THE BUTCHER THE BAKER---our trip to Marietta!

We are so looking forward to visiting old friends for the weekend in Marietta. The highlight of our trip will be an OTP (outside the Perimeter) dinner at THE BUTCHER THE BAKER!

THE BUTCHER THE BAKER

23 N Park Square, Marietta, GA 30060

Phone:(678) 224-1599

According to their website, "The Butcher The Baker is a locally owned farm to table restaurant bringing a new dining experience to the Marietta Square. Everything on the menu is house made, and we depend entirely on our local farmers to provide the freshest tastes of the season." The menu changes very frequently. And they are closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Our friends live within walking distance to the square, so we're looking forward to being able to just saunter over for our meal.  A sample menu:

Snack and Share
chicken liver pâté, apple cider gelee, toast
scotch egg, turnip purée, pepper jelly
scallop, couscous, lemon marmalade
braised chicken fritter, bourbon mustard, pickled mustard seed
cheese plate: caly road waypoint, jasper hill baley hazen blue, sweet grass dairy Thomasville tomme
fried pork belly, coke gastrique, logan turnpike mill cheddar grits 5th kingdom mushroom, caly road chèvre fritter, parsley pesto tucker farms mixed greens, candied pecans, pickled baby vidalia, clementine vin, caly road bit o’ blue
charcuterie board: rosemary sausage, pate campagne, tasso, pickles, mustard, toast

Belly Up
beef tartar, bourbon mustard, caper
orecchiette, fava bean, caly road feta
s, shallots, focaccia crisps 

bahn mi, pork belly, house steam bun, pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro
springer mountain chicken, sweet and sour cabbage, yellow foot mushroom, chicken demi
bramlett farm trout, ham broth, green garlic risotto, fava beans, pickled clementine
roasted strip, sunchoke puree, roasted sunchoke, brussel greens pork loin, potato dumpling, house bacon, flat leaf kale
pappardelle, oyster mushroom, hakerui turnips and their greens, poached egg charred vadalia, onion jam

Save Room 
chocolate & salted caramel terrine,

marcona almond 7 brown butter tart, grapefruit ambrosia 6 

fried strawberry pie, pickled strawberries, vanilla ice cream 6 

yogurt panna cotta, white pepper honey, pecan streusel 6

UPDATE:

So we strolled over to The Butcher The Baker on a beautiful summer night.  We had a bit of a wait (~ 5 minutes) before being seated.  The place was packed.  The decor is casual - exposed ceilings, antiques such as old tobacco baskets adorn  the walls.  You are immediately at ease in the place.

Our server came over immediately (Jace) and was fantastic - very knowledgable and friendly without being in our way all night.

Here's the menu we viewed that night:

COCKTAILS

 FOOD:

We started with cocktails.

Texas Two Towns
A couple of us went with this drink - made with beer and vodka!  It was delicious - just the right amount of sweetness.  Only complaint - I had to add ice immediately - it wasn't cold enough when presented. And I think coming out of the shaker, it should be server up, in a chilled martini style glass, not in an old fashioned glass.

THAT'S MY JAM

My friend ordered this drink (which I was told by our server was sweet), and we all loved it!  It was on the sweet side but not too sweet.  The blueberry flavor with the Tito's Vodka and Amaretto was outstanding. It was very refreshing and a perfect drink for the 90+ degree temps outside.

And one in our group got a Dirty Martini:

Sunberry point oysters, red wine mignonette, house made crackers

These oysters were so yummy that I ordered them as my main course afterward.  The mignonette was sublime - heavy on the shallots. LOVED! My picture wasn't the best here, but trust me - the oysters were devine!

And this is a poor picture, but at least you can see the delicious house made crackers:

 Charcuterie board (pate, harissa bologna, fennel sausage) spicy pickles, sourdough
We all loved the charcuterie selections.  Note: I would have liked one item of meat that wasn't a composite (such as a prosciutto or capicola), but all the ones we sampled were very good.  The mustard seed and honey mustard additions were great too.

PORK BELLY, creamed kale, green tomato chow chow

All I can say about this dish is "OMG!" It was just sick good.  The pork belly was rich and delicious, but that creamed kale was ridiculously good.  We wouldn't (ok, it was ME) let Jace (our server) take the cast iron skillet away until we (ok, I) soaked up more of the sauce with the leftover sourdough crostini.  YOU MUST GET THIS DISH! 

Rolls and biscuits with fresh butter

bramlett farms trout, corn+puree, arugula, cherry bomb pepper
This trout was terrific!  I'm not a trout lover normally, but this fish was so flavorful.  Loved the combination of flavors!

