Restaurant Review: Sun In My Belly

Good morning!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

It has been so rainy in Atlanta!  Yesterday it poured all day which meant it was the perfect lazy Sunday.  I did exciting grown-up stuff: laundry, clean the apartment, dishes - don't be jealous!  The BF and I started watching Iron Man last night, apparently the 3rd ones comes out pretty soon and I haven't seen a single movie.  We got about 1/2 way through when the cable went out, boo!!!  I've already set up the DVR to record it next time it's on :) 

Have you seen any of the Iron Man movies?

------- Restaurant Review -------

A few weekends ago the BF and I went out to dinner at a new-to-us restaurant, Sun In My Belly.  They are mostly known for their brunch, but recently started serving dinner as well.  I purchased a dinner coupon through Scout Mob - it was $40 for 2 drinks (beer or wine), 1 appetizer, 2 salads, 2 entrees, and 1 dessert. 

SIMB is located in the neighborhood of Kirkwood - on the south side of Atlanta.  The vibe is very cool - shabby chic / eclectic.  There were tons of colored mason jars decorating the space and big paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

To start, we each had a salad.  Mine was arugula, blue cheese, apples, pecans and a champagne vinaigrette.  The BF had a spinach salad with blueberries, oranges, red onion, & almonds.

 We shared an appetizer - the pork belly with seasonal puree.  It was covered in a delicious balsamic glaze and fresh rosemary with a side of sweet potato puree.  I could have just eaten that for dinner.

For our main course, I had salmon on a bed of greens with couscous on the side.  The BF had fried chicken, mac n cheese and collards.  Everything was great!  Our main courses took a while to come out- apparently the first round of fried chicken was not to the chefs liking.  It was nice to know the chef took his time with each entree and made something special for every guest. 

For dessert we shared a banana pudding creme brulee.  It was so good that we forgot to take a picture!  But imagine banana pudding with a sugar brulee'd crust on top.  Amazing!

Have you tried any new-to-you restaurants lately?
Have you ever purchased a Scout Mob dinner coupon?



Kyma: Buckhead Restaurant Week

Happy Monday! How was your Easter?

I took a few days off from work to spend time with my aunt and uncle who are in town from upstate NY.  It was so great spending quality time with them.  The weather in Atlanta was absolutely gorgeous this weekend so we spent a ton of time outside: going for walks, planting fresh flowers, just hanging out on the patio :)  Yesterday we were at my parents house for Easter lunch.  We had some delicious food: potato salad, ham & turkey, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, quinoa salad, pretzel salad and delicious pound cake & berries for dessert!

Speaking of food, how about a restaurant review today?!

A few weeks ago Julia and I (and two of our close friends) dined at Kyma during Buckhead Restaurant Week.   Every few months Atlanta highlights a different neighborhood for Restaurant Week, this is a great opportunity to try out new to you restaurants.  The participating restaurants off era prix-fixe meal at a set price.  This allows you to taste what they are good at!  Kyma is a Greek restaurant part of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.

Kyma is pretty fancy with white table cloths and a contemporary bar area.  To start we had the zucchini and feta cheese fritter.  It was crunchy on the outside and cheesy on the inside.  I could have eaten an entire basket of these! 

Next, we had Santorini Greek Salad: cucumbers, tomato, capers and dill.  The salad was refreshing, but honestly, it tasted like something I could make at home.

Next up was the Quinoa Salad: quinoa with pine nuts and herbs.  It was a good side dish, but because they brought everything separately we had nothing to eat it with.



The Calamari Pasta was the most unique dish of the night.  I'm used to eating calamari when it's fried, this dish served it like pasta.  In strips that had been boiled.  Mixed in were capers, tomato and mint.

Now for the main dish, fish!  We had Lavraki and Turbot.  Both were white flaky fish served with capers and kale.  The Turbot was my favorite of the two.

Let's save the best for last, dessert!

We each were given a sampler platter that included: orange sponge cake, rice pudding, and baklava. There was a lot of honey and pistachios included in the desserts.  The perfect amount of sweetness to finish out a meal.

Overall, the expereince was fun!  For $35/each we were given a ton of food.  All the dishes (except for dessert) were served family style.  What I learned about Greek food is they use a lot of capers, mint & herbs, and fresh ingredients. 

Next time you hear of Restaurant Week in Atlanta, you should really try out a restaurant!

This is what you are greeted with when you walk into the restaurant, a bunch of fresh fish on ice!  Julia said the lobster was "waving" at her!! 

Have you participated in a Restuarant Week?

Restaurant Review: Serpas

This past weekend the BF and I joined friends for dinner at Serpas in Old Fourth Ward.  The style of the restaurant reminds me of Two Urban Links - it is in a large warehouse space with exposed ceilings and the decor is very modern. 

 

We arrived a few minutes before the others in our group and the hostess wouldn't seat us.  So keep in mind your whole party has to be present in order to get your table.

 

 

The Chef is from Louisiana, which was reiterated to us several times from the valet, hostess and our server!  To me, Louisiana means lots of seafood and spice. 

 

To start, we had the tuna tartar served with fresh potato chips.  In the mix was: tuna, green apple, red onion and lots of spice! The BF and I loved every bite!! This was also our server's favorite dish, she said she eats it everyday and I can see why!

