Restaurant Eugene

Cured trout tartare and citrus, chili blood orange emulsion, fennel, benne wafer.

My first visit to Restaurant Eugene was a wonderful treat, the result of a gift certificate given to me by some very sweet clients. The meal was special not only because of the solid food and elegant atmosphere, but also because our friend Judith, who runs Love is Love Farm, works there and because we were lucky enough to be invited to take a kitchen tour.

We started with drinks: complimentary champagne given to every guest in April to celebrate the restaurant's anniversary as well as Fever's Cure: Prairie Vodka, Psycharud's bitters, strawberry-rhubarb chutney and Fever Tree Ginger Ale - delicious! Later in the meal I also tried the Eugene homemade ginger ale, which is outstanding.

After an amuse bouche combo of radish and strawberry - interesting but not very memorable - we started with the cured trout tartare and the foie gras tasting - both so delicious in different ways. The trout light and a bit tart, the foie gras rich and sweet. The powdered foie gras is definitely something unique - and while I preferred the roasted version, the powdered really is amazing.

Foie Gras Tasting: roasted, terrine, hibiscus, honey, brioche.



Awesome bread basket and soft poached bantam egg, farro, crisp vidalia, tasso, nettle-black tea.

The famous Holeman & Finch bread as well as the service, stood out as most exceptional to me. The poached egg with farro was interesting and creative with its use of tea as its liquid, but this dish turned out a bit bland for my taste.

Wild morel and nameko fondue, fiddlehead ferns, turnips, garlic confit, mint. Pan roasted duck breast, artichokes, turnips, rhubarb, farro.

The wild morel and nameko fondue was interesting. I suppose I thought with "fondue" we would be dipping the wild morels and namekos into the cheese sauce. This dish, recommended by our waiter, was probably the most disappointing items we ordered - too salty and not containing the cheesiness I was looking for. The duck was solid - very tender meat, served nicely rare.

Pan Roasted Monkfish, Swiss chard, maitake, preserved citrus, fennel puree, morels.



Backstage tour of the kitchen! Amazing what all goes on back here!



Peanut butter pudding with candied bacon, chocolate tuile, whipped buttermilk and cherry ice cream.

I enjoyed the combination of peanut butter, bacon and chocolate - you have to try it before you judge! The ice cream was also quite tasty.

Goat Cheese Cheesecake - specially made compote for us! We also really enjoyed the goat cheesecake.

Restaurant Eugene has made quite a name for itself in a short time. In my opinion it's a stop every Atlantan should make at least once for a special occasion - the bread alone is worth it! I've also heard great things about the bar and the Friday Night Flight, which reportedly "will soon be reaching a new altitude" after tonight.