Just a quick look on a revisit...
I thought this place had promise a couple of months ago... So, I made a return trip to see how they're doing these days. I knew this place would draw the Buckhead crowd no matter what and it was as predicted but it's not like that was some Nostradamus shit I pulled outta my ass. It was basically a given in this part of town but I was still unsure of the how the menu and cocktail menu has progressed.
The service is still spotty and baffling at times... Like when my party of 3 walked in. As I understand it, they still don't take rez for parties under 6 people. So, when I said it's just the 3 of us the hostess asked if we had reservations. Umm, ok, I'll play along... No, it's just the 3 of us. Again. It wasn't a big deal, just an observation. We got seated quickly and we're off to a good start.
The iPad wine list thinger is still a real pain in the ass to navigate through... I think a lot of people just give up and order a cocktail or an amaro/soda thingy. It's much simplier and you get boozing a helluva lot faster... Except for the weak aperitif sodas. The cocktails "on tap" puts you in the mood a bit quicker since it's either the Negroni or Italian Manhattan. I had both a couple times around and it was alright because they couldn't do a couple other cocktails that I requested. No big deal but it woulda been nice if they were stronger. I'm a hard liquor drinker, so I actually like to taste the booze. But anyways... Let's get to the chow.
Pork meatballs. Nice little starter, always a popular dish anywhere except for the places that only gives you one fucking small meatball and charge like $9 for it. STG gives you 3 medium sized balls and I like how they give you enough tomato sugo to bathe your balls in it and fully coat your mouth with it. I liked them but my friends thought it was a bit dry... That's why I like the generous amount of sugo to soak them in.
Branzino. At least that's what I think it was. It was a nice dish. Crispy and crunchy skin which I liked a lot but it was just a tad overcooked. The garnish consisted of a medley of veggies... Olives, cherry tomatoes, fennel, eggplant and peppers... Me thinks. Don't ask me why I can't remember this since it was decent. Mebbe I was just too focused on the 'Za that was coming.. out.. right.. now..
Anchovy, capers, taggiasca olives, arugula, taleggio. First thing you'll notice is that it's sauceless which is fine with me if it had enough juice and flavor from the toppings... But the rest of my group wasn't as excited on the visual even though one of them wanted it and was really excited to eat an anchovy 'Za. Re-read the ingredients and thought to myself, hmm, this might get salty... Even with the decent amount of dough involved here. And it was. Not a table favorite and prolly won't be on the list again. But the dough was cooked spot on and this time around had flavor within it. Just one other thing, if you're gonna call it an anchovy pie, it would be nice if there were enough anchovies to go around. They were at least 3 slices that had not even a pin bone on it. But what do I know about Napoletana 'Za. Next...
Lamb sausage, sweet onion, ricotta salatta, mint. Some people would have a hissy fit if they got a pie that didn't looked like a perfect circle like Papa John's on the TV... But I liked it because you know that it was hand made. Well, for like $22, I hope so. I enjoyed this pie, everything was distributed evenly so everyone got a bite of all the ingredients. Nothing more annoying than seeing your mates picking toppings off the slice closes to you... because we all know that pizza rules dictate you grab the slice in front of you. This pie coulda used another 15 seconds or so to melt the ricotta just a tad more, but overall it was a good pie.
The food has gotten better but there's still room for improvement... Hell, there's always room for improvement even at Alinea, Le Bernardin or the French Laundry. I think they're on a steady pace to being consistently good, even with the target demographics here whom seemed to care less about authenticity, ingredients or technique. I looked around and everyone was eating with a knife and fork... I had to tell Justin Bieber next to me that it was alright to eat his slice with his hands. He was like... Thanks, because he was sick of trying to impress the spoiled JAP that was with him. I have never seen someone in so much pain on a date... Bitch must be sick in the back seat of her daddy's Lexus.
Oh, BTW... I coulda fucking went off on this entire review about how the lovely owner came up to me on my way out and told me that my initial review was "crude" and his staff was very very hurt by my words like the Jerky Boys wrote it. I coulda blew this shit up but I didn't... Mostly because my shoes didn't fall off and my wife and daughter didn't get sick and throw up everywhere. I just spent fucking $130 for pizza and he's giving me shit... And I didn't even get a coupon or a rebate.
It's not the first time an owner bitched about how I didn't give him 5 stars like the gourmands on Yelp... And he won't be the last. I friggin welcome it because deep down I love to debate about food. He seemed like a nice guy but you know where they finish. You gotta have honey badger DNA in this biz, look at Antico, Giovanni can give two shits about anyone's opinion. I was gonna give them an extra half a star for the effort but at the end of the day, STG is still a 2 Star joint.
Burp.
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April 12, 2012
Hey, look, Ma... Another Napoletana 'ZA joint in Atlanta!
