Restaurant Preview: Chai Pani

The popularity of Cardamom Hill notwithstanding, most Indian food in Atlanta tends to be of the Northern Indian variety (think biryani, chicken tikka and samosas), so it's exciting to have a new Indian option of a different ilk. Husband and wife team Meherwan and Molly Irani have now brought their popular Asheville Indian street food spot, Chai Pani, to Decatur.

Before the restaurant opened last Friday, I had the chance to check out the redecorated spot and try some of their signature dishes. The dining room is now a far cry from the subdued days when it was Watershed. Now the walls are a riot of color with photography and street murals in keeping with the street food menu and laid back vibe.

Menu options range from “chaat” (small plates) and a line-up of “greatest hit” Indian street sandwiches, to “uttapam” (Indian crepes), “thalis” (traditional entrees), desserts, beverages and signature cocktails.

Station serving Sev Potato Dahi Puri

Sev Potato Dahi Puri are little flavor bombs made with puffed flour crisps (puris) stuffed with potatoes, onions, cilantro, crunchy chickpea noodles (sev) and topped with sweet yogurt, tamarind and green chutneys. I loved the contrast of creaminess and crunch and of savory and sweet. I've never heard of these before, but I would most definitely seek them out again!

My favorite dish of the night was the Sloppy Jai (Kheema Pav), a ridiculously tasty combination of spiced lamb hash simmered with tomatoes, ginger and aromatic spices, green chutney, sweet yogurt and toasted buns. It certainly evokes a traditional American sloppy joe, but it is infinitely more complex in its flavoring and delicious in its result. We may have gone back for seconds of these bad boys!

Another sandwich option, the Vada Pav, included a spicy potato dumpling fried in curried chickpea batter topped with green and tamarind chutneys. It was hearty and flavorful enough that it may even convince me to renounce my meat eating ways once in a while.

Station serving Bhel Puri and Corn Behl

Bhel Puri, another street food classic that I've never even heard of consisted of puffed rice, flour crisps (puris), crunchy chickpea noodles, potatoes, cilantro & onions tossed with tamarind and green chutneys, while Corn Bhel combined fresh roasted corn, cucumber, cilantro, tomato, onions and flour crisps tossed with cilantro-cumin-lime dressing. These light, vegetarian-friendly dishes, offered a fresh alternative to the richer food we were stuffing our faces with.

Matchstick okra fries are apparently one of Chai Pani's signature dishes. If you like okra, you'll probably love them. I for one am not a fan of that particular vegetable, so while I liked the dish far more than the more typical slimy preparations, they still weren't my fave.

Better was the Kale Pakora (batter dipped and fried kale). It was addictively crunchy and salty - a worthy competitor to the humble potato chip or french fry and probably a heck of a lot healthier.

Kale Pakora

There were Indian-inspired specialty cocktails on offer for the non-pregos in the bunch, but I stuck to the classic Mango Lassis. Damn, these were good! So creamy and sweet, and compelling enough to pull me back for seconds just a few minutes later.

Clearly, I was impressed by what I found at Chai Pani. The vast majority of the menu are dishes I've never had before which offers a fun change from the usual curries, and just about every single thing we tasted caused me to exclaim, "oh that is so good!" to the Mr. 

Little known fact - women who are 9 months pregnant, as I am, have stomachs that are compressed to bird sized. It is a testament to how good this food was that I tempted fate by continuing to eat to the point that I groaned from fullness for the rest of the night. Totally worth it!

Chai Pani 

406 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur 

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for lunch and 5:30 to 10 p.m. for dinner. 

*Full disclosure: Although my food was comped, I always endeavor to offer my unbiased opinion of the experience!

Restaurant Preview: The Optimist

Atlanta is not a seafood town. We're a good 4+ hours from the nearest coast, so that's not a big surprise. But still, a gal wants a good seafood dinner sometimes, right? So it was with great excitement that I checked out Ford Fry's new restaurant, The Optimist, last week.

I was immediately struck by how beautiful (and huge!) this west midtown spot is. The decor is subtly nautical with a hint of NYC cool. With a soaring hull like ceiling, white subway tiles and rustic tables, The Optimist is one of the prettiest spots in town.

