East Africa
Source with thanks:BUSINESS JOURNAL
New Yield Data Available

WASHINGTON, DC -- Yesterday, Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini announced that Risk Management Agency (RMA) certified yield data has been made available for producers at FSA county offices.  Producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA offices to see what data they have on file from RMA.
This data will help producers make the one-time decision to update their commodity program payment yields or keep their current yields for the new Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) programs.  The data on file will be available only to the producer associated with the crop insurance record and the yield update decision must be made by February 27, 2015."The collaboration between FSA and RMA to provide producers with certified yields should help streamline the process of updating yields for the new safety net programs," said Ben Mosely, USA Rice Federation vice president of government affairs.  "Producers should take advantage of this opportunity and make appointments with their local FSA office as soon as possible." 
 Contact:  Evan Spencer (703) 236-1476
Little Rock Chef Proudly Supports U.S.-Grown Rice
 Chef Brian Deloney
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- U.S.-grown rice has a keen supporter in Little Rock chef Brian Deloney, an enthusiastic participant in the USA Rice Federation's restaurant promotion at the 2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference held here earlier this month.   Deloney is the owner of Maddie's Place, a Little Rock restaurant that features inventive variations of Southern-style comfort food with a distinctive Creole influence.Chef Deloney trained under world-famous chef Emeril Lagasse for more than ten years at restaurants from Las Vegas to New Orleans, before returning to his roots in Little Rock to open his own restaurant. 
 Named after Deloney's daughter, Maddie's Place serves Cajun-style dishes including an infamous Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo with Steamed Rice.Deloney emphasizes his commitment to serving creative dishes with homegrown ingredients such as rice."I love buying local ingredients, I do support that," he said.  "I like really good, simple food done right with love.   Rice is an integral part of our menu, absolutely.  We use rice all over the place."When asked about his preference for using Arkansas-grown ingredients on his menu, Deloney said, "The rice I use comes from Arkansas.  Since rice is such a big deal in Arkansas, it is pretty easy to get and a big part of what we do here."
 Contact:  Colleen Klemczewski (703) 236-1446
 CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Preliminary):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for December 23

Month
Price
Net Change

January 2015
$12.185
+ $0.025
March 2015
$12.415
+ $0.030
May 2015
$12.685
+ $0.025
July 2015
$12.850
+ $0.025
September 2015
$12.230
+ $0.025
November 2015
$12.190
+ $0.025
January 2016
$12.200
+ $0.025

 

Best Eats 2014: The 12 top Huntsville-area dining reviews from this year

 

ChuckWagon BBQ's Three Meat Plate with ribs, brisket, chicken, slaw and potato salad. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)
By Matt Wake | mwake@al.com 
Email the author | 
Follow on Twitter 
on December 23, 2014 at 8:00 AM, updated December 23, 2014 at 9:24 AM
It doesn't really matter if a restaurant employee notices the AL.com/Huntsville Times entertainment reporter is seated over there at table nine. Or if they don't. Because with all internal and external variables involved in the wild animal that's the restaurant business, getting well-prepared food out to a tableful of people in a timely, courtesy and interesting manner is never truly easy. To use a baseball analogy, a major league pitcher knows he's supposed to throw a strike into the catcher's mitt. But that doesn't mean he'll be on target when there are 20,000 fans in the stadium. Or that he'll get the ball past the batter. That's why restaurants and food trucks that do pull off stunning food and sterling service deserve much respect ... and a place on our Best Eats of 2014 list.
Please note: Pricing, available items and hours of operation indicated below reflect those on the date the dining review was conducted. Please call ahead for latest information.
ChuckWagon BBQ
8982 Hwy. 20, Madison
256-772-5179
Monday - Wednesday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Thursday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.; 5 - 8 p.m.
Recommendations: Chicken, ribs, pulled pork, brisket.
Price range: Most main dishes $7 - $16.
Suspense builds as you get to the front of the line at Chuckwagon BBQ. A tall gray bearded gent wearing a cowboy hat - and looking like he just finished shoeing a horse - brandishes a large knife and presides over a steaming table of various meats. The ribs are excellent - smoky, tender, a subtle sweetness - and paired well with ChuckWagon's medium barbecue sauce, which has enough kick for most folks. There aren't many barbecue joints in Huntsville that take a stab at brisket. ChuckWagon nails it. The chicken, my serving was basically a breast halved, might have been my favorite main dish here - a pronounced smokiness, super tender well-cooked white meat.
The Eaves Restaurant (Sunday brunch)
501 Church St.
256-489-1752
eaveshsv.com
Sunday brunch: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Recommendations: Surf & Turf Omelette, Crab Cake BLT, Bourbon Peaches & Cream Signature Stuffed French Toast.
Price range: Most entrees $9 - $22.
  
