Archive for June, 2007

Trois means three in French, and the theme is carried out in numerous ways by Chef Jeremy Lieb and pastry chef J. St. Hilaire.

Located in mid-town Atlanta, Trois caught my eye from a recent mention in Bon Appetit magazine. The decor is trendy, and if you’re thinking about re-modeling your bathroom, it comes complete with Kohler “hatbox” toilets in the water closet.

Our experience started with fresh hot bread (apple sourdough) and complimentary champagne. For flavor, we were treated to gulp-fuls of a spicy watermelon gazpacho. I felt two liquids as “teaser” amuses was an odd choice.

But what goes better with soup than bubbly?

The menu comes with three main sections, augmented by a cheese course and a”sides.” Of course, dessert is also an option. From the first, coquillage I chose the jumbo lump crab salad with english peas, ginger, watermelon, and cilantro. It was a re-freshing, deliciously rich course, sizable, and interesting both for the texture and for the combination of flavors.

The mussels, shellfish bouillabaisse and oysters (with a sabayon sauce) were all well-liked by other diners.

The second course is called before and has more standard appetizers. I chose the roasted oregon porcini with shaved miniature vegetables and a small “salad.” A quail’s egg topped the dish. It was good, but I had wished the mushrooms were larger.

Other appetizers were well-liked, but we got one “stinker”: the lobster salad with asparagus was not up to one diner’s full appreciation. “The asparagus was watery,” he said. The burgundy snails and heirloom tomato appetizers were admired with aplomb.

Then you choose an entrée, one modern or one classique. We all chose modern, and I chose the bluefin tuna with heirloom tomato panzanella, xeres vinegar, and micro-basil. It was a refreshing flavor, and the combination of red tuna and red tomato was both shocking and appropriate. I got “full” by the third large piece of tuna. The panzanella portion was salty and exquisite.

Among the so-called sides, we enjoyed most the chick pea fries, served with a red-pepper sauce.

Desserts ordered included the chocolate clafoutis, the EVOO confit cake, the banana tatin, and the lemon tart. Having sampled all save for the chocolate, I enjoyed them all. The EVOO cake was mine, and while it was “good,” it lacked flavor and texture, despite the inventive flavors and combinations employed to make it come together.

Upon finishing a fine meal, we agreed that the desserts were not on the same elevated level as the savory cuisine.

Again, I found an exciting place where French technique is being elaborated to produce a second-wave of so-called nouvelle cuisine. Mixing citrus with olive oil and caramel in a dessert, or basil-tomato with tuna, or goat cheese ravioli with snails, is inventive, curious, and well-done.

Comparing the experience to Joël restaurant, I felt that the flavors at Joël were more refined and sophisticated. Yet the over-all experience (thanks in part to superior service, and the less-serious atmosphere) surpassed our earlier one.

Creativity is alive and well at Trois and as one diner who is a repeat customer asked us: “isn’t this place great?!”

We’d agree.

View a collection of photos of the meal at Trois.

Joël is located outside downtown Atlanta (north), and features a twist on French-inspired cuisine with clean, healthy flavors. Simply stated, it’s high-end cuisine that is inspiring, but not cutting-edge. It is creative enough a cuisine to mix flavors, but not be considered “fusion.” And the décor is special enough to serve as a backdrop for a special dining experience.

I read reviews before coming to Atlanta, and saw that no matter where I looked, Joël commanded good reviews, but there was obviously some flaw. 4/5 stars says that something prevents folks, no matter how scientific a rating “Stars” are, that there was something… missing.

I need to reiterate some of my thoughts on what makes a “perfect” dining experience.

• good company
• relaxing comfort
• interesting flavors & textures
• good service

And of course, we could debate tomes at a time, on what defines each of these qualities of the perfect experience… what makes good company, what is “relaxed,” what is “interesting,” and what is “good.” Right?

I had great company, and Joël’s dining room was beautiful, and I was relaxed. The food, as I will come to describe shortly, was on all points interesting in all counts. But it was the service here that was lackluster, to the n^th degree: too much wait time, pushiness on certain menu items and wine, and that in part robbed us of our comfort level. It was a shame that at such a nice restaurant service could be so lackluster. The perfect example was that wine ordered for service during the entrée course was brought to table 3/4 of the way through the entrée eating.

Not good.

