Hot Dish Review

For the second year in a row I ended up at Shaun’s during the Inman Park Festival. Last year I made a reservation. My previous experiences at Shaun’s were not spectacular so I thought this was a prime opportunity for the restaurant to redeem itself, despite the burden of the festival crowds.

I’ve yet to be impressed. In fact, neither last year’s or this year’s visit was nearly as good as my first visit. I remember having the shrimp and grits then, seated in the front room by the bar when it was still used as a dining room. The dish was so incredibly rich that it almost made me nauseous. But it was impossible to deny that the shrimp were perfectly cooked, the flavors were pure Southern comfort, with a stick of butter.

Last year my companion and I, seated in the main dining room opposite the semi-open kitchen, shared the Sardinian flatbread that Doty has become known for since his Mumbo Jumbo days. Basically a huge cracker topped with arugula, cheese and olive oil, with occasional variations. Our flatbread was supposed to have goat cheese but we got parmesan instead….not even a reasonable substitution, but I chalked it up to their being so busy. We also ordered the Berkshire pork buns….sliders with pork. I can’t remember if it was shredded pork but I do remember that they were rather uninspired. Our entrees were so boring I don’t recall them at all. But I do remember the dessert, the sticky toffee pudding. A dry clump of cake doused with a cloying sweet (and I guess sticky) toffee syrup. Just plain bad.

Doty was one of the first young Atlanta chefs to re-introduce diners to liver. After 3 1/2 years in business (I swear it seems like 7) he still serves his chopped liver, East Village style, and the chicken liver fettuccini. I hate chicken liver so I won’t be sampling those dishes, although it is possible that my companion last year ordered the chopped liver, after all, he is a New York Jew.

This year LG and I stopped by purely by chance, hoping to score a table outside for a drink. It took me 20 minutes to get her mojito and my mimosa, but the weather was great and the people watching was entertaining. Promptly at 5:00 we were asked to move, so we took a table in the pretty, yet secluded, back patio. Seated on mod plastic chairs next to a wall of jasmine, the setting was very pleasant.

We ordered a bottle of Lambrusco bianco. Sold out. LG ordered a prosecco and I ordered another Mistral Mimosa. Sold out of anything sparkling. After years of being centrally located during the festival you would think they would have their shit together by now. How about a glass of tempranillo for me and the simply red for LG? Our server inadvertantly switched them, but we figured it out. She had already delivered a delicious sesame bread basket with butter.

It was Sunday which is pasta night at Shaun’s. For a mere $12 guests can dine on salad, pasta, and dessert. Chopped salad with buttermilk dressing, celery, and sprouts and your choice of goat cheese raviolis with wild nettle pesto, rigatoni with organic turkey bolognese, or spaghetti with marinara and pork meatballs. I almost went with the goat cheese raviolis. They did look good at a nearby table.

But instead, I ordered the roasted chicken. The menu description says “Benton’s smoked ham, black trumpet mushrooms, grilled ramps, smoked olive oil”. So I’m thinking it is perhaps a half skin-on roasted chicken with mushrooms and ramps. Uh, no. I asked if the skin was crispy and our server said “well….not really. But I can request that for you”. Bad idea. The chicken was boneless breasts stuffed with the mushrooms and ham served over a huge plate of polenta and turnip greens. WTF? The beige skin on the chicken was mushy….the farthest thing from crispy imaginable.

The overwhelming issue at Shaun’s is the misrepresentation of dishes on the menu. Or rather, unclear descriptions, substitutions, and missing ingredients. There’s just no excuse, really. Shouldn’t the chicken dish be described as “stuffed chicken breast with polenta and turnip greens”? Even the ramps were missing, but delivered in a side dish. They were scallions.

