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Next Plate, Please: My Five Fave for Small Plates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’M SO NOT BORED: the calamari fritti and mojito at Eclipse di Luna
Photo: Rich Addicks/AJC
Something has happened to me over the course (pardon the pun) of the last nine years of dining out.
I get really bored when I eat.
Years of tasting small bites of things, then moving on to the next, has trained me to 1) Eat too fast when I am eating a regular meal and 2) Get really bored with just one big dish.
Luckily, there are places around town where I can take advantage of the small plate/tapas/mezza mania that’s been going on for the last few years. Places that specialize in tasting and moving on. Here are my picks:
1) The appetizers at Tierra in Buckhead — I never have to move to entrees here if I don’t want to: the musky, corn flavor of Salvadoran pupusas filled with cheese served with a pickly curtido; a pionono of plantains and sweetly seasoned beef; mussels in pasilla pepper broth. Yummers. What’s for dessert? The best tres leches this side of the equator. Unbored rating: 8.5
2) The small, groovy offerings at Beleza — organic kale cooked up Bahian style; forbidden black rice; watermelon and tuna crudo. Put an acerola mojito in my hands, and I’m a happy, unbored girl. Unbored rating: 8.5
3) Decatur’s Chocolate Bar provides small, savory bites of charcuterie, but I come here for the blast of savvy desserts. Where else can I get roquefort sorbet with Georgia pecan toffee? Unbored rating: 9
4) The bar at Trois makes it impossible to get bored, between groovy sliders of beef, smoked salmon and pork and even groovier retro cocktails, a perch on a bar stool here keeps me very perky. Unbored rating: 9
5) Eclipse di Luna has been doing authentic Spanish tapas — the right way, and before it was ultra hip — for a long time. Don’t send me to Dunwoody, I want the original Miami Circle location for patatas bravas and romesco sauce, calamari fritti and those incredible short ribs. Slurp. Unbored rating: 10
Where’s your fave spots to eat smallish?
Permalink | Comments (29) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Comments
By p
July 2, 2008 8:39 AM | Link to this
Seasons 52 at Perimeter Mall….perfect sizes and healthy….
By Redneck Convert
July 2, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this
When I want to eat small, I head to the Krystal.
By tc
July 2, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this
How could you not put Pura Vida on the list when you named it Restaurant of the Year in 2005 (when that honor actually went to places in Atlanta).
By S.
July 2, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
Tierra isn’t in Buckhead. Ansley Park/Midtown would be closer. Sorry but I’m tired of hearing about Buckhead this, and Buckhead that……it’s getting old.
By Earl
July 2, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
My house, my old lady’s cooking. No starving dog could eat a lot of her cooking. Small meals, maybe.
By Ziza
July 2, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this
fuego on crescent, eclipse di luna on miami circle, trois. pura vida is awful.
By Debbie
July 2, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this
In addition to the above, give VIA on Pharr Rd a try. The food is really good with a focus on fresh small plates.
By croaker
July 2, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
Great!!! More places to dine on really small dishes at really expensive prices!! Makes me glad to spend my hard earned on a good value.
By Mr. Foodie
July 2, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
i cant wait for RARE Soul Tapas to re-open!!! the best in Atlanta hands down. hurry up fellas!!!
By Jen
July 2, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this
Fuego on Crescent and Eclipse di Luna…but what’s wrong with the Dunwoody location??? What, because it’s not in Buckhead it’s not good?
By Muffin
July 2, 2008 1:36 PM | Link to this
i was hoping this blog was going to be about finding a place to eat where you don’t shell out $7 for lunch for a portion of food that’s three times the size you can eat. why don’t restaurants around town, especially at lunchtime, offer half portions for half the price? is this such a far off concept? such a waste of food and money! I’ve completely stopped eating out at lunch for this reason. it’s too hard to transport leftovers home via the workplace than it is from a restaurant where you can take them directly home to your fridge. maybe i’ll open my own restaurant.
By Susan
July 2, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
Hey Muffin…GREAT idea! Call me! I’ve always wanted to open a “comfort food” place, with small, medium and large servings!!! (Prices to match.)
By Susan
July 2, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this
P.S. I’m a great southern cook, and we can call the restaurant “Southern Comfort”. hahaha
By Meridith Ford
July 2, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this
tc: I didn’t mention Pura Vida because I don’t like to rank a professional with amateurs…. seriously, all these spots are pros; Pura Vida is the best. Jen: It has nothing to do with Buckhead. The Miami Circle location is the original, and it still screams with all of creator Paul Luna’s crazy, funky, punk-grunge. Love it. Dunwoody’s location … eh, not so much. Debbie: I reviewed Via last November — you’re right, it’s a fun spot for small plates. Muffin: Good luck opening that restaurant. Let me know when you’re up and running so I can come and review it.
