The kitchen at Trois before the frenzy began.

Sure, we like to dine, and we like to share our opinions about places we eat, but we are not really “foodies” or snobs about this stuff. Case in point, it took us almost a year to finally make it to [tag]Atlanta Magazine’s “Best Restaurant for 2007[/tag] – Trois. Before I give my opinions about this experience, I feel I should say that we do not enjoy giving a negative review. We feel a little guilty. Ok – down to business. This place is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, the “best” restaurant in Atlanta. And I feel a little sorry for them for having the burden of this label. But even if my expectations had not been raised by the various acclaims for this trendy spot, I would have noticed the failures of this place. A few small nit-picky things: place-settings were incomplete (missing a glass and some essential utensils, failure to give replacement utensils); failure to keep water glass full.

All can be overlooked by otherwise good service and/or excellent food. Alas, neither of these were present tonight. The appetizers were nice, a lump crabmeat thingy and a sampler for mid-town restaurant week, but then we waited almost an hour for our entrees. And they got them wrong. After waiting for them to get it right, we dug in. They were fine. No problems. But nothing to write about.

Our mediocre dining experience was nothing compared to what we witnessed around us. It was like watching the restaurant crumble before us. Every table around us had some problem. First, the solo guy in the booth on his cell phone complained that his Brandy was sour and headed for the door. Then, the guys next to us proceeded to have such an awful experience that they just gave up after an hour and left. Their entrees arrived before their appetizers then, after they sent back the entrees and waited 30 minutes for their appetizers, they got the wrong ones. It was a bad scene and the management was slow to respond. They wisely did not charge them for their drinks, but all they offered them was a weak offer for a future discount. No way those guys were ever coming back. The 4-top of elderly rich folk were also served their meals hours after they ordered it and without the necessary utensils. Really? Our seat near the open kitchen allowed us to listen as the wait staff reach a fever-pitch. All were clearly “in the weeds” and reeling from a poorly run machine.

Ok – and the moment you have all been waiting for – the toilet. The fancy toilet at Trois requires an engineering degree to flush. The sign on the door warns the ladies to “flush button on right” – but it took me 10 minutes to realize it was on the side of the toilet itself. Just stop trying so hard people. Give me a toilet I can flush, the food I ordered, and the fork I need to eat it. Seriously. My only positive recommendation – cool space, great cocktails. Get a drink at the bar then head to one of the many other far superior dining establishments in this fine city.

The un-flushable toilet at Trois.

Brutus gives it a mere one paw…

A view from the Sun Dial.

We took Alison’s mom, Judy, and a friend of hers, Jo Ann, to the [tag]Sun Dial Restaurant[/tag] on top of the [tag]Westin in Downtown[/tag]. The Westin by the way is billed by the wait staff as the “tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere.” Now, if you live in Atlanta and have never been – I think you should go at least once. There is no other place in this city to eat, drink, and enjoy a fabulous view from WAY HIGH UP like the Sun Dial.

The famous elevator that takes you up the “outside” of the building is working again after the tornado – although you cannot see out since the majority of windows are still boarded up as you climb up the 70 something floors. I was very happy for that as I hate heights and hate that elevator (although if you don’t mind heights-it is amazing.) Once you get up there, the large dining area spins like a true sun dial and it takes an hour for you to get around to where you started. That also is a good thing as I would get motion sickness if it turned any faster.

The staff is wonderful, the place is fancy (although the carpet needs to be updated soon) and it is expensive as heck. The food is pretty good, the drinks are fun, but you better go knowing that you are going to spend a lot of money for that view. Ah, but what a view it is. You can’t beat it. It is certainly a destination restaurant. We went for Judy’s birthday, and I think she enjoyed it immensely!

Me, Alison, Mom Judy in back, and Friend Jo Ann in front.

Brutus gives it 3 paws up (especially for the view.)

Eesh.

