999 Peachtree St, Atlanta GA 30309                                     Menu 

404-541-1105                                                                       

Chef: Ryan Smith 

Flavors on point!  Unless you are a vegetarian… 

I’ve read quite a bit recently about Empire State South.  Chef Ryan Smith is definitely drawing some attention in the Atlanta restaurant scene with his creative restaurant in midtown, so I was excited to give it a try.  I had also heard about the bocce courts at the restaurant! While it was a bit chilly that night to partake in the bocce courts outside, I am a huge fan of that as an option.  Every time I’m in New York City, I go to this great Italian restaurant, Il Vagabondo, that first introduced me to bocce many years ago, and I now have deeply fond memories of dinning and then playing bocce with after dinner drinks. 

At first glance of the menu, I realized this was a carnivore’s dream restaurant.  It highlights beef and pork in about every dish on the menu.  Even the salad had beef!  As a lover of seafood, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of options in the starter / appetizer section; there was only one starter plate that day with a seafood option, which was shrimp and grits, and there were not any vegetarian selections available as an appetizer. So our table started with the beef tartar and salad…with beef.

ESS Biscuits

 This table was full of extremely tough beef tartar critics and it passed with flying colors.  One said that it was as good as the beef tartar she had in France. Which I must tell you is really saying something since when we were in France, I thought she was going to die happily in that moment from a beef tartar food-gasim!  Visually the dish was very appealing and creative with the raw egg on top skillfully encased in a sphere of bread crumbs.  There was also the addition of pork rinds on the plate, cause why not, right? 

The winter green salad was also delightfully delicate and probably would have even been equally as delicious without the lomo (beef tenderloin) accompaniment.  

 As we await our entrees, we were served grilled sour dough and gouda, garlic biscuits.  Let me rephrase, we were served the best biscuits ever! Sorry Nana.  This might be the only way I can eat a biscuit again.

For the main entrée, the selection was a bit broader.  The two most popular selections for the night were 

ESS Sea Bass

the sea bass, and surprisingly, the chicken.  However, there was a lamb special as well that apparently was amazing due to the recipient not saying a word after receiving it and all but licking the plate clean.  

The chicken sounded amazing with a red onion puree but I was skeptical; it is after all, well, chicken.  

ESS Chicken Entree

 I have to say it was one of my favorite chicken dishes that I’ve had.  Packed full of flavor and seasoned to perfection.  I did find the cooking of the chicken was a little uneven, but not so much as to take away from the dish as a whole. 

The Sea bass served in a dashi sauce and mushrooms was a clever balance of umami and salty and cooked perfectly. Deliciousness. 

They have a pretty fabulous coffee bar as well. For an after dinner drink, I tried their Resin Tin.  Which are a glass of grappa and a shot of espresso. You drink the espresso and then pour your grappa into the espresso cup where is picks up the slightest foam remaining in the glass.  I was definitely intrigued and hesitant to actually pour my beloved grappa into the espresso cup, but it was actually wonderful!  I never would have guessed it would compliment grappa, but I will definitely try again.  

ESS Resin Tin

Due to the fact that Empire State South uses mostly local meats and produce, the menu is ever changing.  The upside to that is you get full flavors from your ingredients and the added bonus of knowing you are contributing more to your local economy.  However, the downside is that you can’t really count on a dish you love being there again.  If Chef Smith keeps producing the flavors like I experienced, I think you will enjoy the treat of trying something new each visit. 

My one critique would be that it would be nice to have more vegetarian options.  The entrées had one option and that was pretty much it for the menu unless you wanted to order veggies al a cart or try some of the pickled jar selections.  However, for all you non-vegetarians, I think you are going to be some happy diners  

ESS Pickle Jar

Well its cold and rainy…perfect combination to stay in and make soup. I made this for the first time for a close friend of mine’s birthday.

I dont usually measure out when I’m cooking as I’m more of an add / taste, add / taste type person, but I will do my best to give accurate measurements. I do encourage you to taste as you add ingredients as well.

6 Gold Potatoes
2 Organic Leeks
1 Yellow onion
1 Sm clove of Garlic
_ Chicken broth
_ Heavy Cream
3 Tbs of Butter
_ Water
2 Dollops* of Sour Cream
1/2 Tsp of celery seed
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)

*Dollop- you know…take a spoon and throw a couple spoons full in

First rinse your leeks and remove any layers that look unappealing. Then slice approximately 1/2 an inch thick using only the white portion.  Rinse them again in a colander to get any remaining grit.  Next, chop your onion into similar sizes pieces and mince your garlic clove.

