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. 

Seasons 52 – Tampa, FL

 

Grandma Anne took Lance and me out to dinner last night to Seasons 52.  I’ve been there a couple times and I don’t think I’ve ever had something that wasn’t fantastic.

 

 

Their menu changes seasonally, so the dishes use whatever foods are best in that season.  Since it is fall, their autumn menu incorporated things like squash, mushrooms, and Brussels sprouts. 

 

Grandma started with their house Merlot (called Juntos), and I had the Mirassou Pinot Noir.  Lance wanted to try the Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA, but they were out, so he stuck with Lagunitas IPA (he’s had that one several times before). 

Our waiter said that his favorite appetizer was the Lump Crab, Roasted Shrimp, and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms, so we took his advice and ordered some to share.  They were amazing – each mushroom had 2 small shrimp baked with it and the panko bread crumbs gave it some crunch.  It came with six mushrooms, which meant they divided evenly between the three of us.    

 

For our entrée, Grandma ordered the Oak-Grilled Rack of Lamb – served with caramelized root vegetables and pomegranate sauce.  It normally comes with mashed potatoes, but she had the butternut squash risotto instead.  Lance ordered the Grilled Boneless Rainbow Trout, which Grandma said was one of her favorite dishes at Seasons (she dined there regularly when she lived in Palm Beach Gardens).  It came with baby carrots, crushed roasted potatoes, and a grilled lemon.  I ordered one of the Chef’s Specials – the Roasted Manchester Farms Quail served with mushroom risotto stuffing, spinach, bacon, and balsamic demi-glace. 

 

 

 

The lamb was served beautifully – piled high with a sprig of rosemary.  Lance’s trout was a large sized fish that was cooked perfectly.  And mine actually came with 3 individual quails on their own beds of spinach.  I would definitely order my dish again – it was incredible.

 

No meal at Seasons 52 is complete without their Mini Indulgences.  It is actually very smart of them – since the desserts are served in small shot glasses, you can always make room for just a few more bites.  Our waiter came to the table with a display of all 9 options.  Lance had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte.  The Belgian Chocolate S’more looked so good that Grandma and I each ordered one.  Lance’s was topped with peanuts, while ours had chocolate-dipped graham cracker and toasted marshmallow garnishes. 

 

 

 

We had absolutely no complaints about our dinner.  It was such a fun evening and we went home with very full bellies!

Seasons 52 has several locations around the country.  The Tampa one is located at 204 N Westshore Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609 and is open 11:30am – 10pm Sunday through Thursday and 11:30am – 11pm Friday and Saturday.