Empire Cake, NYC

Update Review, December 2024 Visit

It used to be, without fail, that when I visited my NY office, some group would have an extra cake or cupcakes from Empire Cake, several times a week.  Literally.  But the past two visits I didn't encounter *any* stray Empire Cake goodies.  Yes, I had other cupcakes (like from Buttercup Bake Shop) and other cake (like from Mia's), but not from Empire.  So I broke down an picked up a simple vanilla cupcake myself.

It remains my favorite place for cake and cupcakes.  No question.

Very Vanilla. $4.25.

"Our moist vanilla crème fraîche cake frosted with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream."

Love these damn cupcakes.  Moist, dense cake that is sweet and slightly tangy, and has such strong vanilla flavor.  Love the sweet but not cloying buttercream.  Love love love.  Simplicity perfected. ****+.

Update Review, August & October 2023 visits

Whenever I used to visit my New York office, I kid you not, I discovered extra Empire Cakes cupcakes or full size cakes in our microkitchens every single time. Usually this would happen on my first day there, and often nearly every day thereafter.  Everyone seemed to order from Empire Cakes (which, makes sense, it is right across the street), and everyone seemed to always be having celebrations, and copious leftovers.  I'm sure if I worked there normally, I'd get a bit sick of Empire Cakes eventually, but for me as a visitor, this was such a treat.  I really, really like Empire Cakes, definitely the best I've had in New York, and some of my favorite cake from anywhere really.  I've liked nearly every flavor, and every format, I've tried.  It is just my style of cake.  If you prefer a lighter, less sweet sponge cake and minimal or very fluffy frosting, this isn't the place for you, but for moist, dense, American style butter cake, it is perfection.  And, swoon, that buttercream.  

So when I recently visited New York for the first time since 2019 (damn that pandemic!), and I didn't encounter any Empire Cake the first two days, I was a bit sad.  But, my luck all changed by day 3, and then again on day 4.  And day 6.  And 7.  And the next week. Phew.  And, I was thrilled to see that I do still absolutely adore this cake!

Cakes

The most common goods I find are abandoned layer cakes, from a party of some kind.  I'm always thrilled the actual attendees don't seem to have great cake appetites.

Chocolate On Vanilla.

"Vanilla crème fraîche cake with our rich Belgian chocolate buttercream filling and frosting."

Oh, this cake.  Just as good as I remembered.  Even the simple chocolate on vanilla.

The cake was perfectly moist, dense, sweet, buttery, slight tang from the crème fraîche.  Exactly my style of cake.  I could almost even just eat the cake, no frosting nor ice cream pairing needed.  Which is really saying something for me, a person who usually sees cake just as a vessel for frosting.  ****+, simple cake, but, fantastic.

And then, the buttercream.  This isn't a light, fluffy buttercream, but rather, a more firm style.  Which might not sound great, but I really like it.  I even like it straight from the fridge, when it is super firm, although, letting it warm up a bit is best.  The chocolate flavor here was mild, and the buttercream was sweet but not cloying.  Again, simple, but just how I like it, ****+.  I also appreciated the ratio of frosting filling and topping to cake.

<3 this cake!

Liliko'i (Passionfruit). *Deluxe*

"Vanilla crème fraîche cake layered with passion fruit curd and frosted with a light coconut Swiss meringue buttercream."

Another day, another abandoned Empire Cake in the kitchen.  This time, a flavor I haven't yet tried: lilikoi!

This one had the same excellent moist vanilla cake, but also a curd filling and different buttercream frosting.  It was interesting that the passionfruit curd didn't go all the way through the layers, rather, it was in the center 60% of the cake, with buttercream around the outer part.  I've never seen a layer cake broken down that way before.  It made for some very fruity bites (any from the center) and some great buttercream bites (from the edges), and I liked being able to pick my own adventure that way.

Anyway, the curd was tangy but sweet, lovely passionfruit flavor.  No seeds though, I kinda wished it had those for some crunch or to make the curd seem more "real".  Still, quite creamy and enjoyable.   The buttercream was softer and fluffier than most I've had from Empire Cakes - maybe the host hadn't refrigerated this one at all?  I still quite liked the buttercream - as always with their buttercream, a nice balance of butter, cream, and sugar.  The coconut flavor came through well.  Together, this all combined to a tropical island feel.

