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| Two Urban Licks romantically lighting my wine in a beer glass. Weird. |
I needed to get out and shake off a hellish work week. The necessity of needing to check out some local restaurants before some big dates and events planning drove me out into these seductive Sunday night Atlanta streets. The other side of 'Netflix and chill'.
I scrounged up an old reliable pleasantly particular palate in the form of a guy friend and we advanced on Atlanta. There was a rough list, Illegal Food in N. Highlands, Two Urban Licks off Ralph McGill and King+Duke in Buckhead. Since forever, Two Urban Licks has been some place I've wanted to experience but the atmosphere has always suggested a flirtatious naughty date vibe. Since ain't nothing happening on my side of the fence I had to find my way there by other means. Last night was a good a night as any for it.
First off, it was hard to find. I must have gone around the block a couple times, which coincidentally caused me to run in to Venkman's. Its apparently an Old Fourth Ward favorite with music and killer cuisine. During my unfortunate but necessary u-turn I also happened upon Bantam Pub which prides itself on being a 'foodie bar'. I saw a cozy late night bar with an attractively lit enclosed patio right on the corner of McGill and Ensley. I'm intrigued to say the least, they are now on my 'to be checked out' list.
So I finally find Two Urban Licks, its behind some lofts on the Eastside Beltline Trail, my first thought was that they were 'hiding it from the black people' but when I walked in and saw the mixed crowd, I thought that maybe I was just really bad with directions. There's a cool split bar setup and for a Sunday night it was pretty packed. Atlanta apparently has no hang ups at all with this valet only spot. The place was like a hot chick who is drop dead gorgeous, talented and intelligent, she knows it and she's not trying to hide it. You come to her she doesn't need to advertise for you. If you build it and place it, somehow, magically, they will come.
My wine came in a beer glass. That's the only negative thing I have to say about Two because when the food came out I didn't care anymore.
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| This 'Nothing But Thyme' will put hair on your chest. A lovely thyme and orange infused spin on a Old Fashioned, the block of ice left a little more clarity and class to be desired but lets be honest here... its a block of ice. |
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| Salmon Chips: Smoked Salmon and Chipotle Cream Cheese on a Potato Chip. Delicious. I hate to mar your perceptions and tell you that the salmon was a little salty but believe me when I tell you that you won't care one bit. For the hour we sat there, this appetizer came out to the bar at least 5 more times, so its popular and I concur. |
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| My meat bid for the week. I don't eat pork much because I can't make my pork belly to taste like this. Absolutely divine. But those collard greens though... the chef' put his classy southern big toe in these collards. A classy, manicured, polished big toe. |
I'd been here a few years ago but I didn't know that Sound Table is known for their food. I'd never had to eat there, I thought the place was for drinks and dancing. I'd forgotten about the frantic dancing (mostly jumping and hair swinging) to loud house music on the super tiny dance floor that spills out into the bar area. The bar was busy, at 10:30/10:45pm on a Sunday, everyone was trying to get their last food orders in before the kitchen closed at 11.
We had Octopus and Kimchi and Cauliflower and Brussels, for libations we tried the Horse's Neck which is basically bourbon and the Boulevard Zombie of rum and curacao. The octopus and kimchi was on point, good and spicy and flavored the octopus well (if you like octopus which has been popping up all over Atlanta menus, Iberian Pig does it like no other I have tasted thus far). The servings are kinda small but for bar food at a nice place, you are paying for the chef to know what he is doing. The taste and presentation made me think that maybe even the Belgian Frites (french fries) are good here. I thought the cauliflower and sprouts were a weird choice for bar food until I remembered that we had come to a restaurant and sat at the bar instead of come to a bar. There's a difference. My date found the sauce they had been drenched in a little too sweet, but the vegetables had been cooked well and since we could some kind of vision we accepted that just maybe shouldn't have that next time instead of calling the chef a dirty name. The cocktails were perfectly fine, the blend of tastes matched the quirky names as I expected and bourbon is still bourbon. Its kinda hard to screw that up.
Atlanta will no longer accept mediocrity, all my favorite hangouts have upped their game or remain consistent, including food worthy of leaving the house for on their dainty ever changing paper menus. If I go to a bar, I need anyone I ask to be able to tell me about the menu, tell me what the regulars like, tell me what you like, mix me a good drink, understand my wine choices and be ready to make suggestions, and for the love of fries, serve me some good and interesting food!
I declared the night a success minus the partial deafness from the electronica. We drank well, we ate well and we have two restaurants to add to our bank of experiences. This just might be a thing that continues. So when you feel your pocket buzz with a text from me that says "what you doing tomorrow night?" Know where my head is at and that the only correct response is "Nothing. Nothing at all. What restaurants did you have in mind?"
