Restaurant/Wine Review

It has been right at a month since we had a birthday dinner for my father-in-law at Woodfire Grill, but I didn’t want to let to much time go by without writing a review. Woodfire Gill is located at 1782 Cheshire Bridge Rd in Atlanta and has been around since 2002. The restaurant was opened by Chef Michael Tuohy, who has since moved on to another venture out in California, but the principles that the restaurant was founded on still continue today. Those principals are to incorporate seasonal offerings of small local farms and provide ingredient-focused cuisine. Now Chef Kevin Gillespie carries on the tradition of providing a creative menu, using locally grown produce and organically grown meats, that changes daily with the available ingredients.

Meg’s father was turning 70 and the kids (who are all adults now) wanted to do something special for such a milestone event. So we looked to Callie at Woodfire to help us create a great night to celebrate Papa’s 70th birthday. Callie did a great job of working with our requests, our party size and our budget. She helped put together a three-course menu with wine parings for each course, as well as providing options for the 7 grand kids that were with us. We were sat in “The Mezzanine” area, which is one of the two areas they have for private parties. This space was perfect for our group! Once we were sat, the hors d’oeuvres started coming and coming and coming! They were excellent! The service the entire night was incredible and the staff was ready and willing to help us with our every need. Which those of you with young kids know, dinning with young kids can be a tough task. But the staff was extremely nice; they actually encouraged us to bring the kids. This really helped make the night special. They even got the kids special pizzas out quickly so they didn’t have time to get restless.

Here is a shot of the table in the “The Mezzanine” area.

On to the first course, even though most of us were already getting full from the hors d’oeuvres. We had a choice of 1) local sweet potato soup, which was, paired with 2005 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas from California or 2) a local lettuce salad that was paired with a 2006 Stella Pinot Grigio from Italy. I ordered the salad and it was very good. The pinot grigio went very nicely with the salad since the citrus and floral hints balanced with the tartness of the salad. I also was able to taste the potato soup with the Cotes de Tablas and the earthy and spiciness of the wine paired perfectly with the rich creamy soup.

The second course choices were: 1) pan roasted wild stripped bass which was paired with a 2007 Bodegas Muga, Rioja Blanca from Spain, 2) wood grilled Carolina heritage chicken paired with a 2004 Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva, Tempranillo from Spain, or 3) wood grilled Sonoma artisan duck breast paired with a 2007 Borsao Garnacha/Tempranillo, also from Spain. I know what you are thinking, they all sound delicious and they were! I personally ordered the stripped bass and the Rioja Blanca was perfect with the fish. The fruity, mineral taste of the wine brought a great balance to the fish. Meg ordered the duck breast and loved it. Even though I am not a huge fan of duck, I did taste it along with the Borsao Granacha/Tempranillo and again, the pairing of this medium bodied Spanish red, which is heavy with dark fruit tastes, went perfectly with the richness of the duck. I didn’t taste the chicken, but did get reports of it being wonderful and the Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva was right on the money.

The third course was a birthday cake made specially by the restaurant for Papa. It was a vanilla sponge cake with chocolate butter cream and they paired this wonderful dessert with a 2006 Quady Elysium, Black Muscat form California. What really needs to be said about the dessert, it was decadent! With this rich, sweet dessert, there needed to be a sweet wine to stand up to the cake. The Quady Elysium, Black Muscat stood up to the cake and only made it better.

The chef and staff at Woodfire Grill helped make a memorable 70th birthday for my father-in-law and the entire family. We all left stuffed and very happy we chose Woodfire Grill to celebrate the milestone. I would recommend to everyone if you would like a nice upscale dinner or dinner party to please check them out. Their locally grown ingredients ensure freshness and help to provide different and wonderful dishes.

Cheers!