The Mercury

I came here for drinks one time and ended up spending $100 on bread... Haven't been back since. This joint may be one of only two real restos inside the PCM. They're on the second floor which makes them more of a real resto feel than Brezza downstairs with their open air space. I have a neutral stance with Pinewood, while their cocktails are pretty good, their menu has never impressed me. It always seemed forced, like they were peddling mediocre dishes as if they were more elevated and upscale. I didn't buy into it but many others have and continue to do so... Hey, more power to them if they can sucker the weak minded palates into paying for it (it really isn't that difficult to trick people into thinking the food is better than it is anywhere if you packaged it and tell the right story).
Now, comes their more upscale spot where they can hawk their "draft Old Fashioned" in a Mad Men-esque motif. The space is well designed and gives you a feel of 60's eloquence. The cocktail menu didn't impress me as much as their original at Pinewood. The menu development centered around the prime rib... Why? I have no fucking clue, maybe it's a 60's thing to go with the theme but it doesn't exactly say posh to me, it reminds me more of a touristy item you would find at a Vegas buffet, wedding dinner or the center piece for old people on a cruise ship buffet, the prime rib is such a gimmicky dish. It took me awhile to work up my strength and interest to come back here, but I'm game for some hunk of manmeat... Because they gotta have a scam to pay the high rent somehow.

Rolls and butter. The butter was at room temp soft but the rolls were at days old hard. They were so hard that it dulled the knife on the table trying to cut them in half. I had to use my sculpted biceps and finger strength to rip these petrified carb balls apart. Once the innards were buttered they were still a bit of a struggle to chew and chew before you could swallow it... I felt like a cow just constantly moving my mouth back and forth grinding away. Maybe it was a good sign that I only ate half of one. The hand made old fashioned wasn't any better than the OF on draft. I keep getting suckered into the cocktails here but they always fail me... So, I resorted to drinking their "Merc draft" which was the champagne of beers that still carried a hefty price tag for that swill. The cocktails are not terrible if they were $5 each but anything over $10 for a cocktail here is just ill advised.

Caesar Salad w/ White Anchovies. I got suckered in for the white anchovies but this was one of the not so great caesar salad I have ever had. The caesar dressing was watery and lacked any of that punch a real housemade caesar dressing have. The salad itself was small and weak. The croutons tasted like it came from a bag, the slices of parmesan were fine but the 3 tiny slivers of white anchovies were thrown on there in the corner like it didn't matter, an after thought that they forgot about until the last second at the pass. A real shitty display that was obvious about the passion and technique the kitchen has for even the simplest dish on the menu. All I could think of was how many wings I coulda got at Hop's chicken even though they have failed me 75% of the time but that's a chance I would take again than the $10 I paid for this subpar ruffage.

Steak Tartare. Does this look like a failed cartoon character to anyone? Covering up the main ingredient is never a good thing, it says you're trying to hide something. The 4 pieces of bread were dried out and seemed like they were toasted off 4 hours ago and sitting in a hotel pan waiting to be tossed on a plate so it can be put out of it's misery. The sunnyside up egg is cute but I would have it much preferred to be cooked in a round mold like in an Egg McMuffin that is the same size as the mold they used to form the tartare... It would be much more uniform and better looking, too. The steak tartare mix was actually quite nice and flavorful but once you mash up the egg yolk and whites into the tartare it was just a total mess. The hard gum biting toasts were not the right vehicle to deliver the room temp ground beef to your facehole. The toasts shattered into pieces when you take a bite with the tartare on it. It was just a sloppy thinking of a dish, no matter how much they thought it was a winner. It looked like some home cook was making this dish for the first time at home for his sweetie. Oh, it's wonderful, honey...

Just a total mess to eat with that dried out hard toasted bread. Been there, done that, prolly not again unless they rethink this.

The Merc's Seafood Chowder. The price to portion ratio was a total joke, it was like half a cup of barely warmed through chowder if you want to call it that. The consistency was fine but the "seafood" was added in after the half ladle of chowder was pour into the tiny bowl with the flared lip for maximum effect. One shrimp on top as garnish and a few cubes of fish sprinkled around. One of the worst overpriced chowder I have had, if you can even call it a chowda. It's almost an insult that they charge so much for a couple of spoonfuls of soup...But I'm sure Bania would have no problem ordering this, he did have a hot dog earlier. If it was spectacular and packed with high end ingredients then it may be worth it but this was just a slap in the flap on my pouch. Skip it.

Julian's Cut. A 10 oz piece of Revere Meat Co. prime rib with au jus and horseradish cream. It's kinda impressive when it came out because it was the only thing on the plate without any sides to distract you from the rosy hunk of manmeat placed right in the center... It was a Jedi mind trick to distract you from the $30 price tag. But it was a portion that was more than enough for one person. No one needs to eat more than 10 ounces of meat in one sitting... Unless you're John Candy and we all know how that ended, bless his bloated clotted gristled heart. The pinch of braised onion, not caramelized, was kinda chintzy for the size of the meat... But let's get up close and personal...

The beautiful rosy color was spot on. It was tender, moist and cut through like butter but it was kinda unseasoned which was surprising. It's a wonder how much flavor a little more salt, pepper and even MSG could bring out of a piece of meat. It's the different between a mouthgasm and a bloated soda burp... It's night and day with the umami. The au just was rich and savory and the horseradish cream gave it a nice pop to the rather muted meat, I couldn't eat each piece that I sliced without dipping it in one or both sauces. While the cut of the prime rib was nice, the overall satisfaction factor just didn't justify the lofty price tag... Some would say otherwise but for $30 there are a dozen places around town that can deliver a lot more protein gratification for less. I may be tempted to try the sliced prime rib sandwich but just think about how many banh mis you can get for $20 at Quoc or cubanos at Pan Americano... That is meat heaven right there. Like an OTP tourist, I did it for my one reader.

The Merc's Mac & Cheese. It's cute to serve it in a small sauce pan but totally unnecessary, it's overkill for this side dish. But I get it, though, it's easier to brown the top in a self-contained vessel. The mac was pretty good, ooey and gooey and the pasta was the perfect texture. This was a good mac & cheez but was it $9 good? That will be your call... But once again, I'm thinking about how many pieces of fwied cheekan I could get for that amount of loot.

The concept, theme and decor is well thought out and I'm kinda warming up to it but how long this new car smell will last is anyone's guess... It gives the feel of a 60's vibe but the lofty prices slaps you back to reality that a Coke ain't 5 cents no more. Everything is pretty much hit or miss on this visit but for these prices you should expect, no, demand more for your hard earned buck. The service was attentive and the staff seemed to be well prepared and familiar with the daily operations... Except for the awkward inexperienced millennial food runner that kinda just threw the plates on the table and scurried off without saying a word like a frightened chihuahua. I would love for this place to work but the price to value ratio are just at the opposite ends on the scale. There are a few things that needs attention and work, mostly the menu and cocktails if they continue to charge those prices... Even though most people will say it's great because that's what they think they should be saying. But after the curious first timers have experienced this joint, it will be a challenge to get that group to become repeat customers with the current state of affairs here. The pricey menu will deter the majority of people who comes to this food hall looking for inexpensive tasty morsels, but that is not their demographics they seek. Pinewood has a repeat local following because they're in hipster Decatur, the Mercury is in a touristy destination food hall. As for now, this won't be on my regular rotation but what the fuck do I know... I'm just a fat slob but I guess time will tell if this place will become a success. Just remember, y'all got a lot of competition downstairs...

Ponce City Market
675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
http://themercuryatl.com/