• Seared Foie Gras with Hon Shimeji Mushrooms and Grapes
• Baked Turbot with Meyer Lemon Sauce
• Chocolate Souflée with Chocolate Crème Sauce

The foie gras dish was delicious; perfectly harmonized flavors and luxury in a bowl. My only complaint was the fine membranes still present in the lobe of liver. It wasn’t overly thick or inedible, but when I cut through, I would have preferred a piece without having to cut through it again…

This really was a winner. The texture of grapes and mushrooms against the seared liver was excellent. The left-over ‘sauce’ was good fodder for using bread as a sponge. A rich treat, indeed.

The fish came in a fragrant dish, scented with rosemary. While I dislike rosemary, the texture of the underlying bed of peas and sauce was sublime. The fish was well-cooked, and tasted healthy and fresh. This was a well-executed dish, although it was my least favorite of the three.

The dessert was a tad sweet, but was a sinful combination of two chocolates: dark chocolate for the souflée (double-sized, incidentally) and a lighter chocolate cream sauce. It was delicious and would have paired well with a coffee, which incidentally, we never had the opportunity to order.

There is no doubt that Chef Joël is a talented man, and knows flavors that combined well together. There were many enticing options on the menu, and mine were all well-executed.

The biggest flaw was the quality of service and timing. When improved, Joël has the potential to be first-rate.

In a second Atlanta, GA dining adventure, we stay downtown at the tallest of the hotel restaurants, the famed Sun Dial, located on the 72nd floor of the Westin Hotel in downtown Atlanta. Yes, it’s one of those spinning restaurants, appropriate at the top of a hotel that is shaped like a cylinder.

One in our party had already eaten here, some 10 years ago. First dismayed by a 3.5 star rating on Yelp!, we carried forth up the dramatic elevator ride. The view was a perfect way to admire the city of Atlanta at night, especially for those not used to a regular city scape. We had fun pointing out prominant buildings as the scenery changed outside. And our server, Kathleen, was happy to point-out the names of buildings that had escaped the commercialization of signs.

And the menu…

What you might expect, a variety of vegetarian, seafood, and meats. We ordered a mushroom soup, a scallop entrée, and the beef short rib with a balsamic BBQ sauce served under cheddar grits and corn.

Everyone simply glowed favorable comments over their selection this evening, from the local brew of beer, to a less-known French wine, to the most tender short rib that was served with a most delicious, sweet, and smokey sauce. “I usually don’t like asparagus,” one diner commented, after finding those serving a bed for scallops (in both white and green varieties) cooked to delicious perfection.

We skipped dessert, but each of us had a warm beverage before finally resigning ourselves to leaving this peaceful and enjoyable atmosphere.

It was hard to find fault here. While these types of revolving restaurants might seem a gimic to some, here, you can have a really great experience.

Murphy’s is located in the center of the Virginia Highlands neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is the first of several reviews covering Atlanta, GA. Murphy’s is well-known and was a first pick in unfamiliar surroundings. While they offer some sophisticated menu items, the decor and feeling is upbeat, fresh, but casual. The dinner menu says it all: something for everyone, from dressed-up, to casual.

We chose the casual: the salmon sandwich and the burger. Both were dressed-up sandwiches, each coming with a side salad or fries. The salad ordered with the salmon sandwich was “delicious,” and the fries, a perfect exemplar of what bistro frites are supposed to be.

Our server, Danny, displayed a tinge of nervousness but was an excellent server. The dessert s tempted us some. I chose the strawberry shortcake, which was superb. We also ordered their take on crème brûlée which I felt, unfortunately, was lackluster. We could discuss at length what makes a great one, but it’s a simple dessert that is not often mastered. Here, I felt the flavor was lacking, especially against the comparative taste of the strawberry dessert.

With a robust wine list, Murphy’s lives up to the hype. We’d both return!

Tonight I made “two” entrées; a steak for me, and chicken sausage for my guest who doesn’t like steak. How to make life easy?

I started the steak on a grill pan, and added onions and red peppers. Then I added the chicken sausage (comes pre-cooked), and added the whole thing to the oven.

Meanwhile, I flash-sautéed the asparagus in EVOO with garlic. After plating that, I added beef stock to the garlic, and some of the onions and red peppers. Add to that porcini soaking water and red wine, and I had the start to a good steak pan sauce.

The sausage (pictured above) got no special treatment, they were served with more onions and pepper. The steak sauce was finished with a glob of vinegar to the sauce, and was poured over the steak once it had all reduced.

The risotto used dried porcini mushrooms, carrot, onion, and garlic. To that, some beef stock, red wine, and parmesan cheese.