This wasn't my favorite of the Empire Cakes I've had (I'm not generally one for fruity cakes, or coconut in cakes), but, it was well made.  Like most of the more interesting cakes with fillings other than just buttercream, this is a "deluxe" offering, so priced a bit higher.  ****.

Black Forest Cake. *Deluxe*.

"Three layers of chocolate cake filled with kirsch brandy-marinated Morello cherries and crème légère, frosted with dark Belgian chocolate ganache."

This is the first Empire Cake I had that didn't have their incredible buttercream frosting.  Instead, the exterior was covered in very thick, very rich, dark chocolate fudge.  I was thrilled to see so much extra "debris" left behind by others, as that fudge-y frosting really could make a dessert in itself.  It paired wonderfully with my afternoon coffee for a little pick me up!  But, beware, richness abounds in that fudge! ****.

The cake was the same as other Empire chocolate cakes.  Always a reliably good cake.  ***+.

And then, the filling.  I didn't know what cake this was when I tried it, and I was describing the white cream to co-workers as "it is sorta like whipped cream, just a touch thicker.  Not nearly as heavy as a pastry cream though, and definitely not buttercream.  It is lighter, than those, but more stable ...".  Turns out, it is crème légère, which is literally crème pâtissière that's lightened by folding through whipped cream.  It was exactly the contrast this cake needed against the very decadent and thick fudge ganache coating.  Perfect level of light sweetness too.  I really liked this element. ****.

And finally, the cherries.  Yup, a bit boozy, soft due to soaking.  I don't actually love black forest flavors in general, and at first I thought there was just the cherries on top, but I kept finding them throughout, so I think they were within the layers as well.  I'd rather not have these, but that is just a personal thing, and clearly what make it black forest in the first place.

Overall, I was happy to try something different from Empire, and as always, it is their frosting/filling that really shines.  ****.

Cupcakes

Less common to find are cupcakes, but they made several appearances as well.   I do prefer the layer cakes, as I think the cakes are generally a bit more moist, and the frosting to cake ratio even more in the frosting's favor (my style!), but, the cupcakes are still top notch.  

Chocolate on Chocolate.

"Our moist chocolate cake with a rich Belgian chocolate buttercream frosting."

I had this as a day-old leftover from someone else's party, so it wasn't particularly fresh.  That said, I did still absolutely love that buttercream - the texture, the flavor, everything.  I love it.  It is best soft at room temperature, but I do even like it when refrigerated and a bit hard.  <3.  ***+.

Chocolate on Chocolate #2.

A few weeks later, another party, more cupcakes, this time fresh.  

The cake was light and fluffy, great cocoa flavor.  <3 the buttercream.  A very good chocolate cupcake. ***+.

Very Vanilla.

"Our moist vanilla crème fraîche cake frosted with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream."

This is the cupcake that shows you that vanilla on vanilla is not boring and basic.  The crème fraîche in the cake makes all the difference, giving it a slight tang. Truly great vanilla cake.  The cake is always moist and enjoyable, and, swoon, that frosting.  Sweet and perfect consistency.

I truly cannot fault a thing about this cupcake.  ****+.

Pistachio Praline.

"Vanilla crème fraîche cake frosted with pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream and a sprinkle of pistachio praline."

Finally!  The pistachio praline cupcake.  This flavor was at the top of my list of flavors to try when I finally ordered from Empire myself, rather than relying on the leftovers from other events.  This was for Chrome's 15th birthday party, and we had them customized with the Chrome dino game dino with a Google "Noogler" hat on.

I was slightly let down by the pistachio praline cupcake.  It was a very good cupcake, don't get me wrong, but, I wanted a stronger pistachio element.  The base of this was the regular (great, but plain) vanilla crème fraîche cake, rather than a pistachio cake.  Standard, very good, basic cake.  The toppingg is where the pistachio elements came in to play.  The buttercream had a reasonable mild pistachio flavor (and light green color), and the sprinkle of praline added a touch of crunch and of course a bit more pistachio flavor.  