A few friends celebrated Lea’s birthday (she is over 30-that is all I will say) at [tag]The Shed[/tag] , a new restaurant in [tag]Glenwood Park[/tag]. We walked in to what is a very nice fresh, simple dining area and bar. The two t.v.’s over the bar were a bit large for the place I thought – even though I wanted to see Georgia play the second game of the College World Series (which they lost miserably.) I just don’t know why we all need t.v.’s in every corner of our world. Do we need to be constantly stimulated with crap? Yes. Okay, I digress.

The hunky bartender fixed us all nice drinks – Elizabeth and I had a half bottle of champagne for something like $35.00. A bit pricey, but it was refreshing. We were seated when all our party was there and our waiter (Patrick was his name I believe) was very informative and never got annoyed by my constant craving for attention for our table.

All “small plates” are to be shared and all cost around $12 to $13. The larger plates are pricier. The concept is “farm to table” so what you have on any given night may change. We started with the marinated olives which I thought were superb. We moved on to the cheese plate (with many more olives) and some nice toasted bread – all very good and nicely presented. (All dishes are white by the way.) The pickled beet salad with yellow and red beets, feta, and mandarin oranges was fabulous. The beets were gorgeous. We also had the truffle fries and homemade ketchup – not bad but not great – and the peach dish which I did not taste was said to be very nice. They unfortunately were out of the farm to table whole fish dish and for the fish eating vegetarian birthday girl, that was a bummer, but she got the salmon and I will let her comment on that if she would like. I had the fried okra and collard greens for my main meal because I had stuffed myself on cheese, and the okra was good but the collards needed some umph. I think Elizabeth got the BLT Club sandwich and it lacked umph as well. Nice, but just not all that tasty for some reason.

The sweetest part of the evening was when a couple walked out of the restaurant during their meal (we were all like, what the heck are they doing) and came back in a few minutes later and he screamed, “She said YES!” It was all schmoopy like and everyone clapped and got verklempt. Well, not really. But it was sweet as pie.

The newly engaged at Shed -Sean and Mandy.

Anyway, I would go back certainly to this restaurant. I do not need to go back once a month, but I will try it again and see how they are faring. The service was impeccable, the place has a nice feel and the food was good. Notice my overuse of the word, “nice.” That about sums it up…

Celebrating Lea’s 25th – in black with blond hair

All in all, Brutus gives it 3 paws up.

Eric and Michelle discuss world peace as they sip on their cocktails.

Two other couples met Alison and me on Saturday night for an evening at [tag]Allegro[/tag]. I had been searching on-line for something new to try and sent out Allegro’s link to our friends. Michelle said it looked “hot,” so we decided to follow her thoughts and try it out.

Located on Dutch Valley Road across from [tag]ONE Midtown Kitchen[/tag] (which is hot hot hot,) the newest [tag]Italian in Midtown[/tag] is spacious and warm. It is not necessarily a “sexy restaurant” but I don’t think it is supposed to be. You get more of a nice inviting feeling when you walk in. You are greeted by the good looking hosts/hostesses and can walk straight to the bar if you are waiting. We got a couple of martini’s – one a Cosmo and another a lemony one -and unfortunately both were a bit too tart, but alas, I managed to drink most of mine anyway. The manager, Steven, was extremely accommodating and sat us at a great corner round table (I do love round tables) in back room.

They have a really nice wine list and the menu is offers traditional (but not boring) pasta and risotto, fish, and meats. The only thing that bugged me about the menu is that you are very aware (because it is written all over the menu) that you will indeed pay extra -$4.00-for splitting a meal. Yet, with the pasta dishes, you may opt for a smaller portion for a lesser price and therefore you will not need to share your food with anyone… The wine list was great and not too expensive and the desserts were spot on. Alison and I had the chocolate mousse and it was delightful.

We enjoyed our evening there although our one vegetarian at the table was given the wrong risotto dish and ended up with a fork full of sausage and risotto in her mouth. Not so good. It was a mistake I know, but in vegetarian standards, a pretty serious one. Besides that, our waiter Rochell, was very good. He was too serious I thought, but lightened up by the end of the night!

All in all, Brutus gives it 3 paws up!