Omnivore Atlanta

To shed light on last week’s suspicions, The Reynolds Group PR Rep Jill Caramella sent out a press release yesterday about the changes coming to Trois. The dining room will have a new concept in September, though the bar and event spaces will remain open. Trois plans to give their employees jobs at other Concentrics restaurants in the downtime.

The release quoted owner and founder of Concentrics Restaurants Bob Amick.

“We conducted intense guest focus groups and surveys at TROIS which revealed the restaurant was not meeting guest expectations,“ he said. “As a result, we feel it is necessary to adjust the décor and menu to better please our guests. We are excited to provide more insight on the new concept when all elements are solidified.”

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I heard a rumor this morning that Trois, Concentrics’ glittering French restaurant in Midtown, will be closing within the week.  Calls to the restaurant and the restaurant’s PR rep garnered a lot of “no comment”s (although PR rep Jill Caramella at the Reynolds Group promised more information by the end of the day). But we were able to find three separate sources who told us, off the record, that the downstairs bar will stay open, probably serving food, while the upstairs dining room is “re-branded”. We’re told that concept, price point and decor will all be changed. It will no longer be Trois.

We’ll keep you posted as the official word comes down.

(Thanks to intern Robyn Baitcher for her intrepid reporting, which contributed to this post)

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INSERT SCATOLOGICAL HUMOR HERE: The chocolate spasm at Social Vinings

There are certain things one doesn’t expect to see these days and among them are new, huge restaurants with fairly pricey menus. But that’s exactly what Social Vinings (3621 Vinings Slope Dr., Suite 4100, 770-432-9772) is.

Of course, it’s true that Paul Albrecht (of Pano’s and Paul’s fame) and his son Patrick have struggled to get Social open for a year – before the economy began its unprecedented dive toward Ramen noodles and canned soup. Social joins their other restaurant, Paul’s, as part of their Great Food Group. (A third is planned next year, like Paul’s, in Peachtree Hills.

The new restaurant is located in the Vinings Main development. It is 6,500 sq. ft. with a large bar space, a dining room replete with a sushi bar and several private dining rooms. It was open only a few days when I visited and a sign had not even been installed.

The restaurant’s website describes the décor as “a combination of old European style such as heavy wood and plaster-like textures to burgundy-colored glass and some iron work.”

Um, okay, but to me, it looked like a gigantic, relatively barren hotel restaurant with more windows than the Crystal Cathedral. It’s nice that you can tuck yourself away in a comfy booth and have a conversation, but the ambiance is really chilly. Perhaps the fact that the place was virtually empty when we visited contributed to that effect.

Continue reading Grazing: A first look at Social Vinings

(Photo by James Camp)

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TROIS’s former chef, Jeremy Lieb, is heading to Cincinnati after leaving TROIS a few weeks ago. When asked if Lieb would be returning to TROIS, a source from the restaurant replied, “Jeremy has moved on.” Now, running the kitchen is Todd Ginsberg, chef of sister Concentrics gastropub, TAP.

Lieb has moved on, indeed. “Culinary legend,” Jeff Ruby, has invited Lieb to jump start his new downtown Cincinnati tapas eatery, Bootsy’s. Lieb will also be in charge of Ruby’s other restaurants in the area, but won’t be revamping the menus.

According to Ruby in a quote from The Cincinnati Enquirer, Lieb’s purpose will be “helping to individualize the restaurants” rather than turning things around, because honestly, “the food is already great.”

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Taste Network sponsors the Slow & Smoky Sunday Supper (a Slow Food Fundraising event) on Sun. Sept. 28th at 6 p.m. Held in the TROIS private dining room, this pork-tastic five-course dinner includes French wine pairings and meat from Split Cedar Farms and Smoky Mountain Country Hams. Mixologist Eric Simpkins will be stirring up some conceptual cocktails in the bar, while guests meet with local farmers and chefs, Jeremy Leib and Matt Harris. Walk-ups are welcome as long as you’re carrying checks or cash. Click here to buy your ticket online. ($105 per person).

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

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As Andisheh pointed out yesterday, the Atlanta Community Food Bank is in dire straits. This month they sponsor Hunger Action Month; a 30-day fight against domestic hunger. 30 Ways in 30 Days To Fight Hunger Calendar lists daily events throughout September and suggestions for hunger relief, such as donating a gas card to food delivery programs, or attending a dinner hosted by Tap, Trois, or Murphy’s (proceeds benefit the Food Bank). Other events include: cooking classes with chef Jay Swift of 4th & Swift, and chef Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene, and wine tastings sponsored by the Concentrics Group. For more information, log on to http://www.acfb.org/ham/.

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I confess I’m a bit cynical about events like Midtown Restaurant Week. The advertised special is three courses for $25 at some very good restaurants. My fantasy, though, is that once I’m seated, the restaurant will find a way to redirect me to spend more money.

That’s not what happened when Wayne and I went to Beleza Wednesday night with our friends Brad and Eric. We were offered three choices for each course and ended up tasting everything. Exotic Brazilian-style cocktails and wine for my companions added to the cost, of course, but there was no pressure to do things differently.

That was not, however, the experience Brad and Eric had the night before when they went to Trois. Things got off to a bad start when an annoying but bearable 15-minute wait stretched out to a famishing 40 minutes.

