Petite Violette celebrates 50 years of fine dining in Atlanta

“Traditionally the food is French, and for decades fine dining has been French, but we do dabble in all kinds of cuisine,” Michael Gropp said.

Credit: Courtesy of Petite Violette

Credit: Courtesy of Petite Violette

“I pretty much grew up in the restaurant,” said Anthony Gropp, who learned to cook with his father from an early age and is currently the head chef at Petite Violette.

“When I started in the kitchen I would step up on a milk crate to be able to put the salads in the pick-up window,” he recalled. “My father was super old school and unbelievably talented. Being a saucier was his thing. He was the biggest influence on my cooking for sure, and we worked together until he retired.”

Older brother Michael Gropp is the restaurant’s general manager. He helped broker a deal to take over the former Violette restaurant space on Clairmont Road in Brookhaven in 2016.

“We bought the building and moved over here,” he said. “That was the best thing that ever happened to us because we were able to buy this property. We’re not tenants anymore, we’re owners.”

In addition to everyday dining and bar operations, Petite Violette offers banquette rooms for weddings and other events, and there’s live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. What’s more, the restaurant also hosts Murder, Mystery and Mayhem, the murder mystery dinner theater that formerly operated as Agatha’s: A Taste of Mystery in downtown Atlanta.

“They just couldn’t make it through COVID,” Gropp said. “We took their production company and we’re doing it here in our back room on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s the same writers and actors and the same director so it didn’t miss a beat.”

From Anthony Gropp’s perspective, familiar food is what keeps the regulars happy.

“When you take items off the menu you’re going to hear from people who have been coming for 30 or 40 years,” he said. “Beef Wellington is a super classic dish that’s been on our menu since we opened in 1974.”

RECIPES

Reaching back to favorites from the Gropp’s family past are three recipes that will bring French restaurant classics into your home. For a decadent summer starter, Vichyssoise can be made ahead of time and chilled. Beef Wellington is a true showstopper that is straightforward to assemble and only takes 30 minutes in the oven. New Orleans Bread Pudding is a Southern twist on French pain perdu which needs nothing more than a scoop of ice cream.

Credit: ADRIENNE HARRIS

Credit: ADRIENNE HARRIS

Petite Violette’s Vichyssoise

Petite Violette brings back one of their classics from the past for their 50th anniversary celebration. Perfect for the dog days of August, this chilled French soup manages to taste both decadent and refreshing. The recipe can be scaled back from the many-gallon version the restaurant makes. We brought it down to about a third of the large batch, and you can freeze the base for later use.

For the vichyssoise base:

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 ribs celery, roughly chopped

2 leeks, light green parts only, roughly chopped and rinsed

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1/3 cup whole garlic cloves

10 cups chicken stock

7 Russet potatoes, peeled (about 2 1/2 pounds), roughly chopped

1/3 pound bacon ends and pieces, wrapped in cheesecloth

1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon white pepper, plus more to taste

To serve:

1 1/2 cups base

2 cups heavy cream, plus more if needed

2 cups half-and-half

Salt

White pepper

Chopped chives, chopped red pepper and olive oil, for garnish

Make vichyssoise base: In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add celery, leeks, onion and garlic. Cook 5 minutes then add chicken stock, potatoes, bundle of bacon, salt and pepper. Simmer 1 hour. Discard bacon bag. Using an immersion blender, puree mixture. Taste for seasoning. Mixture should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Cool and then store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Base makes 14 cups.

When ready to serve, put 1 1/2 cups base into a large bowl. Stir in cream and half-and-half. Add more cream if needed to achieve the consistency you prefer. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and divide between serving bowls. Garnish with chives and red pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Serves 5.

Base per 1/2-cup serving: 79 calories (percent of calories from fat, 37), 3 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 3 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 593 milligrams sodium.

Vichyssoise per serving: 507 calories (percent of calories from fat, 83), 9 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 49 grams total fat (29 grams saturated), 169 milligrams cholesterol, 512 milligrams sodium.

Recipe adapted by C. W. Cameron.

