New Orleans Is Not Pharr at Harry Bissett's in Buckhead

Considering how close Atlanta is to the Crescent City, I am amazed at how few decent creole restaurants there are in this town. But now, with Harry Bissett's on the scene, that has changed. Even though Harry Bissett's is a descendant of the Athens scene, the menu screams New Orleans. Words like 'Lafayette', 'Bienville', and 'Thibodaux'. There are oysters done 5 ways, alligator and crawfish. There is even something described as a 'Carpetbagger', although I took offense to that.

I went with Lady Steakhead and a few friends last Saturday night, and business appeared to be brisk. The bar was crowded, all watching whatever SEC game happened to be on at the time, and the dinner crowd steadily escalated throughout the night. The service was attentive and friendly, although there were a couple of hiccups that can be expected from a new establishment.

The menu offers many of the cajun/creole favorites and we endulged in many of them. For appetizers, we ordered the barbecue shrimp, the grilled andouille sausage and the louisiana crab cake. Of these, the andouille, which had a decent kick to it, was my favorite. The barbecue shrimp was not swimming in butter and black pepper and not served with the heads on, so it was not quite what I was expecting.

For main courses, Lady Steakhead and I each ordered the Shrimp Creole which was served with a generous portion of shrimp. The order of the day came from STJ, however, who ordered the delicious Uptown Stuffed Filet- a medium-sized filet stuffed with blue cheese. We capped the night off with a traditional New Orleans bread pudding.

Harry Bissett's will earn a spot in the Steakhead rotation. The food is good, and for Buckhead, the prices are reasonable. Most entrees, except for the steaks, are under $20. Even the steaks are priced under $30. Speaking of which, next time Steakhead will stay true to his name and get the Uptown Stuffed Filet. Man was that good.

Coming Soon- Harry Bissett's Buckhead

John Durrett, a fellow classmate of mine from the Fuqua School of Business, is opening Harry Bissett's Buckhead- an offshoot of the well-known Cajun restaurant in Athens. I stopped in at his Pharrr Rd. location last night to check out the progress, and they are just days away from opening. Durrett is aiming to recreate the exact feel of the original Athens location, from the menu to the decor. While I haven't been to the orginal, the menu does look tantalizing- blackened ribeye, filet au poivre, shrimp creole, crawfish ettouffe and of course, my all time fave- New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp. Now Lady Steakhead, she is both a UGA grad AND a cajun from Baton Rouge, and she loves Harry Bissett's. So when we make our first official visit in the next week or two, she will every bit of the food critic as yours truly. Best of luck John and we look forward to your Grand Opening!

Not Jazzed About Parish

Going out these days involves much more than the actual cost of the night out. There is also Opportunity Cost, in the fact that true nights out are so few and far between for us right now, the price of a bad meal is exacerabted. My experience last night at Parish, a new Concentrics concept that claims to be Cajun, had me questioning why I was wasting my time at places like this when I could be going to any one of the many places in Atlanta that I KNOW are good.

I will give Parish some props in that the building the restaurant is housed in is beautiful. Apparently, it goes back to the 1890's, though for the life of me, I can't remember what this place looked like before Amick and Company got their hands on it. The whole area has changed 1000% in the past 2 years, with condos, apartments, shops and restaurants lining both sides of Highland Avenue, which until recently was a barren wasteland.

So, back to the restaurant. First complaint, they cram too many tables and people in the space they have. Second, all those people account for a boatload of noise. Third, and most annoying, there are no menus! The food items are listed on several blackboards, and good luck if you don't have a decent viewing angle of them. Our waitress told us the menu would be a "verbal presentation". Her idea of "verbal presentation" was to say the "menu can be found on the blackboard" and "any questions?". When I asked about a tuna entree, something called ahi tuna tournedos, she gave me zero insight as to what it actually was. Turns out, it means cooked with pieces of ham and very salty. Who knew? Obviously not the waitress. Nice "verbal presentation". If they printed a damn menu, I may have ordered better. Fourth, the entire meal was way too rushed. The entire dinner took only 45 minutes, and this includes appetizers.

As for the food, mediocre to poor. First, don't be fooled, this isn't a cajun place. It may be Cajun themed, but don't think Paul Prudomme is back in the kitchen. The barbacue shrimp was nothing special. Not enough black pepper in sauce, and serving it with the baguette toasted made it difficult to mop up the broth. Wifey, a Louisiana native, had the Gumbo for starters, which was so chalky she needed to douse it with hot sauce to give it flavor. I already mentioned the tuna, which was neither cajun nor was it very good (and as explained, poorly communicated).

I am not one of those folks that has a thing against Concentrics restaurants. In fact, Two Urban Licks, as I have stated many times, is one of my favorite places in Atlanta. But they really missed the mark with Parish. Seems like they are trying to be different just for the sake of being different, without any thought to implementation. They have a nice theme, but lack the execution to deliver upon it.

But the night wasn't a total loss. First we strolled through the neighborhood and found Zaya, a promising looking Mediterranean place. Second, we stopped off at Cafe Intermezzo on the way home, and I still have half a piece of Oreo Cheesecake in the fridge for tonight!