PRIME

Anticipating an evening at Prime, for me, is reminiscent of watching my favorite movie for the 30th time. I know all of the lines, I know what is going to happen, and yet, I get excited each and every time!

Prime is a phenomenally outstanding restaurant, which delivers consistently and virtually flawlessly every time I dine there. There really are not enough adequate superlatives to accurately evaluate this restaurant.

It all starts when you walk in, where you are welcomed as if you are the VIP of the restaurant. I’m always greeted with a genuine, inviting smile by the hostess. My request to sit in the front of the restaurant in one of the comfy booths has been noted once more, and the “Reserved” card has been placed on my table. This is especially impressive to me on this evening, as the restaurant is packed, even at 6PM after a full day of shopping at Lenox Mall for some folks. Recession talk? I don’t think so.

After being taken to my table, it is only mere moments before I am cheerfully greeted by our server. I am not one who is preoccupied with formality or pretentious clamoring, but the folks at Prime have a way of reconciling respectful congeniality with contrived, supercilious formality that so many of the Buckhead elite demand. It is obvious the servers at Prime can ascertain quickly what type of service you prefer and respond accordingly.

There are a plethora of exemplary options at Prime---from USDA Prime to sushi to seafood, but for my money, why on earth would you go to this restaurant and not eat the unsurpassed steak? Order the filet. Just do it. If you’re starving, go for the 14 ounces or if you prefer to be less of a glutton, opt for the 8 ounce option. Whatever you do, don’t get it butterflied, if you select the larger option, even if that is the suggestion. You’ll lose all of the juices.

As I bite into my 8 ounce filet (which I opted for on this evening in an obvious futile attempt to mitigate upcoming Thanksgiving week calories), I return to my aforementioned analogy about watching my favorite movie. Or, perhaps to bring it home a little more carnally, how about the sensation of consistently good sex with a lover or spouse? You’re reminded why you’re there in the first place! Yes, folks, the steak is that good.

I’ve tried them all in the Atlanta area, as well as the top steakhouses across the country, but none can trump Prime in my estimation. Several have rivaled it but none have surpassed it. On this evening, like every time I’ve dined at Prime, the steak is juicy, tender, and bursting with flavor. You don’t need seasoning or steak sauce. Steak sauce? This would be the steakhouse equivalent of blasphemy!

The accompaniments I’ve selected (mashed potatoes, macaroni cheese) are superb. The creamed spinach is commendable as well, made with garlic and blue cheese.

My friend, who I’m taking out for his birthday on this evening, raves about his ribeye. Much too fatty a cut of steak for my tastes, but from the feedback I received, I’d say it’s a cogent selection as well.

The birthday dessert is a circular piece of cheesecake served with raspberries and strawberries and topped with whipped cream. After the ambrosial entrée I’ve just ingested, it wouldn’t have mattered how this tasted, but the three bites I had were satisfying.

In my estimation, Prime is the crown jewel in Tom Catherall’s arsenal of restaurants. I have always been vocal in my assertion that Prime is the best restaurant in Atlanta. Due to its unfortunate location in a mall, even as one as ballyhooed as Lenox Square, Prime often does not get its just desserts from the critics. Other steakhouses often receive the praise before Prime does, but trust me, there’s no worthier dining destination for beef than this place.

Plenty of options for the lactose intolerant from steaks to seabass to tuna. Vegetarian options include a vegetable plate and an array of salads.

As far as diversity goes, this restaurant has it all, which you would expect from a dining establishment confined in a mall. Young, old, families, and a variety of ethnic backgrounds can be found at Prime most every time you dine. It’s just one more thing that I love about this place, amongst scads.

Whether it’s a special occasion or just a respite from mall shopping, Prime should be your destination. Even the most discriminating palates (and I’ve taken numerous people to Prime) will love this place!

Food: A+
Service: A+
Portions: A
Ambience/Comfort: A
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Very good
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes
OVERALL GRADE: A+
FINAL COMMENT: Simply delectable!

