BIRTHDAY DINNER AT A MANO!

My birthday was December 14th, and this year my "kids" decided they wanted to treat me and my husband to dinner at a restaurant none of us had been to before.  They chose A Mano (and I'm SO glad they did!).

My husband and I spent the day shopping at Ponce City Market, then checked into a hotel downtown that was about a mile from the restaurant in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta.

A MANO

587 RALPH MCGILL BOULEVARD

ATLANTA, GA  30312

We ended up arriving before the rest, so we sat down at the bar and ordered drinks - well-prepared and satisfying.

Once the other 4 arrived we were quickly seated.  The restaurant is small and intimate and has a cozy warm vibe that invites you in immediately.  The service was attentive and friendly.

We decided to begin with their burrata.  Unfortunately we plowed into it before remembering to take a picture!  But as you can see, we loved this starter!  The burrata was delicious but the real star of the show was that sourdough!  So yummy!

BURRATA with aged balsamic, tomato jam, basil oil, smoked sea salt and grilled sourdough

 We paired the food with a wonderful Italian Valpolicello:

 Our second starter was the octopus! It too was outstanding and we devoured it in no time!

CHARRED OCTOPUS with potato, carmelized fennel, citrus salad:

 A pic of our pre-dinner cocktail (my favorite drink: Tito's, grapefruit, St Germain and lime)

 We sampled the Cacio e Pepe:

Expertly prepared pasta al dente with just the right amount of richness and nutty parmesan! DELICIOUS!

 The Bucatini ala Bolognese was the stuff of dreams:

 My chicken saltimbocca was the best I've ever tasted!  I fix this dish on occasion and have paled in comparison.  All agreed it was fabulous!

 Truly amazing cauliflower we ordered as a side that we were fighting over:

 Another lovely side dish we sampled: the fried potatoes with salsa verde and parmesan were so so good!

 And I didn't sample this dish but my son in law said it was amazing:
Braised pork cheeks

 It was a fabulous birthday and the icing on the cake was spending time with my precious family at a great restaurant.  We'll be back to A Mano!

Our view from our downtown hotel: