(Photo Courtesy: UrbanSpoon)

P’Cheen International Bistro is located in the VA-Hi / Old 4th Ward area. I’d been there years ago on a date night, after attending Martinis and Imax. We decided to take advantage of a recent Scoutmob deal and visit P’Cheen once again. This time we were headed to to a Thrashers game post dinner.

It worked out perfectly with the game being the day after Thanksgiving. We sailed down I-75 to get to dinner by 6 pm. The game started at 7:30 so we figured this gave us plenty of time to eat and get to Philips Arena as it was only a couple miles away.

We ordered some small plates to start – Thai Mussels, fries, and the “Just Trust Us” plate. What is the Just Trust Us” plate, you ask? Basically, for 8 bucks you let the chef’s imagination run wild. He’ll fix you up a plate of something amazing, guaranteed. Our server said some people come in and order 2 or 3 in a night. So, how could we pass this up?

Our Just Trust Us was a pork tostada. And, yes, it was amazing. The pork was tender and the herbs fresh. The jalapenos added a generous amount of heat, while the sour cream cooled things off a bit. Our mussels had that distinct Thai coconut / lemongrass flavoring to them. And the crispy fries were wonderful. I loved the three dipping sauces we were given: Barbecue, Sweet Thai and regular ketchup.

All this was pretty filling as you can imagine, so we only ordered a single entree: the chicken curry. At this point, I was wondering if the chef would be able to master Indian food as well, as the Mexican and Thai turned out very well. He did it again. The curry was very typical of what I would expect to find at an Indian restaurant.

Our appetizers had taken longer than I had expected to come out and this delayed us a bit, so we declined dessert and told our server we were trying to make it to a game. For whatever reason, my mobile app was not working very well. If you use Scoutmob, you know you must pull up the deal and some restaurants won’t take half off until they see that the deal has indeed been marked as used. It was at this point service went completely downhill.

Now, I don’t know if it is my crap phone or the fact that the building doesn’t get good reception, or a combination of both, but for whatever reason nothing would happen when I clicked on the “USE DEAL” icon. Our server suggested I go stand outside (yeah – just want I want to do in freezing weather!) as the building doesn’t get good reception. Didn’t help. I tried everything turning the phone on and off and nothing would work. I asked our server to just give us the discount since that is why we came there. He refused, saying “You could come here and use it again!” I was ready to pay the bill in full, but the third time was a charm and I tracked down our server (he was completely avoiding our table by this point) and showed him the deal.

Aaaannnnd, we were on our way, finally! Of course this delay caused us to miss the entire first period of the hockey game, of which there are only three. Bummer, as I only go to like one hockey game a year I was really looking forward to it. On the bright side – we were so late to Philips Arena, there was no one manning the parking deck and we scored free parking. When does that ever happen downtown?

I really like the atmosphere of P’Cheen. It has a cool design but is still pretty laid back. Staff, for the most part is friendly, as long as your Scoutmob deal works. The food is truly outstanding. I love that the chef is able to really capture the cuisine of all the regions they choose to represent and it isn’t just a matter of American food being spiked with International spices. They truly “bring it” when cooking these dishes. I’d definitely recommend a visit, just don’t expect them to bend the rules if technology isn’t cooperating.

701 Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30312
404 529 8800
Website

I’m on the hook for Scoutmob. Who doesn’t love half off your meals with no restrictions, right? So, we decided to take advantage of the Scoutmob for Harry and Sons on a recent Friday evening. Much to my chagrin, Harry and Sons does not take reservations. Arriving at close to nine, we thought we’d have missed the dinner rush, but seems like we arrived smack dab in the middle of it. Harry and Sons seems to be a date spot as there were lots of couples and double-daters that I noticed. I guess people want to make a night of it, hitting up the bars after filling their bellies with Thai and Sushi.

