Eclipse de Luna

I assume if you have lived in Atlanta for a while you have been to Eclipse de Luna, and, therefore, you are asking yourself, "Why is Frugalfoodie writing about a place that has been around for forever and that is not particularly what you would call a 'foodie' spot. "  Well my friend, Eclipse just happens to be a fine good staple in the good ole Atl.  My friends and I have been going to this Spanish tapas restaurant for years now and it is one of my good friend's favorite restaurants in Atl, and since she has moved away to the Nation's capital to become a famous basketball star, I always go to Eclipse with her when she visits home.

My friends and I have eaten at this establishment so many times we know exactly what we want to order without even looking at a menu.  One thing I have to say is this past time they were out of the $6/glass Malbec, and I was quite disappointed.  I expect a Spanish restaurant to keep their Spanish wines in stock,  but I sucked it up and just ordered the $6 Pinot instead.

Back to the food....our order consisted of the potatoes, tomatoes and mozzarella, calamari, shrimp, mussels, ribs, and a deviation from the usual, fried bananas.  Not sure of the official Eclipse names on the menu, but they knew what we were talking about.  We got that Eclipse lingo.

We usually get 2 plates of these delicious fried potatoes because I myself could probably eat an entire plate, but what is quite essential to this dish is the sauce that accompanies the taters.  You must dip and then eat and then you will say "mmmmmmm."

I love the tomato dish because the maters are always so think and juicy and then the mozzarella in between each slice is the perfect proportion.  The cheese doesn't overwhelm the tomatoes and vice versa.  Then the fresh basil and the balsamic vinegar top the whole thing off.  So good, which you can see because someone already started to cut them before I had taken a picture! Not cool when eating with Frugalfoodie!

Now my friend who I mentioned earlier LOVES her some shrimp and we all love these as well.  The sauce is buttery, garlicky, and spicy!  You have to sweep the shrimp in that yummy sauce and then just put the whole thing in your mouth (less the tail).  I actually forgot how spicy they were, but it just makes it so much better!

Said friend was not a huge fan of mussels, but I love them and as did another person at the table, therefore, these clam cousins were ordered.  Not really much to say about mussels.  They are drenched in a delicious buttery sauce that you want to drink down but would be looked down upon so you just dip some bread politely.

The calamari pic came out a little blurry, but that is not to say it is an underwhelming dish.  This is one of my favorite dishes at Eclipse, which is probably why the pic is blurry as I am most likely trying to stuff my face and picture take at the same time.  That is the problem with tapas places.  Food is coming every which way and there's so much excitement going on and so much to look at that I forget that I must blog with these pictures!  I digress.  I love the fried calamari because it is nice and crispy without being overly fried and you can still taste the fish.  Also this dish comes atop a sweet tomato sauce that you dip the calamari in. It is soooo gooood!!

 
Because we are mature adults, we allowed a dish we had never tried to be ordered, the fried bananas, which were actually quite tasty!  Don't know if I would keep them in our rotation, but it was a nice little sweet surprise.

Last but not least, we also had their ribs, which unfortunately I did not get a picture of because I guess we ate them too quickly.  They are so tender and marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette sauce that is so fingerlickin good!

This was a great Eclipse de Luna venture as they all are, and it was great to see my famous basketball star girl.  Can't wait until she comes home for Christmas and we can go again!!

Serpas, Oh How I Love Thee!

Now if you have yet to wonder down to Auburn Avenue and indulged yourself in the "True Food" at Serpas, you need to read this and go make yourself a reservation on Opentable.com and get your 100 points because the place is simply divine!  They have already been named one of the Top 10 Restaurants by GQ Magazine and the executive chef, Scott Serpas, who has shown his strength as executive chef at TWO Urban Licks, keeps the menu seasonal and true to his southern American style.  The restaurant sits in the midst of the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and the building, which was built in the early 1900's, used to be a cotton storage factory.  One of the things I love most about the place is how Serpas kept that old, rustic feel of the warehouse with the brick walls and accented with the brushed metal chairs.  

This was my second time visiting Serpas and because I am still in my mid 20's and want to live it up before I am old and decrepit, I had plans to partake in a gathering of friends and hefty libations in East Atlanta later, so my friend and I ended up ordering apps and zerts only (props to you if you got that Parks and Recreation reference).  

We started off with the shaved calamari dribbled with a chili syrup, and I must say it was some damn good calamari.  Now I love a good marinara dip, but I think my favorite way to have this fried scrumptious squid is with a spicy sauce such as this.  It was sweet and spicy at the same time, and yet the batter was still crisp and delicious!  One thing I can guarantee you is if there is calamari or fried green tomatoes on the menu, I will order it and devour it (probably even if it isn't that great).  Which leads me to our next appetizer!

The Fried Green Tomato!! And yes, it is THAT important to deserve capitalized letters.  Now I have to say some of the best fried green tomatoes I have had are from South City Kitchen.  And while these did not woo me like those of SCK, they still gave my tastes buds a little excitement.  These little buggers came topped with a crab salad and avocado, which was good but I didn't see how the avocado really related.  As my fellow diner was not prone to the veggie I simply ate it by itself without the tomatoes.  When it comes to the crust, I like a thin layer so I can still taste the sweetness of the tomatoes.  I felt the crust on these were a little thick for my taste, but all in all, a good experience. 

Then we came to the crispy duck rolls.  Now this was the best by far! These rolls came with a flaky, delicate crust on the outside with spicy chili sauce to dip in.  I just cannot say enough about them.  They were delish!!

For dessert I had the beignets.  Now let me just tell you.  I had a deal for Serpas that I needed to use, which is why we went, but I had made the reservation about 5 days in advance.  I think I thought about that dessert every single day until I stuffed those things in my mouth!  And they don't give you one or two, but they give you three huge beignets with a delicious caramel sauce.  Needless to say I downed every little bit of those french donuts into my already stuffed stomach.  If only you could get those by the dozen!   

Serpas is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta.  I love the neighborhood, atmosphere, and of course the food is always fantastic!