Kiss Our Grits: Beta Chapter

Founded in the historic lowcountry, the essence of today's supper club has come to Atlanta. Kiss Our Grits: Beta redefines what it means to have dinner, taking Atlanta by storm with their savvy, cunning, charming, brutally honest & sassy personalities. Follow these lasses as they taste Atlanta and share with you their adventures & savoir-faire: the good, the bad and the ugly... Owners beware, you've got an entertaining bunch headed your way! "We don't make dinner, we make reservations."

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Spoon

We didn't intentionally plan to celebrate two birthdays, two months in a row. It just worked out that way. So when you're favorite girl says she hates pad thai and anything with coconut milk, what does one suggest for her birthday dinner??? Why Spoon of course, with the utmost intention to thwart the illusion that she's given herself that she doesn't like Thai food. After all, if one tastes the goodness off of one of these spoons and isn't ready to praise our Heavenly Father for such a creation as the tongue, well then, your tastebuds are just downright corrupt!

Like any special restaurant in the A, Spoon is not strategically placed in the middle of everything. In fact, it will sneak up on you as you drive down the quazi sketch parts of downtown/west midtown. Positioned right off the campus of GaTech on Marietta Street, between the Engineer's Bookstore and a lil' ma' and pa diner, the eclectic graces of lemon grass and coconut milk waft through the glass doors and windows of this trendy spot. A darker atmosphere calls for more intimate occasions, but that didn't stop us from bringing the party.

Our waitress was like a lil' puppy on helium- her voice was high and she was as sweet as could be bouncing from person to person, taking our orders- and were we ready to order! The classic moment was Reagan enthusiastically discussing the burrito she was planning to order the next night for dinner- hungry?? I think so.

We started with Fried Spring Rolls, Tempura Shrimp and Coconut Soup- DE-LISH! There wasn't a crumb or a drop left on the table to spare. It was especially great to see the birthday girl, who claimed she didn't like Thai, lapping up every last drop...

Next came the entrees. I'll graciously overlook the mishap that ocurred with my order, bc I don't blame the restaurant entirely for the oversight. It was rather strange that not all meals came out at the same time, though- not even my ORIGINAL order... yes, I ordered twice. Because our group was fixing to knaw on the table out of hunger, most folks dove right into their curries or noodles with joy. Our lil' birthday Corn ordered the Massmun Curry with chicken- this sweet curry with a kick had her eyes rolling up in her head in ecstasy- how 'bout that for changing someone's mind?? Our Pad Thai bunnies were VERY pleased with this traditional Thai dish that was taken to the next level in flavor... they couldn't keep their hands off it, or each other...
A couple ladies ordered the "Pad Med MaMuang" - or Cashew Nut StirFry, for us simple type. When you combine exceptional flavors with fried goodness and cashew nuts, I'm not sure how you can go wrong. They seemed to be more than pleased!

When my correct dish finally arrived, boy was it WORTH it! No, I don't think you understand- It was AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING!! The sizzling dish comes out steamy and armed to knock your tastebuds senseless. The Golden Red Snapper is deep fried (I know- not healthy, but forget the calories for five minutes and be content with the fact that it's fish and not overly breaded chicken strips!!) and topped with a light ginger sauce. I kid you not, you take a bite and it literally melts in your mouth. No question why this dish stands as the house favorite!

We made sure there was enough room in our tummies for just a skoash of the famous and assorted dessert options. It's times like these where one wishes the waitress would just offer something like "Grandma's Apple Pie" or "Hot Double Fudge Brownie with extra nuts and gooey fudge sauce a la mode." We couldn't find that option on the menu, though, so we went with the Chocolate Blueberry Spring Rolls (spring rolls to start and spring rolls to end- why not?!) with Mango Dipping Sauce and Coconut Ice-Cream, and the Chocolate Caramel Mousse with Coffee Ice-Cream. If it's sweet and rich, you'd think we'd like it, so we figured why not? Corn was delighted to blow out her birthday candle, and the rest of us dug in to see what's up. The tablewide reaction appeared to be synonymous. Faces said "This is good, but weird, and I wish I had some regular chocolate cake right now, but I'm a woman filled with estrogen and this is hitting that hormonal craving that I need to satisfy right now, so I'm reaching for my fifth bite... get out of my way."

When you're at a restaurant called Spoon, it's only right to take your spoon and try to do as many interesting things with it... This had us bright-bulbs entertained for a good 30...





the remainder of the evening entailed of present opening, sappy speeches and a superfluous amount of America's Next Top Model moments...




The "Electric":

The "Elahe":

Serious:

Elated:

Looking Away and Pondering:

80s Excitement:

Confused:

T.O.ed!:

Needless to say, we occupied our time in the most compelling sort of way. The night was awesome. The food was phenom.com, the company was good as always, the laughs were ab-work-out worthy- so hard, I'm surprised no one had to change their hanky pankies, and some model scouts who happened to be dining at the table next to us signed three of us for 5-year contracts... I think we found our calling!

Not sure where we'll be next month, but it's def def def def def gon' be KOG-licious. Until then, check out Spoon... it's mmmm, mmmm, GOOOOOD!!!

Ta ta for now- boos boos!!

768 Marietta Street, Atlanta 30318