Terminus Tees Goes to Gunshow

Chef Kevin Gillespie’s newest cookbook, “Pure Pork Awesomeness: Totally Cookable Recipes From Around the World”, was just released (3.31.15) and I am stoked to cook every recipe in it!! Not only is Kevin now the author of two rad cookbooks, he has been a contestant on Top Chef AND has an amazing restaurant in Atlanta called Gunshow.

Recently Gunshow’s artist and designer, Brian Manley, and retail manager, Jake Osburn, came to Terminus to pick up some of their merch and take a lil’ tour. It was so cool to see artists of a different trade be interested in what we do here at Terminus Tees. They were super intrigued by the screen printing and branding process and were so supportive of our growth. That relationship is beyond invaluable. We don’t just want clients, we want friends to grow with and we’re proud to call the Gunshow team our friends!

Before working at Terminus Tees, I had only heard tales of the legendary cuisine from Gunshow: meat that melts in your mouth, flavors you never knew existed, and crazy cool reinventions of traditional dishes. So, I was super excited when the Terminus team planned a trip to visit our friends at Gunshow.

Gunshow beyond blew our minds. The atmosphere was really laid back - the crew was all in jeans and tees, so of course we fit in right away. It has an open floor plan and exposed kitchen allowing us to see the chefs at work. Gunshow serves their dishes dim sum style, where they bring the food around on a cart and you get to pick what you want. We had the added bonus of it being “Hired Gun” night where they had Jason Alley as a guest chef and each dish was brought to us by the chef who created it!

I was so excited about the food I was about to shove into my face, I hadn’t even thought about how amazing their cocktails would be. Gunshow takes traditional cocktails like old fashioneds, margaritas, and daiquiris and puts a unique upscale twist on it. The old-fashioned was served with a sugar-coated cinnamon stick. As the sugar dissolves the drink evolves - too cool.

Then the food started coming. We had planned to get one of each dish and share, but when the Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts hit the table almost every one of us had to have our own serving. They were literally the best veggies I’ve ever had. I didn’t think anything else would compare after that, but with every entree I was equally blown away. French style chicken ‘n’ dumplings were up next, followed by cornmeal mush with braised bacon, mushrooms, and turnips. The cornmeal mush was ridiculous! I never thought something called “mush” could be so tasty! Next was the Tilefish Sancocho with yucca and plantains. This was probably my favorite (although, I’m sure I’ll say that about every dish we were served!).

So far, we had tried Asian fusion, French, upscale soul food, and Caribbean. I figured something familiar would be up next, but the adventure continued with the best lamb I’ve ever had - Ethiopian braised lamb with injera bread.  “I was so impressed by the array of cultural flavors we got to experience”, said Alex. “It was like traveling the world with every bite, and somehow the dishes went together perfectly. Such a cool experience!”

Not only were the flavors out of this world, but the presentation was super fun! The prettiest dish by far was the diver scallop crudo with asparagus vichyssoise, apple, truffle, and lemon. The flowers and table side preparation made the dish look just as fresh as it tasted. So purdy.

Everybody loves a good spinach and artichoke dip, but Gunshow’s lobster and truffle spinach artichoke fondue was leagues above any “dip” I’ve tried. It had HUGE chunks of lobster and the creamiest cheese served in a hot iron skillet. The show continued with morel and chicken risotto, brasstown beef short rib sauerbraten, hot fried quail, Israeli spiced duck, buffalo pork belly, and roasted cheshire pork loin with confit of ham hocks, creamy peas, and the best, most fluffy cornbread you’ll ever try. Hannah even ordered a second serving of the pork loin, it was so good. Unfortunately, her roommate decided to give it to Hannah’s dog as a treat for coming inside. I bet that was one happy pup.

At this point we were all about to explode, but we couldn’t tap out yet - dessert was still to come! We ended the night with an assorted dessert plate, a deconstructed key lime pie cheesecake, and warm old-fashioned banana pudding. Correction, six banana puddings. Cracking open that meringue was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. Beneath the mountain of meringue was pure perfection. My brother doesn’t even like banana pudding, but his face lit up after a bite like he had just eaten manna from the gods. Calling it pudding is injustice. If I lived closer, I’m pretty sure my diet would consist of this dessert alone. It was seriously that good - I haven’t stopped talking about it since that night.

Whether you are a local or traveling through Atlanta, I highly urge you to try out Gunshow. Not only was the food outrageously good, the staff was incredible. Thanks to the whole team at Gunshow and a special shoutout to Josh for the excellent service! We can’t wait to come back!

Account Manager: Dan Cyr - Dan@terminustees.com