Spring

Don't y'all just hate it when you already planned to go to a joint and then some fucking rag (AJC) puts out their glowing review on the same goddamn day as your rez... Motherfuckers. Every friggin yahoo and hillbilly will be flocking over to this tiny ass joint, now... Nothing ruins my night of stuffing my fat face in peace than rednecks in Carhartts onesies and 10W30 stained Dickies. As if backwoods Marietta in upstate GA is not bad enough already, I don't need an entire clan of Appalachian mossbacks to be sitting next to me while I dissect the dishes and stuffed the pouch with the tasty morsels. Thanks for nothing, cocksuckers. But it's ok, I don't mind the country bumpkins up here as long as they keep their filthy nose picking fingers away from me... I can deal with the hillbillies, but will the pouch be able to deal with the much praised grub? I will be the fucking judge of that... It's OK, I'm a limo driver...

House made bread and butter. Pretty tasty morsels, that butter belongs in your pouch... For lube to slide that fresh bread down.

Apple and Endive Salad, pickled fennel, walnuts, Thomasville tomme, pomegranate. I don't do salads but I lurv me some endives and pomegranates. I can't believe I'm saying this.. But it's a good salad.

Crispy Pork Belly, cabbage salad, peanuts, poached quince. Who said pork belly is dead from menus... Not in upstate GA! I still love pork belly no matter what... This had a great crispy skin and buttery melty fatty tender belly meat. The poached quince was a nice unexpected addition that you don't see much on menus these days.

Shrimp Bisque, GA shrimp, butternut squash, navy beans. They really need to give you more because it's embarrassing when you're licking every drop out of that bowl. This was rich, flavorful, potent and tasted like the sea with nice contrast of textures from the beans and shrimp.

Grass-fed Steak Tartare, cured egg yolk, pommery mustard, lavash. I like this presentation a lot... The tartare was fresh and the color was vibrant. The cured egg yolk shavings were a really nice touch and a pleasant surprise how it worked so well... I hate egg yolks in steak tartare, some douche started doing that a long time ago in NYC and every sheep followed it like it was part of the original dish. Breaking up the lavash bread gives you an interactive experience while playing with your food.

Pan-Seared Striped Mullet, braised fennel, baby leeks, olives, citrus, radish. They were out of the goddamn sunchoke risotto which made me fucking mad but this mullet was on my list anyways so I had it instead and it turned out quite nice... Crispy skin, delicate flesh, seasoned well and the colorful and playful garnishes/veggies paired well with the fish.

Pan-Seared Duck Breast, roasted cauliflower and carrot, persimmon, butter lettuce. The duck is from D'Artagnan which is a good choice and a lot of restos use it... But executing it properly is another thing. Here, they did good... One piece was a bit over-cooked but nothing too damaging and still totally acceptable. The other piece was nicely seared and tender, the color was spot-on. The veggies is kinda standard issue but it worked fine overall.

This little resto on the edge of Marietta Square is a neighborhood gem... People are starting to notice it after the AJC write up. It's a bit fucking far for me to eat here every week but I do like the smaller menu where you can keep the quality up and the inventory and cost down. And the kitchen is fucking tiny as hell, so it kinda limits your dish count on the menu... Which is what I prefer. I like this place, I like the menu and consistent execution on each dish that goes out. The food is simple, clean and good quality but it won't blow your mind, it's like smart casual comfort food. I will have it on my radar even though it won't be in my rotation as much because of the location... But I need to go back and try that fucking risotto, though. We need more restos like this intown.

90 Marietta Station Walk

Marietta, GA 30060

http://www.springmarietta.com/