The Capital Grille–I never knew Capitalism Tasted this Good

I'm embarrassed to say, being a food lover for most of my life, I have never been to a high-end steakhouse. Houston's and Fogo De Chao seemed like the "highest-ended" steakhouse I've visited so far. So I didn't know what to expect at The Capital Grille.

When I walked in, I saw that everything looked fancy. I knew the dress code said "dressy," but I didn't take it too seriously. I wore some nice slacks and a dress shirt, but I still felt underdressed. I did see one table where they dressed business casual, but most men dressed in suits. If you want to fit in, wear a suit.

The reason they call this place "Capital Grille" is because of all the famous portraits of capitalists they have on the wall. But they assured us they had no political affiliation. It's just a gimmick. Maybe someone should open a competitor called "Marxist Grille." 

The Non-Important Food

When we sat down, they gave us some free bread. The basket of bread included several types of bread.  I didn't eat too much bread because I was saving room for the steak. But the breads I sampled tasted good. 

Good bread but save room for the appetizers and the main entree.

The appetizers felt tiny to me. I asked our server if that's the case for all of their appetizers. He said some of them had bigger portions.

I guess it's okay. Appetizers shouldn't be a whole meal anyway. I know at some places, when you order an appetizer, it's sometimes bigger than their entrees. At Capital Grille, however, it felt like the appetizers were a bit overpriced for the quality and quantity I got.

Lobster Fritter. 

For example, the Oysters in a Half Shell looked like the smallest oysters I've ever seen. It also had some chips of shell in the meat. So I didn't enjoy it. But at least they tasted fresh. The cocktail sauce tasted fine too.

Oysters in a Half Shell, oyster power!

The Best Part of the Resturant: Their Steaks. 

Even though the appetizers felt small enough to piss me off, the main entrees seemed like the perfect size. I ordered their special: the 3 fillet medallions with 3 different types of rubs and sauces.

One had 12 year aged balsamic vinegar. I liked this one the best. I loved the taste of the balsamic vinegar they used. It provided a nice taste to my already juicy steak.

The other had a coffee rub with caramelized shallot butter. This was a close second. My server looked shocked when I told him I liked this one as well. I guess if you're not a coffee fan, you won't like this. But I loved it.

The other one had some sort of aged blue cheese and cajun sauce. It tasted good, but I didn't like it as much as the other two. I'm not fan of blue cheese, and the blue cheese spread tasted too strong for me.

I'm glad I ordered this dish because I got to try out their different kinds of rubs they put on their steaks. It also provided a nice variety.

12 Year Old Aged Balsamic Vinegar, Kona Rub, Blue Cheese and Cajun

Mrs. Kitty ordered the Seared Tenderloin with Butter Poached lobster. Her dish was high quality and delicious. The lobsters were a great touch. I also liked the mashed potatoes in the middle.

Tenderloin with butter poached lobster.

We also ordered some haricots verts with roasted tomatoes and fennel. It made a great side dish to the meat. I like haricots verts, so I had nothing to complain. They were cooked perfectly. 

Green beans with fennel and tomatoes.

Pretty High Quality Place

Capital Grille seemed like a top notch steakhouse. They treated us like royalty. I sometimes felt a bit guilty on how well they treated us.

Capital Grille made their steaks very well. We got the fillets, so I didn't get to experience their dry aged steaks. But I'm sure they're also high quality.  

Our fillets were the best fillet mignon I've tasted. They cooked it at a perfect medium rare. They were like butter, soft and tender. 

I enjoyed the steak here. They were one of the best I've had in my life. Now I need to try out the other high end steak places in Atlanta and see how they compare. For now, Mr. Kitty gives Capital Grille 4.5 paws up.

The Capital Grille

255 E Paces Ferry Rd NE

Atlanta, GA 30305

(404) 963-9500

http://www.thecapitalgrille.com/locations/atlanta/main.asp

Zucca At Night

I'm going to review my dinner at Zucca in Smyrna. Zucca has a different menu for brunch and dinner. It's like a different experience for both. Dinner is about pizzas and pastas. Brunch is about mimosas, bloody mary's and frittatas. So I feel I should separate them. If I ever come back for brunch, I'll review Zucca at brunch. 

Well, when I walked in for dinner, I didn't feel Zucca would impress me. The menu looked boring. I felt skeptical on how good they made their pastas and pizzas. I'm also a huge pizza snob so I got ready to criticize their pizza.

