Thanks to www.travelzoo.com for offering another fantastic local deal! I was one of the 1,256 people that purchased the deal, or shall I say steal. For $49, hubby and I were able to dine in style at eleven at Loews Atlanta Hotel in Midtown. Two glasses of wine, two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts.  Normally, what we consumed at this contemporary southern bistro would have easily cost $130. Heck, normally, we would never consume this much food in one sitting.

The menu is not complicated at all which is crucial when you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast and you’ve been fantasizing about a tasty dinner. Hubby slid me his glass of wine (things that make you go hmmm). So, I enjoyed two glasses of Pinot Grigio which, to my surprise, did not taste bad for a house wine while he opted for the Casablanca martini (not part of the deal).

Feeling slightly buzzed, I was ready to chow. Bring on the food eleven at Loews, let us see what you’re made of!

For appetizers, we chose the cornmeal fried pickle (did I mention that this is a southern bistro?) and hummus trifle (wait, this isn’t a Middle Eastern restaurant, is it?). Both dishes get two thumbs up, if for no reason other than I was completely shocked to find these items occupying space on the same menu.

We want food! We want food! I finally made up mind for a main dish. Seared sea bass served with hoppin’ john, cornbread crust for me. For hubby? Shrimp and grits prepared with andouille sausage, tomato fondue, scallions. Absolutely scrumptious. I usually order sea bass steamed (Chilean sea bass, that is), so this was a lovely treat. And well, hubby never orders anything spicy but stepped outside the box this time (I’m sure that Casablanca took care of the heat). When you eat out, it is sometimes best to order what you would not ordinarily prepare for yourself at home. I never have all of these ingredients in my kitchen at the same time so we’re batting pretty well.

To say that desert was the icing on the cake might sound silly, but hey, it was the icing on the cake. The white chocolate mousse was just decadent with bits of passion fruit, pineapple, nougat and coconut. The red velvet wasn’t bad either. It is not your traditional, southern, piece of cake.

Chic ambience. Professional staff. Wonderful food. Popping bar scene with popping tunes compliments of the d.j. Let’s just hope the economy picks up so places like these stay in business so people like me can get dressed up to go eat and hang out in such swank lounges.