Hot Dish Review

Tucked into the alleyway between Cosabella and Tootsies, Drew Van Leuvan’s new restaurant in the Shops Around Lenox is truly a hidden gem. DC chose Seven Lamps for our Atlanta Eats writers meeting, and of course, to eat, drink, and socialize.

When I arrived, he was seated at the communal table chatting with two contributing bloggers, one of whom was enjoying a cocktail with a salted rim. It turned out to be a Paloma made with tequila, grapefruit, and soda. Moments later I was sipping my own Paloma…tasty but certainly not enough alcohol to warrant it’s $10 pricetag.

Although there are only five actual lamps on the exposed brick wall and four naked bulbs over the communal table, they provided the kind of warm amber lighting that makes everyone look pretty. The dining room is dressed in cool shades of gray against thick repurposed wood tables and schoolroom chairs. Shiny white subway tiles provide a clean backdrop for the staff working in the open kitchen next to shelves of put-ups like pickled fiddlehead ferns.

L and J were already having some cheeses with accompaniments, including L’s favorite pistachio macaroons filled with mortadella mousse. Apparently, they make one want to go topless, so perhaps I’ll get some to go on my next visit.

KR, who is already a Seven Lamps regular, arrived as I was pondering what I might put in my mouth. I decided on a small plate of savory crepes filled with wood grilled Tuscan kale and vidalia onion, then sliced and baked with a gruyere gratin in an iron skillet. The decadent dish was finished with a smoked vinaigrette. Loved it! Another cocktail was in order as we discussed why some folks think all we do is drink and eat, this time a “fizzy lifting drink” made with Bacardi Superior, fresh lime, black peppercorn syrup, then carbonated while shaken. Again, delicious but not enough liquor.

A selection of four handmade pastas, each offered in two sizes, included the alluring black linguine with braised rabbit legs, in a white bolognese sauce. I ordered the small plate for $10. The wonderful toothsome quality of the pasta, colored black with squid ink, was the perfect match to the succulent pulled rabbit meat and sinfully rich sauce. It was the very definition of comfort food…one of the best dishes I’ve eaten in recent memory.

Van Leuvan’s menu evolves with the seasons, and is tweaked daily reflecting the fresh ingredients available at the farmer’s markets. Among a table of food writers, there was not a single complaint, which is a strong indication that Seven Lamps will continue to shine brightly.

3400 Around Lenox Road #217 404-467-8950

Lately, the only time I stop by Babette’s is to pick up a sinfully rich dried cherry tart….my very favorite dessert on the planet! But a recent Sunday night found us craving something different, yet in the neighborhood.

Babette’s charming atmosphere makes it the perfect choice for a romantic date. Located in a renovated house, the interior is rustic and charming with creaky, weathered wood floors and vintage fixtures.

The cuisine at Babette’s is mostly French influenced, puncuated with a few Mediterranean dishes. In keeping with tradition, I started with a glass of spicy Cote du Rhone. Surprisingly, LC chose the same which we sipped while nibbling on hunks of their freshly baked baguettes, delivered standing straight up in a little pail….very phallic. Very French.

A selection of small plates is usually the best way to go at this cafe’. After my lengthy absence, chef and owner Marla Adams had added some interesting new ones, as well as deleted a couple of old standbys. No worries, the entrees were calling our names, so we decided to split one and start with the (new) lobster spinach crepes, (old standby) artichoke and olive raviolis, and roasted cauliflower (new).

Not at all what I expected, the crepes themselves were made with spinach, simply filled with succulent chunks of lobster, delicately folded and resting in a light truffle butter sauce with a little mound of sauteed mushrooms on top. LC and I loved them!

The raviolis were as delicious as I remembered….about six pasta pouches filled with pureed artichokes and olives in a deceptively light wine butter sauce.

I think of cauliflower as white and bland, but the vegetable dish offered a small plate was the surprise of the evening. Roasted florets were drizzled with a bit of butter sauce and topped with slivers of toasted almonds.

