4th & Swift

This week's AIWF Wonderful Wednesday was at 4th & Swift. Typically we don't go to the WWs because they start at 5.30 and it's hard to leave by 5.30, much less get anywhere by then. M&N said they were going though, and we needed a break, so we planned to get there late, but join the group for dinner.

WWs are usually free hors-d'oeuvres and then folks pay for their drinks. If they stay for dinner, there is usually some perk (like no corkage). This WW was a pretty sad showing. There was a cheese plate, a charcuterie plate, and some truffle popcorn. That's it. And we got there late, so we didn't get anything.

At the bar, J got the Swifty’s Revenge which was Don Diego Santa Resposado with Maison Prunier Liqueur D’Orange and Fresh Lime. I got the Georgia Peach which was Riff Pinot Grigio, Leopold Brothers Georgia Peach Liqueur, Club Soda and Lime Garnish. They were both so nasty that despite our valiant attempts to finish them, we abandoned them half-finished when we sat down for dinner. Mine tasted like medicine. Someone else had ordered an Old Southern Dairies Mojito which had Square One Cucumber Vodka in it. The cucumber did have a nice cooling flavor to the drink, but the aftertaste was clearly of a chemical sweetener.

On to the dinner. I ordered the Maine Lobster "sandwich". Take half a chicken lobster's tail, (a chicken lobster is 1 to 1 1/4 lbs. Yes, I realize I could have more useful information stored in my brain than this.) and a claw and stick it with a slice of an heirloom tomato between two fried sweetbreads and put it on a madeira reduction. I found the sweetbreads to be overcooked despite their apparent delicateness. I wasn't crazy about this dish but it wasn't bad. J got the same starter. Actually, a lot of people did so I was amazed to see that each one of them looked different when placed on the table. J's looked like the top had fallen off. Someone else's looked haphazardly tossed on the plate. Mine looked perfect, but maybe I was biased.

For dinner, I had the Three Little Pigs which I was really looking forward to. I had read great reviews of this dish. It's described as "Loin, Belly, & House Made Sausage, Macaroni & Cheese". I passed on the mac & cheese, replacing it instead with the veg of the day, roasted cauliflower. In the end, I was sad I did. It was a sad little pile of veg. And the porks... it was just sad really. The pork loin was definitely a tenderloin and not a big one. It reminded me of those sad little cyro-vac sealed pork loins that you see at Costco. It was room temp and pink but had no flavor at all. No seasoning on the outside, no porky-ness for flavor. The pork belly was just as sad. Although the cut was good with lots of fat and lean mixed together, the meat was stringy. They seared the top and put some kind of sticky sauce on it, but all it did was cause trouble to cut and eat. The sausage was the best thing on the plate, three relatively thin slices of angled-cut sausage. Not much to write home about -- the summer sausage at Star has more flavor -- but still the best thing that night.

J had the lamb chops which turned out to be shoulder chops. I realize they still fall as chops, but I've never seen shoulder chops served before and certainly not for $34. Insane. They were cooked over a little, closer to medium than medium rare. Still, for that, we can definitely have this at home and be happier.

I was surprised that they never asked us about coffee or desert but I guess I wouldn't have ordered any anyway.

Still, we know that usually the food at these dinners isn't so great. We go for the good company and wine. For good company, we met someone new, F, who was a delight to sit next to. She and her husband recently built her dream kitchen, so they typically cook at home. Still, her knowledge of food allowed us to talk about our favorite restaurants. I hope that we see her again. But in case we didn't, I grilled her about her favorite places to shop. For meat, Whole Foods. For fish, the Atlanta Fish Market.

Our other dinner companions were not so exciting. One Asian girl seemed as if she knew what she was talking about until she recommended Grand China on Peachtree as the best Chinese in the city. When I asked her what kind of Chinese restaurant they were, she said they did it all, always a scary thought. This prompted a table-wide discussion about the best Chinese places in the city. I often really have problems with people who clearly have no taste for authentic Chinese food telling me that I'm wrong about where I think there is the best Cantonese food when all they eat is sweet and sour. In any case, I recommended Royal China both for Cantonese seafood and dim sum.

For wine, we brought a Turkey Flats pinot, one of the ones recommended by Anthony at Toco Giant with 94 or 95 from Robert Parker. We got to sample a 2002 William Seylem pinot which was very good. Someone brought a juicy Arcadian which is always nice to drink. There was also a 2001 Stelzner pinotage, which is a mixture of pinot and armitage grapes. Its heaviness and mustiness weren't really for me or perhaps it just needed some more breathing time.

I forgot to mention that J bought me a Vinturi wine aerator which is supposed to be the best on the market. It's good for me because I really need my wines to breathe before drinking them.