PARK 75 CHOCOLATE BUFFET

He says:
When I first heard about the secretive, limited-time only “Chocolate Buffet” at the Four Seasons Hotel restaurant, Park 75, I knew I had to take Uptown Girl there for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately the buffet isn’t actually inside the restaurant as I was informed, which is a shame since Park 75 was named the best old school restaurant by Creative Loafing. Instead it occupies the space just outside the restaurant’s entrance, overlooking the hotel’s bland, airy lobby. And while Uptown Girl and I were dressed to the nines, some of the other folk were clearly hotel guests who decided to plop down in their pajamas and flannel shirts for a midnight snack. So much for my attempts at romance! <heavy sigh>

She says:
Wow, Downtown Boy makes it sound like we were slumming it on our V-day date. That hardly gives credit to the fact that we spent the evening at a chocolate *buffet* (as in eat-as-much-dessert-as-you-can) concocted by the Four Seasons’ pastry chef. It wasn’t exactly the Cheesecake Factory.

Each of the 15 or so desserts were portioned into bite-size samples, so we were able to try everything without going overboard, and then get seconds on our favorites. The sweets ranged from smores (lavish graham cracker base with a layer of decadent milk chocolate and a slightly crunchy marshmallow topping) to traditional chocolate mousse and bites of chocolate-chunk brownies. We agreed that our favorites were a gooey chocolate bonbon filled with a crunchy hazelnut filling and a chocolate cake that was flavored with chili and other mouth-tingling spices. I also enjoyed the cardamom cheesecake; Downtown Boy compared it favorably to the Indian dessert, burfi. As if so many scrumptious desserts weren’t enough, they also had a chocolate fountain, an endless cascade in which we dipped strawberries, pineapple, angel food cake, fried dough, and rice krispie treats!

We say:
If Park 75 could bring the buffet inside, they would have an unabashed winner on their hands. Fortunately, between the waterfall of never-ending chocolate and the platters of creative and opulent desserts, you’ll forget everything else soon enough.



Chocolate Buffet at Park 75
9pm-12am, Friday & Saturdays through March, $20
75 Fourteenth Street, Atlanta GA 30309
http://www.fourseasons.com/atlanta/dining.html

WATERSHED

He says:
I would say that Atlanta’s best-kept secret is the off-the-menu fried chicken served every Tuesday at Watershed, but I don’t think it’s much of a secret these days. Although you’ll never see it on their menu, I’ve heard about it from numerous friends, and just last month it was featured in Delta’s free in-flight magazine Sky. And when we visited Watershed earlier this week, the hermetic fried chicken was sitting pretty on everyone’s plate. There’s a reason for it too … it’s really good!

Chef Scott Peacock puts the chicken through two soaks: a brine bath to retain the chicken’s moisture, and a buttermilk bath to tenderize and flavor it. And it works because his fried chicken is some of the juiciest around. I was especially impressed by the breast meat; most chicken joints deep-fry their breasts into a hard, stringy oblivion. Not so at Watershed, where it remains soft and moist. As for the exterior, the Virginia-style lard and butter frying fat produces a superior crispiness without being too oily.

She says:
I think Downtown Boy pretty much summed up the excellence of the chicken. I can’t say that I’ve had any better.

When you order the fried chicken, you get all the fixings along with it: green beans, mashed potatoes, and biscuits served with honey. They are all delicious. The beans are firm and crisp, the potatoes unbelievably smooth and buttery, and the biscuits acceptably good (still no match for Flying Biscuit, though). We had hoped to end our delicious Southern meal with some good old banana pudding, but alas, it wasn’t on the menu.

The rest of the “new Southern” menu certainly looks appetizing, so we’ll have to go back someday and try something besides the chicken.

We say:
We can’t really comment much about Watershed’s menu since we only ordered one dish, but as for the fried chicken, we highly recommend it.



Watershed
406 West Ponce De Leon Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030
http://www.watershedrestaurant.com/

FLYING BISCUIT

She says:
I guess this is the week for catching up on reviews of places we love but never write about. We managed to hit up another of our favorite brunch spots this past weekend, the Flying Biscuit Café. I can’t imagine that anyone who lives in Atlanta has not visited this place already… it’s an institution around here. Unlike Mary Mac’s or the Varsity though, there’s a very good reason for it.

We’ve only been to the Midtown location, and on weekend mornings there is always a large crowd outside. Fortunately, they set a large thermos of coffee outside to take the edge off. The place is pretty small, and they’ve really crammed in as many tables with their Hawaiian tropical tablecloths as possible. It’s a funky space, filled with loud music and a young, but diverse clientele.