Brasstown coulotte (Sirloin), vidalia onions, swiss chard, mushrooms, gnocchi, green tomato jam
And 2 of us got the sirloin.  This dish was amazing.  Best sirloin I've ever tasted.  And it wasn't a huge portion (6 oz), so we weren't over stuffed after enjoying the above appetizers. The only thing I didn't love was the green tomato jam.  I love tomato jam and have made it many times myself, but in this dish, to me, it was too sweet.

Sadly, we just couldn't bring ourselves to eat another bite after dinner.  The desserts just looked crazy good though.  I WOULD have ordered the cherry tomato tart tatin with reduced balsamic, cream cheese frosting and balsamic ice cream.  But there's always next time....

A final pic with our friends (and their stunningly beautiful back yard), just as we left their home to walk to dinner:

We had such an enjoyable time reconnecting with our old friends at The Butcher The Baker!  Can't wait to go back and try more!!!

THE LUMINARY

The Luminary

99 Krog Street

Atlanta, GA 30307

Phone:(404) 600-6199

My husband and I decided to try a new restaurant Saturday night meeting old college friends downtown.  We had run into these friends on a recent trip to Paris, France, and we thought a French restaurant (that has gotten rave reviews) would be perfect.

The Luminary is located in Krog Street Market, one of the hippest places in town right now.  Unfortunately, getting there (for us at least) proved to be challenging.  There was a Braves game that night, but regardless of that, traffic was horrendous.  Krog Street just isn't that easy to get to.

But, the restaurant was extremely accommodating, and we were able to push our reservation back by 15 minutes easily.

Here we are getting ready to be sitting in traffic--- just realizing in our rush to leave for dinner we didn't know we were basically wearing matching outfits... ;)

 We valet parked in the parking garage adjacent to the restaurant and quickly walked inside.  The restaurant has exposed high ceilings and a sleek industrial casual feel.

I SO wanted to love this restaurant!  I've read great things about Eli Kirshtein, the Executive Chef and Partner who is from Atlanta and was a "Top Chef: Las Vegas" contestant. It's called an American brasserie, but it's also claiming to be French and includes classic French dishes such as steak frites and croque monsieur.

Our server arrived promptly and offered us water while we waiting for our friends to arrive. He was soft spoken and I must say, didn't offer a lot to the dinner.  While I don't want a server that is constantly hovering, we didn't get a lot of attention (such as, "How was your meal?" etc.) either.

 We decided to go with a cocktail to start and all of us were enticed by the same one - sounded very refreshing on a 90+ degree night in Atlanta, GA!

 Terminus
Old Fourth Vodka, Cider, Blackberry Lemon

 The drink was yummy - I associate cider more with the Fall however, but it was good just the same.

And very good French bread was presented with delicious salted butter.

catebogue

We then decided to order a few appetizers and were told that we needed to decide on entrees as well or else the food may be held up coming out to us.  So our server left us for a few minutes while we all decided on entrees, THEN we ordered it all at once.

We went with 3 appetizers.  The first was prawns served with cocktail sauce, horseradish and lemon.  The guys enjoyed these - I passed though - having eyes staring at me wasn't very appetizing.  The guys said they were OK though.

Next appetizer was octopus.  It was good, but I'm not sure I'd order it again.  I LOVE octopus, but there are other restaurants (such as St Cecilia and The Optimist) that do it better.  And I liked the cucumber/tzatzizi "salad" that came with it, but at the same time it was sort of a confusing addition.  And I would have liked more "kick" with the octopus itself.  We all ate every bite however.

catebogue

I had read that they have foie gras but it was not on the menu.  I asked our server about it and he said it was available (but they didn't have a lot, so that's why it was not listed).  So we ordered that one as well.  It was just OK.  We had had stupendous foie gras in Paris, so maybe we are totally spoiled?  It was served atop a waffle (something similar to what we had sampled at L'Avant Comptoir), but it came across a bit bland to me.  The rich decadent nature of the foie gras was lacking in my opinion.  Again, we ate every bite, but even though it was visually appealing the flavor was missing something.

 Then it was time for the entrees.

I went with the Snapper en Papillote which was served with scallions, tomatoes and green beans - even though the menu said squash and fennel.  There were mandolin sliced pieces of zucchini in the bottom, but I didn't taste fennel at all.  It was a fine dish but I felt like it lacked flavor.  Right after our entrees arrived we were asked by our server if we wanted them to add salt and pepper - now I know why.  It screamed for salt, pepper AND lemon too.

 My friend ordered the swordfish and kale chips.  I thought it was tasty but she wasn't thrilled with it, thinking that the swordfish was a bit overcooked.  The flavor in the celery root puree though was very good.