The hostess at Harry and Sons doesn’t make her way up front often, so I flagged her down to put our name on the wait list. If you go on a weekend night, be prepared to wait a while. We waited over 30 minutes for a table. In addition to the front dining room that shares space with the bar, there’s a room in the back with a fair amount of seating that gives way to a covered patio of which all were full when I visited. If you go, hold out for front dining room or patio seating. The back room shares a wall with the drink refill station and is not too pretty.

We ordered a couple appetizers, the Thai sausage salad and the Surin baskets (Harry and Sons and Surin just down the street have the same owners). The Surin baskets were tasty little bites about the double the size of mini quiche. I liked the ingredients and the peanut cucumber sauce, but I think it would be better sans the corn pieces.

The Thai sausage salad was a fantastic appetizer. It was great for sharing and for $6.50, you get a ton of sausage. Mind you, it isn’t a traditional sausage in a link, but pieces of sausage that almost look like bacon that have been cut into pieces. This is one great appetizer you don’t want to skip over.

Although the sushi looked amazing, I was planning to have it the next night, (Social Vinings – I told you I was on the hook for Scoutmob). So, we both opted for more Thai food. Me: Rack of lamb with shrimp fried rice. Glen: Duck in red curry. While my lamb was good, the duck was the clear winner of the two dishes. While my lamb was perfectly cooked and tasty, I found the shrimp fried rice to be very salty. The duck had a great flavor and the red curry was hot but not overpowering. I could have licked the plate clean, just to mop up that yummy sauce.

Overall, I thought the food was good, despite the fact that I was up later that night gulping down water to fight the after effects of the salty dinner. I think Harry and Sons is great for the neighborhood and I saw lots of customers getting take out orders. I just don’t think it is a destination restaurant. You know? If you happen to be in the area and are hitting up the bars perhaps, otherwise there are plenty of Thai restaurants that are just as good in close proximity to me.

Extras: 22 oz bottles of Chang (Thai) beer for only $5. Our pre-tip total? $37 Not bad for 2 apps, 2 entrees and a large beer. Thanks Scoutmob!

820 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
404 873 2009
Website

We started off our brunch feast with La Tavola’s Beet and Apple salad. With pistachios and fennel in a red wine vinaigrette, it packs a myriad of flavors. It tastes as pretty as it looks too. Love the balance of tart and sweet. Note the picture shows half the portion as we split it. One order is plenty for two.

I just couldn’t pass up the Challah French Toast with berries and honey mascarpone. So, again, we split an order of that. Another stellar brunch option, although not new to the menu, I wouldn’t miss this perennial brunch favorite either.

If it’s meat you seek, there are plenty of meat-centric entrees. We ordered the Italian Sausage and Flat Iron. Both come with poached eggs and polenta. I guess there was some mix-up as we were given the Chicken Sausage instead. We didn’t ask to swap as it really wasn’t a big deal to us and I was eager to sample the brunch potatoes that came with it. Loved dipping the potatoes into the liquidy, gooey egg.

The Flat Iron was the better of the two dishes. It was extremely tender and prepared medium just as requested. And although polenta, like grits, doesn’t usually rock my world, theirs was done very well.

The restaurant had a steady flow of customers throughout our entire meal. But there wasn’t a line a mile long to get your brunch on, like Murphy’s across the street. My guess is it won’t be long before word gets out about this pleasant brunch spot. However, they do take reservations if you want to plan ahead.

992 Virginia Ave, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30306
404.873.5430
Website

Rosebud restaurant was known as Food 101 in a previous life. The name change seems to have been a good move. Rosebud restaurant recently celebrated it’s one year anniversary and on the recent Thursday evening I visited the Virginia Highland restaurant, and it was packed. Under the watchful eye of Ron Eyester, Rosebud restaurant serves up upscale American / Southern food. Full disclosure: I was comped this meal at Rosebud Restaurant as a review.

