I've lived in Atlanta since 1996 and over the years I've visited Aria a handful of times and it always remains in my Atlanta Top Ten restaurants. This Saturday evening (Valentine's Day weekend) we dined with another couple who are just as into food and wine as we are, which in itself is a treat! Our friends provided three bottles of wine for the evening, and we were honored that they shared such great selections with us!
Our first wine course was a Kosta Brown Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (2011) which paired well with the crab. I'm not a chardonnay fan but man oh man, this is one I really enjoy! It's a perfectly balanced wine for me -- a bit of oak, a hint of buttered popcorn and bright fruit makes it one of the only California chards I'm actually enthusiastic about.
Since all four of us are into food sharing, we started with two appetizers for the table. The seared foie gras was like none I've ever had before. Rich, slightly crispy on the outside and creamy and velvety on the inside, it's small but divine. The vanilla braised apple and black pepper gastrique on the plate brightens the dish with a bit of acid and sweetness. I could have licked that gastrique right off the plate! (You'll be glad to know I didn't) :)
We also had the crab cake appetizer which was quite good too. An appetizer is always better when it comes with a great accompaniment on the plate and the napa cabbage and apple slaw was the perfect complement to the texture and flavor of the crispy fried crab cakes.
After the appetizer course, the four of us decided to have two additional courses, each being a split entree. We love sharing multiple courses because you get so much variety!
Our server George poured our second bottle of wine (Aston Estate Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2011) and it too was crazy balanced. The nose was an amazing combination of bright strawberry, dirt and a hint of pot smoke (which is very common in coastal Pinot Noirs, especially in Anderson Valley and Mendocino County) and the palate was similar. Enough fruit to make it juicy, but enough earth, acid and a bit of tannin to give it structure. Definitely a Pinot for grown-ups. ;-)
Our first split entree course was the mountain trout -- it was soft and delicious and I swear, the vegetable set-up was just as delicious as the fish. Our friends shared the pork belly two ways and it was bigtime yummy, especially the fried portion. Simultaneously melty and crispy, the flavor was pure pig Heaven. FYI if you haven't had pork with Pinot Noir, give it a try, it's a great combo.
After our first entree course was finished, George poured our third wine (Clos Apalta, Casa Lapostolle 2005 from Chile) which had been decanting since about 2:00 pm, as the restaurant kindly allowed us to drop off our wine & decant it for us hours before they opened their doors. What a special gesture that we so appreciated!
This wine is terrific and even after decanting for four hours, continued to open up nicely on the table. Nose of salted yeast bread and a subtle hint of green pepper it was rich and delicious!
For our second split entree course, we all opted for braised beef short ribs. The kitchen kindly split each course of entrees for us, so each one arrived at the table beautifully plated, which is SUCH a nice touch that means a lot. When our split entrees arrived, we were shocked that the plates in front of us each held just a half-portion; usually a half-portion is like three bites of food, but not this one! These halves were very generous.
The short ribs were ridiculously good. Rich, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, nearly falling apart hunks of cow in a gorgeous demiglace, alongside a fluffy bed of potato-celery root puree and yummy root veggies. What could be better? Bonus: this dish paired wonderfully with the Chilean cabernet!
OH yes I almost forgot... we tried the cabernet just before the entrees arrived, we all agreed that it would ROCK if combined with the foie gras appetizer, so since it was a holiday weekend and a special occasion, we ordered a second round of foie gras which arrived halfway through our entrees. We were right - the combo of the fat of the foie with the cab was super duper.
We don't typically order dessert but it was Valentine's Day weekend so what the heck. Live on the edge. We shared the warm Chèvre cheesecake which was NUTTY good. (and not just because of the hazelnuts on top) - tangy and only the *slightest* bit warm, it was yum-o-rific. The apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream was delicious, (that's not my kind of dessert but it was definitely good!) The surprise dessert the chef sent was the standout. The menu calls it tangerine panna cotta
w/ tangerine sorbet however my palate felt it was a vanilla panna cotta with tangerine-passionfruit sorbet and tangerine gelee. Either way it RULES!
Overall the meal, the service and experience was one of our best ever and we want to thank Andres Loaiza, the General Manager for a wonderful night! read more