I first tried their house salad. It was your standard tomatoes, greens, and olives. The grated parmesan cheese didn't add too much. I liked the olives though. The oil and balsamic vinegar dressing wasn't anything special.

Just your everyday house salad.

I tried their seafood linguini. My lack of enthusiasm turned to excitement when they brought it out. I love seafood, and their seafood linguini looked good.

It did have a slight fishy taste though. I'm thinking their sea food wasn't super fresh. But that's all right. It still tasted good to me. Since I like seafood a lot (hence my name, Mr. Kitty), I can handle a small amount of fishiness.

The sauce also had a bit of spice–which was a nice touch. I liked this dish. But if you can't handle something that's too fishy or any spice at all, I would avoid it.

Linguini with lots of seafood goodness.

Their pizza won an award in 2008 at some pizza contest in Las Vegas. It wasn't even a national award, it was for the South East region. Sure, back then in 2008, I can believe it.  But since Antico and Varasano's popped up in Atlanta, the bar has risen.

I must admit, if Antico or Varasano's never opened, Zucca's pies would be one of the top pies in Atlanta. It's a tier below those two, but it's not a bad pie.

Zucca's Victory Pie supposed to be their best. So I ordered it. It's pretty much a Margherita with meat and mushrooms. The pie looked like it was cooked in a conventional oven, not a wood burning oven. Of course, that means they can't get a good char in their crust.

I wasn't too impressed with the crust. I'm sure they didn't use high quality toppings, but the toppings tasted good. Even though I didn't like the crust, the combination of crust, toppings, etc. did provide a satisfying pizza. It tasted a lot better than I expected.

Not the best pizza in Atlanta but good enough to satisfy me.

Zucca offers decent brunch and dinner. It looks like a bar from the outside. In fact, the same owner owns the bar next to it. So I thought I would get some crappy bar food. But they did exceed my super low expectations. You can get a decent dinner here. Their pizza wasn't bad and their pasta wasn't bad. I give it 3.5 paws.

Zucca Bar & Pizzeria
2860 Atlanta Rd SE
Smyrna, GA 30080
(770) 803-9990
http://www.zuccasmyrna.com/

I Got a New Camera

I won't post a food review today. But I want to share that I bought new digital camera.

As you guys have noticed, my photos on my blog have sucked. A carpenter shouldn't blame his tools, but I decided to get a new camera to try to improve my photos. It felt like a way for me to start fresh in taking decent food pictures.

As I took photos at different restaurants for my blog, I found out there is some type of art to taking food pictures. And as I read other food blogger's sites, I saw that they took really great photos of food. My site looked ghetto compared to the other food sites.

So I figured my new camera would be a way for me to start figuring that out. I don't want to take it too seriously, but I would like to learn how to take decent photos.

My old digital camera was probably around 5 years old. I didn't know how to use it effectively. But I wasn't a photographer so I didn't really care. As long as I could take semi-decent snap shots, I thought it was fine. And I think my old camera had more than enough capabilities to take great photos of food and other things. But I saw a great deal for a Panasonic DMC-ZS6 at woot.com. So I decide to get it.

Anyway, I don't think you'll see improvements in my photos immediately, but I hope the photos would improve in time.

Rice from Rumi's Kitchen. Review coming soon.

Bobby G's Chicago Eatery in Atlanta?

I have never been to Chicago, but I always wanted to try out some of the street food Chicago is known for.  I never had authentic Chicago style dogs in Chicago, but I have had them at other places. So I don't know if I'm a good judge on authentic Chicago style dogs. But I thought Bobby G's made them fairly well. 

One thing I don't like about most Chicago style hotdogs is that they're made with regular sized franks. The bun and the condiments overpower the meat. It feels like I'm not eating any meat at all. Even though Bobby G's offered a nice sized frank, I felt I was just eating the bun and pickles. Maybe I'm just not used to eating hot dogs. But I want more meat when eating a hotdog. 

Not bad, but I want more meat.

So I ordered their Polish Sausage Chicago style. Now that was more like it. The Polish Sausage tasted pretty good. Combined with the tomatoes, relish, pickles, sports peppers, and mustard; it makes a nice and tasty meal.

I forget what brand of Polish Sausage they used, but it tasted good. But the guy who worked at Bobby G's seemed proud of the brand of Polish Sausage they used.

That's more like it. Polish hotdog Chicago style. It even looks better. The better photo does help the look of it though.

