Fabulous hair but food lacks flair
By Tom Maicon at March 24, 2009 | 4:13 pm | Print
When I asked Melanie if she wanted to eat at Chef Paul’s new place for lunch, she happily replied, “The older guy with the hair?”
Chef Paul Albrecht is perhaps the most respected chef in the city, and not just for his fabulous hair. Thinking back to the 80’s, parachute pants and Fast Times at Ridgemont High are close second memories — for me, anyway — to eating chef Paul’s iconic deep-fried lobster tails.
Fast forward to recent day, those feeling a little nostalgic will be happy to know those famed battered lobster tails are on the menu at his new restaurant Social Vinings (3621 Vinings Slope, Atlanta, Tel: 770.432.9772). Social Vinings is one of only two restaurants that operate under chef Paul’s restaurant group Great Food Group Inc., with Paul’s, located on the corner of Kings Circle and Peachtree Hills, being the first.
Most diners fall into one of two categories when it comes to chef Paul’s cooking: 1.) Those who get giddy about anything that touches the legendary chef’s worn spatula and, 2.) those who find his dishes stodgy and outdated.
I almost feel dirty to admit I’m a number two, but three meals at Paul’s since it opened, though fun flashbacks, did anything but register a single flavor.
Two recent trips (one lunch and one dinner) to newly opened Social Vinings were equally mind numbing. Thinly pounded chicken breast that came with a saltimbocca was dry, extremely tough to the bite — and the accompanying marsala sauce was uneventfully nondescript and seriously lacked sage, an extremely important component in this classic, easy to execute dish.
We fared better with a fried lobster club, but not much. Imagine those infamous chef Paul signature South African Tristan lobster tails placed between two slices of uber buttery yet somehow still crispy white toast, and smothered with a — I’ll call it subtle — chipotle aioli.
It really rubs me the wrong way that everything that comes out of the kitchen has to be so rigidly neutral, almost corporate-like in its straightforwardness and dumbed-down flavors. Maybe Albrecht fears that one of his longtime patrons will drop a denture if he employs a dash of togarashi pepper to the batter mix? And who knows, maybe he’s right.
But I want the off-centered reek of garlic to bring my wilted spinach to a higher level, and a little something, anything, to inject the slightest bit of life into an otherwise deceased veal osso bucco. Would a marrow spork be too much to ask?
Crab-encrusted trout wears a red pepper emulsion. The texture of the fish is perfectly fluffy and flaky, but the sleepy red pepper emulsion drags down its pristine quality.
The one and only bright side to both my visits in terms of food was, surprisingly, the sushi. Seriously, decent quality fish at a fair shake.
Service was nearly perfect during both visits, which is amazing considering the large menu and the fact that the restaurant was only open less than two weeks at the time of our visits.
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