I have a refined interest in food;
it's more about the experience versus eating out of hunger. Although the term is
over- and misused, I fancy myself a foodie. I've dined all over the world to
include Michelin-rated restaurants in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Paris,
and Amsterdam and hopefully Hong Kong later this year.
I confess, I don't
much get out of the city of Atlanta, most of my dining happens in Midtown, Old
Fourth Ward, and VA Highlands. After I read the AJC article about Spring, I
thought it'd be worth the trip.
As soon as I looked
at the menu I had a drop the mic moment; I literally dropped the menu, Melons
and Ham...si grazie! I love prosciutto and melon, such a wonderful combination.
I was in Rome a couple of months ago (post coming soon) and I was searching for
that perfect-combo appetizer on every menu. The added touch for this
dish...marcona almonds and serrano peppers. The icing on the cake was an
amazing olive oil produced right here in Georgia (http://georgiaolivefarms.com/); I will
definitely be getting some of that asap.
My second reaction to
the menu, was ... is that it?!? At first I was turned off by how small it was,
but then I found it refreshing. There were four "Starts" and four "Mains"
which made choosing a dish quite easy. It included a representation of the
basics options: vegetarian, fish, poultry, and beef...what more do you really
need?
The wine selection
was a bit limited. I had to have the sparkling wine with my melons and ham;
just my thing. We tried both of the pinots before settling on the Lioco
Chardonnay, which was very nice.
Since they are "famous"
for their chicken liver pate, I had to try it. Ever had that moment when you
take a bite of something and you get warm and tingly all over? If not, you may
be doing wrong! I've experienced that a few times in my culinary adventures and
it happened again when I sank my teeth into that marvelous bite...wonderfully
toasted brioche, chicken liver pate, blueberry jam, pickled mustard seed, and
shaved pistachio. Oh my, oh my...if I lived in Marietta, I would go regularly
if only for the pate.
Often times I've
found starters to be much better than the main selections; we even joke about
it...will this be a left-side kinda night. This was my experience here also. I
decided on the grouper for my main course and my partner had the quail. He said
you can tell a lot about a restaurant in the way they prepare quail. It was
cooked perfectly and he enjoyed the simple flavor profile. Unfortunately, my
grouper was over cooked and I think they were a little heavy handed with the
beurre blanc (fancy term for emulsified butter). Oddly, when I told the server
she didn't offer to replace it; however, she did come back a few minutes later
and told me she had it removed from the bill.
I was
disappointed with the almond tart, but did enjoy the chamomile ice cream
accompaniment.
Very exciting for
another GA restaurant to be recognized on America's stage. Congratulations to Brian So!
