Ray's In The City

Ever been to a restaurant that is neither superb nor atrocious, but even describing it as unremarkable doesn’t quite encapsulate it either?

That’s how I was feeling on my recent visit to Ray’s In The City, the sister restaurant of the more renowned Ray’s On The River.

Seafood is the name of the game here, and it’s also no surprise that you get the “Fresh Not Frozen” lecture. This is one of my favorite restaurant mantras. You know the deal, right? “Our seafood is made to order---the freshest available---never frozen.” Now allow me to be a tad sardonic, but would any seafood restaurant ever boast, “We have the freshest frozen seafood in town?” Just a thought. Maybe I’m naïve, but I’d like to think that all food at a restaurant is somewhat fresh, right? “Hit me up w/ the stale salmon tonight” probably hasn’t been uttered too recently, I wouldn’t think.

Despite the lecture, I can’t complain at the service at Ray’s In The City. From the moment I walk in, I’m cheerfully greeted and taken to my table, and the wait staff is only too happy to accommodate my table preference. Our waitress, Dietra, is effervescent and congenial.

For appetizers, we order the California rolls. I’ve acquired a taste for sushi the last few years, and like to think I have sampled enough to make a respectable evaluation. They were tasty and came in plentiful quantity.

For my entrée, I go with the seafood platter---blackened everything--- shrimp stuffed with crab meat, scallops, salmon, and lobster tail served with mashed potatoes. This is where my ambivalence with Ray’s becomes so acute. I don’t mean to belittle Ray’s seafood platter, but let’s just say my palate has been stimulated more at some high quality, regional chains than it was on this evening. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy my dinner. I did. However, I guess I expected and demanded more for this almost $30 entrée.

Two of my friends selected the crab cakes, which I had to nibble on, of course. My fundamental problem with crab cakes as an entrée is that they never fill me up entirely. Ray’s version comes with two moderately sized cakes, but I’ve seen other seafood places that have one large cake instead. Either way, it’s never enough for my appetite, so I never order it. Taste wise, not size wise, these crab cakes were unimpeachable and very respectable.

My last friend orders the horseradish encrusted grouper. His entrée looked the most appetizing as it was served and definitely the most sizeable in terms of portions as it came with two large filets. However, appearances often are deceiving, and this one was actually. It was rather bland and disappointing.

Since this dinner was for a birthday, Dietra brought out a complimentary dessert, which turned to be red velvet cake. By far, it was the most delectable of all I had consumed---rich, moist, and scrumptious.

You do have much to like about Ray’s In The City. For one, there’s a wide variety of menu items---from seafood, to steaks, to chicken, and pasta. There’s also a bevy of options for the lactose intolerant. Most of all, you’re comfortable when you dine here, and our service---as I noted earlier---was friendly, relaxed, and delivered in an unhurried, leisurely pace. As you might imagine, based on its downtown location, there’s a diverse crowd in attendance, which I enjoyed as well.

One issue with seafood restaurants is they are problematic for true vegetarians. Options are usually limited, and Ray’s is no exception. Appetizers are the only options for this group of folks and include fried green tomatoes and the house or Caesar salad.

Let me note that I’ve been to Ray’s In the City several times but never in my blogging duty capacity, so perhaps I was a bit more critical this time around. While I can’t recall specifically what fish I had in previous visits, I know that I enjoyed it enough to return and recommend this establishment for a birthday celebration.

That being said, I hearken back to my earlier statements about this restaurant. I didn’t leave raving, but I wasn’t disappointed I had recommended it either. Ultimately, my friend thoroughly enjoyed his meal, and on this date, that was what was most important.

Food: B
Service: A+
Portions: B+
Ambience/Comfort: A
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Good
Vegetarian Options: Limited
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes
OVERALL GRADE: B+
FINAL COMMENT: I’m going to allow the quality service and ambience to trump everything else and give Ray’s a high B.

Kyma

Allow me to preface what I’m about to write with this little profound old saying: “Opinions are like a**holes. Everyone has one.” Let me follow that little ditty up with the fact that I do not partake of a myriad of Greek foods on a regular basis. I do have a Greek friend, but he has never cooked for me.

I say all of this because I’m about to write a review for Kyma, listed in “Atlanta Magazine” as one of the Top 100 restaurants in our beloved city. I’m having pangs of guilt already, in large part because of the aforementioned lack of Greek food consumption. I mean, seriously, do gyros count as Greek cuisine?

If you’re already thinking, “What business does this guy have to write a review of a Greek restaurant?”, then by all means, get John Kessler of the “Atlanta Journal Constitution” on the phone and ask his opinion.

However, you might be someone who has seen Kyma on Piedmont Road for years and has wondered, “Is that place any good? I don’t eat much Greek, but it looks cool.” If that quote sounds like you, then this is the review you need to read!

Things start off wonderfully enough at Kyma. I walked through the ornate dining area, where tones of ivory emanate across the room, to my spacious booth---suitable for at least four people or (five if you don’t have any hefty folks with you.)

Minutes later, our server has greeted us and inquired the almost patronizingly trite phrase of, “Have you ever dined at Kyma before?” No knock on our waiter because I realize most fine dining establishments ask this trifling, tiresome question. However, if you say “No”, you render an abject look of, “How can you consider yourself a refined man of the millennium if you have not dined at our splendid establishment? How uncouth are you?!!”

After the banal overview of the restaurant’s menu, I noticed our waiter was not overflowing in ebullience either. He was not rude but not exceptionally convivial either.