Then, as soon as they were seated (behind a pillar), the server informed them that while the special $25 menu was available, they might want to know that if they ordered from the regular menu, they would receive complimentary wine.

Rapid arithmetic told the couple they’d save money and eat better ordering from the regular menu. So, when the server came back, they ordered food and selected a bottle of wine.

You know the rest of the story: When the bill arrived, they’d been fully charged for the $45 bottle of wine. They protested and the server said, “Oh, that was for a free glass of wine, not a bottle.” Of course, they would have spent significantly less had they ordered the special menu and a bottle of wine.

Arguably, they should have asked for more details about the wine special. But the details should have been spelled out more clearly to begin with. And when they abandoned the $25 menu and ordered the bottle after hearing about the wine special, the server should have clarified things. Brad writes:

The wine was $45. There was a special wine list that they provided (similar to the small handout menu that is part of the Midtown Restaurant Week) that had all the wines available as part of the promotion. At the top there was a three sentence blurb about how they understood how pinched we all are as a result of the economy and this was their way to help through election day. There was no mention as far as I know of only providing one a glass of wine with one’s entree.

Brad, not the reticent type, got angry and, to Trois’ credit, the cost of the wine was deducted from their meal.

Back to Beleza….

Among the dishes at Beleza I especially liked was a “ceviche blanco” featuring coconut milk, habaneros and cucumber, as well as fish. Roasted beets with oranges, basil and tofu in an orange vinaigrette was also a hit. But my favorite dish here remains the shrimp moqueca, featuring white shrimp in coconut milk with extra-virgin red palm oil, cilantro, cashews and basmati rice.

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For French people and Francophiles, Bastille Day is a holiday worth celebrating in style.

TROIS invites everyone to bring out their inner royal and impersonate a King, Queen or peasant. Complimentary cake, champagne and live music performed by a peasant band are all part of the celebration, which begins tonight at 8 p.m.

The winner of the costume contest will receive a $500 Concentrics Restaurants gift card. (Mention “Bastille Day at TROIS” at Norcostco Atlanta Costume to rent your royal wardrobe at a special price. Call 404-874-7511 to place your costume reservation.)

TROIS will also celebrate all month with a chef-selected $35 prix-fixe menu offered every day in July.

The restaurant is located on 1180 Peachtree Street. Call 404-815-3337 for reservations or more info.

(image from bastilleday.com)

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Here you go. After you stuff your husband with chocolate and get him in a real suggestible mood on Valentine’s Day, dispatch the lazy bum to Trois to learn how to cook:

Come to Trois Saturday, Feb. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., to learn how to cook like a four-star chef. For $50 per person, guests can enjoy a one-hour, hands-on cooking class with Chef Jeremy Lieb. Also, guests can stay for lunch to enjoy their creations. (Actually there’s a class this Saturday, Feb. 9, too.)

Bring your sweetheart and share in the cooking together, or learn the tips and recreate a romantic meal at home. A veteran in the culinary industry, Lieb adds his touch of passion and dedication to Trois’ atmosphere and modern French cuisine.

Trois has recently been named Restaurant of the Year by Atlanta Magazine and Best New Restaurant 2007 by Esquire magazine. For reservations, please call TROIS at 404-815-3337

(Photo of groovy apron from chicweddingboutique.com.)

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I’m sure I’m the last foodie in Atlanta to make it to Trois (1180 Peachtree St., 404-815-3337). It’s one of those cases where everybody else reviewed it so thoroughly and positively that I kept putting off going. But I finally made it there for lunch Monday with my friend Jeff.

There’s no doubt about it: The restaurant deserves description as one of the city’s best. It’s not often that I rave about a salad, but this watercress salad (top photo) was amazing, made with roasted piquillos and socca (little rectangles of fried chickpea flour you find everywhere in Provence), served with a light, herbal dressing. Like much good food, it immediately set me to daydreaming, remembering my aunt, who used to grow watercress on the banks of the stream that ran through her yard outside Philadelphia. Yep, we used to eat little watercress sandwiches on white bread with the crust removed — just like Mr. Drysdale’s wife on the “Beverly Hillbillies.”

Jeff had French onion soup and, for an entree, perfect roasted chicken (left). My own entree was beef bourguignon — small chunks of beef with bacon and noodles (above right). The diet plate. Not. I couldn’t eat but half of it, since I was determined to have dessert — cheesecake sorbet with mango chutney, pineapple gelee and coconut crumble (above left). Jeff had a lemon tart with a blueberry creme fraiche sorbet.

I could hardly move after eating so much. It ain’t cheap, about $57 for two with no alcohol. Of course, you don’t have to eat three courses in the middle of the day. The menu here changes daily, by the way.

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Esquire magazine has just released its annual Best New Restaurants list, picked by food and travel correspondent John Mariani, and two Atlanta restaurants made the cut: Shaun’s, headed by chef Shaun Doty, and Trois.

Fearing’s in Dallas won the magazine’s Restaurant of the Year award. Creative Loafing’s Food Editor Besha Rodell is in Dallas this weekend and will be checking out Fearing’s; look for a blog entry on her experience next week.

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