I really did like the very sweet fondant custom printed topping too.  Mmm, sugar!

So, overall, good, quality Empire cake, but, not dramatically better than the very vanilla.  I think a pistachio cake, or maybe some pistachio paste filling, would really amp this up.  ****.

Gluten-Free Chocolate w/ Vanilla Buttercream.

"Our moist gluten-free chocolate cake with either a rich Belgian chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting."

We also had gluten-free cupcakes available, and there were plenty extra.  I tried one, as it had been a few years since I had the gluten-free ones.

The gluten-free cake really was good too. Slightly lighter than the regular one, but, I liked it just as much.  Good cocoa flavor.  And of course, I just adore that buttercream.  This one sorta reminded me of cookies and cream, in a good way (I'm not usually a lover of Oreos or Oreo-adjacent things).

This is a gluten-free treat that gluten eaters will never notice.  ****.

Cookies

Most of my encounters with Empire Cake have been with, well, their namesake cake, but I also finally got a chance to try some of their cookies.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

This cookie might not look like anything special, but it was great.  Perfectly soft, slight chew.  Great peanut butter flavor.  Plenty of sugar and butter.  Little chips.

A very satisfying, totally normal size, unassuming cookie. ****.

Callebaut chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon.

A very standard coconut macaroon, with the bottom dipped in high quality dark Callebaut chocolate.  The coconut is shredded, sweetened, and bound together well.  Very coconut forward taste, which you'd expect, and overall quite sweet, a bit too much for without pairing with a black coffee.  The dark chocolate was fabulous.

Overall, good execution of a classic, albeit a touch sweet for me.  ***+.

Original Review, August 2021

It seems that every time I visit the New York office, I encounter Empire Cake.  Probably because it is located close by my office, and they make custom items.  Admins love it for easily getting special goodies for the team.  And because it is good.  Really good.

"Empire Cake brings you the best in American baking with a gourmet twist. We feature fresh-baked cakes, cupcakes, cookies, breakfast pastries, brownies and bars, and sophisticated versions of classic snack treats, including our own “twinkies,” “snowballs” and Swiss rolls."

Every single cake or cupcake I have had from Empire has been good.  Moist, sweet, flavorful cakes, and that buttercream!  Swoon, the buttercream.  I just can't get over it.  

Setting

The bakery is, literally, across the street from my office.  It was easy for me to go check out in person.

Store Front.

The front of the store is quite inviting, with huge cakes in the window, although, alas, those are not real.

Cupcakes.

However, there are plenty of real ones once you step inside!  Cases and cases of goodies.  The cupcakes are what seem to show up constantly in my office.

Other Goodies.

They also make standard cakes, assorted bars, and some fun novelty items, like snowballs and swiss rolls!

Cupcakes at the Office.

It still shocks me that, literally, something like 80% of the time I visit the NYC office I find cake or cupcakes from Empire Cake in a microkitchen.  I know the boxes now well.  This is a very normal sighting - extra cupcakes, free for the taking!

Cakes & Cupcakes

Given the name, Empire Cake, it should come as no surprise that cakes are their speciality.  Available in many sizes, many tiers, many flavors, all sorts of customizations, buttercream or fondant decorated, etc.  I'd love to see their wedding cakes sometime!

The cakes all feature one signature thing: buttercream.

"Buttercream is what you’ll commonly see on many traditional cakes.  It is made primarily of butter, egg whites and sugar.  At Empire Cake we make a Swiss Meringue Buttercream which has a silky, delicious taste and will allow for a nice, smooth finish on your cake."

Yes, most cakes have buttercream frosting, but ... the buttercream at Empire Cake, uh, takes the cake for being the best I've ever had.  The quality of their sourcing, local butter and cream, is apparent, as is the commit to quality throughout, like using fresh seasonal produce from the Union Square Greenmarket. 