My friend and I immediately ordered the grilled pita bread appetizer, which comes with several different type spreads with which to choose. We elect the “Roasted Red Holland Peppers And Feta Cheese” variety. I love feta cheese, so I’m thinking this is a meritable choice.

I could not have been more wrong. The red peppers were so overpowering that I barely noticed any discernable feta cheese. It almost had a sweet taste to it, which was definitely not what was expected or desired.

For my entrée, my friend and I both ordered the salmon. This is problematic for my blog for two reasons: First, I don’t get to review multiple selections, and two, if my food isn’t any good, I can’t nibble on someone else’s either!!

Our waiter described the salmon as being cooked “unilaterally”, leaving the top portion leaning a bit more toward the medium rare side. When it arrived, it looked like our waiter had “unilaterally” decided to drop off some of it at another table. The salmon was prepared in what appeared to be a vinaigrette type sauce. Regardless, the salmon tasted, well, too fishy. Does that make sense to describe a dish as “too fishy”? I think it does actually. And the aforementioned sauce combined with the mushrooms did not enhance the taste substantially either. The $27.50 price tag seemed a bit over-inflated considering the portion size and the quality. My friend concurred whole-heartedly on the sapidity of it as well.

At this point, I didn’t even desire dessert, though none of the suggestions, including baklava, really enticed me anyway. We simply asked for the check, which turned out to be slightly harrowing when the tab of some adjacent table of $175 was mistakenly given instead of the less austere $75.

In my blogs, if you leave a restaurant and head for McDonald’s, there’s a problem. That’s exactly what happened by the way.

Again, I’m no connoisseur of Greek of food, but I do know what is pleasing to my palate and what is not. Aside from the complimentary bread, nothing on this evening was.

I so wanted to grade Kyma higher, namely because I truly enjoyed the relaxed, yet garish dining room, but regretfully, it did not resonate with me. While I am a big fan of other Buckhead Restaurant Life Group establishments, namely Chops and Pricci, I can’t side with Kyma. Call it a “unilateral” decision!

Food: C-
Service: C+
Portions: D
Ambience/Comfort: A
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Needs improvement
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes
OVERALL GRADE: C-
FINAL COMMENT: Take the $27.50 and try another establishment in the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.

Kaysons Neighborhood Grille

Five years ago, if you drove by the area around Howell Mill Road and I-75, your dining destination would have been Einstein’s Bagel or Wendy’s. But, of course, in Atlanta, we can’t leave any land untouched without proliferating condos or a shopping center, can we?

Nestled in the new “We Want To Feel Like Country Bumpkins So Let’s Throw Up A Wal-Mart Complex” are a multiplicity of new restaurants and shopping venues.

It was here that I stumbled upon Kaysons Neighborhood Grill. What it should be more aptly named would be Kaysons Sports Bar, because that is really what it is. Television screens abound, and the touch I like is the mini TV’s at the booths.

Now you may look at my other reviews and wonder how Kaysons can be vetted like Prime, Lola, and Sotto Sotto can. Well, it’s certainly not in the same league as fine dining establishments, but hey, we all have our moments where we just want to let our hair down, dress like we just got out of truck and tractor pull, and throw down some grub!!!

Such was the case on my recent visit to Kaysons. The menu is what you might expect from a sports bar. They have a little bit of everything---burgers, ribs, chicken, wings, a few fish dishes, and salads.

On this evening, we’re seated in the elevated table and chairs in the bar area, which is fine with me. Our server boasts this place’s specialties are the aforementioned ribs and burgers. I opted for the ribs, and my friends went with the burgers.

The ribs, in a word, were delicious. I selected the half rack, but even that portion size was surprisingly copious. You often hear of restaurants boasting of “fall off the bone baby back ribs.” These lived up to that type billing. The accompanying barbeque sauce, crucially important to the success of ribs, was neither too spicy nor too insipid, and the meat was juicy and saporous. These were easily some of the best ribs I had tasted in the city. My ribs came with two sides---bland macaroni and cheese and serviceable mashed potatoes. In retrospect, I should have tried the fries.

The applause with which I gave the ribs could not be sustained, however, with the burgers. Now admittedly my friend ordered his well done, which I’m not usually a fan of, quite frankly. However, I didn’t detect the type of seasoning that, in my opinion, makes a great burger. I’ll be the first to tell you that I am quite finicky about burgers and have high criteria that must be met in order to give a superior grade. I’m willing to try a burger at Kaysons on a future visit for verification, but my initial impressions of it were not glowing.

Desserts at Kaysons are in a chilled case at the front of the restaurant. A few looked appetizing, but ultimately, I elected to try what was not in the case---warm chocolate chip cookies with chocolate sauce and ice cream. How can this not be a viable selection each and every time? And this one delivered and was gone in a matter of seconds.

As far as service, you don’t expect it to be peerless when you’re at a bar and especially when you sit in the bar, but the two servers, who doubled as bartenders, were attentive and friendly.

Vegetarian options at Kaysons include several salad choices. Lactose intolerant folks will welcome plenty of options from the stellar ribs to chicken.

Overall, I would recommend a stop at Kaysons, especially if you’re searching for a place to watch the NFL games and chow down on pleasing American bar food. Prices were reasonable so you won’t break your budget nor will your frugal friends complain about having to spend too much.

Food: B+
Service: B+
Portions: A
Ambience/Comfort: B
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Good
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes
OVERALL GRADE: B+
FINAL COMMENT: A welcomed addition to the neighborhood!