Trois - Atlanta
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.
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