Atlanta Restaurants

 

I had training for HON Office Furniture in Atlanta this past week.  It just happened to be on Tuesday/Wednesday (which are Lance’s days off work each week), so he joined me for the work trip.  While I was in class, he wandered the city, and then in the evenings, we ate our way around town. 

On our way out of town, our flight out was delayed because of thunderstorms, so we enjoyed beers at the Cigar City brewery right in the Airside C terminal.  They brew beer right there in the airport– and even have some specialties that aren’t available at the other locations (I really liked the Tony Jannus Pale Ale – named for the world’s first commercial airline pilot, who flew from Tampa to St. Pete, Florida). 

We got to Atlanta Monday evening.  One of our all-time favorite restaurants is Canoe – we discovered it last time we were in Atlanta (read more about it on this blog post…)  The menu is innovative and perfectly executed, and the view is beautiful.  It is on the Chattahoochee River and has a beautiful garden behind.  Well, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to eat there again, so we took an Uber there for dinner (it’s a little drive from midtown/downtown Atlanta, so it would be hard to get there with public transportation). 

If you haven’t used Uber before, we had a great experience with it!  Our drivers were much friendlier than the taxi driver that we had from the airport, and if you go here or use my referral code amandan1158ue, you’ll get your first ride for free!  

Lance tried the Wild Heaven Eschaton Quadrupel based out of Decatur, GA, and I had their 4^th Sun Rising cocktail with Old Fourth Distillery, SOHO Lychee, lemongrass, lemon, and egg whites.  My drink was deliciously tart – but probably went a little overboard with the egg whites.  It was hard to get through the thick foam to sip the drink. 

We started with the peppercorn crusted kangaroo loin with caramelized onion tart, olive, and black vinegar gastrique (since when else will we have the opportunity to try kangaroo…)  If I hadn’t known any better, I would have just thought it was steak. 

For our main courses, Lance ordered the pork tenderloin and I had the lamb sirloin.  His actually came with multiple types of meat – the tenderloin, house made sausage, and braised pork belly, with apricot and natural jus.  Mine was served over English pea tortellini, minted tomato jam, and pistachio butter. You really can’t go wrong with anything you order at this restaurant.  We probably went a little overboard with the meat dishes that evening, but it was all fantastic. 

We were really full, but the dessert we had last time was one of the best sweets we’ve ever had, so we finished with their gourmet cracker jack sundae. 

I kept my receipt because it says I bought 1 kangaroo…

For summertime, it really wasn’t that hot outside and it was great weather for wandering their gardens.  There were fireflies lighting up and we visited the chicken coop where they get all the fresh eggs for the restaurant. 

After my training the next day, we visited the Wrecking Bar Brewpub.  We actually wanted to go on our last trip, but it was closed when we were there before.  It’s in the Little Five Points neighborhood in an old Victorian mansion.  The tables were set with pretty wildflowers.  Our waiter recommended the Corn Pups and the Georgia Duck, so we went with his suggestions.   

I’m not normally a fan of hot dogs – personally it just seems gross that it’s a mixture of all rejected meat parts.  But these were made from chedderwurst, battered in corn bread, and fried.  It was served with curry ketchup and yellow mustard – it was good, but would have been better if it was with a whole grain or spicy mustard. 

The duck was served with chioggia beets, red beet root, swiss chard, radish, chanterelles (a type of mushroom), and duck jus.  The presentation was very pretty, and the flavor was just as great as it looked. 

We finished with a peach crisp (which actually turned out to have blueberries as well).  It was topped with oatmeal streusel and vanilla honeysuckle gelato. 

Finally, the last day we had to fly back home, so we had a really early dinner around 4pm.  Several of my classmates from the training had eaten at South City Kitchen the night before and said it was amazing, but another set of people said it was so crowded, even on a Tuesday night, that there was over an hour wait.  We made reservations, but there really wasn’t a need for them when we showed up for such an early dinner. 

They didn’t start serving their full dinner until 5pm, but we ordered from their abbreviated bar menu, which had some of their specialties. I liked the Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan ale from Mississippi and Lance enjoyed his Hoplanta IPA – but I wasn’t as much of a fan of Terrapin’s Peach Farmhouse Ale (too sweet). 

We had the buttermilk fried chicken and the shrimp & red mule grits.  It seemed like we should get Southern specialties while we were in Georgia.  Both were really authentic dishes and very filling.  The red grits were a bit heavier than I’m used to – with poblano peppers, house made tasso ham, and smoked tomato gravy.  We didn’t have room for any dessert this time (and figured even if we did, dessert three nights in a row was probably a bad idea…) 

Atlanta has so many fantastic restaurant options – happy to have had the chance to try a few new ones this time!  But Canoe still tops the charts for me…definitely go there if you have the chance.      

Canoe is located at 4199 Paces Ferry Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30339  and is open for lunch 11:30am – 2:30pm Monday through Fridays, for dinner 5:30pm – 10pm Monday through Thursday, and 5:30pm – 11pm Friday & Saturday, and 5:30pm – 9:30pm on Sundays.  They are also open for Sunday brunch 10:30am – 2:30pm. 

Wrecking Bar Brewpub is located at 292 Moreland Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 and is open 4pm – 11pm Monday – Thursday, 12pm – 12am Friday – Saturday, and 11am – 10pm on Sundays. 