Then in a dutch oven or large soup pot, begin melting the 3 tbs of butter. Once melted, add the leeks, onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until leeks and onions soften.

While they are cooking, peel potatoes. I didn’t peel mine completely because some of the peel adds a rustic flavor. Then slice into approximately 1/4 inch slices and quarter those. This does not have to be perfect, but it does effect the cooking time if you make them thicker.

Once leeks and onions are ready, add potatoes and cover with chicken broth / water to just cover the potatoes. Also add celery seed, salt and pepper. Allow to cook until the potatoes are tender.

Once tender, take a masher or spoon and mash potatoes to the desired consistency. I like mine a little chucky.  This will start to thicken up to the soup.  Then add heavy cream and sour cream. Taste again to see if any additional salt or pepper is needed.

Allow it to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Then it is ready to serve!

Let me know if you try it and how it worked out for you!

Chef: Kevin Gillespie

Website: http://www.woodfiregrill.com/

Address: 1782 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

Eve’s Apple Bite gives Woodfire Grill  out of 5 apples! 

Kevin Gillespie’s debut appearance on the popular show Top Chef was last night.  In an act of showing our support, we arranged dinner at his Woodfire Grill that night.  They happened to be offering one of their wine tasting specials that evening as well, which we, of course, participated in.  This was not my first visit to Woodfire Grill and definitely not my first experience tasting the tantalizing food crafted by Kevin; however, this was not my favorite encounter of them all either.  So while I will go into the pluses and minuses of the evening, I’d like to start by saying I find Kevin Gillespie to be an extremely talented chef who’s is gifted in showing us how using the local and organic ingredients can greatly improve the quality of your food and community.  Because of this, you will find that his menu often changes to represent the freshest local ingredients.  He also just seems like an all-around good guy…he and his wife both seem like the kind you’d love to sit back and share a beer with.

Now all that said, we started off our evening off with a German Riesling wine tasting.  We were provided tasting notes, regions and pricing information on the 8 wines we would try that night.  I was impressed with the information provide not only in the notes but by the presenter when we poured each wine.  Before our first courses came out, we are given a amuse bouche of roasted beets with horseradish.  It might be the best preparation of a beet I’ve ever tasted!  Amazing how the bite in the horseradish worked with the sweetness of the beet.

Next, while I didn’t get to try it myself as it was quickly devoured, the BLT salad, made up of heirloom yellow tomatoes, bacon, aioli, butter lettuce, and few pieces of tiny toast, was obviously a big hit!  I started with the Salmon Tartar, which I have tried here before, but this time it was made with an aioli and was missing a good amount of acid.  Unfortunately, I likened it to a devil egg because the “mayo” flavor was so overwhelming.  The Scallop starter on the other hand was perfectly executed, great balance of flavors with flawlessly seared scallops that literally melted in your mouth.

So we move on to our main courses of Heritage Chicken over pan fried okra and beets with a pepper sauce, Duck  over beans, and Beef Strip with fingerling potatoes, green beans, and porcini mushrooms.  The heritage chicken is a fattier bird than the chicken you might expect from the store, and it is full of flavor!  Pan seared with delicious crispy skin, although in some places, it was a bit fattier than I would have preferred.  I also felt myself longing to add some of the horseradish goodness from the amuse bouche to the beets on this plate.  Over all it was a good dish.  The duck was prepared excellent, full of flavor and tender.  The Beef Strip was also cooked perfectly revealing a tender and juicy meat served over well seasoned green beans and potatoes.  For me, the porcini mushrooms were a bit earthier than normal and bit too much in that they over powered the flavor of everything else.  All in all, not the best I’ve had here, and maybe I’m spoiled by past experiences, but definitely not too much to complain about when it comes to flavor at the Woodfire Grill.

My main criticism would probably be portions to price.  It almost fits into the cliché of fine dining where you order an entree for $40 and it could fit into an tea cup.  While I left completely full and satisfied, I could see where someone may find it less than desired.

My apologies for the lack of pictures and food specifics in some areas, as this is a new venture for me and I have yet a lot to learn.  Hopefully next time I will be able to offer you a more visual perspective!

Have you been to Woodfire Grill?  Please share your thoughts on it!