Couscousit

Thats a horrible picture of a really good raw zucchini and parmesan salad with olive oil and lemon....slowly but surely I'll get the hang of taking pix of food!

Last night Charlotte, Amy and I went to famed Rathbun’s for dinner to have our “last supper” before Amy leaves for London. To tell you the truth, I was a bit worried about dinnering here, mostly due to budget concerns, but it turns out that you can have a great meal here for under $25 providing you don’t order any cocktails and stick to the small plates.

We didn’t do exactly that, though: Amy and Char ordered a glass of wine each, and we ordered one main course in addition to all the small plates, as well as a dessert plate. But still, we left paying about $35 each.

This is what we ate:

Small plates:
Goat cheese fritters with tomato jelly
Spring pea raviolis, ricotta salata

Raw plates:
Thin & raw beef sirloin, smoked sea salt, slow roast garlic aioli
Georgia zucchini and Parmesan Reggiano salad, Tuscan olive oil, lemon (pictured above)
Greek wedge, tomato, cucumber and feta

Soup:
Mock turtle soup with dry sack sherry

Big plates:
Rosemary grilled beef flat iron steak, heart of palm, arugula and lemon oil

Dessert (and here I paraphrase, because we ordered mostly specials):
Banana peanut butter cream pie
Krog street candy bar
Lemon rice pudding with blueberries
Toffee bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream
Peach short bread
Warm chocolate cake with some flavor ice cream

I hereby invite Amy or Charlotte to comment on the accuracy of this list. Oh, and please note that the first two desserts were brought to the table because it was Char’s birthday and Amy was leaving for London (hence, we got a “Happy Birthday” and a “Congratulations” dessert in addition to the 4-part dessert sampler).

Besides having to ask for the breadbasket, the service was friendly and attentive. Our waitress even took a picture of us.

That’s me grabbing my face after Char elbowed me hard in my cheek. Amy was only interested in looking pretty for the camera, and didn’t care that my already fixed-up nose could have been severely damaged by Char’s flailing limbs.

Wait –
I really didn’t tell you a thing about the food. Perhaps that is a sign in itself…I won’t speak for the ladies, but I was a little unimpressed by the food given that Rathbun’s is named by some to be Atlanta’s best new restaurant. It wasn’t the best, it was good. Very good in fact, but again, not the best. Joel is better and so is Seeger’s. But the zucchini and parm salad was fabulous, the steak was very well done (even though it was rare, per Char’s request, and I normally hate rare steak --- okay, okay pun intended, kill me!), and I just loved the fritters with the sweetish tomato jelly. The soup on the other hand, tasted like Bolognese sauce, despite the sherry drizzled on top.

All in all, I would definitely come here again. Perhaps for drinks at the Krog Bar (opening soon), or for small plates before going out, or for dinner with the parents. One thing I won’t be doing, however, is having any more of that mock turtle soup. What the hell does that mean anyways? Fake turtle, as in tofu chicken? If you know, please post your wisdom.

# posted by Unknown @ 1:47 PM