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!

Plenty of Room for a Good Downtown Steakhouse

The maitre’d at Room must have known what he was dealing with. Every year, my buddies and I go out for a real “guy’s night” of steaks and a Thrashers game- Steaks and Skates we call it. This year, our steakhouse of choice was Room at the new Twelve Hotel Centennial Park. With one look at our motley crew, he sat us in one of the three semi-private rooms in the place. Maybe he was scared others would hear us, maybe he was scared that they would see us, maybe it was a little of both. But it was an excellent decision for all involved!

Room is the steakhouse concept from Bob Amick of Concentrics Restaurants. The area around the Twelve is nothing to speak of at the moment. It’s situated in this no man’s land between downtown, midtown and Centennial Park. But there is ongoing construction all around as a new W Hotel is being constructed, and there is continuing work on the Twelve towers. So maybe in time, this area will be a destination site or at least well connected to the other major destinations around downtown.

We started with a Chef’s choice sushi platter for the table. This was no ordinary chef’s choice, as this platter included Toro amongst other fine items. I don’t remember the cost of this dish, but my guess was it was over $100 (there is one on the menu listed for $80 for 4, but we had 6 in our group). Indulgent, yes. Good, very!

The steaks on the Room menu are fairly standard: two different sizes of filet, bone-in ribeye, NY Strip. Prices are fairly consistent with other steakhouses around town- in the upper $30 range. I had the filet and you could cut it with a butter knife. Everyone commented how the chef cooked each steak to perfection.

You could get a number of different sauces with your steak, which are served on the side in a small pouring cup. If you like this sort of thing, it’s not a bad way of going about it, because two people can easily share one. We got 3 for our table- the peppercorn brandy, the chimichurri verde and the home made steak sauce. I am usually not a sauce person, but I do like a good au poivre. The peppercorn sauce did not meet my expectations, as it was pretty bland. The chimichurri sauce, while good, didn’t really complement the steak very well.

So how does Room stack up against the other steakhouses in town? Well, there was nothing that I can say it has done to give it a leg up on Bone’s, Chops, or Rathbun’s. But it does have one thing going for it…location. In the Downtown and lower Midtown area, they don’t have a lot of competition. Our night here blew away our night at Ruth’s Chris last year. And for a real steakhouse, you cannot include Fire of Brazil.

Room can get pretty expensive. By the time we drank 3 bottles of wine, ordered a round of top shelf tequila for 3 people, the sushi, the steaks, 4 sides, and one dessert, we were at $110 per person. Now that I write this, that doesn’t seem as shocking as it seemed Saturday night. Oh well, one night per year, and it was full of belly-aching laughter, so it was well worth it!

Steakhead Recommends: Yes, if you are Downtown and looking for Steaks
Price: $$$$

Why Two Urban Licks Is One of My Favorite Places

I really like Two Urban Licks. And I especially like it as a restaurant for out-of-town friends. Friday night, we went out with friends that were visiting from Kansas City and this place was a perfect destination. Why? Well for starters, there is something chic about a place that you can't find. With no signage on Ralph McGill, I drove by it once and almost a second time, and I have been there multiple times. But chicness oozes out of Two's every pore. The old warehouse location, the weird drive-thru valet, the jazz band in the bar, and the bonfire in the middle of the restaurant all help to let you know you may not be cool enough to eat here.

The barrels of wine are another unique aspect of the dining experience here. And with our friends being wine enthusiasts, we were able to experiment with several varietals. Now, most of this is lost on me, as I pretty much have been ordering Pinot Noirs exclusively ever since seeing the movie Sideways for the first time. So it was nice being with someone who knew what they were doing and assumed the wine ordering duties.

Places that rock in atmosphere often have trouble living up to that standard in the kitchen, but Two comes close. The menu is a lot like a Bruce Springsteen concert. The set list may change nightly, but the old standbys are always there. The calamari appetizer is served with a sweet honey glaze and are amongst the best in town. We also shared the crawfish and corn beignets and the fried green tomatoes. All very good. My main course, I had the seared tuna, served rare with a spicy dressing and edamame, which was outstanding. The wives ordered the Bronzed Scallops over gouda grits, which were also very good.

I have been a fan of Two Urban Licks from my first visit during an ice storm three years ago. Given the "fire" theme of this place, it was a somewhat ironic first experience. But the combination of food and atmosphere, and with prices that won't break the bank, it remains one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta. And your out-of-town friends will be impressed!

Steakhead Recommends: Absolutely!
Prices: $$-$$$