ATL: The Top Chefs
So even though we didn’t initially go to ATL for the food, the city was very kind to us to us in that respect. We had a really great dinner at ONE. midtown kitchen, sipped locally-brewed SweetWater beer at TAP, got tasty breakfast pasties at BAKESHOP, and an unbelievable southwest fritatta during brunch at Murphy’s.
Lots and lots of good places to eat in Atlanta. However, the two culinary highlights of the weekend were at restaurants belonging to Top Chef contestants. For lunch, we dined at Richard Blais’ Flip Burger Boutique. The upscale burger joint’s menu boasts a long list of delicious-sounding burgers like the Venison Burger with gooseberry relish, toasted pecans, and brie or the Southern Burger with country-fried beef, pimento cheese, and green tomato ketchup. The Southern was rich but delicious, as was the other (somewhat tamer) Turkey Burger I got with avocado & pomegranate ketchup.
Sides like smokey jalapeno slaw & tempura-fried rutabaga go way beyond the standard french fries & their shake menu presented the hardest decision of the afternoon. Looking around, the obvious favorite was the Nutella + Burnt Marshmallow Shake. Thinking about this shake now and how far away it is from Dallas makes me want to cry just a little.
All that being said, it was dinner at Kevin Gillespie’s Woodfire Grill that made my trip to ATL complete. Kevin is far and away my favorite Top Chef contestant. After watching him on the show, I decided that if I was ever in Atlanta, I would definitely need to eat at his restaurant. I booked the reservation months in advance, just to be doubly sure that I would be able to eat there while we were in town.
Now I know, that’s a lot of expectations to put on a dinner. And even though I didn’t get to meet Kevin (he was out of town), I was very happy to have had that experience there and eat from his menu. It’s a simplified selection; there were just five main entrees to choose from. I chose the quail: three (sadly, very cute) bobwhite quail atop a roasted turnip and bosc pear puree, served with wood-roasted brussel sprouts and crunchy pieces of bacon brittle.
Here’s what I learned from this dinner: brussel spouts have the ability to be awesome, bacon and toffee do make a good pair, and sometimes the higher expectations you have for something, the more you can actually enjoy it. The whole meal, from the starter roasted celery soup to the finishing mini donuts was just what I had been hoping for.
I’m happy to report to Blais & Gillespie fans that their favorite chefs’ culinary enterprises are running along great—I think even Padma & Tom would approve.