I must admit, I wasn't rubbing off a stiffy to get to this place at their soft or even hard opening. But I was starving and craving some pizza and needed a place close by... Antico, no thanks. Tartufo, who? Fuoco, curious to see how they're doing without Enrico but I wanted something new and shiny. So, STG was the only spot within a mile of my dump. It's been a week and a half, they gotta have some routine by now, it's not like they're making fancypants Fronch food or anything complicated like that. I do like the location, set way back around the corner of this gaudy strip mall. I like it because most nitwits will not even notice the place and keep on moving. Sweet.
So, here's a first lookie at the foodie...
Weirdest entrance in Atlanta. So easy to five finger discount a bot on the way out. Easy peasy. Burp. What I don't like is that there is NO real bar to sit at. The "Amaro bar" is around the corner on the other side of the entrance with the "mixologist" hidden in some dungeon like cage thinger. Well, bring out the gimp... But the gimp is sleeping... Well, I guess you'll just have to wake him up now, won't ya.
Barolo Ginger and My Amaro Cola. They were alright but I could drink 2 dozens of these and not even get a buzz. It ain't no Green Challenge at Cypress.
Spring pea, prosciutto, mozzarella, rosemary bruschetta. This was tasty. Except the puree of spring pea dripped through the holes in the bread. No one likes a drippy hole. Every time you take a bite... Squirt, drip, splat. It's ok though because it was good. Just lay off the EVOO a bit, I don't want to feel like I'm eating the 5th gear on my motorcycle.
Bucatini, guanciale, tomatoes, onions, parsley. A direct ripoff of Mario Batali's classic dish on Babbo's menu that has been on there forever. Look at the pic, it looks exactly like theirs. Excuse me, is this a half portion? No, it's the entree portion. Well, fuck me silly and call me Nancy. Because this was a portion fit for a girl. Kiddie menu portion, grown up menu price. $14 for literally a cup and a half of pasta. Speaking of which the bucatini didn't even have a hole in it when I examined it and the dry pasta was kinda a letdown at that portion and price point. I mean they take so much pride in about making everything from scratch and in house except for this pasta because fresh pasta in this dish would be fucking killer, even at that small portion size and price. But anyways, the sauce was pretty good, pretty sweet if not overly too sweet for my liking and as with the bruschetta, they like to use a lot of EVOO... As evident from the greasy film on the plate. The guanciale was good but cut a little too thick in cube form. You get a nice piece of chewy fatty gristle from time to time. It's a proven dish, as Babbo has shown for years but with a little tweaking, this dish here could be a real keeper.
Tomato, basil, mozzarella, parmesan. Aka the Margherita and not the Margarita. Why do so many people think this is a friggin Mexican't cocktail? Jesus, help me... And the Buckhead army that just ordered 2 pitchers of this pie. Not a bad looking pie, right? Bright and colorful, decent little "cornicione" on the crust, good signs. But the crust/dough was tasteless, I mean bland. I know the dough isn't full of flavor and shit... But, bro, you got to season it a bit. Salt, salt and more salt... Like the rim of a Margarita!
The sauce was ok, not really memorable in flavor because there weren't a lot of it in it. The house made mozzarella was made with cow's milk as told to me by our bubbly and sparkly server. She was pretty cute, mebbe too cute for this place. Anyways, the mozza was ok but this pie needed to go back into the Acunto's dome top for another 15-20 seconds to fully melt the cheese and produce a little more "cornicione" on the lip of the crust. The underskirt was alright, needed a little more char for me but it was acceptable. The basil ratio for a Margherita was a little too much but acceptable as well.
It was decent edible pie. I don't know the pizzaiolo but if certified Italian and Napoletana-pizzamaker Roberto Caporuscio of Keste Pizza came down here to help launch their opening, he can't be that bad, right? But there is still a lot more improvements that must be made to be even considered to be in the same league as Keste. But it's a good start.
I like the overall space and the feel of the joint. I don't like the bar setup. I don't like how they change your fucking plate after every bite. This isn't a fine dining joint, not by a long shot, but I like the effort. Just let me eat in fucking peace, yo... Like the priest you sat solo in the back gimongous table made for King Arthur and his shiny Knights in tights. The New iPad they use all over the place makes it kinda plasticky and not like you're in a rustic pizza joint. But that's my weird personal shit.
The place will be a hit nevertheless... Even if the food doesn't improve. It's Buckhead, they'll shove anything in their snouts and say it's good (ie: Buckhead Bottle Bar). They're there for the scene and trim. I'm there for the 'Za and to get fat.
Oink oink.
2 Stars.
102 West Paces Ferry Rd
Atlanta, GA 30310
404-844-2879
http://www.stgtrattoria.com/
