Paper Plane

I'd been watching the development of Paper Plane from afar. Since we moved out of Decatur, it seems that all the hot restaurants are opening there. We took a day off before our Cinco de Mayo party to prep for the party and decided to head out to Decatur to go to Paper Plane and 246.

It was certainly worth the trip.

When we walked in, Chris (who we know from 246) saw us and said hello. It was great to see him. Paul Calvert was also actively behind the bar and it was great to talk with him also.

Chris remembered what I liked and recommended this: the Herbert West. Being described as bluecoat gin, cocchi americano rosa, lemon, combier, pamplemousse, la muse verte pastis, I was pretty skeptical. Gin, absinthe? Sounds gross. But I trust Chris.

Paul stepped in and made the drink. I always enjoy watching drinks being made with precision. And the drink itself? It was wonderful. Perfectly balanced and delicious.

Honestly, this bar has some of the best drinks I've ever had. I compare it to David's drinks at Bocado, somewhere we sadly don't go anymore. Everything was so well balanced there. Even at H&F where the drinks are made with care, they are heavy handed on the old style, one that I'm not big a fan of.

My second drink was this: the Cocktail Forty-Four. novo fogo gold cachaca, punt e mes, aperol, pierre ferrand dry orange curacao, grenadine, angostura bitters. Also tasty.

The special was the yellowtail collar, of which there were only four. So we put in for one of those immediately. We said we would start with a salad and Paul, hearing our yellowtail collar, put in for the endive salad.

The menu lists the salad as "Endive: arugula, blood orange, marcona almond, lavender". I wasn't impressed. I read in Knife and Fork's review that they felt the chefs used a couple too many ingredients per dish, and I definitely agree. I also think they don't go too well together. The salad was okay. The sickly sweetness of the heavy dressing really detracted from the dish.

As for the yellowtail collar special, certainly this is the smallest hamachi kama I have ever had. I guess it's to be expected since they are little snappers, but still. It was well cooked though the fins were not crispy at all so they were clearly not meant to be eaten. I suppose that goes with the clientele but it was disappointing nonetheless. It came with white beans, which were pretty good.

So, Paper Plane. Amazing drinks. Not so amazing food. We had two rounds then headed over to 246 for dinner. But that dinner deserves its own post.