5 Seasons Restaurant and Brewery - Salmon, Fish Tacos and more!

               This weekend a few of my girlfriends and I ventured to Atlanta’s Midtown to watch a play (Spring Awakening – it was fabulous!). On the way there, however, hunger called and we were helpless but to heed to its mighty roar. Alas, after a brisk 5 minute walk from the theatre, we ended up at 5 Seasons Restaurant and Brewery Westside.
                The overall ambiance of the restaurant was pleasant from the get-go, and the décor was both modern and subdued, so as not to overwhelm its patrons. But from the moment I saw the name of the restaurant I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy all it had to offer. 5 Seasons Restaurant and BREWERY. Too bad I can’t partake until I’m 21… The restaurant claims to brew all its beer in the basement of the very building and runs it directly through the tap at the bar. In addition, the restaurant boasts that all of its food is organic and locally grown. Well, that convinced me enough. So my girls and I chowed down!
                To start, we opted to share a dish of Gulf Shrimp & Cheddar Grit Cakes. I hate to say it but this appetiser was by far the best part of the meal. First of all, the presentation was on point and the dish just burst with flavour. The shrimps were big, juicy, plump and fresh. The grit cakes were pan-seared to perfection, leaving a nice crispy outer layer despite being drenched in the tangy sauce. And the cheddar cheese was just noticeable enough to compliment the plate, rather than overwhelm the taste buds. The garnish of chorizo sausage added a bit of salt and zest to the mixture, while the onions on top remained crunchy and flavourful. The whole appetiser sat in an orange sauce with a tomato base that I simply could not get enough of.  My friends nearly had to hold me back from asking the waitress for some bread to help sop it up.

              

               Keeping with my theme of seafood, for my main course I chose to have the Organic Salmon, which was served with sticky rice and vegetables in Thai red curry. I was served a hearty fillet which was soft and succulent. The fillet was also lacking (much to my pleasure) the grayish flesh and dark meat typically found on the underside of salmon. But while the texture of the fish was quite good, the sauce, which I had been looking forward to, was lacking. The curry was simply too mild. The fish, which was quite bland on its own, should have been seasoned heavier or there should have been some more spice in the curry. Because of this, the coconut milk in the sauce’s base was very pronounced and almost overdone. The vegetables were good, but the portion was a little too small. And in my personal opinion, the rice could have been a bit sticker, but now I’m just nitpicking. Surprisingly enough, even the though I wasn’t terribly excited with my meal at first, after a few bites the meal just started tasting better. I’m not sure what it was, but whatever the cause I cleaned my plate gratifyingly.

                Since I’m covering seafood, I figured I would make a notable mention of my friend’s order of 3 Fish Tacos. Unfortunately, I neglected to inquire what type of fish was included in the tacos, but what I do know was that the texture was glorious. The fish literally just melted in my mouth in all the good ways. But like with the salmon, the flavor was once again minimal. However, the mango and green tomato salsa (which contained a noticeable splash of lime) was both refreshing and tied the dish together by creating an interesting mélange of flavours. In addition, the tacos were served with rice with black beans and corn which were moist and not bad tasting either. But since the tacos came pre-stuffed with the fish and salsa, adding the rice and beans caused the taco to become over- stuffed, difficult to hold and started to fall apart.

               For dessert I chose the Marscapone Crème Brulée  which sadly was nothing special. The unique marscapone flavour was practically absent and it ended tasting like regular, run-of-the-mill crème brulée. It also would have been nice if the burnt sugar topping was warmer – to me, that always implies the freshness. My friend chose to have a scoop of the homemade mango ice cream. The ice cream was decently flavoured (but not like a Caribbean mango – nothing beats that) with a perfect balance of sweet and tart, but the texture was just horrid. You’d the think the term ice cream would imply a decent amount of ice and cream, right? Well this one literally had ice shavings in it. It was almost as if some ‘cream’ had been thrown in there just to hold the ice together.

                In terms of the overall experience, the restaurant had a fair amount of good attributes and a few not so good ones. For the pros, the restaurant ambiance was pleasant, the menu seemed quite versatile and even included gluten free options (I’m gluten intolerant so this was a huge plus!),the prices were fair (especially for the claims of all organic ingredients) and the wait staff was quick, friendly, helpful and responsive. In terms of the cons, the wait staff had very poor appearances. The women were dressed mostly in tiny booty shorts and almost every employee was riddled with visible piercings and tattoos which betrayed their actual politeness. But my biggest peeve was that I couldn’t drink the beer!!
                All in all, a good experience. I would like to back someday.

Taste: ****

Texture: ****

Tummy Happiness: ***

Feel free to check out their website here.

Unagi Sushi

           Japan, Japan. Land of the rising sun, and homeland of the consumption of raw fish products… Tonight, I shall partake in cuisine from thy bounty…Thus, keeping with the theme of seafood, for tonight’s meal I enjoyed a small platter of Unagi (sea eel) sushi.  
            As a college student, good sushi can often be both hard to find and beyond my budget. Fortunately enough, the on-campus food court, Cox Hall, provides a small array of pre-made sushi options. Though the sushi is not freshly made (as all sushi should be!!) it is usually good enough to sate that incessant craving. Alas, I ventured to the depths of the refrigerated section and emerged with my nourishment for the evening.
          Opting to be a little healthier I chose the brown rice sushi option. The sushi roll consisted of six components: brown rice, eel, cucumber, sesame seeds, nori (seaweed) and eel sauce. You can choose to eat the roll as is, but personally, I like to eat my sushi with all the accompanied condiments. That is, with soy sauce, wasabi (spicy Japanese horse radish) and a bit of pickled ginger afterwards for a refresher. Now, as I mentioned before, the sushi already comes drizzled in the sweet “kabayaki” or eel sauce. Therefore mixing in all the condiments can be risky business. For some people, the flavours of both the soy and eel sauces contrast too greatly and thus drown out the flavor of the sushi altogether. But for me, it’s all about finding the balance. With the right amount of soy sauce, the two tastes can actually compliment quite nicely. To avoid excessively dousing with soy sauce, I prefer to actually drizzle a bit of sauce right from the packet or container instead of dipping the roll directly in it.  A little bit of salt and sweet combined never hurt a soul, did it? Sea-salt toffee anyone?
            Well, with my great experience and ample practice, I managed to make the perfect combination of soy and eel sauces which tickled my tongue in the most pleasant of ways. In addition the cucumbers remained surprisingly crisp despite the long expanse of time from creation to consumption. The eel however could not meet the same standard. Though eel (especially the way the Japanese prepare it) always has a tendency to be chewy, the long refrigeration period left the meat very rubbery in texture. But nevertheless, the roll was redeemed by the sesame seeds on top, which resulted in a somewhat earthy aftertaste and a satisfying crunch.
            Additionally, I eat a piece of pickled ginger after every bite serves to cleanse the palette. This is so that in between each bite of sushi, your taste buds ‘forget’ the flavours of the previous bite, so you experience the unique burst of flavor again and again for multiple first taste experiences!  A+ idea Japan.

Overall, the entire sushi experience was not ideal, but did its justice nonetheless.

Taste (with condiments): **** ½
Texture: **½
Tummy Happiness: ***½