Blais: 17 course degustation, $49, in Atlanta ?

[CoolPapaBell]

I was the only good looking one there with the AtlantaCuisine crowd.

I actually stopped over here to check out your review. You are correct, Blais is sensational. Right after you left, Gifted Gourmet got funky.

Nice meeting you.

Edited February 24, 2004 by CoolPapaBell (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

I was the only good looking one there with the AtlantaCuisine crowd.

I actually stopped over here to check out your review.  You are correct, Blais is sensational.  Right after you left, Gifted Gourmet got funky.

Nice meeting you. 

Actually, we here at atlantacuisine are a most photogenic bunch! even with our mouths full of incredible Blais' tasting menu delights ...

Do I know you, Cool Papa Bell?

and what did you mean by Gifted Gourmet "got funky"??

Isn't that my normal state of being?

[Dave the Cook]

John Kessler has weighed in: three stars (out of four).

Like Keller, Blais understands that Moebius strip of surprise and sensuality that turns in our minds when we encounter unique food. He can create those two-bite masterpieces that shift and shimmer, tongue to brain: weird, then rapturously good, and then gone to memory.

and

I enjoy Blais' wit, but I most admire his canny flashes of taste sense. His "vitello tonnato" consisting of raw tuna rolled around a salad of pulled veal makes for a smirky foodie joke. But it's the tug of flavors, the sharpening effect of arugula pesto and orange-rind emulsion on the plate that makes it a dish to remember. Always.

Full review here.

[chefseanbrock]

had dinner at blais on saturday night.....................kicked all kinds of ass......everything we had was bad ass, the wine pairings were money, the burger with the foie shake was amazing .....i wonder if they fedex??????

[chefseanbrock]

we need to keep this thread going..........everyone wants to know what's goin down at Blais..... please post your reviews.........i have pictures and will post them as soon as i figure how ???

sean

[therese]

This thread does keep going but on another site, Atlanta Cuisine (referenced somewhere in this thread). Lots more reports there.

[robyn]

we need to keep this thread  going..........everyone wants to know what's goin down at Blais.....  please post your reviews.........i have pictures and will post them as soon as i figure how ???

sean

I haven't posted any pictures yet - but here are the instructions I got when I asked how to do it:

"To upload images, go to ImageGullet (top left hand corner of the screen), upload your pictures onto this site & cut and paste the IMG link into your post. If you have trouble, go to site talk - there's a whole discussion or two on it."

Hope this helps, Robyn

[Gifted Gourmet]

This thread does keep going but on another site, Atlanta Cuisine (referenced somewhere in this thread). Lots more reports there.

http://www.atlantacuisine.com/reviews/blais31flavors.html

Tom Maicon's review is new and on his website ..... and it is extremely detailed!!

Edited April 6, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[beans]

we need to keep this thread going..........everyone wants to know what's goin down at Blais..... please post your reviews.........i have pictures and will post them as soon as i figure how ???

sean

I look forward to that post when you get the picture thing down pat.

[chefseanbrock]

nice to see everyone is awake...i was getting worried.........perhaps you were playing hide and go seek on atlantacuisine??????

[Gifted Gourmet]

That is the place to find the very latest reviews on our local Atlanta dining scene!

New stuff appears daily, no, hourly, on the website!

[morda]

okay, okay, I feel that I must go to this restaurant ASAP. Which is the best night of the week to go? If I get some friends together, they will probably petition for a Fri or Sat, but if its just me and the hubby, perhaps we will try a less busy weeknight. But is Blais in the kitchen every night? Is a Monday better than a Tuesday? And has anyone been been recently enough to confirm that the tasting menu is still $49/person?

morda

[Varmint]

C'mon Atlanta-based eGulleteers. If you've been to Blais, then give us the details here!

[jbraynolds]

I went about a month ago, during the week of their review and was seriously underwhelmed. Most everything is cold, at room temperature or reheated so most of the work was done...whenever. What went on during service was, basically a bit of warming/reheating and lots of plating. Anyone who has worked catering knows exactly what I'm talking about. Sort of like in business or first class on an airplane. Lots of things in little shot glasses. And the place was empty (a Wednesday night).

[therese]

As per Open Table you could get a Friday night reservation tomorrow at an early 6:30 or a later 8:00, not unreasonable for Atlanta. Saturday offered similar openings.