July 2018

My first encounter was in July 2018 when I walked through a microkitchen and found a bunch of cupcakes, many only halves or quarters remaining.  I remember trying a few kinds, including a shockingly good gluten-free one.  I liked them enough that I paid attention to the brand, so I was rather thrilled a few days later when the event I was attending had cake ... from Empire Cake!

All The Cakes: Vanilla, Carrot, Red Velvet, Chocolate, and Raspberry Lemon.

The event was large, and our hosts went all out, ordering 5 massive, supersized, cakes.

These cakes had a huge diameter, and were 3 very thick layers tall.  Slicing off "just a small piece" of any of them was impossible, comical even.

We ... didn't come remotely close to finishing them.  I took some extra back to hotel and had it as midnight snacks most nights.

Very Vanilla:
"Our moist vanilla crème fraîche cake filled and frosted with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream."

Carrot:
"Spiced organic carrot cake with pecans, layered and covered with cream cheese frosting."

Red Velvet:
"Our moist red velvet cake filled and frosted with cream cheese frosting."

Raspberry Lemon:
"Vanilla crème fraîche cake layered with raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream and lemon curd filling, covered with raspberry buttercream."

Seriously so much cake!

I had them all, and didn't take notes at the time, but my favorite was the carrot, loaded up with goodies/nuts/raisins/pineapple/etc.  But I remember liking them all, and again, zomg, that buttercream.

October 2018

The next time I was visiting the office, my very first day, basically the same experience as in July.  Walking through a microkitchen and ...

Box for Cupcakes.

Yup, boxes of cupcakes!

And these ones *weren't* all cut up.  They did have only simple vanilla and chocolate left, but I was still pleased to find them.

Two days later?  Same thing.  Ones does not need to look hard for Empire Cake in this office.

Very Vanilla.

"Our moist vanilla crème fraîche cake frosted with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream."

I started with a simple, classic "Very Vanilla".  It was a good cupcake.  Seriously, for a cupcake, this was great.  Sweet dense moist well made cake.  As good as a vanilla cake is going to be.  The creme fraiche clearly helps make it good.

On top?  Perfectly sweet fluffy buttercream.  And plenty of it.  That buttercream is really shockingly good.  But yes, sweet sweet sweet.

I really enjoyed this, enough so that I took a second cupcake (a different kind!), and I had literally just had other dessert before it ... thank you, random team, for having extra cupcakes!

Very Vanilla.

Two days later ... more cupcakes.  Another event.  More extra cupcakes.

I gladly snagged a vanilla, this time with blue icing and a different fondant topper, but still, the same cupcake essentially.

I again adored the frosting, and I think the blue color made me enjoy it even more.  I know that sound silly but ... I loved it!

Vanilla on Chocolate.

"Chocolate cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream."

Next I had the chocolate cake version, same incredible buttercream.

The chocolate cake was also good, it had an interesting flavor to it, a bit of a tang almost?  I think I preferred the vanilla though.

Vanilla on Chocolate.

Two days later, yup, more of the cupcakes.

This time, I preferred the chocolate to the vanilla.  But my preference is slight, as both versions are truly wonderful.

The blue buttercream was again just slightly more fun.

GF Vanilla on Chocolate.

"Our moist gluten-free chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting."

And finally, since there were plenty of these still left at the end of the day, I opted for the gluten-free one, remembering that the gluten-free cupcakes I tried before were actually quite good.

It too had the same great frosting, and looked almost like the regular chocolate, but was a darker brown.

It too was good, and honestly, I would have never guessed it was gluten-free.  Such good cupcakes.

Hazelnut Cake. (Oct 2018).

"Vanilla crème fraîche cake filled and frosted with hazelnut Swiss meringue buttercream and hazelnut praline, topped with a bittersweet chocolate glaze."

And then ... yes, that same visit, just a few days later ... a cake!  This was also very good.

Same moist tangy creme fraiche based cake, this time with the same style of incredible fluffy sweet buttercream, just, nutty hazelnut flavored.  Loved it.  The chocolate glaze complimented it well.

I first thought this was peanut butter and chocolate, but once I learned it was hazelnut it made more sense.