For our entree we chose the pan roasted pork chop with onion sauce, paired with roasted Brussels sprouts and horseradish mashed potatoes. I ordered a second glass of wine as we waited on its arrival. The large bone-in chop was tender and flavorful, but the best part was the sauce….not a sauce at all but a generous helping of sweet caramelized onions. Brussels sprouts displayed an earthy, smoky flavor, although not quite tender enough. I don’t even remember the mashed potatoes but I’m pretty sure we cleaned our plate.

My second choice was the roast half duck with rutabaga compote and farro. Maybe next time, if the next time is soon, as chef changes her menu seasonally, and sometimes daily.

Which brings me to the dried cherry tart, a decadent treat only available in the Fall and Winter months. As if it wasn’t rich enough, we added a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream on the side. Dried cherries plumped up with liquor fill the crust made with crushed almonds. It is at once sweet and tart, chewy and crunchy….ridiculously amazing!

573 North Highland Avenue 404-523-9121

From food to fashion, when I shop, I like to get in and out quickly. However, there is no way to simply pop into Ikea, one has to plan for at least an hour to maneuver the maze, at the mercy of the arrows on the floor and directional signs.

In need of a new sofa, I ventured to Atlantic Station last Sunday, parking in the garage below Ikea. I have issues with parking garages but that’s another story. Two escalators delivered me to home furnishings where I followed the path to sofas. Nothing impressed. The kitchen displays, however, always make me long for the modern kitchens that are standard in Europe.

Also located at the top of the escalator is the cafe’. I’ve always wanted to try the bargain priced Swedish meatballs, served with mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserves. After an accidental yet brief encounter with bathroom rugs, I saw a sign for cheese and mushroom crepes. My plan for Roly Poly was becoming less and less appealing.

I made my way to the cafe’, greeted by an enormous photo of the Swedish meatballs. But those damn crepes were calling my name! Dining at Ikea is cafeteria style. I ordered my crepes, just $2.99, and considered a side salad on my way to the cashier, but the lettuce didn’t look so fresh.

Ikea’s dining room is rather large and was full of hungry shoppers at 1:30pm. I chose a table by the window, enjoying the bright and sunny Fall day through the glass. The crepes were a bit sticky, having been kept warm in their aluminum pan, but the cheese and mushroom filling was appropriately musky, earthy. I ate them slowly, wishing I had grabbed a salad after all.

Next time I’ll have the Swedish meatballs.

441 16th Street 404-745-4532

Following my haute dog lunch, I continued to celebrate my birthday with food and wine at Barcelona Wine Bar. It’s the hottest new restaurant in town, experiencing its 15 minutes of uber-trendiness, making it nearly impossible to get a reservation.

You might expect this place to be the brainchild of one of Atlanta’s genius restaurateurs, but in fact, it is the seventh location, with the original six strewn about Connecticut.

Each with a vastly different decor and layout, Atlanta’s Barcelona is made for partying, with a lively bar on one side, rows of tightly packed tables on the other, and a patio with communal seating and a fireplace. Wood plank walls give the space warmth and provide a rustic contrast to the industrial white tiles with black grout that surround the open kitchen. Lighting is perfect for a sexy rendezvous.

Having been to Barcelona, Spain, a few years ago, I was expecting plates of fried seafood laden with grease, lots of boring potatoes, marinated baby fish, and meatballs with tomatoes. I know, the food in Spain is supposed to be amazing, but that’s just like saying the food in New York City is amazing. Sure it is….if you know where to go. Even with the best advice, I stumbled upon some rather unappetizing dishes in Barcelona.

But the reviews said otherwise. Me, B and C squeezed ourselves into a tiny corner table, birthday gift bags in tow. C kindly agreed to be our designated driver, so B and I began scouring the wine list for an appropriately spicy bottle of red. Perhaps a malbec or temperanillo? B asked our server to recommend one that would suit our taste and pocketbook, but he insisted that we would not be happy with the less expensive bottles and finally persuaded us to go with a Spanish cab. It was rather tasty.

