10th and Piedmont – Restaurant Review
Have you been to Midtown Atlanta recently? Is so, you might have noticed that what was an Atlanta institution for so many years is gone. At the southwest corner of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue was Outwrite Bookstore. Outwrite was a bookstore and coffeehouse that occupied that corner for 18 years. It catered to the LGBT community of not only Atlanta but from wherever folks visited. I never went, but for the majority of my adult life, it was there and I always expected it to be there.
Well, due to financial difficulties, the owner had to close. Now the former bookstore has been completely revamped to become a fantastic new addition to the restaurant scene – 10th & Piedmont.
My husband and I had a ‘date night’ and decided to check it out. Reservations were easy as always when OpenTable is involved. Parking was easy as well with a shared lot next door with valet. We ate a bit early (6:30) as we had a concert to get to so it is possible the parking situation might change later in the evening.
We sat at a table by the huge windows that now can open up and let in the air and all the ‘ambience’ a hustling midtown intersection has to offer (which is a lot!). Of course, this is early August in Atlanta so the windows were closed and the A/C was running!!
10th and Piedmont had a nice selection of cocktails and over 100 vodkas to choose from! They even had a vodka sipping menu to try. I’ll definitely go back and check that out some time!! Did you know vodka can be made from wheat, rye, corn, sorghum, potato, and even grapes! I tried the Vesper because I’m a huge Bond fan. It was a martini with vodka, house-made ginger syrup, brandy, Lillet, lime twist and a hibiscus flower. It was beautiful and delicious.
The menu was primarily a sharing style menu that changes with the season. My husband and I love ‘tapas’ as you have the opportunity to taste many different styles and flavors the chef offers in one sitting. Turns out, we must have picked (with some help from the waitress) some of the best dishes as they were all delicious.
We started with the 10P salad for the table. It was huge for a sharing style menu and very good! It had mixed greens of arugula and spinach, goat cheese, some endive that had been shaved, homemade croutons, currants, pears, almonds and a nice light vinaigrette. Perfect on a hot day.
We then had the Ecuadorian Style Ceviche with a mix of shrimp, calamari and scallops. Also delicious and perfect for a hot day. The liquid of the ceviche tasted like gazpacho. It was so good, Mark and I tipped up the little cups they were served in and drank it. Not sure if that was ‘allowed’ by Emily Post but it was a must.
We then had the Southern pot stickers and bocadillo. Oh my! The pot stickers had tremendous flavor and were stuffed with pork and collard greens to let us know that we were still in The South!! The bocadillo was served on the freshest bread and slapped you in the face with flavor. It was served with pork, tomato marmalade, whole grain mustard, asiago cheese and arugula. I could have eaten 3-4 of those sandwiches!!
We had to bug out before we could try their made-to-order chocolate soufflé but there is always a next time. I loved it!! We will definitely go back to 10th and Piedmont and we wish them well.