Finally! A good meal at Il Pasticcio

I travel to Savannah, Georgia a good bit for business. One of my good friends is in LOVE with Il Pasticcio - a chic italian place on Broughton - so we always have at least one dinner there. Up until now, I have been completely unimpressed by the food. Lets start with my natural biases - I think that expensive mexican and italian is ridiculous. I mean, how expensive is spaghetti for the love of God? So, Il Pasticcio already had one strike against it. I also don't like heavy Italian foods and stay away from the white sauces - my friend always gets the four cheese ravioli in a white sauce - if I ate that I would immediately grow two extra chins. And I'm not interested in that look.

In contrast with the restaurant, I have always like the bar area at Il Pasticcio. They have a great selection of wines, the bartenders are cute and friendly and the atmosphere is very cool. They have a great prosecco there that I just adore.

So, I was unsurprised when he suggested that we take our group there last night. At least I knew I had the prosecco to look forward to. I ordered the Penne Pasticcio and asked them to add some red pepper flakes to make it a little spicy (sound familiar?). They brought my food and I was expecting the same blah fare that I have had there so many times. Boy was I surprised - this dish was actually really good! Reminiscent of the light Italian meal I had at Valenza. So - yeah - I now have a go to dish at Il Pasticcio.

I have to give props (or complain?) about the waiter. He was very, very attentive considering we had 16 people in our group. He made sure I never had an empty glass of prosecco - even bringing my glass to the bar, and outside. Of course, I didn't actually order any of these drinks, but they kept coming.

So, Il Pasticcio - I'm not dreading the visit the next time I'm in Savannah.

How you doin?

So, I have been to Padriac's all of three times. Once with a bunch of girls for trivia, and twice with a friend of mine. For two of those times I thought the place was fine. A fun little pub with upscale food and a cool clientele. My last visit totally changed my mind. A friend of mine complained that the vibe there was a little, well, testosterone filled - like a fraternity party at 2am. I poo poo'ed him and made him go back. We took seats at the bar - ordered some drinks. A man sat on the other side of my friend - heavily, loudly, grumpily. I looked at this obvious display of anger. He turned to me, looked me in the eye and asked me "whaddyou lookin' at?". Did I mention that he was a big, bald man around 40 and I'm a 5'4" girl? What the fuck? Where did that come from?

I had to go to the bathroom - so I got up and went. Unmolested, I might add. I got back and my friend said some guy came in - tossed my chair aside so he could order his drink and then walked away. The whole place was, well, angry.

The food there has been decent, the service friendly and nice. The patrons? Surly as all hell!

I'll be back if I feel like picking a fight! (or using my free pitcher that we won at trivia...)

Possibly the Best Burger in Town!

This past Monday, my friends and I met up at Food 101 for our monthly girls night. I have always liked the menu at Food 101 and appreciate the modern southern sensibility that it brings. I also really like the atmosphere - dark and cozy. I've never had bad service there either - so all these things add up to me having a great night.

Food 101 serves Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc, which is one of my current favorites. So, of course, my friend and I split a bottle. Then when everyone else arrived we were seated and set forth with the ordering. I splurged and got the kobe beef cheese burger with brie on top. It is probably the best burger in Atlanta. I ordered it medium rare and it was cooked perfectly. It comes with onion rings on the side, and if there is one thing that Food 101 does not do well it is onion rings.

Usually I get the bread pudding, which is truly to die for but I was full on kobe burger so I passed. Next time I go, and it won't be long, I'll get the bread pudding.

See you there!

What happened to Mix?

My friend and I were at his house trying to decide where to eat in the Brookhaven area. I came up with the idea of going to Mix on Dresden. I was at Mix about a year or so ago with my monthly girls night and it was pretty good. So, we loaded up and headed over. As we were getting out of the car in front of the restaurant the valet informed me that Mix was closed and a new restaurant, by the same owners, Valenza was there instead. My friend and I exchanged glances and said - aw, what the heck.

We went in and I immediately noticed the place had gotten an overhaul. What was previously a slick, sleek, hip, slightly cold, restaurant was now a slightly warmer and semi-hip version of a tuscan villa. They added some rough hewn wood and painted the walls ivory to warm up the place.

My friend and I were seated in a nice booth by the wall. We ordered a bottle of wine (Santa Margherita) and checked out the menu. We ordered the fritto misto to split as an appetizer. It included calamari, prawns, cod and lemon. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the cod was! I also enjoyed the fried lemon slices - but that is no big surprise.

I ordered the cappellini. I asked them to add some red pepper flakes to make it a little spicy. They did a great job and it was brilliant! There was just enough of all the ingredients, including parmesan, to make it a really wonderful and simple dish. My friend ordered the ravioli at the suggestion of the server and it too was exactly what he wanted. Do we finally have some decent Italian in Atlanta????

All in all, if you're looking for a quiet, slightly romantic spot, Valenza is a good bet.

I'll definitely be back.

Thrive - go soon!

A friend of mine and I hit Thrive, the new restaurant in downtown Atlanta, recently. It is in a slick space on the corner of Spring and Marietta. I love going downtown - it makes me feel as though I'm living on the edge - which sometimes you are. Thrive's space is really beautiful, though the tables in the center are placed way too close together for my taste. The cocktail waitresses wear skirts so short you wonder if they're risking arrest on the city streets.

The menu at Thrive is interesting. Part sushi, part southern cooking. Not very often do you see a volcano roll and a macaroni and cheese entree on the same menu.

The choice of wine by the glass is pretty anemic, though they have plenty of bottles available. My second glass of wine actually seemed watered down - I don't know what was up with that.

My friend and I split sushi. I don't love sushi but sometimes eat it if I'm in the mood. This sushi was fine, nothing spectacular.

I say go soon to Thrive because it seems to me that there is a pretty good chance that this slick little restaurant will not last.

I'll go back if I'm in downtown for lunch.