(as published in The Southern Voice, www.sovo.com)
Toast
817 W. Peachtree Street
Suite E-125 Atlanta, GA
404.815.9243
http://www.toastrestaurant.com/
Up-and-coming hotspot offers inspired dishes from starters to desserts that are sure to send diners to Wonderland.
When visiting a new restaurant, I sometimes feel like Alice, having fallen down the rabbit hole and thinking, “I suppose I ought to eat or drink something or other; but the great question is, what?”
That’s certainly a great question at Toast, one of the newest, tastiest spots to make a name for itself in Atlanta.
Occupying a bottom corner in the historic Biltmore hotel, Toast is bright and airy with dramatic tangerine and lime walls. The space maintains an industrial feel, and there is a patio that’s highly manicured, covered and comfortable.
Blonde wood furnishings and concrete block walls blend effortlessly with glossy orange chairs and a steel and aluminum accented bar. A deep tangerine logo wall is the focal point of the main dining room, and a couple of flat screen televisions add to the lofty, modern feel.
Toast COMBINES small plates and starters with heartier entrees. The wait staff is well informed, taking several minutes to explain certain dishes and offering suggestions.
I start with a soup of the day, which at most places is pretty typical fare. But at Toast, as in Wonderland, things aren’t always what they appear to be.
I’m served a bowl of chilled tomato and melon soup, sprinkled with a chiffonade of basil and drizzled in olive oil with a scoop of Tang sorbet in the middle.
That’s right, Tang sorbet — made from the drink of the astronauts. But Neil Armstrong himself couldn’t walk higher than the high this soup inspires. Cool and fresh, tangy and tart, it’s wonderful for a summer day. Or a winter day. Or any other day.
Other starters follow, including an antipasti of artisian meats, olives and eggplant caponata, a calamari, flash fried and topped with a mixture of tomato, mango and herbs. Then there’s Toast’s cheese plate containing a chef’s selection with dollops of pureed beets and olive tapenade. These nibbles are above the status quo for appetizers.
Toast offers gourmet sandwiches, salads and entrees like Chef Drew’s submarine sandwich ($9) made with prosciutto, serrano, cappicola, roasted tomatoes and feta cheese. Or try Kellie’s chicken salad ($7) with white grapes, dried cranberries and marcona almonds.
But I go for the salmon sandwich and the pulled chicken sandwich. The salmon sandwich ($8) is served on a soft baguette and topped with an arugula pesto, pecorino cheese and tomato. The salmon is seared then baked off, delivering a tasty and light sandwich.
The chicken in the pulled chicken sandwich ($7) is doused in a tangy barbecue sauce and loaded onto toasted house made bread with arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and pecorino cheese. Served with crispy, thick cut potatoes, it’s a tremendous, tasty little feast. Or should that be a Toast-y feast?
I anticipate my experience with Toast will keep surprising me through the dessert menu. Not only does the restaurant deliver, it might force diners to re-evaluate how they define “surprising.”
Blueberry pie with cookie dough ice cream ($6), fresh made sorbets ($5) and a chocolate caramel tart (priced daily) served with goat cheese ice cream are a few of Toast’s enchanting desserts. Today’s special sorbet is strawberry and rosemary, a nice blend of fresh flavors that is one of the best sorbets I’ve had.
Slightly heavier than the sorbet is the chocolate caramel tart. Who would have thought to mix goat cheese ice cream with deep, dark warm chocolate? But it works — boy, does it work. It’s smiles all around with this Queen of Tarts.
Fun and funky, with a neighborhood vibe, Toast is sure to please foodies with its inspired preparation and culinary boldness. It also appeals to happening jet-setters looking for the next hotspot.
Chef Drew Van Luevan and company have designed a delightful, scrumptious eatery that is sure to gain fans.
Unlike Alice, I never want to leave this Wonderland.
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