1Kept

You won't find keywords such as "highly anticipated" or "hot spot" when it comes to the preopening of this place... This new joint was barely a blip on the radar screen before it opened it's doors. When there's too much hype by the PR driven restos, they usually end up as huge disappointments... I could name a handful but I don't have the time or energy to revisit those bombs.

So, what's the dealio about this place? Barely any information and very little hype prior to their opening... But I cringed when I heard that it could be another "speakcheesy" joint opening up in this town, especially, one that is taking over the space of that fad induced Tsunami Taqueria and revolting Toulouse before that. Let's face it, this is a cursed space but after taking my first step into this place... I felt as if an exorcism had taken place. The bad vibe was gone. Could it be true or am I just too drunk already to notice?

Deviled Quail Eggs. Cute dish, bacon jam makes it all better.

Warm Kale Salad. I was kinda surprised by how tasty this was... The chorizo probably did it. See, I am a vegan after all.

White Truffle Popcorn. It is what it is... Next.

Local Baby Beets. Nice and simple, the mache (corn salad) was a nice touch and the yellow beets are so much better than the standard red ones.

Mussels & Ale. Nothing ground breaking on this dish but the broth was really nice. Ask for extwa bwead or just pour it down your piehole.

Flat Iron Flatbread. Yeah yeah, it's a flatbread, booooring right? Ah, no... Not when it has steak, grain mustard, pickled pearl onions, aged white cheddar and arugula. A little too much color on the outter edge but shit was still tasty and I hate saying that.

B.L.T Flatbread. Gimmicky but tasty filler. Flatbread was charred spot-on on this one.

Scallop Risotto. This was a really good dish. Simple but delicious especially when you cook it properly. Giant diver scallops were seared perfectly, a little cripsy on the outside, tender moist inside. The sweet truffle corn puree kicked ass in the corn risotto. Mushrooms added that little hint of earthiness to balance it out. Had to order another one it was that good. Still thinking about it days later, that's when you know it was the shit.

Atlantic Salmon. The pickled melon rind, cashew and lime were an interesting pairing for the salmon which had a nice cripsy skin but a tad overcooked. Still a very decent dish.

Duck Bolognese. C'mon, what's not to like about this dish... Quack quack. Burp.

Grilled Filet of Ribeye. Not much to say what this pic can not say already... Shit was perfect mid rare. Tender as shit, seasoned nicely and the bleu cheese cream gave it a nice smooth balance. Coulda used a few more spears of them tasty sweet tater fwies though.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin. Ms. Piggy, grits, broccolini, cherry orange compote and garlic jus? Ah, does a dog lick his own balls? Hellz yeah. I wonder if a dog sack could ever taste as good as this... Hmmm. Taco, come here boy... Oh, wait, he's snipped.

Grilled Whole Rainbow Trout. I thought this would be boring as shit as most trout dishes go...  But I was pleasantly surprised when it came out. Butterflied and de-boned trout with some awesome quadrillage marks and black beluga lentils? Damn skippy... This tasty shit got my pouch did.

When the bartender gives you a whole bottle of this and walks away for 15 minzies... Shit's going down on this biatch. Love this rye, I have the 10 yr and 11 yr at home... It may be empty though by now.

OK, sooo... What did the pouch think of this place in it's first week? All I can say is that the kitchen didn't put one bad thing out. Fuck. I fucking hate that. I hate that I can't fucking curse about how crappy the food was. I basically ordered every dish on the menu and they all came out pretty much spot on and I literally had nothing to bitch about it. Then I found out that most of the kitchen staff came from the recently shuttered Modern... No wonder the food was executed well even though the ex-owner of Modern was a total dickhole and didn't pay the staff and vendors but that's another story. The menu is not the most adventurous but I would take a simple proven dish that's executed well every single time than some over developed, over complicated and confusing dish that's trying too hard by some narcissistic chef.

The bar is not big by any means and the selection is not as extensive as others around town or that cocktail joint right up the street but every cocktail I had was made well... Hopefully, they will continue to add more to their inventory and finally come up with a proper cocktail menu on paper. The service was great and the space/decor reminded me of Mono+Mono NYC minus the 30,000+ of jazz records and Korean Fried Chicken... Did someone say cheekan? Put it on the menu STAT!

I like this place, how long will this bromance last? Who knows but... Skip, don't walk to this place.


2293 Peachtree Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 254-1973
http://1kept.com/