Very tasty cake, would gladly eat again.

July 2019

I can't make this up.  Seriously, every visit to the office, cupcakes.

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes.

These all had orange colored buttercream, but it was just plain vanilla, not flavored in any way.

I adored the buttercream as always, soooo generously applied, and sweet and buttery and tasty.

The vanilla cake was good, very sweet, moist enough, but not quite as magical as I had remembered.

The chocolate however?  OMG.  So very good.  Rich, dense, chocolately, and balanced nicely by the super sweet buttercream.  This place makes me like cupcakes!

Uh, congrats "Vector" team?  And thank you.

Classic Treats

"We are well known for our homemade, gourmet versions of classic American treats, which have been featured in such publications as The New York Times, New York Daily News, and Martha Stewart Weddings, and even presented by Whoopi Goldberg to Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon!"

It was hard to stray from the cupcakes and cakes, but when I actually visited the bakery myself, in person, to purchase some goodies, I decided to expand my horizons and try some "classic treats". These treats range from homemade Twinkies, to Swiss Rolls, to Snowballs. or, you know, their take on them. 

My Goodies.

Since I didn't plan to eat them right away, I wanted something that would hold up ok a few days, although, I knew from plenty of experience, that the cupcakes do hold up absolutely fine for a couple days in the fridge.

Still, I wanted to branch out.

I went for a couple items, really just impulse shopping at this point.

Snack Cakes (Homemade "Twinkies")

The item I've been eyeing on Instagram is the snack cakes, basically, their version of Twinkies: cakes filled with a cream filling and covered in a white or milk chocolate coating.  I was told these would hold up even better than cupcakes.

The snack cakes were available in a few flavors, including Brooklyn Blackout, Red Velvet, and a Pride special Funfetti version.

Red Velvet.

"Red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, dipped in Belgian white chocolate."

I couldn't remember if I liked the red velvet before, but I knew I really liked the carrot cake, and that had cream cheese frosting, so, I mostly selected the red velvet to try the cream cheese frosting again.  Also, I wanted a white chocolate shell rather than milk.

The white chocolate shell was fine, pretty standard white chocolate, thicker than I expected, sweet.

Red Velvet: Inside.

Inside, the cream stuffed cake.

I was hoping for more cream cheese filling inside.  I realize now this is still a totally reasonable filling amount, but, I adore the frosting from Empire Cake so much, and I appreciate their usual ratio of very generous frosting, so, this was far less filling compared to the usual frosting, which left me wishing I had a cupcake.

The cake seemed more dense as well, and I wasn't really into the red velvet flavor.

I ... wished I had gotten a cupcake.  The snack cake didn't seem to be the thing for me.

Funfetti.

"Confetti cake filled with cake batter frosting, dipped in white chocolate & drizzled with rainbow colors."

But I also opted for the fun Pride themed snack cake, Funfetti!  Of course, I got this before I tried any snack cake, and didn't realize I wasn't a fan of the form factor.

I wasn't drawn in by the rainbow colors exactly, but I do generally like a good funfetti cake, and also, I really wanted to try the cake batter frosting.

The shell on this was the same thick white chocolate, this time drizzled with rainbow colors.

Funfetti: Inside.

The filling amount was pretty much the same as the red velvet too - the amount appropriate for a Twinkie, but, not nearly as much as I wanted.  The blue color was fun, and I liked the colors in the funfetti cake.  Clearly, this was a fun item.

But ... it was much like the other snack cake.  The cake was fine, dense, fairly standard cake.  The frosting amount was too minimal to really taste.  I can't say I tasted birthday cake. 

The snack cakes are cute, but ... I'm a frosting girl, so these aren't what I'd go for again.

Cookies

"Our cookie selection changes daily, but some of our most popular are classic chocolate chip cookies with Callebaut chocolate, walnut thumbprints with apricot or raspberry jam, Russian tea cakes, oatmeal raisin cookies, molasses ginger snaps, rainbow sprinkle sugar cookies, cinnamon sugar snickerdoodles, and the “8th Avenue”—our almond-flour cookies with dried fruit and nuts."

