Valentine's Meal Mise En Place from Star Provisions

The Star Provisions Group is probably the primary (as in first and best) restaurant group in Atlanta. Consistently ranked in the top restaurants in the nation, Bacchanalia, their first and flagship restaurant was a leader in New American cuisine in Atlanta. The chef owners and partners, Anne Quattrano and Clifford Harrison, have expanded their offerings to include a variety of upscale dining establishments (the latest being Abbatoir-my favorite restaurant in the city with our friend Rick as GM) at different price points as well as a gourmet purveyor of all things food wise, Star Provisions. Their cheesemonger, Tim Gaddis, is in my opinion, the best in the city, their bakery is fantastic. The butcher shop has a number of items you can't get anywhere else and the meat quality has been excellent in my experience. Their Star Provisions ready-made food to go is well received in all quarters.  ** Full disclosure, Rick, Abbatoir's GM is not a social friend we only know him through his restaurant career in ATL. He is one of the best in our opinion**

Here's how the menu appeared in my Inbox:

Appetizers
- Sweet Maine Lobster Bisque with Lobster Salad

Entrée (a choice of)
- Braised American Kobe Short Ribs of Beef, Glazed Local Root Vegetables, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Natural Jus OR

- Bouride of Virginia Black Bass, Local Fennel, Orange & Fingerling Potatoes, Spicy Broth

Cheese & Accoutrement
- Old Chatham Shepherding Cupid's Camembert
- Marcona Almonds
- Local Honey
- Demi Baguette

Dessert
- Potted Chocolate &Hazelnut Trifle
- Rose Macaroons

$145 for 2 ... a little pricey for take out but what the heck! So we signed up for the short ribs and were ready to go. On top of that we had SNOW the night before, which is like Christmas to me.. I love snow. I get up early to watch it, I stay up late to listen to it. Probably because we only have it once a year or less...

So.. here is the box as it arrived after pickup:

And these are the instructions included with the box:

The first course, Lobster Bisque, garnished with lobster salad:

YUM! This bisque was just right, sweetly lobstery, velvet texture, the salad was a nice mix of lobster and seasoning and some celery leaves. Personally I would have preferred maybe Italian parsley as I find celery leaves bitter but altogether this was a big win in my opinion.

The Main Course:

The vegetables are a mix of potatoes, carrots, a slice or two of turnip, a few brussel sprouts and a nice buttery sauce. Very flavorful and a nice mix of textures, colors and tastes together. The meat is "American Kobe"  which to be honest, I don't know what that means, but I am a newb. I thought Kobe beef came from Japan and the American version was Wagyu. Anyway, it was 2 boneless short ribs with Jus. To follow in Foodie Buddha's footsteps... I wasn't very impressed. (Keep in mind, this is not food from their Restaurant establishments, this is from the Star Provisions to go branch.) The meat was somewhat dry and a little tough in spots. The flavor was OK but nothing to write home about; I was disappointed especially at the price point. So was WSH.

The Cheese Course and the Bread:

Yes, I took a taste from the left ventricle... I couldn't help myself.  And the demi-baguette with cheese, honey and almonds:

This was a grand slam home run. The cheese, honey and almonds were a match made in heaven, and the bread  was a perfect palette for it. I could have danced with this all night.
Bread on the table and a shoe on the floor:

The Dessert (which is still in the fridge):

Chocolate-Hazelnut Trifle and Rose Macaroons. It looks lovely doesn't it? I'll have to report on that either later or from one of our neighborhood reporters on the scene. I'm too full tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day all

See you soon.