 

Others in the group had pigs-n-a-blanket and oysters.  Check out Lauren's review on Yelp.

 

My cocktail for the night was the St. Vivienne: bourbon, St. Germaine and prosecco.

 

For dinner we shared the stuffed chicken with mashed potatoes and collards.  The portion size was half a chicken, so plenty for the both the BF and I.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed Serpas.  The food was great and there are several options on the menu I still want to try.  Plus they update their menu daily so you know the ingredients are fresh.  The vibe was young and vibrant, but it is very loud!  Our service was good but not great - we waited awhile before being greeted at the table.  I definitely want to go back, but because it's across town I doubt I will. 

 

On our way home, the BF and I stopped for a night cap at KR Steak Bar.   The restaurant has only been open a week but it was packed at 10pm!  We headed straight to the bar area and grabbed a set of leather armed chairs to relax in!

 

I had the Sophia cocktail and the BF had bourbon.  Our server was very attentive and you could tell he was excited about the new restaurant. 

 

My friend Laura mentioned that the restaurant had some bathroom issues, i.e. they weren't working.  And sure enough, when we got there we noticed a porta-potty out front.  We asked our server about the issue and he said they had been fixed.  So don't be scared if you see porta-potties outside, you can use the one's inside!

 

If you live in the Atlanta area, have you been to Serpas or KR Steak Bar?

Do you like splitting your entree with someone special or do you prefer it all for yourself?

 

Restaurant Review: Barca

Morning Friends!

What a weekend!  I was in Chattanooga visiting a sorority sister and it was a blast!  I'll do a recap later this week on all the great food we ate.  But one of my favorite parts was waking up Saturday morning to snow flurries.  It snowed pretty hard for about an hour - everything looked so pretty!!

The other night Julia and I joined our friends for dinner at Barca.  It's a new restaurant in Buckhead located near the intersection of Peachtree & Piedmont.  We had a reservation for our group of 10 ladies, but the restaurant wasn't terribly crowded.  They offer complimentary valet, which is the norm in Buckhead.

Their cocktail menu is fun and affordable.  Julia and I started with the red wine sangria ($6).  Our waiter informed us that the sangria has a very strong cherry flavor and he was right.  It was good, but too sweet for my liking.

Barca offers both tapas and entrees.  I had the caesar salad with fresh dressing, tomatoes and parmasean cheese shavings.  It was standard for a caesar salad but it was also exactly what I wanted!

For my main course, I had the eggplant involtini - recommended by our server.  It is spears of eggplant rolled up with mozzarella in a pomodora tomato sauce.  The ingredients tasted fresh and delicious!  The meal was very filling.

Julia had the Romesco Pasta with Chicken.  It was spicy and garlicy and so good!

Everyone at dinner really enjoyed their meal!  A few girls bought wine by the bottle which was about $20/bottle - not bad!  We have one friend who is gluten free and they had plenty of options to offer her. 

If you're looking for a fun happy hour, definitely check out Barca!  But also stop by for dinner with the girls and datenight with the BF. 

Have you tried any new restaurants lately?

Bacherlorette Wine Tasting

Happy Monday!

 

Why do the weekends go by so quickly?  My alarm clock didn't go off this morning, so I've been frazzled all morning.  I rushed to get ready and get to work on time - a great way to start the week ;)

 

On Saturday we celebrated by friend, Laura's, bachelorette party with a trip to Dahlonega GA for wine tasting!  It was so much fun to have girl time and just enjoy the gorgeous fall weather.   The wine was good, most of Georgia wine is pretty sweet and the bottle prices range from $10 to $25.  So if you're looking for an affordable wine vacation, check out Dahlonega!

 

 

Our first stop was Three Sisters.  Tastings here start at $5 for a sample of 3 wines.

 

The bride was decked out in her Bridal Sweater and Blinged out Wine Glass - check back for posts on those projects!

 

Godfather's BBQ was serving lunch at Three Sisters.  So we all enjoyed a BBQ sundae: baked beans, corn bread, bbq chicken, and a cherry tomato.  There was supposed to be coleslaw, but they were out.  We all really enjoyed the BBQ, especially all of there homemade BBQ sauces - yum!!

 

Next stop was Frogtown Winery about 1 mile from Three Sisters.  They were having a wedding in the main house/tasting room.  So they set up a tented area outside for wine tasters.  Here we enjoyed a bottle of the Sauvignon Gris for $20.

 

 

We were in a jumping mood this weekend - do you know how hard it is to sync up 5 ppl. jumping at the same time???!?  Near impossible ;)

 

Our third and final stop was Blackstock Winery about 2.5 miles from Frogtown.  This is one of our favorite wineries because of the wrap around patio with rocking chairs = relaxation!

 

Their tastings are $10 for 8 samples.  We tried a few whites and a few red and ended up buying a bottle of the Sangiovese to enjoy on the patio. 

 

We had a few extra minutes from dinner so we wandered around the historic Dahlonega square.  Julia found a cute pumpkin scare-crow and I dressed up as a pirate!



 

Then we had a contest: who could climb this tree?!

After several attempts, Katrina made it to the top!!

 

We enjoyed dinner at Corkscrew Cafe and then headed home to Atlanta.

 

Have you ever been to Dahlonega?

What is your favorite winery?

 

~Elizabeth