The wine list is a decent size and there are many wines offered by the glass. I was very impressed with beer list as well. Rosebud has over twenty different kinds of beer available by the bottle. And I’m not just talking Sweetwater 420 or Stella, not that there’s anything wrong with them. But you’ll find unique offerings like Left Hand Milk Stout and Stone Levitation Ale.

Have just said all that, we chose to stick to cocktails this evening. Rosebud’s cocktail list has 6 classics and 6 house cocktails available at $9 a piece. The house cocktails seemed too inventive to pass up. While I had my eye on the AT&T cocktail, a gin and tonic but with house made apricot-thyme gin, my hatred for it’s namesake precluded me from ordering it and I went with the Jackson’s Cup, made with gin, pimms#1, orange-honey syrup and a couple other things thrown in the mix. Glen chose the Fighter Pilot, made with Bombay Sapphire.

These drinks certainly didn’t disappoint. They completely lived up to their dreamy descriptions. Glen did order one of the classics well into the meal, the French 75, which basically tasted a little like a mimosa. So I’d recommend sticking to the inventive house made cocktails.

Rosebud just unveiled a new menu. Some of the previous menu items are still available, however. On my visit, Rosebud was touting it’s Lobster-fest. In addition to a full lobster which is the special of the evening on Thursday, they also have a couple lobster specials: a lobster tail, lobster salad, and a lobster egg roll. While I didn’t want to deal with the messiness of eating a whole lobster, I was in serious need of a lobster fix, and opted for the lobster egg rolls. Great choice as these were chock full of lobster meat in every bite.

Wanting to sample regular appetizers as well, we chose the Eggplant chips, a holdover from the previous menu and a newcomer to the menu, the quail with peach glaze. The Eggplant chips were fried rounds and sprinkled with goat cheese. As someone who doesn’t care for the strong goat cheese flavor, I found these to be pleasantly mild. And the hot sauce that was served alongside was a great addition. As for the quail, I did enjoy it and it is perfectly portioned for two, but it was definitely overshadowed by the lobster egg rolls and eggplant chips without a doubt.

For entrees we chose the twice cooked duck leg and the tuna with lo mein. Both of these are new items on the menu. While the tuna was tasty and cooked rare as requested, the lo mein was quite salty, so salty in fact, that we asked for another side, mushrooms, a much improved side. Chef brought them out himself and apologized for the noodles. My duck leg was served up with some new potatoes and green beans. It had somewhat of an unusual taste – it was like a bitter orange taste mixed with bbq sauce. There was a lot of meat, but can’t say it is something I would order again.

Not to miss out on dessert, we ordered the Mexican coca cola cake and the Rosebud sundae. The cake was moist and tasty but the Rosebud sundae was extraordinary! The sundae is three scoops of ice cream with huge rice krispy treats mixed in on the top. It was absolutely delicious. Oh and it’s ginormous too. We ended up packing up most of it to take home and polishing it off the following evening.

Total cost of the meal before tip was right around $110. Not bad for 3 drinks, 3 appetizers, 2 entrees and desserts. Based on my experience, I recommend sharing appetizers (they are all pretty filling) and around $10 or under. And save room for the Rosebud Sundae of course.

1397 N. Highland Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30306
404 347 9747
Website

What: Virginia Highland’s First Annual “Classic Bar Tour”
When: Saturday, May 29, 2010, 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Where: Classic Bars, Various locations on North Highland Avenue

Tickets cost $10.00 per person in advance and $20.00 per person at the door and include admission, a Classic Bar Tour mug, t-shirt and drink refills at a discounted price at each participating bar. Purchase tickets here. In hopes of turning back time, each bar featured on the tour will offer patrons menu specials available at the prices they were sold for in 1960’s. Enjoy hamburgers, wings, cheese fries and celebrated pub grub at the same prices your parents or grandparents did way back when.

The Classic Bar Tour will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, donating a portion of the proceeds of each ticket sale to the organization.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.atlantaclassicsbartour.com.