Shareable plates continue to be popular at Atlanta area restaurants, and food flights — samples of food served in small portions for tasting and sharing — are a growing part of the communal dining experience.
Chef Pat Pascarella, co-founder of the Porchetta Group (Grana, the White Bull, Alici and Bastone), thinks food flights will remain on menus as long as prices continue to rise. People aren’t getting food from restaurants every day, like they did during the pandemic, he said. “They’re going out once a week, twice a week, and they want to try everything.”
Here are some of the tasting flights currently offered at restaurants around the metro area.
Ibérico at the Iberian Pig
Head to this tapas restaurant, with locations in Decatur and Buckhead, to try jamón Ibérico, or ham cured from the black pigs of Spain. The flight includes a selection of Iberian ham cuts, all of which come from different parts of the pig and are cured for varying amounts of time.
During the tasting, servers will explain where the cuts of meat originated on the pig and guide diners through the process of preparing Iberian ham, said Josue Pena, executive chef of the Iberian Pig location in Buckhead. The full jamón Ibérico tasting includes all the cuts of meat plus sides.
121 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-371-8800. Also 3150 Roswell Road, Atlanta. 404-994-4990, iberianpig.com
Credit: Courtesy of The Porchetta Group
Credit: Courtesy of The Porchetta Group
Mozzarella at Bastone
Bastone, which has an extensive mozzarella bar and tasting options, offers a flight of five mozzarellas, some of which are made in-house.
The tasting comes with the first five mozzarellas listed on the menu, which rotate according to fan favorites and what’s new to the restaurant, such as fresh mozz from the Campania region in Italy. “Whenever we get something cool like that, and we want to make sure everybody gets to try it, we’ll throw it on the mozzarella tasting right away,” Pascarella said.
887 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta. 404-252-6699, bastoneatlanta.com
Credit: Courtesy of The Porchetta Group
Credit: Courtesy of The Porchetta Group
Meatballs at Grana
Pascarella brought Grana’s meatball flight with him from his Connecticut restaurant, Bar Sugo.
The flight includes a beef meatball with a basil leaf and a slice of grana padano on top; one made of pork with whipped ricotta; another covered with a scoop of currant mostarda; one made of local beef, served with gouda, red onion and black truffle jam; a crispy veal meatball that is deep-fried and topped with spicy mayo; and one served with a sage cream sauce and fried sage leaf.
1835 Piedmont Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-231-9000. Also 1210 Ashford Crossing, Atlanta. 770-993-1500, granaatl.com
Credit: Courtesy of Fifth Group Restaurants
Credit: Courtesy of Fifth Group Restaurants
Guacamole and salsa tasting at Alma Cocina
A neutral, creamy guacamole base provides the perfect starting point for a variety of Latin-inspired flavors in the guacamole portion of this flight, which changes seasonally and varies depending on the restaurant location. It always includes a traditional guacamole with tomatoes, serrano peppers, red onion and cilantro, as well as savory and sweet and spicy guacs.
The flight includes a raw salsa made with tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, chipotle and cilantro, then it introduces a tomatillo avocado salsa with cilantro, garlic, serrano chiles and creamy avocado, and it concludes with a salsa negra that combines soaked pasilla negro chiles with tomatoes and onions charred on the grill.
“It’s the fun of being able to take a little bit of this with a little bit of that, try this together and try more or less of this sauce or ingredient to kind of explore what it does to your palette,” Culinary Director Mark Jeffers said.
191 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-968-9662. Also 3280 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-873-4676, alma-atlanta.com
Credit: Courtesy of Tori Allen PR
Credit: Courtesy of Tori Allen PR
Deviled eggs at One Flew South
The Deviled Egg Experience appetizer at One Flew South’s airport and Beltline locations lets diners build their own deviled eggs at the table.
One Flew South’s egg yolk cream has a mix of curry and cumin to give it a kick, Executive Chef Cedric McCroery said, and the appetizer always comes with smoked salt, crispy shallots and red radishes as a palette cleanser.
Diners also can order add-ons, such as house-made bacon jam, tuna poke, roe and caviar. McCroery’s tip: First, fill the egg with one of the add-ons, like bacon jam or tuna poke, then add the yolk cream on top. Part of the fun, he said, is that every egg you build “could be different from the last one.”
670 DeKalb Ave. NE, Atlanta. 470-225-7119. Also International Terminal (Concourse E) at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. 404-209-8209, oneflewsouthatl.com
Credit: Courtesy of Angie Webb
Credit: Courtesy of Angie Webb
Steak tasting for two at Bask Steakhouse
This $198 high-quality steak tasting for two includes a 3-ounce A5 wagyu strip, a 6-ounce filet and an 8-ounce spinalis, which is a cut not often seen in steakhouses, restaurateur Tim Stevens said. The spinalis is the tender, flavorful top portion of a rib-eye.
Stevens said he hopes the steak flight will allow more people to learn about these particular cuts. “We really wanted to give someone an experience, and a high-level experience, of some of the best cuts you can have that are available in the market,” he said.
1570 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell. 770-693-1024, basksteak.com
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