I don't know for an absolute fact that Blais is in the kitchen every possible minute, but I'd be surprised if he weren't: the food is not exactly autopilot fare, and he's very much on top of every aspect of the operation.

We've been three times for dinner, and it's been great on every occasion. I've not been in over a month, because, well, we have lots of great restaurants in Atlanta and there are only some many evenings a person can eat out.

Monday's a notoriously slow night for dining in Atlanta---I'd probably do Tuesday or Wednesday (probably better from a supply point of view as well). But if you want to do the 31 course meal I believe Monday is the night. You'll have to call the restaurant to check.

As for the price of the tasting menu (which is officially 5-10 courses, but ends up being more) I think it's gone up, but the only way to know for sure is to call (there's a link to the restaurant back in this thread)---depending on what's offered it might change. Very nice staff who will be happy to answer all your questions.

[jbraynolds]

Yes, the staff is extremely attentive. E-mail and phone confirms, non-smothering service.

[therese]

I went about a month ago, during the week of their review and was seriously underwhelmed. Most everything is cold, at room temperature or reheated so most of the work was done...whenever. What went on during service was, basically a bit of warming/reheating and lots of plating. Anyone who has worked catering knows exactly what I'm talking about. Sort of like in business or first class on an airplane. Lots of things in little shot glasses. And the place was empty (a Wednesday night).

I'm sort of surprised at this impression, as it doesn't jibe too well with my numerous experiences there (and I did eat there about the same time, right before the review in the AJC that jbraynolds is describing). I don't work in catering or in any other professional kitchen, but I've always assumed that pretty much all restaurants use as much advance prep as feasible. Some of the dishes are cold, some of the dishes are hot, and some of the dishes are (intentionally) lukewarm.

I've eaten plenty of high-end catered food, and the Blais' work is not even remotely similar. As for comparing it to "business or first class on an airplane" I can only assume that jbraynolds either hasn't flown business or first class anytime within the last, say, 20 years, or that he/she is referring to the really excellent first class service that's offered to, um, well...do they offer first class to the moon now? And even then it wasn't comparable, but did at least use reasonable ingredients.

I'm not surprised that Blais was slow on a Wednesday. He's trying something way out there on the far edge for Atlanta, and lots of people are not going to find it to their liking. Emeril's (which really really sucks by all accounts), on the other hand, is packing them in.

[chefseanbrock]

just give it time..............atlanta will react to the fact............mad respect for rb for having the balls to stick his neck out to support "the movement"

sean

[bleachboy]

I plan on getting down there ASAP. But in between house hunting and a trip to New Orleans at the end of the month, and a bunch of good wine tastings coming up, it may be a little while. It's only a four hour drive for me, though, so I'll probably make a weekend out of it sometime soon.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I plan on getting down there ASAP..... It's only a four hour drive for me, though, so I'll probably make a weekend out of it sometime soon.

I assure you, Blais is worth every single drop of gasoline you will burn to come to Atlanta to experience this phenomenon .. trust me on this ...

[Ari]

I just ate there on Saturday night. Wonderful experience. I'm concerned that even on a Saturday at 8 PM there were a number of empty tables. I can imagine that it would be hard to pull off this restaurant anywhere in Atlanta, but the Buckhead address doesn't seem to be helping. I'm also surprised that many of my foodie friends still haven't heard of it. Don't know why word of mouth hasn't caught on for Blais the way it has for, say, Mitra. The tasting menu was very pork-and-shellfish heavy, but maybe that's just my Jewish guilt talking.

On a different note, I'm leaving Atlanta for DC on Thursday. Thanks to all the Southeastern egulleteers for helping me discover the culinary scene here. I'll be on the DC/DelMarVa boards from here on out.

[therese]

Agree with your assessment re Buckhead locale---I don't think of Buckhead as a place to go for interesting food. Midtown would have been my pick, giving it the advantage over Buckhead locations as far as convention diners goes, as well as appealing to hard-core in-town diners. Mitra is a good example of a place that serves okay (but not wonderful, and my only meal there was actually sort of crappy) food at pretty high prices, and stays very busy.

I don't get it, but then I don't get a lot of things.

[inventolux]

This place is just what Atlanta needs.

Edited April 28, 2004 by inventolux (log)

[Louisa Chu]

Chef - you are forgiven - since you've been busy

But from reading his bio I do not believe he is an El Bulli alum.

Edited by Varmint to remove link due to merger of threads.

[inventolux]

Sorry about that, I have been very busy.