So a couple Friday nights ago, my friend and I head off to the not-so-frequented down down downtown area where we eventually see Alma in the 191 Peachtree building. Our next feat...finding a parking spot. Since we rarely venture that far downtown, we had a little trouble finding a place to park, but we eventually came to a correct entrance of a parking deck and rationalized the $5 fee to what we would have paid a valet (plus a couple more dollars). Once we finally weaved our way back to the front of the building, we see the restaurant and the ever so cute patio in the lobby of 191. At first it kinda had a mall restaurant feel to it just because everyone was sitting in a huge indoor patio with greenery and Christmas lights surrounding them, but once we got inside, it felt a lot more cozy.
We had our first hiccup though when we arrived at the hostess stand and they could not find our reservation, but the host added us to the list and we went to the bar to have ourselves a yummy margarita. We both chose the Just Wear Black margarita that was made with fresh squeezed lime juice and agave syrup and of course some good tequila. It was very simple, which is just the way I like my margs, and it was super delicious!
As this was a pre-opening function, the full menu was not available, however, each table had a different selection of options to choose from and while the suggestions we received from the bar were not on our menu, specifically the chicken mole, our meal was quite good. We started off with not 1, not 2, but 3 appetizers not only because the meal was free, duh, but also because it was about 9:30pm at this time and I was freaking starving. And also because we couldn't decide what not to get. The first app was fried avocado taquitos with poblano pesto and roasted tomatoes. Not really much I need to say about this dish. Give me pretty much anything fried and I will probably like it. As you can tell, the avocados were perfectly fried, and it had just the right amount of crispiness. I have never had fried avocado, but I fell in love. I also liked how the tortilla was extra crispy since the avocado still had a soft consistency and the pesto and tomatoes topped it all off.
Next came the yellowtail ceviche with pickled mango in cucumber-serrano water. When we were given this dish we were given pretty specific instructions as to how to eat the ceviche. We were told to get a piece of fish, slosh (technical term) it in the cucumber juice, and then add the mango and pepper all in one bite. I have to say those were pretty specific instructions but I was glad I followed them! The fish was less of a ceviche and more of a hamachi sashimi if you know what I mean. Either way, I thought it was amazing with the mango and the cucumber water or juice or whatever it was. Some of the best sushi, I mean ceviche, I have had in Atl.
The last of the appetizers was a grilled salad. It enticed us with the goat cheese notion and our waiter told us the lettuce was actually grilled, so we just went for it. This was probably my least favorite dish. I guess when I read the menu I didn't assume the "grapes" that were referenced would actually be olives, and the entire dish was covered in some type of olive vinaigrette. Seeing as I am not a fan of olives, I did not take well to this app, but it's all in personal preference. Also, the fried goat cheese balls just were in no comparison to the balls at Ecco.
On to the main course. As we just wanted to get the best food on our menu, we relinquished our power to our waiter and he told us to order the Chile en Nogado and the Red Snapper Mole Amarillo, and with my vast spanish knowledge I can tell you Amarillo means yellow (see picture below). Damn I'm good. The chile was made up of poblano chile, winter squash, raisin apples, cranberries, walnut sauce, and pomegranate seeds. I think I need to read my menus a little more closely, because this dish was just that, a mix of veggies and fruit. It was a lovely mixture of winter foods, but I was just glad we had ordered a crapton of apps and another entree because I do not see how that could be a main course.
The red snapper on the other hand was better than expected. It was cooked just right and the mushrooms in that sauce with the swiss chard on top just warmed you up from the inside out. I honestly don't think of mushrooms or swiss chard when I hear mole, but it all just worked and the swiss chard was cooked just right in my opinion, not too mushy. The entire combination was super scrumptious, especially when you piled all the components on to your fork for one great bite!
Even though we were full to the max, we of course ordered some dessert, but due to our late eating, the dessert that was recommended to us, the grapefruit sorbet, was all sold out, so we ordered the flourless chocolate cake instead. The first bite was so chocolately and yummy, but then you waited and the after taste became super spicy. Not my favorite chocolate cake ever. Maybe I'm a wuss, but I just like my chocolate cake to be rich and milky, not really spicy, but to each his own.
All in all, it was a really fun experience. The food was great, the margs were delicious, and the servers were really enthusiastic which made me more excited! Obviously this is a new restaurant so I was not super harsh about my missing reservations. I don't know how many times my friends and I will venture downtown to eat since we like to stay in our little bubble, but maybe on special occasions we will fight the tourists at the Hard Rock and come back.
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