One Eared Stag lunching

One Eared Stag possesses a neat parity for me. It is enchanting when the sun streams in on a sunny afternoon yet holds the coziness I crave on a dreary day. On this particular visit the white washed walls were bathed in light. It almost looks like the animal busts are enjoying here too, huh? I had not appreciated what a beautiful day it was until I saw the sun this way.

On the way to my corner table I glanced at the long table in the middle of the upstairs (upstair?) room. Pears. This inviting table seems to always have a different tablescape and today it is a smattering of pears. One of these days I am going to reserve that table for me and 13 friends. From here one could see what is going on in the kitchen, check out the interesting cabinet of goodies and stare at the shelves of canned veggies lining the walls as we wait for the ever changing menu items from Robert Phalen.

The bar has an impressive wall of bourbon. I gazed longingly and finally ordered a couple of cocktails to try.

My favorite: The Boozy Floozey (background). Also: root beer-like drink in process (middle) and the Roselinda (foreground).

First up, cold water oysters. They were perfectly shucked (lately a few restaurants I have visited have been a bit sloppy with their shucking). I loved the presentation. The plate was beautiful but didn’t need to be. I scraped off the mignonette. The best part of eating an oyster (to me) is tasting the sea. I think I usually close my eyes when I eat one. ..”smell the sea, and feel the sky let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic.” But I digress.

My favorite dish in Atlanta currently: rabbit rillettes with tomatillo escabeche and toast. As I try to write this, I gush. This peasant pate is just the perfect combination of soft, smooth, savory comfort . If the term rillettes is new to you, it is simply a potted meat a little less processed than pate. The board is beautiful and the components are warm and cool, savory and tart, soft and crunchy. I love the celery leaves with the rillettes, as they lend a subtle earthiness. I eat the tomatillo escabeche alone. It is crunchy, tart and a lil spicy. I have had Thomas Keller's signature rillettes many times and this is, well, better.

Buttermilk fried chicken with roasted veggies and Eden Farms bacon. Super moist, flavorful chicken fried to perfection over carrots, turnips and collards. What’s not to love?

Virginia lump crab roll with lemon aoli and an arugula salad. Not for the faint of heart or the small of jaw, this large roll thrilled me. The best part was the buttery goodness of the toasted bread. Don’t get me wrong, the roll is filled with sweet crab meat and a zingy lemony aoli, but the bread is heaven.

House cured Lomo and peach preserves, arugula, sweet balsamic. So good.

Apple bourbon and a Boozey Floozy

Trotter fritter with fried farm egg and wax bean salad. Tender on the inside, crunchy on the outside and oh so good smeared in the yolk of the farm egg. Eating trotters make me feel good much like recycling. I would order this again and again. * Since I wrote this, I have. I have visited One Eared Stag several times and each time was enchanting. The food thrilled me, the atmosphere was just my speed and the service, THE SERVICE, was the standard by which other restaurants should be judged. Any of these three could be the reason for a return visit but all three makes One Eared Stag a must visit restaurant. Period.

I am so looking forward to One Eared Stag's leap year dinner on February 29th with Robert Phalen (One Eared Stag), Ryan Smith (Empire State South), Drew Belline (No246), Josh Hopkins (formerly of Abattoir, will now head STG Trattoria), Guy Wong (Miso Izakaya), and Stuart Baesel (Community Q). Info here on Chow Down Atlanta's blog.