Mourning Misto

OK, I don't have a cute little camera that I can sneak into restaurants to take pictures of the food, ambience, hot waiters - yet! Until then, you'll just have to trust me.

I live on the NW side of Atlanta and LOVED Misto. For those of you who are not familiar, Misto was the Italian concept of Chef Ryan Aiken of Raging Burrito fame. He loves fusion - so when you see a Thai Chicken Ravioli with Peanut Sauce on the menu you should not be surprised - or disappointed.

I arrived with my friends at Saba on a beautiful Friday night in early October. I was glad it was nice out because I much preferred the rustic picnic tables lit by big christmas lights to the crowded, too bright, take out atmosphere inside. Now, I should admit that I'm a bit jaded because I arrived with memories of all my good times at Misto fresh in my mind. *sigh*

I emailed ahead and asked the restaurant what their corkage fee was (I have recently fallen in love with a certain wine which I can talk about later) - they informed me they would waive it just to get me in the place - I was sold (even with the walk up ordering system, which I generally detest for a Friday night out).

We arrived at Misto, drink in our bellies and hungry! We ordered the fried ravioli appetizers, the pumpkin ravioli (my order from my Misto hangover) and the thai chicken ravioli with peanut sauce. I had asked specifically before arriving if the bread was still as good as it was at Misto. I was assured it was - and they were not lying. The bread is amazing. Make sure to ask your waiter for some olive oil. This alone made me ridiculously happy!

The fried ravioli was a bit disappointing, but then I've had fried ravioli in St. Louis where they claim it was born. Just ask them! My dining companions liked it, so maybe I was being too picky. That happens.

The pumpkin ravioli itself was exactly how I remembered - just a little pumpkiny, a little spicy - overall yummy. The sauce had been reduced to an olive oil based number; not the brown butter based goodness that they used at Misto. I wanted what I had at Misto so was disappointed.

One of my friends was willing to share some of the thai chicken ravioli with peanut sauce - I don't generally love the combo because when I go thai I go spicy, but it was alluring and made me wish I had ordered one of the many fusion offerings which I am guessing are a strong suit here.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend a stop by. It is located in Emory Village and their website is: http://www.saba-restaurant.com/. The prices are reasonable and if you email ahead you can bring your own wine, which for us was a great idea. The service was good even though it was a walk-up. The people who brought you your food were very friendly and personable.

I'll be back - look for me!