I wasn’t too keen on dining at home by famed chef Richard Blais too early in the game but my sister insisted we check it out as early as possible. home Restaurant and Bar, the newest venture of H2S restaurants, focuses on Southern flavors and a farm-to-table concept. The farm-to-table ideal uses local farmers to bring in the freshest fruits and vegetables (including meat and dairy) directly from their farms and on to the table. The guaranteed short distance these ingredients travel before hitting the pans (or plates) means better tasting food.
The scene
Our reservations were for a mid-week evening a few days after it opened. I usually try to go during mid-week whenever I’m trying out a (fine dining) restaurant for the first time to avoid harried servers and slammed kitchens. But on this very day, the place was packed. Not a single table was empty.
I have always loved Seeger’s old home. But home has made it more hip, more cozy. The bar area has these comfy love seats with pillows strewn all over. A nice place for a tete-a-tete before a meal; or just the perfect spot to hob-nob with friends. There’s an ample-sized bar from which you’re also able to eat a full meal in comfort. With a flat screen spewing out Top Chef episodes to boot.
But the main dining room is what makes home, well, feel at home. It doesn’t have a stuck-up feel to it. The upstairs area is as cozy with only a handful of tables. And a reminder — if you’re going to be seated upstairs in the big table, beware of the low ceiling. We were witness to heads being bumped all evening long. Perhaps they should move the table closer to the glass wall.
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The meal
I’m not sure if this is something we share with other people but my sister and I have a passion for reading menus. In fact, reading menus is a favorite past time of ours. On long flights, we arm our selved with books. And menus. Before going to any restaurant, we look up the menus online, print them and read them again and again trying to picture the experience we would get from ordering a certain appetizer or a main entree. We picture the blend of flavors and ingredients and how it would taste like. So we already knew what we would order before we even arrived.
We were given biscuits and a trio of soft butter, stewed okra, and pepper jam as soon as we gave our orders. I love having bread before a meal. Not because of anything but because I just love bread. I found the biscuits a little on the dry side but nothing that soft butter can’t fix. I absolutely loved the pepper jam and also the okras. Nice touches, I thought.
We started out with the Chilled Oysters, the Silken Corn Soup, and the Tomato Soup. The Chilled Oysters came on a half-shell still with its own briny juices and topped with dots of horseradish. I love the presentation of this snack. Most of all, the oysters tasted so fresh with the horseradish adding just a little bit of heat to their coldness.
The Silken Corn Soup with Georgia Shrimp Toast and Lime was a light, frothy soup topped with dehydrated corn and a thin slice of shrimp toast. There was a little sweetness to this soup which was balanced by the saltiness of the toast.
The Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwich was also light and frothy. It was very tasty and came topped with a froth of horseradish and a small, thin grilled cheese sandwich. I really liked this soup. It was not as heavy as most tomato soups.
Next came the duck egg and the pancakes. The Warm Local Mushrooms with Grilled Toast and Warm Duck Egg was fantastic. The mushrooms were flavorful and had a nice texture to it. Unlike limp ones which I hate, these still had a bite in them. The duck egg was perfectly soft boiled. We are still baffled how this egg was done. It was served whole (round) but without shell. You can’t poach an egg and still have it come out round. Besides, from the looks and taste of it, it wasn’t poached. And everyone knows how tricky it is to peel soft-boiled eggs.
The Buttermilk Pancakes with Foie Gras Butter with fresh blueberries and blueberry syrup was clearly the winner of the evening. The pancakes, actually, more like blinis were soft, chewy and buttermilky. The Foie Gras butter was divine. It was creamy, buttery, saltish, and had a hint of foie gras. The explosion of flavors (salty, milky, sweet) and textures (chewy, crunchy, creamy) make this appetizer a great one. This is my favorite and I will order it again next time.
