Bacchanalia

Last night, J and I went to Bacchanalia. It was our first time, despite the fact that we've been looking at their menus for years. We tried not to have overly high expectations regardless of all the great press Anne Quatrano is getting this year and the consistent 29 on the Zagat survey for the last few years, the highest of all Atlanta restaurants. Still, it's hard not to set the bar high when you consider the extremely high quality of all the ingredients available for purchase at the front of house -- meats, cheeses mostly -- not to mention the extremely knowledgeable staff.

We arrived exactly on the dot at seven and were seated immediately. The dining room was smaller than I expected, but still a good size -- cozy while not being overcrowded. As you walk in, the bar (first come, first serve) is on your right with a small private dining room to your right, seemingly floating in the middle of the space, but still separating the restaurant from the front of house in a great way. We sat in the far back right corner of the room, right next to the door for the kitchen. I sat with my back to the wall, so I got to see most of the dishes that were coming out of the kitchen.

I picked my courses pretty quickly, but J was having some indecision. The first amuse was brought out while we were still looking at the menu: a tasty gougere. I tried to figure out which cheese was inside, perhaps something aged since it had a little nuttiness, a little bit of a bite at the end.

The second amuse came before the first course along with some bread. A small sippable spring pea puree topped with spring onions (I think) and chives. Very green, very spring.

For our first course, I had the fois gras terrine. It was a very thick slice, seemingly probably 3/4, if not one, inch thick. It was room temperature, with a touch of the melty, topped with a little oil (olive?) and salt. It was served with some strawberries and some chopped marcona almonds. A divine dish. The wine that came with it was a Sauternes, a 2003 Chateau Laribotte. Incredibly sweet, but still light. A great pairing, I thought.

J started off with the gulf crab fritter which he has been planning as his first course since he first saw it on the menu years ago. It is the only item that is consistently the same on the menu, that I've noticed anyway. It came with orange and grapefruit segments, slices of baby avocado, and Thai pepper essence. It was served with a Gewurztraminer, Helfrich, Alsace Grand Cru 2001.

J said that the fritter was all crab inside, no fillers. It was clearly deep fried, with a uniform beautiful golden color all around. I thought it was pretty good, but not something for me. I like big hunks of crab and this was pretty dainty. J said that the pepper essence had a good kick that built up at the end.

For the main course, I had the Johnson family local spring lamb tasting. It came with baby small medallions, a slightly cured ... tenderloin, a ground meat sausage-like egg, slow poached fennel, and a fennel-green garlic puree. The meat as a whole wasn't really anything spectacular. The light curing on the tenderloin threw me at first. I enjoyed the sausage-like lamb best of all with a nice sweet, bold flavor. This was my first time having fennel (outside of as an ingredient in a braise) and it was pretty good. The anise flavor doesn't completely disappear as I've heard, but it's certainly light. The puree was sweet and just a small smear. I wish I had had more of that.

It was paired with a delicious Bordeaux, Haut-Medoc, Chateau Doyac, "Max de Pourtales" 2005.

J's main was the wood grilled local pork loin, pork belly, and house cured bacon with glazed carrots and carrot puree. J said that the pork loin was a little dry and not remarkable, but he had a lot of it. I feel badly for convincing J to get the pork, but it really sounded perfect for him. The pork belly was awesome and he said more of that would have saved the dish for him. It was served with a 2005 Perrin & Fils Vinsobres Cotes du Rhone.

This is where I think my expectations of the meat from the front of house really affected my meal. It was impossible to expect a piece of meat like we would receive at Woodfire or that we would make at home, and yet, that's mostly what I expected. Something with an incredibly simple preparation that would allow the quality of the meat to shine through. I can't help but think that the meats were were served were over-produced and Frenchified. Next time we go, I will certainly get fish.

For the contrast course, I had Paula Lambert's Crescenza with local macerated strawberries and balsamic vinegar. I found the cheese to be a little weird, but with the strawberries, it was pretty good.

J had the ossau iraty served salad-style with watercress leaves, fava beans, artichokes, and thinly sliced radishes. He said it was "kind of weird" and topped with something that seemed similar to a thin aioli.

Prior to dessert, the last amuse was brought out, a small buttermilk panna cotta with homemade granola and strawberries. It was delicious.

For dessert, I chose the Fromagerie Belle chevre cheesecake with local blueberries with a 2004 Austrian Kaiser Garten Trockenbeerenauslese. It was good but I would have preferred a touch more sweetness.

J had the shaker lemon pie with buttermilk sorbet, served with a 2003 Hungarian Aszu 5 Puttonyos Royal Tokaji. J felt that that crust of this pie (though he feels this way about all Star Provisions parties) was slightly overdone and the inside seemed like preserved lemons.

Our server mis-placed the wines initially and she felt badly about it, so she gave us an on-the-house sample of a Dashe late harvest zinfindel. It was very sweet, totally not what one would expect from a zin.

As we drank our 6-cup french press coffee, we were served small cookies: coconut macaroons, wedding cookies, and a chocolate mocha truffle. All incredibly good. We also had delicious madelines to go with our coffee.

On our way out the door, we were handed some bagged cookies, on the house. All in all, a great night for treats!

I can't help but think that my palate is simply not refined enough to appreciate Bacchanalia since it is widely regarded as the top of the city's offerings right now. Perhaps my expectations are just not right. I find as much satisfaction sitting down at Fat Matt's for some ribs or a steaming bowl of pho at Pho Dai Loi. HerbSaint in New Orleans kept up with my high expectations for flavor and satisfaction. But being disappointed by both Joel and Bacchanalia, well, I have to think that it's me.

Floataway is considered to be the favorite spot for our foodie friends. Perhaps we will give that a try next.