Last night was date night. Since it was restaurant week (3 courses for $25 at participating restaurants), we decided to hop on MARTA and head over to BLT Steak for dinner. After a quick 2 stop jaunt on the train and a 1 block walk to the W Downtown, we arrived at our final destination. We were briskly seated at our table and presented with two menus. The regular menu and the abbreviated restaurant week menu (entrée options included hangar steak, roast chicken or wild salmon).
We started with a glass of Prosecco to cool us off, and were given an amuse-bouche of chicken liver pâté with country bread. The pâté was warm and delicate with none of the unwanted flavors most people associate with chicken liver. I still prefer Abattoir’s chicken liver/foie gras concoction, but this was lovely in it’s own right.
After the amuse, we dove right into the first course, we each had the gazpacho with Tabasco sorbet and ordered a side of a 1/2 dozen raw oysters. The gazpacho was perfect. Great subtle flavors with a hint of spice from the frozen Tabasco sorbet. It was the type of dish I could eat over and over. The bread service consisted of freshly baked popovers. As someone who makes popovers on a regular basis, as an aside popovers are the perfect quick bread—they can be mixed in a blender, I was quite impressed with their take on the classic. The recipe was elevated by the addition of gruyere cheese, which added an extra note of flavor that really worked well.
For the main course I ordered the hangar steak with a side of jalapeno mashed potatoes, and my wife ordered the chicken with spring peas in a morel mushroom sauce. The steak was cooked perfectly, but a bit under seasoned (even with the addition of the compound butter provided). The chicken on the other hand was a bit over seasoned. However, these minor infractions didn’t stop us from cleaning our plates.
Dessert consisted of a ginger carrot cake and a peach/blueberry cobbler, as well as a couple of small bites from the pastry chef. The carrot cake was delicious, and the cobbler was what one would expect.
As far as the rest of the dining experience, the interior is well designed with oversized lamps reminiscent of JCT kitchen (although thankfully minus the echo of JCT). The waitress was brisk, friendly and efficient. The vibe was approachable without the least bit of pretentiousness. My only negative comment would be that the music selections sounded like they came off of a greatest hits album of wedding dance songs.
Overall, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend BLT Steak to anyone looking for sophisticated steak house fare (especially at restaurant week prices).
NOTE: You can also read Foodie Buddha’s First Impression from March, 09
BLT Steak Restaurant Address & Information
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30308 // P: 404.577.7601 // BLT Steak Reservations // BLT Steak Website // BLT Steak Generic Menu (PDF – not specific to ATL) 
About The Author
This guest post was written by Adam Harrell, a local foodie and interactive marketer. You can find him at www.neboweb.com/blog/.
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