Well, we all went out to Garrett's last Friday, and had dinner in the Chef's room, in the back. Garrett's is a great new restaurant just opened in the Sommerset Shopping Center on the Atlanta Highway, just across from the entrance to Lake Forest Neighborhood. There were 11 of us at the table. The service was pleasant. This being the first night they were open to the public, things were slightly slow, but not terribly so. We had only one server to wait on all of us, but he did a fine job. The wine list was diverse, but not extensive, which is actualy above par for Montgomery. The menu had quite a bit of variety from filet mignon to duck breast, and lobster to chicken. All the entree's sounded good.
I started with an appetizer of sauteed crabcakes with spinach, lobster and corn buerre' blanc sauce. These were very good, but as a matter of preference, I like my crabcakes with lump crabmeat and very little breading. These were tasty and the buerre' blanc sauce was delicious, but the crabmeat was very fine and mixed with a little too much bread crumbs. In spite of this, I still enjoyed this appetizer a lot. Next came a classic Ceasar salad, which was also quite good. An excellent transition from the crabcakes to my entree of filet mignon. My filet was very good. I was a little concerned as there was some confusion upon ordering the steak. As he should have, our server inquired as to how I would like the meat cooked. I prefer mine medium rare, but depending on where you are dining, this can get you a variety of results. In nicer restaurants, I usually just request that it be cooked to the "chef's preference" since he or she should know how the meat will be best served. When I told the server this, he seemed somewhat confused. I clarified that I like mine medium rare, but to me that usually means a warm red center, and to please give the Chef leeway if he felt the meat should be cooked differently. This seemed to satisfy him. When the entree arrived, it was plated beautifully and the meat was cooked just about right. It was a very thick cut, and the center was maybe just a bit more rare than I prefer, but since the meat quality was very high, this did not pose a problem with eating the entire thing.
My wife ordered the blackened salmon with a crawfish tarragon cream sauce over fettucini. I'm not a huge fan of salmon so I didn't try this. She said it was good, but not great. I personally felt that the concept of salmon, crawfish and tarragon wasn't the best set of flavors, but I also think you have to try something to know for sure. Apparently, she wasn't all that impressed.
Another friend of mind ordered the trio peppered seared tuna, and I did taste this dish, and it was quite good. Several people at the table ordered the porterhouse steak, and true to the porterhouse definition, these steaks were huge! Everyone seemed pleased with their meals, so I think we all had a good experience. I was somewhat disappointed that we didn't get a visit from the chef, but on opening night, I'm quite sure that his time was a bit monopolized in the kitchen.
For dessert, I had the chocolate souffle, and it was very nice. My wife ordered the creme brulee' and was not pleased with hers. She isn't a huge egg fan, so why she ordered creme brulee' is a bit of a mystery, but I tasted the dish and it was a bit more "eggy" than it should have been, and not as sweet as it should be.
In the end, after two appetizers, a salad, two entrees, two deserts, and two bottles of a nice pinot noir, our bill came to just under $200, so I felt that the prices weren't too bad either, given the quality of the restaurant, the service and the food. The few areas where we weren't completely satisfied, I felt were just part of the "newness" of the crew and the kitchen, and will likely improve in a short amount of time.
After dinner, we stopped at the bar in the front of the restaurant for after dinner drinks and some quiet conversation with a few of the friends from our group, since with a table of 11, you can't really talk with everybody at the table. The bar at Garrett's is very beautiful, with rich dark wood, and black marble inlays. The backdrop for the bar area is a glass pane with Garrett's logo etched in it, and a water fall flowing over it, setting a very nice ambiance to the area. The bartender was attentive and sociable, so we had some conversation with her, and we also saw some friends who own some other restaurants and bars in Montgomery visiting that night as well. The entire evening was a very enjoyable experience and I look forward to freqenting Garrett's on a regular basis. Be sure to try it yourself sometime!
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