I'm not a cookie person.  You know this.  I know this.

Cookies Galore.

It wasn't until I visited the shop that I learned that, along with cupcakes and cakes obviously, cookies are a big focus of Empire Cake's offerings.

I wasn't drawn in by most of them, but on the bottom shelf were cookie sandwiches, filled with buttercream.  Swoon, that buttercream.  I almost went for one of those, but the cookies themselves really didn't look special.

Plus, I had read many reviews of the black and white cookies.  People love them.  Available in several sizes, including mini.  How could I not at least try a mini?

Mini Black & White Cookie.

"Our Pride inspired white chocolate covered "Black and White" rainbow cookies are available all month!! Come taste the rainbow!!"

The black and white cookies are normally, well, black and white, but for Pride, in addition to the classic black and whites, they had several different rainbow color choices.  I went for purple, just because.

This is the mini size, a regular size, and larger size, are also available.

It was ... boring.  It was much like the snack cake, but, without frosting at all.  Just plain cake, and white chocolate coating.  Very uninteresting, even though the white chocolate was good quality.

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South City Kitchen, Atlanta

I was in Atlanta recently for a work summit, and of course, I did my research before my visit to scope out some restaurants to try if I got a free night.  I quickly determined that southern food was going to be my priority, and I was quite pleased when I saw our event hosts had a planned dinner (a full restaurant buyout!), for our group at one of the places on my short list of southern places to check out in the first place: South City Kitchen.

"Southern Hospitality with a Modern Twist." 

South City Kitchen is a bit more upscale than many of the others on my list, not just featuring fried proteins and long list of comfort food sides, but rather, more composed entrees and a curated selection of paired sides.  But of course, they do still have fried chicken, biscuits & cornbread, and other southern essentials.

Venue - Midtown

"We believe that great food isn't just about taste—it's about experience. At South City Kitchen, we serve familiar favorites with an unexpected twist, inviting you to rediscover Southern classics in an atmosphere that feels like home but with a bit more elegance. Come as you are, and leave with a memory."

South City Kitchen has four locations; I visited the one in Midtown Atlanta. It is open for breakfast and lunch weekdays, brunch on weekends, and dinner all nights. Our visit was at 6pm dinner.

Large Group Dining.

We had the entire restaurant as a buyout, as our group was supposed to be around 125 people.  However, things didn't quite go as planned, as mother nature decided to showcase a "once in a lifetime" event the week we were supposed to be in Atlanta (a location picked to be east coast but warmer than our other offices, ha!), and had a crazy cold snap with snow across Texas, Florida, and yes, Georgia.  At last minute, the organizers cancelled our in-person summit, and pivoted it to be virtual.  But myself, and some others, were already en route, and venues we had rented out did not allow cancellation with literally just two days notice, so thus, our intimate group of  <20 had an entire restaurant to ourselves.  It made the trip that much more memorable, but certainly makes this review a bit of a special case.

Our group was broken into two tables, each with different service staff. They did serve us basically all at once, and seemed quite adept at handling groups like this.  The meal was well paced for the most part, about 20 mins between courses, plates and cutlery cleared between courses, drinks kept refilled.  The only qualm I have with the service is that our appetizers came a full 10 minutes before I received my glass of wine, even though I ordered that as soon as we were seated.   I really like to pair my food with my drink, and I either had to just wait while things got cold, or eat without a drink (which, I did).

Food & Drink

Since our group was supposed to be 125 people, we had a special menu.

Event Menu.

The large event menu mostly draws from their regular menu, and features all of their most popular dishes. I was pleased that it wasn't going to be a buffet, or limited to the standard "beef, chicken, vegetarian" main dish choices. Instead, the format was 3 large family style starters for the table, individual choice of soup or salad, and then a choice of not the standard three, but 7 (!) options for individual main dishes (all with different sides).  And dual desserts.  Not a choice of dessert, but "&".  I was thrilled by that part in particular, to say the least.

A great lineup, but I sadly found the meal pretty average.

Red Blend Mending Wall 'Mortar and Stone'. $22.