For our main entrees, my sister settled on the Florida Black Grouper with Local 5-bean Salad topped with Key Lime and Brown Butter. The fish was very fresh, very tasty, and perfectly cooked: seared on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. The local 5-bean salad was a good accompaniment to the fish but the over-dousing of butter made this dish very rich. I would have loved for the fish to stand out but it was competing hard with the bean salad for taste and texture. In the end, the butter won. Such a shame.
People were raving about the Crispy Fried Organic Chicken with Macaroni and Cheese so I got curious and tried it. I was a bit disappointed with this dish. I got two tiny pieces of chicken which really didn’t justify the price tag. The honey-vinaigrette coating on the chicken totally ruined it for me. Maybe because I don’t like my fried chicken sweet. Maybe I didn’t have a taste for anything sweet that night, entree-wise. In any case, I will never order this dish again.
I’ve also heard rave reviews about the Mac and Cheese. Even the people next to us kept brandishing superlatives about it. My take — I like Blais’ touch — with a tempura-like topping, huge shells, and creamy cheese. But it wasn’t fantastic. For $19, it wasn’t worth the price. I give points for the presentation, though, as the small cast-iron ramekins made it a very appealing side dish. On another note, I had a tiny incident with my chicken. On my second bite, after cutting it open, I saw red blood close to the bone. Now I may not be a (Top) chef (sorry, pun intended) but I know when Chicken is not cooked. Even the juices that came out of it were still pink. I don’t know about you, but I do remember “til the juices run clear” when it comes to Chicken. Our server tried to take the chicken’s side but relented and offered graciously to replace it. He even took it out of my plate and left me to at least nibble on the mac and cheese. He really handled the situation very well.
The accompanying veggies served family-style included mashed potatoes, pickled cucumbers, green beens with pearl onions, and sliced jicamas. I love the texture of the mash with its stretchy consistency. It had this elasticity in it that I’ve never found in any other mash anywhere else. It was also very creamy. The pickled cucumbers were very refreshing with its flawless balance of sweet, salty, and sour. I absolutely loved the stewed jicama slices. I love that they had retained their crunchiness despite being stewed. I love their sweetness which contrasted well with the saltiness of its sauce. The green beans were also good but what I really loved about them is the way they were sliced — quarter inch thin! I also liked the pearl onions that came with it.
For dessert, we got the Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Ice Cream and the Moon Pie with Coca-cola Float. The red velvet cake was a tad dry to me but the cream cheese ice cream rocks. It was so heavenly. This is something you must not miss when you go.
My moon pie was also a tad dry but the cream filling made up for it. It consisted of two cake-like cookies with a small portion dipped in chocolate sandwiched between a dollop of cream filling. Both the moon pie and the red velvet cake would have been awesome had they been moist. Being the Coca-cola addict that I am, my Coke Float was so awesome. Our server explained to us how it was scientifically created and the result was the best Coke Float ever.
The service
Our server was very attentive but not in the in-your-way kind of thing. He was friendly but not overly so. He handled my chicken issue very well — in a calm and professional manner. His name escapes me for the moment but I will ask my sister and see if she remembers it. I’ll then add it here, for anyone who is as good as he is deserves recognition.
The verdict
Richard Blais’ new project may not be as stellar as I hoped, but it has its own merits and can definitely stand up to the other “big boys”. I had a wonderful meal even though the snacks and appetizers over-shadowed the mains. I am not fan of sweetish entrees and if fish is not your thing, then you’re out of luck. I definitely would come back if not for the duck egg and the pancakes. Those were amazing concoctions. As they would say, inventive. Next time, I’ll even try the much hyped about short rib. Sweet and all.
Insider Tip:
Now open for Lunch and Brunch. Service is impeccable.
The Scoop:
home Restaurant and Bar
111 W. Paces Ferry Rd. NW
Atlanta, GA. 30305
Phone: 404.869.0777
Fax: 404.869.0065
Sorry hours of operation not available.
Technorati Tags: home Restaurant and Bar, Here To Serve restaurants, Paces Ferry, Richard Blais, fine dining, Buckhead