By LiasMom
July 2, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this
When I’m in the mood for tapas, I head to Sugo — the original location on South Atlanta Street. The meatball is HUGE and filled with goodness. The spanakopita is flaky and smooth. Hunters sausages with balsamic onions are always welcome. The Lamb Salad melts in your mouth. All of their small plates are large enough to share to assemble a good meal for 2. The fried gnocchi were awesome, but sadly disappeared along with the Perimeter Mall location (I guess everyone was going next door to the bigger name E-de-Luna, even though it’s pricier and the small plates are smaller).
By LiasMom
July 2, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this
When ready for a tapas feast, we head to Sugo — the original location on South Atlanta Street in Roswell. The portions are large enough to share with your dining partner, and prices are quite reasonable. Some of the highlights: a giant meatball filled with goodness; spanakopita that is flaky and smooth; hunters sausages with balsamic onions; a lamb salad that melts in your mouth; fresh bread with roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, and fresh mozzarella. The fried gnocchi were great, but sadly they disappeared along with the Perimeter Mall location of Sugo (I guess everyone was going next door to the bigger branded, more expensive, smaller small-plates E-de-Luna).
By VoiceOfReason
July 2, 2008 4:10 PM | Link to this
Muffin, why are you so angry. Those places are around, you just have to actually LOOK at the menu. Today, I ate Moe’s. Just one chicken taco, comes with free chips & salsa: $2.69. No cheap chains you say? Okay, went to the West Indian place around the corner. Got a beef pattie: $2. Side of plaintain?: $1.50 Went to the fried fish soul food place. The plates start around $6.50, but I just got some whiting on wheat bread: $2.69, paired it with a fresh fruit bowl from Michael’s: $2.50. STOP BEING LAZY
By LiasMom
July 2, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
Yikes! Sorry for the double-post. My PC flaked out and I didn’t think the first one made it up! :-)
By bronco
July 2, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this
I want to eat where the DOT guy said the food made him horney
By ispeakthedrewth
July 2, 2008 4:44 PM | Link to this
Voice of Reason
I’m so glad you are still out there. A place for small meals?? I ate a three-year-old kid at Shoney’s last night. It was deee-lish.
By Maya G.
July 2, 2008 5:14 PM | Link to this
Sweet Devil Moon in Midtown is a great spot: Peruvian tapas with selections for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike, and great drinks.
By Buzz
July 2, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this
Tierra isn’t in Buckhead. It’s in Midtown, on Piedmont, just south of Ansley Mall.
By Herberto
July 2, 2008 7:41 PM | Link to this
I’ve eat at every place listed here. All bad. All rotten. The food was pathetic at best, yet we’re told great places to eat via the AJC. No wonder no one buys this crap newspaper any longer. Raise the price to $5/copy.
By Joanna
July 3, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
Has no one been to Little Alley in Roswell? Love it! And they are soon opening Red Salt.
By Muffin
July 3, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this
Hey VOICE OF REASON or not really. I have LOOKED at the menus. It’s not laziness. Moe’s is nothing but a sodium emporium. I have eaten there. It’s nothing special. It’s the exact same ingredients wrapped up 10 different ways, that’s all. Wow, what a concept. Sure it’s cheap but is it good for you? not necessarily. I like my food a little on the healthier side. You list plaintains (usually fried), a beef patty (red meat - i don’t eat it) and fried chips and sodium packed salsa and burrito. Sure the fresh fruit sounds great, but that’s it. There is not, however, a Michaels anywhere near me. I don’t get an hour lunch so I don’t get to go drive all over town to find places to eat. All I’m saying is the places I’ve tried to lunch at have huge portions that I don’t need or want to pay for. Or they are totally unhealthy. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t think that’s out line. And I didn’t even mention the word “chain”. Maybe if you post your lunch menu for me every day I’ll find something worthy eventually. Thanks!
By snorfledork
July 6, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this
Meredith,
Why does it take so long between reviews? I wish that you would post everyday instead of once or twice a week. Would you like some help?
By June Gader
July 7, 2008 2:38 PM | Link to this
Hey Ms. Ford—this is just for you, or anyone who happens to travel to Hilton Head. TAPAS in Northridge Plaza has the most extensive and sophisticated small plate menu you’ve EVER seen. (It includes two venison dishes for example. Also duck.) Owner Ardis Matthews is an amazing and versatile chef who never misses a beat. (“Bon Appetit” published an article about her cooking.) The restaurant is charming, comfortable and priced right. TAPAS makes journeying to Hilton Head worthwhile.
By jay t.
July 12, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this
people are still clueless. just because it comes on a small plate does not mean it is a tapa. that would make cheez whiz on a ritz one. where can you find an authentic tapa in this town. anchovies, squid and octopus would run them right back to the valet.
By Setphan
July 16, 2008 11:14 AM | Link to this
Definitely have to put a vote in for Fuego here in Midtown. Maybe I’m biased because it’s smack between work and home, so it’s convenient, but I’ve never had bad tapas there!