We decided to order a selection of tapas to share. B and I love Brussels sprouts so we started with a bowl of them, grilled until tender with crispy charred edges. Then the octopus arrived, prepared with peppers and fingerling potatoes….great flavor.

A dish of chorizo with sweet and sour figs was certainly more sweet than sour, but delicious nonetheless. I wasn’t as impressed with the chicken empanadas or the grilled hanger steak, but B and C enjoyed them. Our final dish of mushrooms with herbed goat cheese was sublime but turned out to be one dish too many….we were stuffed.

But that didn’t stop us from ending my birthday dinner with, not one, but two desserts. Dulce de leche crepes with chocolate sauce was an enormous portion and the fleur de sel vanilla ice cream that topped them tasted like plain ol’ vanilla. A bucket of churros with chocolate dipping sauce were etherial in their lightness despite being fried dough.

Our tapas experience was just the tip of the culinary iceberg at Barcelona. Offerings include an entire selection of charcuterie and Spanish cheeses, medium plates like lobster risotto and rabbit roulade, and entrees ranging from serrano ham wrapped monkfish to pepper-rubbed filet mignon. Paella for a table of two to six is also available.
And yes, of course the restaurant serves crispy fried calamari, marinated boquerones, traditional albondigas, and patatas bravas.

It could take me a year to work through this menu. Thankfully, the fervor will have subsided by then and I will likely be able to walk in without a reservation at all.

240 N. Highland Avenue NE 404-589-1010

How many white chicks would get excited about red beans and jelly candies? Not many. But when I read about the new Asian dessert place called SunO Dessert in the Sunday Paper, I was practically giddy! Ten minutes later, I was there.

Shaved ice, in original, strawberry, chocolate, or mango flavor, is the main component of SunO’s desserts, which are then flavored with syrups, fruit toppings, dry toppings, and jellies to create endless variations. Creamy, chewy, crunchy, slimey, and even grainy or salty come together to create a dessert that is uniquely Asian. Like the Thai Jewels at Spice Market, the varying textures are weird and delicious at the same time.

On my visit I tried to recreate my favorite Vietnamese dessert since SunO uses many similar components….original flavor (vanilla) shaved ice with condensed milk as my syrup, topped with red beans, lychee fruit and “rice cake”, the round gummy candies called mochi at the many new-fangled yogurt shops in town. The container was enormous but the product is light as air, costing me $5.50.

Vietnamese desserts with red beans are traditionally made with crushed ice and coconut milk. Shaved ice, however, is dry. That’s why many of their options have several syrups. I ended up requesting extra condensed milk on mine.

Many of the crazy concoctions on the menu are clearly Americanized, like the Dirt o’Oreo made with vanilla shaved ice, Oreo crumbs, crushed nuts, chocolate syrup, condensed milk, and gummy worms.

SunO also makes many of the same combos in crepes shaped like cones. Flavored, sweetened teas are offered as well as a mysterious thing called a Wheel Pie. It looks like half a bagel, either vanilla or green tea flavored, filled with vanilla or chocolate custard or red beans. I’ll be having one on my next visit!

In true Asian form, the writing and English translations on the website are pretty funny. It reminds me of a catalog I received when I was designing clothes that had items like panties made into the form of a rose called “The Joy of Panties in Flowers”. Classic.

The confusion, however, is not so funny when trying to decipher the nutritional information. There are 98 calories per 112 grams. Nowhere does it state how many grams are in the different sizes offered.

There are four locations in Atlanta, the newest on N. Decatur Road near Emory. The space is decorated with giant photos of the desserts, all in day-glow Japanimation color. Seating is limited to the benches along the window sills with no tables but surely they will add more since it just opened.

I do wish they offered coconut milk as a syrup, but anytime I can get an Asian dessert with red beans without venturing twenty miles is a treat!