Southern City Kitchen is located at 1144 Crescent Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 and is open 11am – 10pm Monday – Thursday, 11am – 10:30pm Friday, 10am – 3pm and 5pm – 10:30pm on Saturdays, and 10am – 3pm and 5pm – 10pm on Sundays. 

Atlanta Trip Part 2 – Highland Bakery, Canoe & Point of View Lounge

 

Day 2 of our trip we started out with breakfast at Highland Bakery.  It is located in a nice neighborhood with a beautiful park across the street.  The walls were all painted different colors and were decorated with glass art (which was for sale).  The atmosphere is pretty laid back – the servers wear their everyday street clothes and weren’t pretentious at all (unlike the other waiters we had met so far on our trip…)

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered the Fried Chicken Eggs Benedict with a side of breakfast potatoes, and Lance had the Fried Chicken Biscuit with a ½ order of their Sweet Potato Pancakes (which was still 1 large pancake). 

 

 

 

I would definitely order my fried chicken benedict again.  And the pancake was wonderful – instead of syrup, it was served with warm caramelized brown sugar butter with toasted pecans.  Lance’s “bottomless” coffee lived up to its name – our waitress was very attentive and we never saw the bottom of the cup. 

They also had a bakery case filled with cupcakes, éclairs, and other sweet treats.  We were of course too full to try any, but they looked delicious.   

 

We spent the afternoon at Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (well worth a visit – it is the best botanical garden I’ve been to!) 

 

That night we had a fancier date night at the restaurant Canoe.  It was only a 15 minute drive from downtown Atlanta, but it felt very remote.  It is tucked away in the Vinings suburb northwest of town.  The homes we passed by on the way were all gated mansions with sprawling properties so I’m assuming that it is a pretty affluent area to live. 

 

The location was beautiful – behind is a lush garden that overlooks the Chattahoochee River.  The restaurant itself has incredible architecture – with a curved wooden ceiling that subtly feels like the interior of a canoe. 

 

 

 

 

Our waiter, Michael, gave us very thorough explanations of the dishes.  We started off with drinks – Lance had the Three Philosophers Quadrupel Ale, and I tried the La Dolce vita cocktail – which had gin infused with grapevine blossoms, lemon-lavender syrup, and topped with a sparkling red wine called brachetto.  It was sweet and tasted like sangria.  While we decided what to order, another waiter came and gave us our choice of breads (they had a variety to pick from – I tried a crispy flatbread and an olive loaf). 

 

 

Michael sold us on the house smoked salmon appetizer served on crispy potato cakes with Vermont goat cheese.  Wow it was phenomenal – and the presentation was well executed. 

At this point we realized that there were so many appetizers we wanted to try that we ordered a few more then 1 entrée to share.  Next came the Tea Smoked Duck Breast – served in a salad with Bartlett pear, confit duck leg, seeded mustard, and bleu cheese cream.  The menu didn’t mention it was a salad, but I was very satisfied with it. 

 

Next we split the charcuterie and cheese selection – with spotted trotter salumi, homemade chicken liver pâté, house cured meats, and bleu cheese.  We expected there to be several cheeses, but it was a meat-driven plate.  Usually with charcuterie platters, there is only a small sampling of the pâté, but this was actually half a glass full.  It was very creamy and perfect on the crispy bread.  

We split the Slow Roasted Georgia Rabbit for our entrée.  They were nice enough to portion it on two separate plates.  It was served with mushroom tortellini, house bacon, and candied garlic sauce.  It was very tender and the tortellini tasted fresh. 

 

 

At this point we were already full, but we had seen a dessert we really wanted to try – the popcorn ice cream sundae with homemade Cracker Jack.  The dessert was huge – served in a pint glass and loaded with caramel popcorn and nuts.  I love anything that is sweet & salty – I don’t know why it hasn’t ever occurred to me to have popcorn and ice cream together, but it was a great idea.  

We took a stroll around the garden afterwards (it was pretty dark at that point).  They have chicken coops outside and all the chickens were huddled together to stay warm.  I wish we were in town on Sunday because I hear they have an incredible brunch menu as well.  We’ve already decided that we’ll be visiting Canoe again anytime we’re in the Atlanta area. 

 

We finished the night with drinks at our hotel’s rooftop bar, the Point of View Lounge at the Hilton Downtown Atlanta.  It had a great view of the city from above and a beautifully displayed wine cooler, but overall the furnishings were a bit dated.  

 

 Lance ordered the American Beauty cocktail with gin, sweet & sour, ginger ale, and raspberry puree, but the bartender told us it had been months since anyone ordered that drink, so the puree had gone bad.  She instead made it with Chambord liqueur to give it the raspberry flavor.  I had The Alamo – with vodka, lime juice, pineapple, agave, and ginger beer.  

Nice way to end day 2 of our trip.  Check out the other posts to read about our other Atlanta dining experiences!  

Highland Bakery is located at 655 Highland Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

and is open 8am – 5pm every day. 

Canoe is located at 4199 Paces Ferry Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30339  and is open for lunch 11:30am – 2:30pm Monday through Fridays, for dinner 5:30pm – 10pm Monday through Thursday, and 5:30pm – 11pm Friday & Saturday, and 5:30pm – 9:30pm on Sundays.  They are also open for Sunday brunch 10:30am – 2:30pm. 

Point of View Lounge is located at the Hilton Downtown at 255 Courtland St NE, Atlanta, GA 30303 and is open Tuesday through Saturday 5pm – 12am.