No hot spot is complete without an interesting cocktail list these days. We kicked things off with an old salty dog (vodka, fresh grapefruit juice, salted rim) and a Port Antonio Cocktail (Gosling's Black Seal Rum, Flor de Cana gold rum, kahlua, lime, housemade velvet falernum, cinnamon). Although it was the Mr.'s drink (complete with a very manly tiny umbrella!), I preferred the Port Antonio. I couldn't quite place why it tasted so unusual, but thanks to the glories of Wikipedia, I bet it was the falernum, a sweet syrup with almonds, ginger or cloves and lime.

We had the good fortune to be seated next to Ford Fry himself, who was trying out the restaurant as a guest for the first time. Ever the intrepid reporter, I chatted him up and learned that he's got big plans for more restaurants in town. Since everything he touches turns to gold, color me excited!

Our very enthusiastic waitress got us started with a couple of Parker rolls. Usually I skip the bread because I'm a carb Nazi. But these were just so warm and yummy looking, I couldn't resist. And great googly moogly, they were good! A little salty, a little doughy, I could eat a whole batch of these. Seriously, why aren't everybody's rolls this good?

The Optimist comes complete with an oyster bar, so we started with a sampling of the east coast and west coast oysters. This may just be a June thing, but allow me to strongly recommend the west coast over their wee eastern brethren. The west coast oysters were huge and succulent, just like I like 'em!

Next up...more oysters! This time fried with pork belly, pickled mushrooms, and red wine fish bordelaise. Yep, these are just as awesome as they sound. Simultaneously crunchy and creamy with rich umami flavors. I want more of these. Right now.

The crabby coconut broth served with mussels was even better when sopped up with a buttery toast point. There's nothing more disappointing than a weak sauce mussel broth, so we were very pleased that this one was so darned flavorful. Even better unlike last time the Mr. and I ordered mussels, he didn't almost die from food poisoning.

Fortunately we were pretty darn gluttonous when it came to the appetizers because the service is still slow. The restaurant is brand spanking new and already popular, so that's to be expected, and I am sure that will get sorted out in the next couple of weeks. Our lovely waitress was oh so apologetic, so we didn't mind too much. 

The main downside is that my stomach had plenty of time to send my brain the signal that I was full so I didn't eat as much of my entree as I would have liked. The Optimist serves sustainable seafood, so of course for the main event we had to go with fish. Other than sushi, the Mr. and I rarely order fish when we're out because more often than not it's so overwhelmingly average tasting that we wish we'd gotten meat.

Fortunately, the seafood at The Optimist all sounds genuinely interesting, so my interest was at least piqued. We chose a skate wing schnitzel and a duck fat poached swordfish. They're not serving that anywhere else in town, now are they? I'm a sucker for schnitzel, but I've never had it with fish. The breading was perfectly crisped and the bite of lemon and capers kept things interesting.

The swordfish was much subtler with the boldest flavors coming from pickled peppers and crispy pancetta. Given my normal carnivore ways, I'm not shocked that the schnitzel was my fave because it was definitely the meatier of the two.

The fish dishes are a la carte, so our epic pig out continued with sides of beignet style hush puppies with cane sugar butter and potato gnocchi with lobster butter and corn. The hush puppies might be too dessert-like for some, but I never met a beignet I didn't like, so I loved them! I could imagine sitting at their lovely bar and just slinging back cocktails with some raw oysters and a side of hush puppies. Heaven!

I also enjoyed the sweetness of the corn paired with the gnocchi. My Italian purist hubby didn't think they wer quite pillowy enough, but I actually really liked their creamier consistency. Potato, Potahto (literally). 

All in all, I was very impressed! The vibe is sexy and cool, perfect for a night out with friends, a hot date, or just nibbles at the bar. In a sea (pun fully intended) of same-same southern spots, The Optimist is southern influenced but quite distinctive. Don't like seafood? Never fear, there is a little bit of meat, too, and with dishes like lamb belly, you'll be just fine. 

I'm a big fan of Ford's, and although it's still early days, I think The Optimist is a very worthy and much needed addition to the Atlanta restaurant scene! 

The Optimist 
914 Howell Mill Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30318
404 477 6260

*Full disclosure: Although my meal was comped, I always endeavor to offer my unbiased opinion of the experience! I really am this into The Optimist!

