Remember The King + Duke? Our last date night excursion. Well, The Optimist is The King + Duke's popular sister. Who likes seafood...
We kept hearing about this popular seafood restaurant in Midtown Atlanta. Popular might be an understatement. Getting a table requires some serious forward planning. A reservation several weeks in advance is pretty much necessary.
The Optimist is no ordinary restaurant. Your first clue? The huge putting green out front. No time to waste I'm afraid, straight to the drinks. My putting is always better after a few drinks and a full belly anyway.
Our booth near the bar made for the perfect people watching vantage point. And boy, were there some interesting people to watch. A real mixed-bag of hipsters, business folk and cougars all congregate here at this former ham-aging facility. The interior is stunning.
Back to the food.
I didn't think that anything could top those freshly made Yorkshire puddings over at the King + Duke. Boy was I wrong. Behold, the freshly made roll slathered with butter and topped with sea salt! Ahoy matey. She be a salty one.
The menu was chock full of odd and interesting sounding sea creatures. To be honest, none of it jumped out at me. We started with E's pick of grilled octopus.
I settled (yes, settled) on the Mahi Mahi with mushrooms.
E had the special. An odd sounding fish that apparently crushes mollusks with a hard plate in it's head, according to our waitress. Hmm.
After he figured out how to dissect it, E thoroughly enjoyed it with a side of fingerling potatoes and garlic aoili.
Dessert was by far the highlight of this voyage. Chocolate & Frangelico Cremaux, chantilly cream, hazelnut and caramel. Or in 'V speak', a pot of chocolate mousse. Layers of goodness! It just got better the further I dug.
As always, the best part of the evening was just spending quality time with my 'Captain Ahab'.
Putt putt while waiting for the car? Genius.
PS - Excuse the grainy photos...this was pre-Sony upgrade.