SHAUN'S

He says:
After nearly two years of eating out in Atlanta, Bacchanalia remains the best restaurant in the city by a wide margin. The #2 position is still up for grabs, though, with Rathbun’s and Cuerno jockeying for the lead.

Enter a new contender, and a formidable one at that.

Shaun’s occupies a simple, almost quaint space in the heart of Inman Park. In contrast to several other fine dining establishments in Atlanta, Shaun’s eschews glitzy décor and sardine-like seating for hardwood floors, white walls, and ample room for intimate conversation. Chef/owner Shaun Doty wisely understands that a truly good restaurant allows the food, and not the mood lighting, to do the talking.

She says:
We had received a recommendation to try the chopped liver appetizer, which according to the menu, was prepared “east village style.” I have no idea what that means… perhaps it means chicken salad, because that is exactly what the appetizer tasted like – chicken salad on toast. There was the additional flavor of the liver, but even in a gourmet restaurant, liver still doesn’t taste good to me.

In contrast, the Maryland style jumbo lump crab cake was phenomenal. It was exactly how a crab cake should be: heavy on the crab, light on the filler, with the slightest crunch on the exterior. The crab was extremely fresh, and it was served with a Dijon mustard sauce that added a hint of spiciness.

He says:
For my main course I selected the chicken liver fettuccini, which is a steal at $14 (though this isn’t reflective of other prices on the menu). I have a love/hate relationship with liver, but in this case I loved it. I’ve honestly never had a pasta dish like this. The organic, free-range livers were lightly seared for an exquisite crunch, and they lent the pasta a remarkable unctuousness. Meanwhile the fettuccine had been steeped in a mild and slightly sweet marsala wine sauce that wisely allowed the richness of the chicken livers to hold the spotlight. This is not a dish you can eat every evening – you’d probably die of a heart attack by Day 4 – but for full-bodied flavor it’s tough to beat.

She says:
Talk about rich! I couldn’t handle more than one bite of that fettuccini!

I went with something a bit lighter – Georgia trout served with capers and a touch of lemon. Unfortunately, the fish wasn’t fried, which is what usually gives the flavor-filled trout skin that delicious crispiness. It was still good, as were the fresh greens that came with, but I wasn’t overly impressed with my dish.

He says:
I ended the meal with the cheesecake flan, the bastard child of two dessert menu stalwarts. It comes in a typical flan shape with an accompanying apricot sauce, but the flavor is 100% cheesecake. The texture splits the difference, skipping the custard consistency of flan for a liquid mouthfeel that’s not quite cheesecake. Like I said, it’s a bastard, but at least it’s an interesting one.

She says:
I couldn’t resist ordering the chocolate tart. It’s your typical dense chocolate ganache that almost hurts it’s so chocolatey. It definitely put me over the top, but with Downtown Boy in a chicken liver coma, I wasn’t the only one waddling out of the restaurant.

One thing that needs work at Shaun’s is the service. Our waiter didn’t even pretend to know a thing about the wine list… his advice: “Well, usually I recommend white wine with fish, and red with everything else.” Wow, now that’s useful. Other things fell apart too. The entrees arrived while we were still feasting on the appetizers; my leftovers didn’t make it back to the table until I had asked two different servers.

We say:
Despite a few hiccups, Shaun’s is a strong candidate for the 2nd best dining in Atlanta.




Shaun’s
1029 Edgewood Avenue NE Atlanta, GA 30307
http://www.shaunsrestaurant.com/