By Guest Blogger – Sean Ellis

Someone has a new menu!!

This is my first time at  Don Shula’s Steakhouse. Little did I know that they have a full featured restaurant outside of the white-tablecloth fine dining establishment. Shula’s 347 Grill is an upscale sports bar of sorts that is located at 3405 Lenox Road Northeast Atlanta, GA 30326-1308. The inside is immaculate. Here’s a professional shot of what you can expect when you show up.

New (or reconfigured) on the menu – that we tried is the Buffalo Shrimp, Sweet Potato Fries, Crab Cakes, Ahi Tuna, Spicy Meatballs, Calamari Fries, Tempura Asparagus, and Sweet Chili Chicken. Here’s a copy of the Menu for their own description. Courtesy of Karen Canavan PR I sampled the above. My brief description:

Buffalo Shrimp – Nice light and tasty. Tempura fried gives it a nice texture and flavor

Sweet Potato Fries – Typical, nothing special, but still delicious

Crab Cakes – I continue to be impressed by crab cakes at steak houses. Excellent lump meat, good (not great) flavors – depending on the quantity, it’d be a solid appetizer with friends

Ahi Tuna – The wasabi cream made the tuna sing

Spicy Meatballs – YES! I love meatballs as an appetizer

Calamari Fries – I don’t think I’ve ever had calamari in fry-form. They had a really good texture.

Tempura Asparagus – I’m a fan of tempura frying, it’s more healthy than the heavy bread coating on most things. These asparagi were forgettable.

Sweet Chili Chicken – Sweet Thai Chili Sauce is pretty delicious on most things. If you’re a fan of that sauce, this appetizer rocks. However, it’s pretty uninventive.

I’d go back. 7.5/10

Dan Uggla started a foundation earlier this year. The goal of Dan Uggla’s Diamonds in the Rough Foundation is to “provide opportunities, support and resources to children and families in-need.” This time next year, with a partnership with Wal-Mart, they hope to provide back to school supplies for 100,000 kids. “Whatever they need – paper, pens, clothes, shoes,” said Rachel Krumpelbeck, a spokesperson for Prolanthropy, who helps manage the charity.

At his first event, Dan was out serving food at Morton’s steakhouse. I had the chance to grab a few words with him before the event started, to ask him about food.And now a little about Dan Uggla and what he eats:

Dan’s favorite cuisine is Italian; his favorite place to eat on the road is in New York. I also asked how adventurous he was with his eating habits – he said that he tries a lot of new food when he goes out. His guilty pleasure while around the ballpark is chili dogs and nachos.

He certainly seemed like the kind of person I could go out and have a drink/meal with.

For this first event, he brought some of his fellow sluggers out. Eric Hinske, Brian McCann, Martin Prado, and Freddie Freeman just to name a few.

Here’s what I found out:

Brian & Freddie prefer steak as their cuisine of choice, whereas Martin is with Dan and likes Italian. Freddie prefers eating in New York, but Martin likes Chicago, and Brian is a big fan of Colorado. (He says the beef out there is superior.) Brian drinks Bud Light, Freddie likes Bass, and Martin stays away from beer. When asked about their ballpark favorites, Brian jumped at the chance to say that the cheesesteaks in Philly are superior and Freddie was all about the ballpark nachos. Martin said simply that he doesn’t eat that stuff. Martin likes to try new food, whereas Brian admitted that he was getting better about trying new foods, and Freddie copped up to having no sense of adventure and “playing it safe” when he ordered. They were all very gracious and a delight to be around.

On to Morton’s Steakhouse:

I was only there for the first hour and a half of the event, since I didn’t have a ticket to the $250 per plate meal. I was however able to sample some hors d ‘oeuvres with a few underwhelming glasses of wine.

Tuna tartar with balsamic glaze, avocado served on a cucumber slice was excellent. The cold temperature of it threw me for a loop, but when you’re serving as many people as they were, you have to prepare in advance, so I understand why they had to do that. The real star in my opinion was the lump crab cake served with a mustard mayo. I don’t think ever in my life I’ve had lump crab meat this big and thick. It was like the meat came out of a lobster claw – it was huge. The flavor was great, highlighting the crab, and the mayo added a soft touch that made it heavenly.

All in all it was a great night. Many thanks to Karen Canavan PR & Prolanthopy for the opportunity.

Earlier this year, I was approached by a publishing company, Globe Pequot Press, and asked if I was interested in writing a Food Guide book for Atlanta. I practically jumped out of my skin, I was so excited that they picked me. My publisher just sent me the cover of the book (pictured above) and I wanted to share it with you.

I’ve had so much fun over the last several months visiting restaurants around Atlanta and talking to staff and chefs. It has been a wonderful experience writing the book and I definitely have a new appreciation and respect for both authors and editors.

As you are reading this, I’m down in Florida for a short break and celebrating finishing the book!

Cheers!

During “Ruth’s Hour,” guests can savor seven half-priced Prime Bites selections including:

• New Orleans style barbecued shrimp in reduced white wine, butter and garlic for $7
• Broiled French Quarter steak skewers with a spicy red bell pepper-Cajun cream sauce for $6
• House calamari, lightly fried and tossed with a sweet and spicy Thai chili sauce, for $6.75

The half-priced sandwich selection is:
8 oz New York strip sandwich, served on French bread with shredded lettuce, tomato and shoestring fries for $12.

Small plates range from:

• Blackened sizzlin’ jumbo scallops served with parsley-pesto and lemon-butter, $8
• Three succulent Kobe beef sliders topped with horseradish cream sauce, $7
• Veal osso buco ravioli, a delectable blend of saffron-infused pasta filled with veal osso buco, $6

Tracey was most recently running Table 1280 in Midtown before relocating to Ray’s Killer Creek in Alpharetta. Tracey said it has been quite a change for her. Usually her busiest nights at Table 1280 were weekends, but with a huge business crowd in the Alpharetta suburb, she’s gotten quite used to having her weekend nights off. She tells me it has been a nice change of pace.

I’ve reviewed Killer Creek before Chef Bloom took over. While the favorites of Ray’s Killer Creek still remain on the menu, Tracey has brought some of her own menu creations to Ray’s Killer Creek. I was luck enough to be invited to sample of her unique menu additions. The first thing we sampled was the flatbread of the day. Ours was topped with prosciutto, roasted red peppers, arugula, and truffle oil. Can’t go wrong with that flavor combo! It was rather large but the two of us managed to wolf the entire thing down.

Next up, we tried her salad of poached pears and were once again treated to some more tasty arugula. I loved the lightness of this dish and the pears were in sweet contrast to the salty cheese.

Our mains were a Veal Bolognese and Short-rib. The pasta is made in house and was my favorite dish of the evening. Surprising as I didn’t expect to be most impressed by a pasta dish, but there is a distinct difference when pasta is house made. And whoa was that veal tasty. Mr. ARB fancied the Short-rib more. It was tender and he absolutely loved the cabbage served with it.

I love that Chef Bloom is bringing her creativity to what has been primarily known as a Steakhouse. Not only does it give OTPers the chance to expand their tastes a bit, but the new entrees are at a lesser price point than the traditional steaks, making it more affordable to couples looking for a good choice on date night.

1700 Mansell Rd
Alpharetta, GA 30009
770 649 0064
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