Cooks & Soldiers

Basque cuisine in this one horse town? C'mon, stop poking my pouch... You might lose a finger in there. So, they promise pintxos and asados, in other words, tapas. Yes, we all know tapas has been played out but that doesn't stop me from sampling as many little morsels as I can. I'm not gonna get too much into each dish because there were a ton of them... Shit, my one fan can't read so good anyways, just likes to see the purdy pics and the stuff that went into the pouch.

Octopus Hongkongensis... I'm gonna eat you, mofo, even if you're just a sketch.

Foie Gras. Not the biggest piece in the world but for what it was, it was definitely very tasty with the fig and grapefruit.

Veal Cheek. Need I say more? Super tender cheek with a nice rich demi glace. Tasty savory dish.

Clams. Nice clam dish, the broth was pretty good, too... Might need a little more bread to sop up the goodies.

Bikini. It's only a grilled cheese sando with jamón Ibérico and black truffle... That's all, nothing to see here. Crunchy yet gooey in the middle with those potent flavors.

Cassoulet. My pic looks like shit because I couldn't wait to dig my fork into this... It had chistorra and morcilla sausage, the duck confit was just a bonus. 

Pulpo. This was good, period. I love octopus served in any style and this was no exception. It was super tender and had a nice light char finish to it. The little squirt tube is silly but the flavors were spot on.

Chistorra in a Blanket. I did not mind these at all. The croissant blanket was a little flappy but I guess you can't do much when it's wrapped around a nubby sausage. 

Croquetas de Jamon. Square and boxy, a nice break from the balls or the mozzarella stick shapes. They were tasty but nothing that is out of the ordinary.

Patatas. These are good fries. Very crispy and seasoned well. The fondue and Basque ketchup were ok, just something to dip them in.

Tartare. Cured tomato as the tartare with a carrot yolk... Very cute. But how does it taste? Not too shabby. It has the texture of a beef tartare but there's no mistaking it for meat. The carrot yolk does break and it's cute to mix it all together. I like the dish even if it's very vegan freely.

Boquerones. White anchovies, blood orange, apple.. White anchovies are the best.

Bruleed Fig. Figs were great with a little ham in there. These were a nice nibble.

Hongos y Setas. The coal roasted shrooms and truffles, c'mon... Tasty of course.

Caña y Frutas. Apple, cheese, mango... A little on the lighter side but a nice change from the cook stuff.

Fried Chickpeas. Can't eat just one.

It was a good first showing. I had no real complaints.. Imagine that, the pouch was happy. Pretty much everything came out better than than I had expected. Most dishes were pretty simple to execute, so the difficulty level were pretty minimal. But of course you still want it prepared properly. The true test is to see if they can keep it up and get better as time goes on or worse.. But for now, I'm totally OK with this place. I would come back but you have to order smart because it adds up real quickly and you may get sticker shock at the end of the night.

691 14th Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30318
404-996-2623
http://cooksandsoldiers.com/