 My husband went with the pork chop with field peas.  It wasn't bad.  I don't think he would order it again, but it was tasty enough.

 Our other friend ordered their coq au vin.  I've never seen coq au vin prepared this way - over mushroom grits and with country ham. It was good, but (the picture maybe doesn't show you exactly) but for someone with an appetite, it was a small dish.  I thought it was beautiful to the eye, but if you were hoping for a nice brothy coq au vin and accompanying cognac/red wine/chicken broth au jus, you're going to be disappointed.

Finally we decided to split a couple of desserts - the Lemon tart and the Coffee Finacier.

 The Coffee Finacier looked better than it tasted.  We ended up leaving half of it on the plate.  The coffee flavor was too strong, but it lacked richness, and the chocolate sorbet tasted watery to me.  It's supposed to be akin to a sponge cake I realize, but the dessert just wasn't a big hit for us. However, it was a very attractive dessert on the plate.

The big hit of the entire evening (other than spending time with great friends) was the Lemon Tart!  Sadly, it was a small portion, as we were scrambling for a bite!  It was just what you'd want in a tart - perfect execution of the crust and strong lemony tart/sweet flavor in the filling.  We loved it.

So, in the end, we had a wonderful evening catching up with old friends, but I don't see myself returning to The Luminary for a while.  The food was adequate, good but not great, and we all felt it was lacking in a lot of areas.  The atmosphere is fun though, and Krog Street Market is very cool.  They just need to hone a few things in the kitchen for the place to get 5 stars.  But...that lemon tart was amazing!

TWO URBAN LICKS

Two Urban Licks

820 Ralph McGill Blvd.

Atlanta, GA 30306

We decided to celebrate a birthday at Two Urban Licks recently.  In our group of 5, 3 of us had been there before, but it's been awhile. We were going to dinner with a group of 20 somethings - the venue felt like it would be a perfect blend for us.

The restaurant is in an industrial park and is easy to miss.  You pull into the park and continue driving to the back where you'll see complimentary valet on your left.  We pulled up the hill to the valet and it was a nice beginning to our evening - the workers were ebullient saying, "Enjoy your meal" and "Thank you for dining at Two" - it was a nice welcome.

Once you enter the restaurant there's an immediate change - it's very dark, and there's a bar to your immediate left (where a band was setting up in the corner), and the hostess stand is down the hall a bit.  So it's slightly confusing, and there's no one really in front of you to welcome you as you enter.

We were seated, once everyone arrived, on the far end of the restaurant at a round table by the windows overlooking the outside seating and beyond that the beltway.  This seat was perfect since we were on the opposite end of the restaurant from the band - the last time we were there we were right by the band and couldn't talk to our friends at all due to the volume.

The view from our table was great --- but, what wasn't great was the heat factor.  I was seated with my back to the window and within 5 minutes had to move seats because I was melting.  Not sure what they can do about that, but it's worth noting.  If you are right by the windows in the summer, it's like you're in an oven. Moving to the other side of the table cured that issue.

Our server, Cortez, arrived promptly and was fantastic - high energy and friendly.  We quickly got to the task of ordering drinks and appetizers.  Here's the menu:

DINNER

SALMON CHIPS
SMOKED SALMON, CHIPOTLE CREAM CHEESE, CAPER, RED ONION
10

BAKED OYSTERS
BACON, LEEKS, DILL, PARMESAN
12

TUNA TARTARE
PICKLED RADISH, CRISPY SHALLOT, SESAME PONZU
13

SHAVED CALAMARI
SWEET AND SPICY, CILANTRO, WASABI AIOLI
11

EMPANADA
BRISKET, GARLIC CREMA, PICO DE GALLO, FETA
10

PIMENTO CHEESE HUSH PUPPIES
GREEN CHILI JAM
10

PORK BELLY
CRISPY, CUCUMBER KIMCHI, CHARRED PINEAPPLE, CRUSHED PEANUTS
13

CRAB CAKE
CORN, CHILES, CILANTRO, JALAPENO AIOLI
17

SHRIMP SCAMPI
GEORGIA WHITE SHRIMP, LEMON, GARLIC, HERBS
16

ARTICHOKE
IN ALL ITS GLORY, GRILLED, LEMON MAYO
11

SPEARS OF ROMAINE
SPICY CAESAR, CHILI CROUTONS, PARMESAN
9

SIMPLE GREENS
BABY LETTUCE, CURED HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, RADISHES, GOAT CHEESE, TOASTED ALMONDS, GREEN GODDESS
11

