Back around the Holidays, Inland Seafood sent me some of their new Seafood Tortas to sample. These Tortas are soft cheese topped with seafood and ingredients like artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes, making them seem perfect to serve at parties.

They come packaged in a plastic cup and sealed with plastic as well. This makes it easy to store and serve. I kept them in my fridge for just over a week and they were still very fresh.

To serve, simply turn the Torta over, pop it out on your desired serving plate, surround with crackers, crusty bread or assorted vegetables and you’ve got a quick and tasty dish no one will be able to resist. I may or may not have eaten two all by myself.

These Tortas are combinations of layered soft cheeses. Choose from Crab and Artichoke garnished with Sundried Tomatoes, Smoked Salmon with Ginger, Sesame, and Wasabi, Maine Lobster with Roasted Corn and Basil, and Shrimp Provencal garnished with Roasted Tomatoes Zucchini, and Basil. They are available at local grocers, and retail for only $3.99.

Six Feet Under will be offering free tastings of these items featured on the show. The party starts at 7:30 and the viewing begins at 8 pm. This happens at both Six Feet Under locations.

The restaurants on this row, all pretty much have the same layout: long and narrow. Most have exposed brick walls and a bar against one wall that is the focal point of the restaurant. Roux on Canton is no different.

I was running a couple minutes late, and Eleanor had already ordered her martini and was waiting for me at the bar. With a variety of craft beers available, I opted for one of those. They were out of my first choice but had my second, a Porter. I would have liked a glass but wasn’t offered one and by the time our server came back to take our order I was half done with the beer.

Having a hankering for fried green tomatoes, we decided to share that. Too bad it was so disappointing. The tomatoes were so thick, they totally overpowered the “fried” part, rendering each bite extremely bland. The house remoulade sauce did little to make the starter any better.

We ordered everything – the appetizer and our entrees, Seafood Pasta and the Shrimp Po’ Boy all at once, fearing if we didn’t we’d be there all night as service was dreadfully slow. The seafood pasta was quite tasty, with large shrimp, calamari and mussels in it. My Po’ Boy, besides being oyster, not shrimp, was another disappointment. It was overstuffed, as advertised, but I didn’t taste much of anything other than that there was something fried on my sandwich. I was, however, able to discern that the “fried stuff” was oysters.

I didn’t say anything about the mistaken sandwich, knowing by the time it was rectified we’d probably be waiting another 20 minutes. There seem to be about 12 – 14 tables in the restaurant and only two servers. Not sure if they need to hire more servers or better ones – ours seemed either oblivious or just didn’t care that she’d left us waiting for such long periods of time. Perhaps there are some treasures on the menu that I’ve missed, but I’m not in a hurry to go back and seek them out.

946 Canton St.
Roswell, GA, 30075
770.993.0007
Roux on Canton Website

As far as ethnic cuisines go, this is one of the less intimidating restaurants (ie easy to communicate with staff, English menu, recognizable menu items) on Buford Highway. Crawfish Shack has developed quite a following, especially since it was written up in the New York Times. It can be hard to locate, so make sure you use your GPS as you could easily drive right past the strip mall in which it is located. Once you do find it, you’ll like the seafood-esque decor.

The menu is a mix of both steamed and fried seafood, Po-Boys and of course Crawfish. Although I’d wanted to give the Po-Boys a try, I haven’t been able to resist their meal combos. They come with choice of Shrimp, Crawfish, and fish (Grouper, Catfish, Tilapia, Snapper) and two side item choices. At under $10, they are a deal!

The fried shrimp and fish are quite tasty. Sides of fries, potatoes and corn on the cobb were equally delicious. However, don’t pay the $2.00 upgrade to get eggrolls with your meal – totally not worth it. Each time I’ve been to Crawfish Shack, I’ve hoped to get their house made Beignets, only to be told they were sold out. The cashier told me they tend to run out of them every day. Hmmm, here’s and idea, maybe you could, I don’t know, make more?? No matter, I’ll still make the trek over to BuHi to have that tasty Cajun fare.

4337 Buford Highway Map
Atlanta, GA 30341
404 929 6789
Crawfish Shack Website

The Capital Grille has recognized that people still want to experience a terrific meal and are doing something to accommodate those guests: offering a $15 lunch menu. The Capital Grille recently invited me in to sample their lunch menu, which consists of fall specials like the Porcini Bisque and the Butternut Squash and cranberry side dish.

So, here’s the deal – for $15 choose one from each category:
Starter: Clam Chowder, Porcini Bisque or Salad
Entree: BLT, Steak Sliders or Lobster Roll
Side: Truffle fries, Butternut squash or Green Beans

Lucky us, we tried them all. The bisque complete with chive oil looked and tasted wonderful, but if I had to pick a favorite of the soups, I’d pick the Clam Chowder. The salad, with heirloom tomatoes champagne dressing is nothing to sneeze at either.

While I fully expected to enjoy the lobster roll more than the sliders, it was those tasty sliders that won me over. Prepared medium with only the slightest amount of cheese, they were delicious and, oh my, how tender! They do almost melt in your mouth. The lobster roll didn’t skimp on lobster meat, using no filler and very little mayo at all. Good luck getting a lobster roll complete with starter and side for just $15 at other restaurants in the city – it is usually $15 – $20 for the sandwich alone.

Up against those heavenly sliders or lobster roll, the BLT, the other option on TCG’s $15 menu, isn’t likely to be ordered by me, but I did get to sample it. In fact there was so much food on our table, I took half the sandwich home. Even the next day, the sandwich tasted like it had just been delivered to my table. Even after trying several times, I haven’t been able to duplicate that tasty of a BLT on my own…

I don’t think Capital Grille has any plans to remove the $15 lunch menu, but do hurry in to be able to sample the current specials before they are gone.

255 East Pace Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.262.1162