The Eaves brunch menu indicates the Bourbon Peaches & Cream Signature Stuffed French Toast ($15) requires extra prep time. It's worth the wait. Dusky, spicy bourbon notes imbuing the gooey peach stuffing inside the two large planks of French toast, which were expertly cooked. Golden. Right on. The fresh whipped cream on top was super rich and super airy, and when combined with the bourbon peach filling made for a truly decadent experience. The side of bacon, thick cut, Applewood-tasting was a smart, savory counterpoint to all that lights-out sweetness.
Brasserie Juno
964 Airport Road S.W. Ste. 3
256-880-9920
junohsv.com
Tuesday - Thursday: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. 
Sunday: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Recommendations:  Tour du Fromage, Duck Au Poivre, Charbroiled Flounder, Chicken Provencal.
Price range: Most entrees $10 - $22
 If you've never eaten snails before, it's actually not a freaky experience. The Escargot ($10) at Brasserie Juno is quite lovely, broiled in a subtle garlic-butter and the snails themselves, served sans shell, had a bouncy texture not dissimilar from clams and a woodsy, Portobello-like flavor. Squeezing the accompanying lemon wedge over the Escargot really made this dish pop. Virtually every molecule of our meal at Brasserie Juno - formerly the long-running German restaurant Café Berlin which ownership rebooted in mid-July as a French place - was assured and elegant. Transportive. And flat-out delicious.
Viet Cuisine
405 Jordan Lane
256-361-6067
Monday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. 
Recommendations: Lemongrass Chicken, Dry Phnom Penh Noodle, Tofo And Mixed Vegetable On The Skillet, Seafood Pho.
Price range: Most main dishes $7 - $8.
The Lemongrass Chicken ($7.25) arrived on a sizzling skillet similar to those Mexican restaurants utilize for fajitas. A perfect portion of tender stir fry chicken, supported with a balanced amount of green bell pepper chunks, red onion (caramelized sweet), baby corn, mushrooms and, in a deft move, a few bits of pineapple. Served with white rice. Several sprigs of cilantro imparted exotic, fresh notes. Minced chili pepper added pow. An awesome dish.
Rollin Lobstah 
256-690-6494
Visit
 rollinlobstah.com for locations, dates and times
Recommendations: Connecticut Lobstah Roll, Maine Lobstah Roll, Mac & Cheese Bacon Lobstah Bites.
Price range: Most items $7-$11.
When Lobstah debuted this summer at a Downtown Huntsville Inc.'s Street Food event, people were waiting in 90-minute lines to order from this food truck. An hour-and-a-half. Just to order. The Connecticut Lobstah Roll ($11) is particularly excellent. Warm fresh lobster chunks on a toasted lightly buttered bun (with a favorable lobster-to-bun ratio), and this is one of those dishes where the ingredients meld into one.
Abuela's Mexican Bar and Grill
8694 Madison Blvd. Ste. 7
256-425-1231
Monday - Thursday: 10:30 - 9 p.m.
Friday- Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday: 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Recommendations:  Marinated Pork Enchiladas, Tortilla Soup, Diablo Shrimp.
Price range:  Most entrees $6.50 - $13.
They might as well all be franchises of some chain called McMexican's. Those interchangeable, boilerplate Mexican restaurants that serve food so similar you could be in Topeka or Tennessee.  Many of us still eat at them on the regular. Mostly because of proximity to work or home. Located in Madison, Abuela's Mexican Bar and Grill is about a 15-minute drive from downtown Huntsville and not particularly convenient to here but I'll be driving back there soon. Fresh, higher quality ingredients and a menu with some delicious deviations from the norm are the primary reasons why.
1892 East (vegetarian lunch menu)
720 Pratt Avenue 
256-489-1242 
1892east.com 
Lunch: Monday - Friday 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
Dinner: Monday - Saturday 5 - 10 p.m. 
Brunch: Sunday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Recommendations: Mushroom Pot Pie, Portobello "Burger," Crispy Tofu Sandwich.
Price range: Most items $9 - $12.
My cheeseburger at 1892 East was juicy, plenty, rich, savory, tender ... and completely meatless. The Portobello "Burger" ($10) is served on a soft, bakery-style roll, the Portobello Burger was ideally grilled. Balsamic aioli imparted bright notes while Wright Dairy white cheddar cheese contributed lush texture. The green leafy lettuce, onion slices and ultra-ripe tomatoes served with all the sandwiches we ordered upped the ante, as did the abundant and crunchy fresh-cut fries.
5 A's Restaurant 
6297 Highway 53 
256-852-8089 
5asrestaurant.com