He says:
As for food, I haven’t had a bad meal at the Flying Biscuit. Their grits, as far as I know, are the best in Atlanta. They’re rich and creamy without the heaviness that burdens so many other grits in town. And the namesake Flying Biscuits (aptly named as they are always flying out of the store) are also by far the best biscuits in the city. Shaped like two conjoined hockey pucks of dough, the biscuits are a perfect gold on the outside and, when popped apart, piping hot on the inside. Add a dab of butter to each half – and a slathering of the café’s signature compote if you choose – and we are talking biscuit perfection.

The rest of the Flying Biscuit menu is quite strong, particularly the omelettes and other egg dishes, though they don’t scale the culinary heights of the biscuits and grits.

She says:
I completely agree with Downtown Boy… both their biscuits and grits are the best around and just simply delicious.

The most recent dish I sampled was the Meggxican wrap, which is scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, onions, and serrano peppers encased in a flour tortilla. It’s topped with a mildly spicy tomato sauce and sour cream. It’s hard to go wrong with a breakfast burrito, but I think Flying Biscuit does a particularly good job with theirs, keeping it simple and not monstrously large, and with just enough kick.

We say:
Atlanta is a rock star when it comes to brunch, and Flying Biscuit definitely belongs in the top tier. It’s a great place to bring visitors, particularly those anxious to sample some southern staples like biscuits and grits!



Flying Biscuit Café
1001 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309
http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/

SWEET MELISSA'S

She says:
I don’t know why we’ve never reviewed Sweet Melissa’s before… It’s one of our favorite brunch spots, and, along with the Vortex, one of the few restaurants in Atlanta that we go back to again and again. In fact, we were back this past weekend, so it seems a review is in order.

This Decatur restaurant is nothing fancy, just a comfortable dining room with a mix of booths and tables, with local art adorning the walls. On weekend mornings, they generally have live music… I think it’s been the same duet of hippy dudes every time we’ve been there – one on bass, another singing and playing guitar. And the waitresses are incredibly friendly. So basically, it’s the type of place you go when you want to feel at home.

But the real reason to go to Sweet Melissa’s is the pancakes. Besides the standard side orders of fried eggs or grits, the only thing I’ve ever eaten there are the pancakes. They are so good, I can’t imagine going to Sweet Melissa’s and not ordering them. Made with yogurt, they are the perfect density (not airy and insubstantial, but not too thick either), and are wonderfully buttery, griddled to a lovely golden brown. I always get two cakes with chocolate chips cooked inside, which satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me full almost all day long. This past weekend I tried their pumpkin pancakes. They were good, with a distinct pumpkin flavor, but I think the season for pumpkin-infused foods ends in December. Plus the original recipe really can’t be beat.

He says:
Uptown Girl pretty much said it all … Sweet Melissa’s is the king (or is it queen?) of pancakes. I think the restaurant’s only weakness is that it doesn’t fare as well in its other breakfast items. That might not be an issue if you only crave pancakes, but it’s slightly problematic for an omelet and grit lover like me. The biscuits and gravy are alright, but not at the level as those found at West Egg Café. The grits are serviceable, but not as good as the Flying Biscuit’s. And overall I prefer the creative spunk of the menu at Ria’s Bluebird.

So what does an omelet lover do at Sweet Melissa’s? Easy. You order the pancakes =)

We say:
For the best pancakes in… well, anywhere, go to Sweet Melissa’s.



Sweet Melissa’s
127 East Court Square, Decatur, GA 30033
www.sweetmelissas.com

MACHU PICCHU

She says:
Machu Picchu is a little known hole-in-the-wall Peruvian restaurant on Buford Highway, literally right next door to Panahar. Although they share the same strip mall address, the experience of dining in these two restaurants is a world apart! Rather than Mirza breathing down our backs, we had the sweetest, most sincere, and least obtrusive waiter you could ever ask for happily giving us recommendations and beaming at us when we complimented the food.

As for the food, it’s nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

For appetizers, we tried the Papas a la Huancaina. This is basically boiled potatoes served in a cheese sauce, which sounds incredibly bland, but one of our friends insisted we order it. It wasn’t too bad… the cheese sauce was vaguely reminiscent of Caesar salad dressing and definitely gave the potatoes some zing.

He says:
We also tried a seafood platter that included a mix of squid, mussels, and shrimp in a tomato base, sort of like paella sans rice. Uptown Girl thought the shrimp was some of the freshest she’s had in Atlanta, but overall I thought this dish was rather tasteless; none of the flavors really stood out.

She says:
The second entrée we shared consisted of chicken chunks sautéed in onions and tomato and served with rice. The chicken had been marinated to give it a touch of flavor, although it certainly didn’t pop out at you. I think this is ok, though. Machu Picchu is not trying to be revolutionary. Instead, it simply provides a place for Atlantans to sample the traditional fare of Peru.

So what’s my verdict? When Mirza scolds you for not making reservations at Panahar, simplify your life and go next door to Machu Picchu to sample some Peruvian food.



He says:
I only wish the food was as engaging as our waiter.



Machu Picchu
3375 Buford Hwy NE Ste 1130, Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 320-3226