FRENCH AMERICAN BRASSERIE

(photo taken from www.fabatlanta.com)

She says:
There’s nothing like “restaurant week” to suck you into a place you probably never would have patronized of your own volition. Seriously, how could we pass up three courses for $25 at a restaurant whose initials spell “FAB”? We couldn’t, and so we found ourselves downtown at the French American Brasserie, a monstrously large space that seems part French country, part American swank. Maybe this is what they’re going for, given the restaurant’s name, but the mix of affected quaintness and implicit pretentiousness was a bit awkward.

The main drawback of the restaurant week deal was the fact that Downtown Boy and I both ended up eating the exact same prix fixe menu, which limits the scope of our review. At least it’ll be short.

He says:
The first course was a white bean soup with truffle oil, an über-rich soup with the consistency of porridge. It was like drinking a Big Mac, it was so heavy and filling. I remember liking it at the time, but now that a few days have passed I can’t even recall what it tasted like.

She says:
The soup was incredibly rich, and I was full by the time the entrée arrived. The sautéed skate wing, topped with Pantellerian capers and brown butter sauce, was a substantial piece of rich and yes, buttery, fish. It was served with garlic sautéed spinach and new potatoes, both of which were fine and completely unremarkable. Overall, the dish was extremely heavy… probably from being cooked in a lot of butter. It’s not really something you would hope for on a 100+ degree day in August.

He says:
For dessert, the Valrohna souffle cake with hazelnut tuile and vanilla ice cream sounded impressive, but it’s the same old molten chocolate cake that many restaurants are currently serving. It’s a solid performer, but I can’t help but feel the gooey chocolate cake & ice-cream fad has run its course. This is not an indictment of FAB specifically, but rather a plea to dessert chefs across the country to expand their repertoires.

We say:
Note to self: During August in Atlanta, avoid overly heavy cuisine that depends mainly on butter for its flavor.




French American Brasserie
30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30308
www.fabatlanta.com