Midtown Restaurant Week at Taurus

As you all know, with our super important admissions careers, Emily & I are constantly jetsetting all over the globe. We lounge in the Delta Crown room, go through security with our Longchamp bags, and generally meet tons of important people all of the time.

But, as a result, we haven't seen each other much lately. So, we made dinner plans for Wednesday night for Midtown Restaurant Week to dine at Taurus. Neither of us had been, so we were excited to try. Midtown Restaurant Week is awesome-and I only wish that it had not fallen during a killer week for school. We have two cases due this week--one about Weather and Radio and one about Baseball...can someone please hit me in the parking lot? These subjects are not my forte! So, anyway, this was the only night I could go to dinner and take advantage of the $25 three-course meal.



We both hung around at work until 6ish, and then headed over to Taurus-which is in an upscale strip mall in Buckhead. After dodging kamikaze valets, we entered Taurus on the ground level. The host checked us in and sent us, via elevator, upstairs. It was such a beautiful night, so we requested a table on the patio. For a little while, I thought they were passing hors d'oeuvres around the restaurant-but then we realized it was a private party on the patio next to us.

Here's Emily-studying the menu:



We had a choice of appetizer between a goat cheese tart, an organic african squash soup with pumpkin seed oil and peekytoe crab, and a young arugula salad with pecans and citrus dressing. Emily cajoled me into ordering the tart, and she chose the soup with the idea that we would switch halfway. Luckily, It doesn't take a lot of cajoling to get me to eat a bunch of goat cheese, because Emily's soup was amazing, and after we switched, we switched back. The soup was much like a butternut squash soup, but without the heavy richness. It was velvety and smooth, and the pumpkin seed oil was a beautiful contrast with the mustard-colored soup. The lumps of crab kept the soup from becoming monotonous.

My tart was somewhat deconstructed--crispy potato chips on the bottom, topped with creamy scoops of goat cheese and roasted tomatos, with another chip on top. The potato chips were overcooked and oily, and difficult to cut, but the cheese was tangy and bright.





Emily chose the Charred Flat Iron Steak with Garlic Mashed Potatos for her entree. It was topped with crispy onions. I had the Hot Smoked Salmon Steak with Potato-Portobello Hash. Taurus is known for its meats and its wood-grill, so we knew we'd be pleased with the flavor. Emily's steak was very rich. My salmon was the prodigal son of the wood oven. Crispy outside-imparted with the smoke from the oven, and hot and tender inside. The hash reminded me of a breakfast hash, but the portobellos were woodsy. My meal was outstanding.





We both chose the Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding with Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce for dessert. I was afraid it would be massive, but the portion was perfect-a little muffin of brioche, and delicate tablespoon or two of rich peanut butter ice cream.



We had fun-outside, catching up, gossiping, eating and drinking. With a meal like that, I think I'll be able to get through today and Friday. If you're free tomorrow or Saturday, look up the Midtown Restaurant Week schedule. There are a lot of fabulous Atlanta restaurants, and you too can have a great night with a friend for less than $40. Now, I'm off, to jetset to the kitchen to heat up my Lean Cuisine...then maybe to Paris...