LOLA BELLINI BAR AND RESTAURANT

Recently opened up at the Terminus Building in Buckhead, Lola is the Italian incarnation for Tom Catherall’s “Here To Serve Restaurants” group that features such stalwarts as Prime, Shout, and Strip.

Lola is touted as a Bellini bar and restaurant. Admittedly, I’m a mixed drink neophyte, and if you’re like me, you may be as unfamiliar as I was with what exactly a Bellini is. It’s actually a cocktail consisting of champagne and usually peach juice. Considering my idea of a functional cocktail is strictly a pedestrian margarita, I’m definitely not the right person to ascertain the merits of Lola’s signature drink.

However, there’s plenty to love about this place aside from the libations. Like its sister restaurant, Strip, dimly lit red tints are pervasive, which serve as both a romantic and yet comfortable dining experience. There is, unfortunately, the omnipresent “table row” as I like to call them, which is becoming characteristic of all modern restaurant creations. (See my Sotto Sotto review for the definition of “Table Row.”) However, I requested and was granted a traditional table for two, and I’m pleased to report there’s a sufficient amount of space to allow for cozy, personal conversation.

The evening began with an appetizer consisting of grilled bread with a side of copious amounts of goat cheese and marinara sauce. The great thing about this appetizer is when you run out of the grilled bread, you can utilize the baked bread as I guarantee there will be sauce left over. The sauce was not spicy but still flavorful, and my dining companion noted it was some of the tastier goat cheese in Atlanta, to which I agreed.

For my entrée, I selected the chicken piccata, which came highly recommended by our jovial server, who was surprised to learn from me that Notre Dame had just lost in triple overtime to the Naval Academy. I couldn’t have agreed more with his assessment of the dish being light due to the egg and cheese battering preparation. Nonetheless, this did not detract from the dish’s savory taste. Two large chicken breasts not only pleased the palate but also satiated the appetite.

My friend partook of the baked rigatoni in a Gorgonzola sauce, which was certainly very rich to the taste buds and sapid like my dish. However, we both agreed mine was the better choice.

Desserts come on a cart, which I like for two reasons----tangibility and immediacy. In this scenario, I can clearly discern quickly which dessert appears to be the most appetizing, and my voracious appetite for sweets can be quenched in a matter of seconds once the dessert is cut. In this case, the orange swirl cheesecake, slightly tangy in nature, was my selection. I wouldn’t say it knocked my socks off, but it was serviceable.

Overall, I would recommend this restaurant, especially if you are fan of Catherall’s other establishments. I will say the dining patrons are your typical Buckhead crowd, so you won’t find much diversity of the clientele---at least not yet---like you might find at sister restaurant Prime at Lenox Mall. But the restaurant is new and its typical dining patrons may evolve as it does. The place does offer solid choices for vegetarians (stuffed ravioli, the aforementioned rigatoni, and three types of pizza) and the lactose intolerant (salmon, rotisserie chicken, sashimi tuna, chicken milanese, and steaks).


Food: A-
Service: A-
Portions: A-
Ambience/Comfort: A
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Little diversity
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes
OVERALL GRADE: A-
FINAL COMMENT: Nice variety of options to satisfy even the most discriminating of palates---from steaks to seafood to pizza to chicken.

SOTTO SOTTO

If you have lived in Atlanta for any length of time and you are a fan of Italian restaurants, no doubt you've heard of Sotto Sotto, and its tradition for excellence.

A cursory glance over at their website and you will find the following distinctions: "Best Italian Restaurant - Creative Loafing, 1999 through 2004;" Best of Citysearch Italian Editorial Winner 2000, 2002, 2003;" Citysearch National Winner Best Italian 2003;") and John Kessler's (of the Atlanta Journal/Constitution) choice for Best Italian in 2003.

With a plethora of accolades, I cannot believe that I've managed to live in this city for ten years and not dine at this celebrated restaurant.

I decided to change that recently, with high hopes of a truly superior dining experience.