Credit: Sharon Benton

Credit: Sharon Benton

Beef Wellington

This recipe from Petite Violette makes a single beef Wellington but enough duxelles for many more. The recipe will result in a medium rare filet. Increase the cooking time by 5 minutes for medium, keeping an eye on the puff pastry. For a special occasion, an entire beef tenderloin can be prepared in the same manner. At the restaurant, beef Wellington is served with bearnaise sauce.

1 5-by-7-inch frozen puff pastry sheet

Flour for dusting

1 slice Parma ham

1 heaping tablespoon Mushroom Duxelles (see recipe)

4 ounces browned or grill-marked filet mignon

1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 400 degrees, or a convection oven with a high fan to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. If using a traditional, not convection, oven, place the greased baking sheet inside a second baking sheet to prevent the bottom of the Wellington from burning.

Allow the puff pastry to thaw for 5 minutes to become pliable, then dust a cutting board with flour and lay out the puff pastry.

Put Parma ham slice on top of the pastry. Put mushroom duxelles on top of Parma ham. Place browned filet mignon on top of duxelles.

Fold narrow sides of the pastry over the filet mignon. Stretch the pastry slightly to cover the filet mignon.

Fold the longer ends all the way over the filet mignon. Cut off and discard the excess dough.

Turn the Wellington over and form it into a round shape.

Place the Wellington on the prepared baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.

Cook for 25-30 minutes, or in a convection oven with a high fan for 20 minutes, or until pastry is browned.

Makes 1 individual beef Wellington.

Per serving: 585 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 37 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 39 grams total fat (12 grams saturated), 258 milligrams cholesterol, 565 milligrams sodium.

Mushroom Duxelles

Duxelles are a mix of sauteed mushrooms, shallots and herbs and are commonly used as a filling for beef Wellington. This recipe makes enough duxelles for about 24 individual servings of beef Wellington. Leftover duxelles can be used as a base for a rich cream of mushroom soup or wrapped in phyllo dough for hors d’oeuvres.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 shallot, sliced

1 cup sliced button, portabella or shiitake mushrooms

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Salt to taste

Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and saute until translucent, about two minutes

Add mushrooms and saute about 3 minutes.

Add heavy cream, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper and cook until mixture starts to thicken, about two minutes.

Place mixture in a food processor and mix until duxelles is mostly smooth.

Cool duxelles and refrigerate until you are ready to make the beef Wellington.

Makes 1 1/2 cups, enough for 24 individual servings of beef Wellington.

Per tablespoon: 15 calories (percent of calories from fat, 78), trace protein, trace carbohydrates, trace total sugars, trace fiber, 1 gram total fat (1 gram saturated), 4 milligrams cholesterol, 25 milligrams sodium.

Credit: Sharon Benton

Credit: Sharon Benton

New Orleans Bread Pudding

Petite Violette’s bread pudding is a dish patriarch Wolfgang Gropp launched for Petite Violette’s New Orleans food festival. It has remained a menu staple ever since.

The restaurant uses day-old bread. Stale bread soaks up the egg mixture better and makes a soft, moist bread pudding that can be easily sliced. Fresh bread can also be toasted briefly in a 250-degree oven.

1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and divided

2 cups sugar, divided

7 eggs

2 cups half-and-half

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 day-old baguette, thinly sliced

1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-by-10-inch baking pan lightly with a little of the melted butter. Coat the greased pan with a thin layer of sugar. Prepare a water bath by pouring 1/2 cup water into a 9-by-12-inch baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, the remaining sugar and vanilla extract.

Place bread slices in the prepared pan. Pour the remaining melted butter evenly over the top of the bread. Place raisins evenly on top of the bread. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, cover the pan with foil and place in the water bath.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the pudding feels firm when the foil is pressed.

Let the bread pudding rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 12.

Per serving: 479 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 9 grams protein, 63 grams carbohydrates, 44 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 23 grams total fat (13 grams saturated), 150 milligrams cholesterol, 275 milligrams sodium.

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