Restaurant Preview: Cucina Asellina

The Mr. and I recently returned to Cucina Asellina, sister restaurant to STK next door and another NY transplant, to scope out more of their menu. The scene at Cucina is much lower key than the thumping steak-and-cocktails fueled party next door. We enjoyed the patio during one of Atlanta's perfect spring nights and found it to be a perfect place to unwind and people watch. Service was friendly and knowledgeable and the crowd seemed Midtown hip, but in you-don't-have-to-get-dressed-up-for-it kind of way.

Stuffed Cerignola Olives – roasted veal – parmigiano – semolina crust

The menu was created by Chef Marco Porceddue, an honest to goodness I-talian, so that bodes well for its authenticity, right? We were lucky enough to be treated to a chef's choice dinner when we dined. Our only request - we simply had to have the stuffed olives again. These little babies are stuffed with veal and parmesan with a light semolina coating. Wow, for something so small, they pack a ton of flavor. I could eat an entire meal of these. They're just that good.

Chilled Seafood Salad – frisée – citrus thyme vinaigrette

A chilled seafood salad was fresh and light, and I appreciated the sweet cantaloupe to balance out the citrus tang and bitter frisee. I rarely get seafood other than sushi, so I was glad to taste something different than my normal meat-centric order, but I must admit, I'll still take meatballs over octopi anytime! Cucina Asellina's veal meatballs are  particularly good. Tender and light and perfectly delectable served with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. The Mr. is 100% Italian himself and makes some seriously delish meatballs, and he was raving, so take that as a serious endorsement!

Veal Meatballs – fresh tomato – mozzarella – basil 

A saffron strozzapretti was an interesting departure from the typical red sauce pasta. Seafood pasta isn't my favorite, but I appreciated the contrasting textures of the thick chewy pasta ("priest stranglers" in Italian) with the sweet little shrimp and fresh slivers of zucchini..

Saffron Strozzapreti – shrimp – zucchini – brandy sauce

Best of all may have been the off-menu Truffle and Egg Pizza. How much do you really need to say about such a concoction? It's redolent of truffle and ooey gooey rich with egg. Heaven! Although not on the menu, I gather it's a pretty open secret, and you can get a hold of one any night. Don't miss it!

Truffle and egg pizza

It's still early days at Cucina Asellina, but already the place seemed to have a handle on great service, a cool vibe, and plenty of craveable eats. We'll definitely be back!

Cucina Asellina 
(valet parking available)
1075 Peachtree St. 
404.793.0141


*Full disclosure: Although my meal was comped, I always endeavor to offer my unbiased opinion of the experience!

Restaurant Preview: Chicken and the Egg

Dining out in Marietta all too often means settling for a sea of chain restaurants. So it gives me great pleasure to say there's a new kid in town, and there's nary a bloomin' onion in sight. Chicken and the Egg is an actual honest to goodness independently owned restaurant serving up great food deep in suburban country.

Tucked away in an unimpressive strip mall, Chicken and the Egg wasn't at all what I expected. Instead of the cozy countrified environs I envisioned, it was an airy and, dare I say, hip looking dining room. And considering we went on a Sunday afternoon, it had a surprisingly bustling bar scene, too.

Farm to table is de rigueur ITP, but in strip mall country, it's still a fairly new concept. So I found it almost cute that the waitress explained to us their farm to table ethos. It may be old news as a trend, but I'm glad to know that the entire metro area can benefit from the wonders of seasonal, locally farming.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Cheese Fondue and Country Ham

With a choices like fried chicken with mac 'n cheese and crab cake benedict, we had to go big or go home. So we ordered both, naturally, and kicked things off with fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese fondue, country ham and tomato jam for good measure.

Fried Chicken, Collard Greens and Mac & Cheese

Crab Cake Benedict

Peach Cobbler

Great googly moogly, crispy and juicy tomatoes, salty ham, sweet tomato jam and pimento cheese are a match made in Southern-fried heaven! Diet food, no, but man, was it good. In fact, we enjoyed everything we ate, including a sampling of their fantastic desserts.  Add to that a long list of compelling cocktails and gracious service, and you've got a restaurant that might just be worth driving OTP for!

Chicken and the Egg
800 Whitlock Ave., Suite 124
Marietta, GA