Hot Dish Review

Sounds steamy, no? It was a cold and rainy Saturday and my neighbor LG and I had a hot date with an Italian….restaurant, that is. La Tavola is a stone’s throw from our place, but I had never visited until last weekend. Despite its longstanding reputation as Virginia Highlands’ best trattoria, my general disdain for Italian food has kept it at the bottom of my “to eat” list.

However, the recent onslaught of Northern Italian restaurants opening in Atlanta and the inevitable media dinners that followed have softened my view of this often bastardized cuisine. LG and I arrived for our reservation but didn’t make it past the front door, being seated at a two-top by the window in front. The narrow space is dimly lit and packs in tables New York style, making conversation with neighbors inevitable.

The first order of business was selecting wine, white for LG and red for me. The well-edited wine list was not mostly Italian as expected, but included a variety of wines from around the world. I asked our server to select a wine for me based upon my preference of a full-bodied peppery red. He chose an Argentinian malbec that fit the bill for $10 a glass. LG followed suit and was pleased with his selection as well.

We requested bread service and I was glad to see it served with butter and not the ubiquitous bowl of olive oil for dipping. However, the bread’s crust was rather charred. Prior to our visit I checked out the menu online, excited to try their duck breast with Brussels sprouts. Alas, it was the only entree that was missing, and my favorite vegetable was nowhere to be found either. So, I went with plan B, ordering the pork cheek appetizer and the smaller portion of the squid ink linguine with calamari.

LG tried the beet and farro salad to start followed by the Italian classic veal saltimbocca. Check out the size of that cutlet! Paired with roasted fingerlings, prosciutto, frisee, and sage, the dish was the perfect antidote for this unseasonably Wintery weather. Another glass of wine warmed us up further.

Artfully presented, the pork cheek was fork-tender, accented with a semi-sweet pancetta marmalade. This dish represents why my attitude toward Italian food is changing….no marinara here, just straightforward deliciousness.

My pasta was a composition in black and white….linguine colored black by squid ink topped with white rings of squid. Lightly dressed with Thai basil pesto and Calabrian chilies, I twirled it, slurped it, and licked the plate clean.

An apricot and bucheron tart was an interesting combination of sweet and savory, however I found the texture of the cheese somewhat off-putting in contrast to the soft fruit. I was hoping for a more rustic crust rather than its standard pie shell, but it was devoured nonetheless.

LG and I enjoyed our date with this hot Italian. Perhaps next time the weather will be hot too so we can check out the patio in the back.

992 Virginia Avenue NE 404-873-5430

A lovely dinner….
Pour a glass of wine, sit back and relax folks….this is gonna take a while. Nine courses with wine pairings plus a couple of “gifts from the chef” spanned a solid four hours.

Finding the Quinones Room is somewhat of a treasure hunt….BB and I followed the signs, walked through the breezeway, and down the stairs to the door with the big Q. Neutral curtains parted to reveal an elegant seating area furnished in shades of chocolate and cream. The intimate dining room is to the right with only ten tables covered in white linens. Antique mirrors, Venetian glass chandeliers, and lacquered wood frame chairs with a vintage patina lent a quiet air of Southern moneyed aristocracy.

At first, the service seemed too serious for my taste. There was a selection of water and the delivery of four mini cheese bread sticks before our server, Rafael, introduced himself in a barely audible hush. We would be having the prix fixe menu with the wine pairings….a multi-course marathon that began with a kir royale.

Bread service arrived on a wooden skewer. Various sizes and kinds of bread, from sourdough to onion, complimented by soft, sweet cream butter.

Two mini cheese gougeres were devoured tout de suite, as well as a shot of celery root soup with red onion jam, both gifts from Chef de Cuisine David A. Carson. Little bites that packed big flavor.

Krug Grand Cuvee champagne was poured in advance of our first course. I knew it would be a crudo, something ultra-light. Atlantic blue fin tuna, sashimi style, and Kumamoto oysters were paired with tiny cubes of Asian pear, slivers of radish, the bowl decorated with droplets of shoyu, a type of soy sauce. This would be the only dish I didn’t really enjoy.

For lack of a better monicker, the “drink boy” came by with a 2005 sauternes for our next dish, a foie gras terrine. I commented to BB that I usually prefer foie gras seared. I also noted something peculiar….the drink boy once again short-poured my wine. Perhaps that is a standard practice in fine dining? To pour an almost imperceptibly short glass for the lady at the table.

A square plate came out with a square of the foie gras terrine, accompanied by three, questionably four, preparations of Fuyu persimmon and a little mound of spiced cocoa nibs. There was a persimmon puree, a dollop of persimmon preserves, and a slice of candied persimmon. I believe the streak of orange-y powder along the side was freeze-dried persimmon, but I could be wrong. Each little bite of the decadent foie gras was immaculate, with a smudge of sweet persimmon. What could make it even better you ask? Four baby popovers made with a mild cheese and the slightest hint of sweetness. Heaven.

A row of tiny Nantucket Bay scallops sat upon a cauliflower puree, each one topped with black pearls of caviar. Sauvignon blanc, fresh with hints of grapefruit, paired nicely. Rafael had loosened up as I quizzed him about his former employment. Turns out he has always worked for Quatrano and Harrison, the pair that own Baccanalia, Floataway, Abbattoir, and Star Provisions.

Loup de mer, a simple white fish, was made stunning with its toppings of earthy black trumpet mushrooms and baby potato chips made with fingerlings, all resting on a bed of melted Spring onions. Chardonnay was the obvious choice for wine.

Now things would take a turn for the rich, heavy, dark. Drink boy poured glasses of a 2007 pinot noir from Willamette Valley as the dance of service continued with unwavering steadiness. Truffled cabbage and Jerusalem artichoke provided the creamy base for a chunk of braised veal cheek, so tender it fell apart at the mere sight of my fork. But first BB and I sliced into the crispy veal sweetbreads that crowned the meat, lightly fried in a coating with a hint of nutmeg. He loves sweetbreads. If they were always this good and tender, I can see why. Although small, the braised veal was filling, containing quite a bit of fat. It was a very rich dish.

The menu listed loin of loin next. Huh? We chuckled…..was it loin of lion? Hilarious. Turns out it was venison. Louis M. Martini Reserve cabernet sauvignon was poured….still short. Glazed young vegetables like Brussels sprouts, carrots, and beets were scattered beneath two thick slices of roasted venison, cooked perfectly medium rare. Unlike the veal, there was not a speck of fat, yet the dense meat was succulent and smooth, the outside of the roast coated with a spice rub containing a hint of clove. A dollop of caramelized onion stole the show…I savored every sweet bit of it.

On to the cheese course, a segue into dessert. Cumberland, a medium bodied cheese with little holes, reminded me of fontina. It was paired with Ellijay apples, both preserved and cubed, and young arugula.

Time for dessert wine, what appeared to be a Spanish tawney. Our first dessert (yes, there were two!) was a glass cup layered with cranberries, brown sugar streusel, then toasted meringue, providing intense tanginess, crunchy sweetness, and fluffy chewiness, a crazy combo of textures.

Our final course was two dense cubes of Valrhona chocolate ganache with a small scoop of frozen chocolate custard on the side. The best part of the dessert was the thickened sweet potato puree, sprinkled with crispy chocolate nuggets.

Quinones Room lived up to the hype, the seamless execution a study in precision, both in service and in the food itself. Was it the best meal I’ve ever had? Quite possibly.

1198 Howell Mill Road 404-365-0410