Wrap Up....

Just a little wrap-up of a fine evening on the town with my bride.

Got home and dolled up for the evening, nothing too fancy, just nicer than I schlep into work every day. Drove down to Buckhead and jumped out at Emeril’s where our 8 o’clock reservation awaited our arrival.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect having never been to one of his restaurants before, but I usually have my defenses up when eating at a place where they put your napkin in your lap for you. Generally I find one really good thing at each, but there are always a few things that seem to be a little too much for me. But I have to say, Emeril’s didn’t disappoint.

We started with bread, I chose the wheat rolls, Whit had the corn muffins. Whit’s were a little dry while mine were some of the best rolls I’d ever tasted. Then the surprise of the evening.

Ok, let me step back and give this surprise the proper setup. I was born here in Georgia, and aside from brief stints on the Gulf Coast and Alaska, I’ve lived here all my life. In that time I’ve learned that there are a few things about this state you can count on.

One: If you’re traveling within the Atlanta City limits and are going more than 5 miles to your destination, you will encounter two things every time; construction and a road with the word “peachtree” in it.

Two: Even though we are stuck firmly behind confederate battle lines down here you will not find sweet iced tea at any restaurant where they put your napkin in your lap for you. When you ask for it you will get the obligatory sneer along with the well rehearsed ‘we have unsweetened and table sugar’. Now, the practiced southern diner will have one of two reactions to this:

One:They will give a light chuckle, wave away the server and reply ‘just bring me a coke then’.

Or

Two:They will raise all hell in front of many strangers and lecture the poor server as to why their restaurant should be serving sweet iced tea, most obviously because of the fact they we are, in fact, well below the Mason-Dixon line and therefore in the land of all things southern.

Well, I’m happy to announce that I did not encounter this problem last night, because Emeril was good enough to do his homework on Atlanta. They not only had sweet tea, but wonderful sweet tea at that. I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised since Emeril cut his teeth in New Orleans, but you’d be surprised where you won’t find sweet tea in Georgia. Example: Whit and I wanted to have our rehearsal dinner at a restaurant called the 57th Fighter Squadron. As you may have guessed, it is housed in the old base of the 57th FS at Dekalb-Peachtree airport. We took my parents (the founders of the feast as it were) to eat there so they could sign off on it. When my father asked the server for sweet tea she politely repeated the above speech about unsweet tea and waited for the old man to order a coke.

What happened next is legend. Not because it happened, but because to this day it’s the only time it’s ever happened. My father looked at the server, looked at the catering/banquet manager who just happened to be standing there with us at the table, and said “If you want us to use your restaurant for this dinner you WILL have sweet tea….and lots of it. The poor server looked bewilderedly at the catering manager who smiled sweetly and said “of course”.

Booyah.

The rest of the meal at Emeril’s was great, good steak, good desert which included an item I’d love to learn how to make, since each attempt is guaranteed to get me hammered: Chocolate Jack Danial’s Ice Cream.

After Emeril’s it was back home for good champagne, good cigars, and a little TV watching before sleepy time.


So here’s to Emeril Lagasse. A New York boy done good who knows his art and cares enough about his customers to give them what they really want.

Good food

Good service

And really good sweet tea.