When I made my reservation on line, I noted that I did not want a table in the center of the restaurant, nor did I desire one of those tables that are so close to each other that you can smell a stranger's "Right Guard" that they applied eight hours ago. To me, you're not really dining if you have to filter the conversation so that your neighbors will not be offended, irritated, or downright mortified.

The hostess showed my two dining companions and yours truly to our table. While it was not in the center of the restaurant as I had requested, it was situated along "Table Row" as I will henceforth designate the aforementioned "scrunched tables." When I brought this to our hostess' attention, she offered to sit us in the front of the restaurant - along another line of "Table Row." Huh? She apparently did not understand what I was saying or chose to ignore it. At this point I decided to let it go. After all, there was no use getting all worked up over the table location, considering it was a small price to pay if the food were as elite as I was led to believe.

My two friends, not known for their girth, skipped appetizers altogether and ordered their entrees. I , not wanting to feel like a fat cow, acquiesced and ordered my entree as well.

I chose the Spaghetti del Pescatore, while my dining companions, John and Tre, ordered Tortelli di Michelangelo and the Lasagnette alle Bolognese, respectively. As they arrived at the table I was eager to sample mine, but John noted that my neophyte blogging duties required that I nibble on everyone's first.

I first sampled the Tortelli di Michelangelo - an interesting blend of chicken, veal and pork in ravioli in a butter/sage sauce. The description of "sauce" was a misnomer, as there was only a scintilla of it, making it rather dry to the taste. So dry, in fact, that John inquired with the waiter if he could bring some additional sauce. The meshing of the three types of meat in the ravioli, as tasty as it sounded to me, resulted in surprisingly insipid results, perhaps encumbered by the dryness issue.

I then moved on to Tre's. Much to my chagrin, I too, found his selection seemingly nuked, stunningly similar to John's. Taste wise, it wasn't bursting with flavor either, possessing a banality that was quite unexpected in light of how luscious the description on the menu appeared to be. I was now 0 for 2.

Normally, I am the one who predominantly orders the wrong menu item, but tonight the restaurant gods were on my side. My Spaghetti del Pescatore, described as "spaghetti mixed with seafood and spicy tomato broth" hit the spot, though "spicy" was a slight overstatement. It had merely a slight kick but was definitely a palatable selection. It reminded me why I came to this restaurant in the first place. And my entree, portion-wise, was quite satisfying, whereas the other two I partook of had only meager quantities which would not have filled me at all had I ordered those selections.

The dessert options did not inspire us at all, and we asked for our check. It was at that point that John astutely pointed out that the waiter had not told us his name all night. I started thinking about his service, and it did possess an aloof quality. He was not rude by any means, but friendliness certainly did not emanate at all. Our drinks were completely empty on several occasions, which should not happen at a restaurant of this ilk.

Since this is my first column, I should expound on the final criteria for my reviews, which will differentiate them from other critics. Portions play a factor, as does the "comfort-level" of the restaurant, which is grouped in the ambience category. Being crammed tightly into a space or learning that the gentleman next to you had a prostate exam that day would tend to lower this score. Lastly, the diversity of the dining patrons will be evaluated. In fairness, restaurants cannot control completely the diverse nature of its clientele. However, let's face it, we are often more likely to dine at a place in an environment befitting our cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Thus, these criteria will be evaluated as well.

Additionally, I will note if there are vegetarian options and also whether choices are available for the lactose intolerant.

After completing my overall dining experience, my scores looked like this:

FOOD: B+

SERVICE: C+

PORTIONS: B-

AMBIENCE/COMFORT: C+

DIVERSITY OF DINING PATRONS: Very Little

VEGETARIAN OPTIONS: Yes

OPTIONS OF LACTOSE INTOLERANT: Yes

OVERALL GRADE: B-

FINAL COMMENT: Judging from the wait time as I left the restaurant, my opinions of Sotto Sotto are likely in the minority. But, hey, it's my blog with different evaluative criteria. See you at the next restaurant.