I also tried their saurkraut dog. I found it so-so. The saurkraut didn't taste very good. I would just stick with the Polish Sasuage Chicago Style.

Pretty not tasty.

I also tried their authentic Italian Beef Sandwich. They give you a ton of toppings to choose from. I couldn't figure out what I wanted. So the guy at Bobby G's suggested grilled onions, sports peppers, sweet peppers, and their secret au jus sauce. He said those toppings were the most traditional.

Because of the au jus sauce, he warned me it would be hot. Whatever. I can eat Peter Chang's dishes without needing water. After taking a few bites, I must admit, the au jus sauce did taste hot. I'm surprised to say it made me sweat. Overall, I liked their Italian Beef Sandwich. Once again, I don't know if it's authentic, but it tasted good.

Italian Beef.

I liked Bobby G's. Most of the food tasted good, and it's also cheap. You and a date can eat for about $10. It's also set up as a small sports bar. So it's a nice, inexpensive place to come and watch a game.

If I wanted to go to a cheap, decent place to hang out and eat in the Buckhead area, I would go to Bobby G's. It sure beats Taco Mac. I give it 3.5 paws up. 

Bobby G's Chicago Eatery

574 Main Street ne

Atlanta, GA 30324

(404) 841-6670

http://www.bobbygs.com/BobbyGs

Yogurberry

Yogurberry is one of my favorite froyo places in Atlanta. It's located in the Terminus Building at Buckhead. There's no sign for it anywhere from the streets though. But just look for the Brides by Demetrios shop, which is the most visible shop at Terminus. Yogurberry is in that same building. 

Their Many Flavors of Frozen Yogurt

They offer eight flavors. Plain, Taro, Mocha Chocolate, and Vanilla are usually the permanent flavors. Yogurberry will likely have those when you go there. 

The other four flavors are switched out bi-weekly. They range from Lemon, Green Tea, Georgia Peach, Pomegranate, Blueberry, Lychee, Strawberry, Banana, Green Apple, Watermelon, Pistachio, and many others. 

Just their frozen Yogurt Machines, waiting to serve nice, creamy froyo.

If you guys been reading my blog lately, you guys should know I'm a fan of green tea yogurt.  And Yogurberry probably has the best green tea frozen yogurt I've tasted.  I thought Pinkberry had great green tea froyo, but I think Yogurberry's non-tart version beats Pinkberry's.

I also like their taro, peach, and strawberry flavors. But whatever flavor you choose, you can't go wrong in Yogurberry. 

Yogurberry has the highest quality yogurt in Atlanta. They use milk from local, grass fed cows–free from antibiotics and hormones. They claim it makes the yogurt taste better. Perhaps it does. I do find their yogurt to be delicious. Also, I don't know how they make it, but they make the yogurt very creamy. 

Pomegranate and Original

Green Tea, Georgia Peach, and Pistachio

Yogurberry Has a Ton of Toppings

Aside from their high quality yogurt, they offer a ton of toppings. I think this is one of the few places that offer Reese's Pieces and Pocky Sticks. 

If you get stuck on what toppings to chose, they have several combos you can choose from. Some of them are The Brian Special, which consists of strawberry, mochi, and coconut; Fruity Juicy Judy, which consists of mango, raspberry, and kiwi; and others. 

Just a few of their many toppings they offer.

Another small sample of their toppings.

Do They Have the Best Value?

Yogurberry isn't cheap with their yogurt or toppings either. Unlike Pinkberry, Yogurberry will try to stuff as much toppings as possible in your cups. If they can find a way to fit it, they will. They also give discounts if you check in with Yelp or Foursquare. Besides the self serve places, I think Yogurberry is one of the better values for froyo.

Not Just a Place for Froyo, They Have Great Smoothies and Other Treats

Even though I love their froyo, I usually get their green tea smoothie. I'm addicted to that stuff. They make their smoothies with their original flavored frozen yogurt, not milk. So it comes out delicious, smooth, and thick. You can even add tapioca balls for a small price. 

Their incredible smoothie.

The Brian Hah Experience

As an added bonus, you get to meet Brian Hah. You'll know instantly when you have the Brian Hah experience. In a way, Yogurberry is like Zappos of frozen yogurt. They make sure their customer service and experience is high quality, just like their products. Mr. Kitty gives this place 5 paws up.

Yogurberry

3281 Piedmont Rd NE

Ste 140B

Atlanta, GA 30305

(404) 869-9788

http://www.yogurberryatl.com/