Dinner at Aria and Rathbun's

Last week was Buckhead and Inman Park restaurant weeks. I wish these were not at the same time.

On Tuesday night, I went to Aria (website) with Gena, Lisa, and a few of Gena's friends. I sat between Todd (Ginsberg, chef at Bocado) and Barb, who works with the H&F Bakery.

Because it was restaurant week, the place was SLAMMED and no one seemed inclined to leave. Our 7.30 reservation was somehow moved to 7.45 but it was 8.30 before we were seated.

To start, Gena ordered a large app of foie gras to split with the table. How nice that when it came out, they gave us generous portion already pre-split. A couple people at the table didn't like foie, so they donated it to others. Barb gave hers to me. And the foie! A nice sear on top, inside warm and delicious. I haven't had foie gras in a long time, but this was like an old friend.

As part of restaurant week, there was a fixed price menu with two options each. For the soup, I chose the sweet potato and lobster soup over the celery root soup with truffles. The soup was good and unexpected, with chunks of sweet potato and lobster. After I finished the soup, I was full!

For a main course, I got the trout over the beef rib if only because I like to have seafood when I'm out. The trout was cooked perfectly, and the sear on the fish skin looked gorgeous, but it was actually soggy. I mostly enjoyed the fish, but something lacked an OMG quality. The rest of the plate was okay, but a little lackluster. I don't remember much about it and I wasn't crazy about it, but it was a lot of food.

For dessert, I had a chocolate cake thing. It was the perfect balance of not-too-sweet cake and too-sweet chocolate topping, but I was full by then.

It took forever to get our check. Our waiter just disappeared. Service was impeccable except fro being able to get out of there. We finally ran out at 11.15. Definitely want to go back on a regular night to experience Aria. That place is solid.

On Friday, we went to Rathbun's (website) with Tim and Lisa. We had never been and had been wanting to go for some time.

Their restaurant week menu also looked pretty good, but when it's your first trip to the restaurant, it's hard to not want to try a lot of things.

We started by ordering off the menu: bone marrow, which is totally one of my favorites. When it came the bone was split lengthwise and it came topped with caramelized and there was a fennel chutney of some kind to go with it. There were also some toast points and some maldon salt. I have to admit I was a little disappointed in the bone marrow. When I had it at Prune, it was a completely different experience, but I felt like it was meatier. This was just plain fat tasting, which I guess is what marrow is, but I was hoping for something more. The toast points had sat there for a while, so they weren't actually toasty or hot. Anyway, I still love bone marrow. And I know what you are thinking: foie gras and bone marrow in the same week? I know right? It was a good week for food.

We also got an app of salt and pepper shrimp. They were hot and good, though I thought the light breading was a little uneven. It's better done at Royal China, I think. And they needed more salt. But they were good.

And then on to the restaurant week menu. I started off with the pork belly with a coca-cola jus and it was divine! The pork belly was luscious and unctuous, soft and tasty. The sauce was SO good. And the (braised?) kale was also good. This was so delicious. I tipped back the bowl and drank what was left in the bowl.

For my main, I got the hanger steak which was also so good. The hanger steak came as three thickly cut angled slices which was definitely enough. The hanger was much better than we normally get at home, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches diameter. It came with brussel sprouts and fingerlings which were also good. It all came in a chimmichurri which was vinegar, oil, and shallots, but no greens. It had all the flavor of the chimmichurri without the greeniness, which I admit that I missed, but it was still awesome. Originally, I thought about getting the lamb shank so I wasn't getting the same thing as Josh, but since when do I do that? I changed it back. Whew!

For dessert, I got a lemon buttermilk bread pudding with a lemon zest curd. So tasty. And moist. Just plain good.

All in all, a wonderful dinner. Really would like to go back. We also went to Krog Bar for a glass of wine. That's where we got a picture with Kevin Rathbun who had come over to hang out with his staff. We're such groupies.