PARK's EDGE

Perhaps more so than ever during these tumultuous economic times, new restaurants must not only be good, but they essentially must captivate diners enough to return and spread the word.

On a recent trip to Park’s Edge, consider it mission accomplished.

Park’s Edge is the inaugural full scale restaurant venture for Richard Wadlington, who touts his eatery as “Inman Park’s best kept secret.” Chances are its accomplishments will not be clandestine much longer.

Housed in the space that used to occupy Pacific Kitchen Restaurant until December 31^st of this past year, Park’s Edge is a delightfully charming and cozy establishment. The staff here certainly gets the notion that word of mouth will make or break this restaurant, considering it is somewhat off the beaten path on Highland Avenue in the Inman Park area.

Upon entering the restaurant, I was actually greeted cordially by Mr. Wadlington himself, who is clearly pouring himself into his restaurant endeavor. Shortly thereafter, I was offered a drink by the convivial young lady, Deborah, who would end up being my waitress for the evening. The greetings were not at all contrived or perfunctory, and I felt very much appreciated for choosing to dine at this new establishment. You get the feeling if you showed up more often, it could be a place “where everyone knows your name.”

But would the food be any good? Deborah assured me everything was fantastic, but was this cogent testimony or merely grandiose drivel?

After my dining friend had arrived, the first order of business was ordering appetizers, some of which looked quite enticing. The calamari and hummus were the selections of choice on this evening.

The fried calamari in a chili sauce and wasabi aioli was excellent, albeit a bit different taste-wise than customary calamari offerings at other restaurants. Aioli, in case you are unfamiliar, is a garlic-flavored mayonnaise usually served with fish and seafood. The chili sauce glaze actually had a slight sweetness to it, which complemented the saltier, sharper wasabi aioli taste effectively.

The hummus, on the other hand, was forgettable. There have been only a handful of places I’ve visited where the hummus actually burst into flavorful, slightly piquant spreads, but this wasn’t one of them. I cannot quite pinpoint exactly what this tasted like, but it didn’t leave me wanting for more, and much of it was left over as the entrees arrived.

My pick for the evening was the jumbo shrimp and grits. The moniker, “jumbo” was certainly apropos to describe it. Served with Monterey cheese grits, this dish was an absolute winner. Upon its arrival, it didn’t appear to be all that filling, but as you dive in, you find yourself becoming quite stuffed rapidly.

My friend opts for the pan-seared snapper, served with grilled shrimp in a tomato black olive vinaigrette sauce and vegetables. Another succulent selection to be sure, brimming with excellent flavor.

Disappointment abounded as I became too full, and my friend was unwilling to share dessert, with a multiplicity of inviting options like cheesecake, molten lava cake, and a baked blueberry tart of sorts (served warm), which actually would have been my choice.

Ambience wise, this is a converted elegant but comfortable house, but the tables were spaced adequately enough, though there are a few in a row to the side, which potentially could be too close. As you folks know from reading my blog, I call these tables “restaurant row”, and unfortunately, are all too common in restaurants these days. However, on this night and time, no one was seated next to me so it became a non-issue.

Considerable options for the lactose intolerant including the aforementioned snapper, as well as the tofu stir fry, pan-seared duck, grilled lamb loin, and swordfish. Additionally, there are dishes where you could substitute mashed potatoes to avoid the dairy.

Vegetarians can go for very little by way of entrees, except for the tofu stir fry I mentioned earlier and a few salads and appetizers.

I would definitely go back to Park’s Edge and have encouraged my friends to try it as well. If the attentive, friendly, and laid-back service was done to garner my recommendation, then Deborah and the staff succeeded and then some. My guess is, however, that the gregarious nature of the employees was quite genuine.

A bit hard to determine the diversity of the dining patrons, as only an exiguous amount of folks were there at the time, but judging from the African-American owner, coupled with the talented chef, Jorge Pacheco, my guess is they will draw an eclectic clientele.

My hope is this restaurant will survive during this difficult economy. When a staff can make you wish the food is good ahead of time due to their enchanting personalities (and then can actually deliver a wonderful meal), you really want to root for their success.

Food: B+

Service: A+

Portions: B+

Entrée Prices: Range from $17-$27 with most around $17-$19

Ambience/Comfort: A-

Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Unable to evaluate

Vegetarian Options: Limited

Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes

OVERALL GRADE: B+

FINAL COMMENT: Plug the location into your GPS because if you Mapquest, as I did, you’ll get lost! But by all means, no matter how you plan to get there, just get there.