Tuesday - Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m
Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
Recommendations: Feisty Feta Spread, Chicken Kabob Plate, Kataifi, Vegetarian Plate. 
Price range: Most items $5 - $10.
Just because food is served on a Styrofoam plate doesn't mean it can't look and taste phenomenal. Witness the Chicken Kabob Plate ($7.99) at 5 A's Restaurant, a two-year-old-plus Greek eatery in Harvest. Tender, juicy chunks of chicken breast, crisp lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, soft pita triangles plated attractively atop perfectly cooked, long-grain basmati rice. This entrée really delivered some subtle-yet-zesty flavors while retaining a relatively healthy vibe. The accompanying, on-the-side tzatziki sauce offered cucumber coolness, garlic zip and clean creaminess, and the hummus boasted lothario levels of smoothness and earthiness.
The Bottle (lunch menu)
101 Washington St. N.E. 
256-704-5555 
facebook.com/TheBottleHuntsville
Lunch: Monday- Friday 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
Dinner: Monday - Saturday: 4 - 11 p.m. 
Recommendations: Apple and Blackberry Mixed Green Salad, Pan Fried Trout, Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise Bowl. 
Price range: Entrees $13 - $16.
The skin-up plating of trout always looks a little crazy to me, but you cannot argue with the flavor. The Bottle's Pan Fried Trout ($16) possessed - snow-soft texture, flaky, hints of buttery sweetness. It started off tasting good and got better with each bite. And there were lots of bites. Generous portion. The accompanying lemon meuniere sauce - dotted with a constellation of capers - evoked earthy notes, and whenever I bit into a caper, it added an intense bright burst. The few neon-green drops of basil oil added some sweet and leafy kicks, and I found myself searching the plate for a few more dots.
Brix (lunch menu)
964 Airport Road 
256-881-3396 
brixhuntsville.com 
Dinner: Monday -Thursday 4:30 - 9 p.m.; Friday - Saturday 4:30 - 10 p.m.
Lunch: Tuesday - Friday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
Recommendations: Brix Salad, Chicken & Waffles. 
Price range: $9 - $15.
If you've ever been underwhelmed by chicken and waffles, try the version on Brix's lunch menu. The problem you can run into with this dichotomous dish, as prepared at soul food restaurants, is the chicken is often three or so fried wings. So the protein is skimpy and a hassle to eat with a knife and fork. Brix's Chicken & Waffles ($12.95), ordered on a recent Monday, featured a sizeable, boneless chicken tenderloin, fried juicy-crisp without being overdone or greasy.  Granted, Brix is a white-tablecloth restaurant. But this is an upscale refinement that really, really works and a fair trade for whatever "funkiness" is lost.
Cotton Row Restaurant (lunch menu)
100 South Side Square 
256-382-9500 
cottonrowrestaurant.com 
Lunch: Wednesday - Friday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
Dinner: Monday through Saturday 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. 
Recommendations: Gnocchi Spinach Soup, Pan Seared Corvina, Grilled Mahi Mahi, Chicken Pot Pie. 
Price range: Most lunch items $11 - $17.
Ever since star chef James Boyce opened Cotton Row in 2008, the downtown-square fine-dining spot has earned a reputation for transcendent food and car-payment sized tabs. While Cotton Row dinner entree prices are no joke, the restaurant's fantastic  lunch menu is much more accessible. I ordered the Grilled Mahi Mahi ($14). When the gorgeously plated Mahi was placed in front of me, it felt like I was living inside a cookbook photo. The fish couldn't have been cooked better. Super, tender flaky interior, and a slightly-crispy exterior which was subtly salt and herb seasoned. The fish was served atop sunset-soft ringlets of house-made, slightly buttery fettuccine. Wow.
Nick's Ristorante 
10300 Bailey Cove Road 
256-489-8280 
nicksristorante.com 
Monday - Saturday: 4 - 11 p.m. 
Recommendations: Veal Saltimboca, Pasta Nicky, Crab-Stuffed Portobello "Jaclyn."
Price range: Most entrees $18 - $39.
Nick's Ristorante is located in a South Huntsville strip mall, so approaching the humble exterior you might wonder, "Is this really somewhere I want to drop some big coin on dinner?" The answer is a resounding, 72-point font "YES." The Veal Saltimboca ($24) was possibly the best in a strong field of entrees we ordered. Layers of veal, prosciutto, cheese and, I believe, sage, resulted in a dish that was sophisticated and supper-comfy. Our server recommended mushroom risotto as a side, and man, was she right-on. Chunky, woodsy and a must-do side.




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