DYNAMIC DISH

He says:
Oh, Dynamic Dish, I’d like to love you. I really would. You’ve gotten so much great press in the local papers and magazines. Everyone says you’re the best vegetarian restaurant in town. Your menu changes daily based on what’s in season. You use fresh, local, organic ingredients. Your décor is bright and airy, like a farmhouse in the Midwest. You have a charming, no-frills website. We should be completely in love right now.

But, you know, it’s just not working out.

Maybe it’s your wacky schedule. We tried to visit you multiple times in the past but have been cruelly turned away. After all, you’re only open for dinner three nights a week. And you know I don’t work close enough to Edgewood Avenue to see you for lunch. The long distance thing is difficult.

Maybe it’s your service. When we last visited you, there were only eight other people in the restaurant. But it took forever to get our water glasses filled. Questions about the tea list went unanswered. Check-ins were infrequent. I really wish you would pay more attention to me.

Maybe it’s the menu. Everything looks delicious. It really does. We were excited for tasty vegetarian dishes. It’s so hard to find the good ones in Atlanta. Alas, it was not meant to be…

She says:
Things started out pretty well... When that bowl of ginger pumpkin soup (which the server happily split for us) came out, I felt that fluttering in my stomach that only comes with a new crush. What a splendid, creamy soup! The zing of the ginger and the crunch of the toasted pepita garnish had me grinning like a fool! I admit, my interest was piqued.

Then I tried the Flammkuchen. It sounded rustic and hardy, but what came out was a delicate flat bread pizza covered with carmelized onions, fennel, and a smattering of cheddar. It was a nice dish, but I have to admit I was a little bored.

Which is nothing compared to the way our vegan friend was feeling, being forced to order salad. Salad!! That’s the ultimate insult, the fallback dish when no other options are available. The tempeh burger with vegan eggplant remoulade seemed like a possibility, but the burger was made with egg. Why? Why even bother offering a vegan remoulade when a vegan can’t eat the burger? It’s like false advertising. And then, like a slap in the face, the only vegan dessert – a sweet little chocolate cupcake just begging to make our friend a happy man – disappeared before we finished our dinner.

He says:
For better or worse, I kept hanging around. My trout was wonderful – fresh and flaky with a clear, smoky flavor. It paired wondrously with the horseradish cream and Georgia watercress. The earthiness of the potato salad gave the dish some needed heft. Its dishes like this that made me think we had a future.

But then our other, non-vegan friend had the tempeh burger. It was fine, but unfortunately it sat on a desiccated bun.

Oh, dear. You do so much so well and yet get the little things wrong. Maybe we can try this again in a few years, when you’ve had some time mature. I hope we can still be friends.

We say:
It’s not you, it’s us. Well, maybe it’s a little bit you.




Dynamic Dish
427 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312
http://www.dynamicdish.net/