STEAK TARTARE
HAND CUT, TOMATO VINAIGRETTE, OLIVES, TZATZIKI, CRUSHED PISTACHIOS, PITA
15

BURRATA
CHARRED BREAD, SALSA VERDE
17

MUSSELS
SMOKED RAMP BUTTER, WHITE WINE, CIABATTA
16

BRONZED SCALLOPS
GOUDA GRITS, PICO DE GALLO, SMOKED TOMATO BROTH
28

PORK
SLOWED COOKED SHANK, TAMARINO, SAUTÉED COLLARDS, ROASTED SWEET POTATO
24

SHELLFISH WOOD ROAST
LOBSTER, GEORGIA WHITE SHRIMP, MUSSELS, CHILI, LEMON, GARLIC
38

BRISKET
SMOKED, BUTTERNUT SQUASH HASH, RED WINE JUS
25

amberjack
AU POIVRE, HAND CUT FRIES, WATERCRESS
27

STRIPED BASS
WOOD OVEN ROASTED, CRISPY CAULIFLOWER, CAPERS, CHILI, MINT
31

FLOUNDER
SEARED, SUCCOTASH, THAI VINAIGRETTE
33

BAR STEAK
WOOD FIRED GRILLED, GREEN BEANS, WILD MUSHROOMS, HERB WHIPPED POTATOES, CHIMICHURRI
34

CHICKEN
SMOKED, SWEETWATER 420 BRINED, WHITE CHEDDAR MAC N CHEESE
21

CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD PUDDING
COCOA PEANUT CRUNCH, MALTED VANILLA ICE CREAM
8

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
PINEAPPLE RUM DRIZZLE, DULCE DE LECHE ICE CREAM
8

LAVENDAR POUND CAKE
SPRING STRAWBERRIES, ROSE WINE GELEE
8

MEMPHIS MUD BAR
CHOCOLATE CRISP, PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE, GANACHE, BANANA ICE CREAM
8

ICE CREAM SCOOPS
MALTED VANILLA, CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE, CHOCOLATE MILK
6

SORBET SCOOPS
MANDARIN TANGERINE, PRICKLY PEAR, PINK GUAVA
6

3 of us went with one of the delicious signature cocktails. Perfect for a hot evening in Atlanta!

THE BLUEBERRY 12
VODKA, MADAGASCAR VANILLA, BLUEBERRY, CRANBERRY, LIME, ORANGE ESSENCE, BITTERS

The drink was delicious!  It was so refreshing, and I loved the combination of flavors so much I ended up ordering TWO! ;)

catebogue

 We were presented with foccacia bread and a balsamic dipping sauce - delish!

Really yummy warm bread!

 And we began with appetizers.  I HAD to have the smoked salmon on chips.  It might have been our favorite thing on the menu. Loved the presentation but the chopped up salmon almost tasted watery - like it had been frozen first or something? I'd much prefer thinly sliced salmon on crostini. There wasn't a morsel left on the board however!

SALMON CHIPS
SMOKED SALMON, CHIPOTLE CREAM CHEESE, CAPER, RED ONION
10

catebogue

We also sampled the burrata (typically one of my favorites).  It was good, but I won't order it again.  The "salsa verde" was way too heavy handed.  The beauty of burrata is it's rich ricotta creaminess, and in my opinion, the sauce was too spicy/heavy for it.  And for the record, I love heat - just not needed on this dish. The crostini was yummy though.

BURRATA
CHARRED BREAD, SALSA VERDE
17

catebogue

 These are the main courses we went with:

STRIPED BASS
WOOD OVEN ROASTED, CRISPY CAULIFLOWER, CAPERS, CHILI, MINT
31

The bass was OK - but this one was on the verge of being underdone.  My daughter only ate a few bites.  I also thought the presentation was lacking here, just dumping a pile of veggies on top of this beautiful fish didn't cut it for me. Not a professional plated dish in my opinion.

catebogue

BRONZED SCALLOPS
GOUDA GRITS, PICO DE GALLO, SMOKED TOMATO BROTH
28 

The scallops and grits were delicious.  The richness of the grits were offset nicely by the pico de gallo, and the scallops were prepared perfectly. It was a very nicely presented dish with a visually appealing contrast of colors.

catebogue

amberjack

AU POIVRE, HAND CUT FRIES, WATERCRESS
27

I didn't love this dish.  The amberjack tasted fine, but serving it with a mountain of fries was unappealing.  What you see in front of you is a plate of beige food. 

My choice for an entree was the shrimp scampi.  It's listed on the menu as an appetizer, but as you can see below, it's definitely enough for a main course.  The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and I love the strong citrus flavor, however, it was SO strong in the garlic department.  I love garlic and probably would say it's a #1 staple in MY kitchen, but in this dish it was over-powering.  I needed mints for days.