LG’s burger was ordinary. With Doty’s Yeah! Burger opening any day one would think the burger here would be kickass. Not so much. It was a thick hunk of meat on an ordinary bun with ordinary cheese. Even the promise of duck-fat fries fell flat. I can name lots of trendy restaurants with better fries, regardless of the type of fat they are fried in. I’m not looking forward to reviewing his new burger joint which is on my roster for an upcoming issue of Atlanta’s Finest Dining.

What’s good about Shaun’s? Doty is a trend-setter with his gluten-free dinners and an early supporter of Slow Food and Georgia Organics. That’s about it.

The service wasn’t bad. The food wasn’t bad. It’s just consistently mediocre.

Upscale boutique hotels are springing up all over Atlanta, from midtown’s Georgian Terrace to the newly renovated Ellis Hotel downtown. Each one has a restaurant that serves the hotel guests breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It would seem as though that alone would provide automatic success to these restaurants, however, it isn’t enough to serve out-of-town guests, they need to draw in locals to stay afloat.

The Terrace is serious about local, sustainable produce. Much smaller in scale than Mennie’s Livingston, it is probably easier for chef Joel Young to maintain this level of excellence. B and I recently stopped by the W Downtown to see Bill Hallman and his new cocktail dresses for the waitstaff at the Lobby Bar, then proceeded on to The Ellis for dinner.

Our hostess allowed us to choose our table as the place had pretty much cleared out by the time we arrived. The restaurant does indeed have a terrace, probably fabulous for breakfast and lunch, but a bit chilly for dinner so we sat inside in the adjacent intimate dining area. Chef Joel joined us, chatting about his background and love of local and sustainable dining.

Not a difficult task here in Atlanta with numerous farms providing fresh produce and locally grown proteins to our prestigious restaurants like Woodfire Grill, Dynamic Dish, Livingston, and many more. Chef Joel visits the farmer’s markets each day to find the best of ingredients for the menu at The Terrace, which automatically gives the menu a bit of Southern flair despite chef’s Connecticut roots.

B and I were two hungry chicks upon our late arrival. We started with the Terrace crab cake and sweet potato ravioli. Served upon a large mound of sauteed spinach and muchrooms, the ravioli was almost an entree portion for me, sweet and savory. The crab cake was stellar, exhibiting very little filler and very much chunky crab. But it was the accompanying salad that received my adoration…..just a simple citrus vinaigrette with a sweet note, awesome.

A wonderful bottle of Colores de Sol Malbec was spicy, peppery, yet very smooth and drinkable.

We opted for two entrees, the flatiron steak and the Amish chicken, and two more sides, collards and mac and cheese. Their beef is grass-fed….a big deal to me, having interviewed Bill Kurtis (the dude with the kickass internet commercials right now) who owns a grass-fed cattle ranch in Kansas called Tallgrass. Cattle was meant to eat grass, not corn, so the grass-fed beef is totally free of antibiotics to treat illnesses brought on by grain diets and also naturally rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. We ordered it medium rare, served sliced on a bed of caramelized Vidalia and carrot slaw. I loved the slaw. There was a copius amount so I took it home, having it the next day with sausage balls!

The Amish chicken was served with mushroom risotto. With a crisped skin and tender meat, the chicken was flavorful and paired perfectly with the creamy risotto. B said the collards were some of the best she had ever had (hey, this coming from a Southern girl!), they were mellow and smoky with bacon. The macaroni and cheese was topped with bread crumbs and baked with Lamb Chopper from Cypress Grove in California, the maker of my favorite Humboldt Fog. What could be better? Not a damn thing.

Dessert was determined even before the entrees….bread pudding? Yes sir! I love it, as long as it is not covered with a cloying syrup. True to form, Chef Joel presented a dense bread pudding with raisins, sliced fresh pear beneath it to cut the richness. We also tried the apple cranberry crumble which was so delicious. But the serving was definitely for sharing….enormous! The homemade vanilla ice cream on top was great.

I know folks are daunted by going “downtown”. Stop being a pussy! Parking is valet, the food is phenomenal, the setting is romantic. And if you drink too much you can always get a room there.