SHRIMP SCAMPI
GEORGIA WHITE SHRIMP, LEMON, GARLIC, HERBS
16

catebogue

 My husband went with the baked oysters for his entree.  And they were good but, (broken record here) I didn't love the presentation.  We adore oysters, but the dollop of green goo was visually unappealing .  The entire topping was very tasty though, and the oysters were baked fine.  Probably wouldn't order these again however - not a home run.

BAKED OYSTERS
BACON, LEEKS, DILL, PARMESAN
12

And Cortez, our server,  heard we were celebrating a birthday, so at the end of the meal this little chocolately caramel delight was presented.  It was out of this world!  All of us loved it! The photo doesn't even do it justice - the dense rich brownie was heavenly!

 Finally, there was a bit of an accident that occurred (unfortunately) that evening!  As you can see below, a girl that was clearing the table dropped a greasy fork down my new silk dress.  And of course, accidents happen, and I wasn't upset about it. But - - - the girl merely retrieved said fork from the back of my chair and walked away.  No "I'm sorry" or even acknowledgement of the accident.  I was having fun with my group and didn't know how bad the stain was until I got up to go to the restroom.  When my husband (and the rest of the restaurant) saw the stain he spoke to our waiter and the manager who were very good - apologetic and offered immediately to pay for cleaning or replacement if it can't be cleaned.  And the only reason I'm mentioning it here is that the girl bus person just briskly walked away after the incident when she clearly saw what had happened to me.

NOTE:  The staff was very good to handle the situation as professionally as possible. THAT I appreciate greatly. I got apology after apology from the manager and Cortez and was given information as to where to send either the dry cleaning bill or dress replacement cost.

So, there were highs and lows at Two Urban Licks.  The food was great in some areas and just OK in others.  The atmosphere is fun (albeit very loud - be aware of that!), and the venue is lively.  Our server, the manager and the General Manager were very very good.  In fact, here's what they ended up mailing me after the "incident":

It was a nice night with our group of 5, and our server Cortez couldn't have been more helpful.

We finally make it to SUPERICA!

Finally had a chance to check out the newest Ford Fry creation - SUPERICA the other night.

SUPERICA

99 Krog St NE

Atlanta, GA 30307

Phone:(678) 791-1310

It did not disappoint.  We have enjoyed his Mex-Tex concept The El Felix in the OTP spot, Avalon, and many of the same items are on Superica's menu.  

It's located in the hot new area of Atlanta, Krog Street Market.  On this particular evening it was packed with people enjoying the warm weather.  We thankfully were able to snag a table on their outdoor patio area.  What a great place to enjoy some fabulous food, drinks and people watching!

And you know what I love about each of Ford Fry's restaurants?  I love their complete lack of pretentiousness.  From Superica, The Optimist, No. 246, St. Cecilia, King + Duke, The El Felix and JCT Kitchen, all are focused on dishing up outstanding quality food but with service and an atmosphere that can't be beat in Atlanta.  You leave his restaurants wanting to come back for more.

We began our evening with a favorite from The El Felix:

CHILI CON QUESO
BOB ARMSTRONG 

This appetizer is so crazy good!  It's queso, but has beef, guacamole and sour cream too!  It was inhaled in no time along with their salsa and avocado verde sauces.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

TEXAS STAR
Centennario Rosangel, St. Germain, ruby red grapefruit, lime 

We all ended up getting the same drink - the Texas Star.  It was delicious, refreshing, and if it hadn't been a Wednesday night, I may have had two.  Not too sweet - just right!

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

CHICKEN VERDE 
morita chili braised chicken, salsa verde, sour cream

While I usually like to try new things when I return to a familiar restaurant, I had had this dish before at The El Felix, and it's SO good, that I HAD to have it again.  That salsa verde is what sets it apart - really delicious.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

The dishes come with sides of flavored rice and refried beans with melted cheese:

TACOS DE CAMARONES 
spicy shrimp, smoked jalapeño, Monterey Jack, cilantro & cabbage

These shrimp tacos were also very good - nice and a bit lighter than the enchiladas.  Perfect for a hot night dining al fresco!

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

TACOS DE BARBACOA
slow cooked brisket tacos, street-style
with cilantro, cabbage, and guacamole

My son and nephew both went with the beef brisket tacos, and they raved about them.  Not a crumb was left on their plates. That slow cooked brisket was to die for!

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

So I can't say enough good things about Superica!  Well done (again) Ford Fry!  The location is very fun, the service was outstanding, but most importantly, the food was spot on!  They also offer a brunch that looks amazing.  We'll be back...