For drinks, our hosts didn't have any restrictions, so the full cocktail menu and wine list were on offer.  I went for a glass of red wine, a red blend I had heard good things about.

I really enjoyed it.  It was complex, robust, smooth.  A generous pour.  I'd get this again without hesitation.  ****.

First Flavors

Our meal started with a trio of family style appetizers, dubbed "First Flavors" on the regular menu, along with South City Kitchen's signature breads.  Two of the three appetizers are southern classics from their regular menu, one was a bit of a hybrid of some of their other dishes only done for groups.  The meal started off with a high from one of the appetizers, and went downhill for me for the savory food from there.

Bread Basket.

Very soon after we were seated, bread baskets were brought out.  All diners, not just large groups like us, always get a bread basket, complimentary.  We also had butter on the table waiting for us.  The bread was warm.

Inside the basket was two kinds of bread: cornbread muffins at the base, and biscuits on top. Given so many rave reviews about both, I had high expectations for them, and I was kinda let down.  Both were barely average for me, and definitely not what I expected from a decent southern restaurant.  They seemed kinda generic hotel buffet quality, particularly the biscuits.

Cornbread Muffin / Biscuit.

Biscuit:
The biscuits were kinda dry.  Not much flavor.  No buttermilk tang.  Butter helped, but still these just had  underwhelming flavor.  They were well baked, lightly golden on top, but not flaky.  Low ***.  A biscuit can, and should, particularly in the south, be so much better.

Cornbread Muffin:

The muffins were a bit better.  I liked that they had some whole kernels of corn in them.  Golden tops.  But still, not remarkable.  ***.

The butter was just whipped butter.  I wanted honey butter, or a compound flavored butter.  Eh.

Pimento Cheese.

"Our b&b pickles, celery, benne seed crackers."

First up, pimento cheese, a menu regular.  Such a southern thing.  A dish unfamiliar to many at the table.  I appreciated it for being good exposure to southern cuisine for folks, and for being a homemade version.  It was decent. Lots of chopped pimentos, bit of kick.  ***. 

The dippers though were a let down.   The celery clearly had been prepped way in advance.  The ends of each piece, every single one, were dried out, white or brown.  It just wasn't fresh, and it was obvious.  The benne seed crackers were fine, but most of us just used our biscuits with the spread, as they were better.  Eh.  *+.

The pickles though ... I really did like them.  Sliced not too thick, not too thin.  Super high acid, which I liked.  Some onions.  Slightly sweet, but mostly nice bite to them.  I bet they'd be great with the pulled pork.  ****.

This platter went mostly unfinished.  The celery was visibly not fresh, we all had biscuits instead of crackers to spread stuff on, so those were basically untouched.  The pimento cheese was good, but was awkward to just eat as an appetizer.   I think it would be good as a spread on a sandwich or burger (which they do have on the lunch menu).  I gladly took the rest of the pickles home with me.

Fried Green Tomatoes.

"Goat cheese, red pepper coulis."

Sigh.  I love fried green tomatoes.  Love them.  Crispy fried things, yes.  Juicy tomatoes, yes.  Usually some kind of remoulade.  Absolutely yes.  Such a southern classic, yes.  A menu staple at SCK.  But ... South City Kitchen puts a spin on these, and makes them with a very hefty layer of goat cheese inside.  More like a jalapeño popper style, but with goat cheese instead of cream cheese.  Every review I read mentioned just how goat cheese-y they were.  I loathe goat cheese.

My aversion to goat cheese is so high that I actually didn't try one.  They looked crispy, the group seemed happy, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Sadness.

Pulled Pork BBQ.

"Scallion hoe cakes, bbq sauce, horseradish slaw."

Our last starter is not from the regular menu.  However, the lunch menu does have a pulled pork bbq sandwich with presumably the same pulled pork and slaw, just on a bun, instead of on a hoecake.  Hoecakes are not on the menu at all.  I appreciated that they didn't just do these slider style, but adapted in this way.

The hoe cake is the element I was most excited for.  It was ... ok.  Kinda greasy, soggy as it was at the base of this mound.  I didn't taste scallion.  Still more interesting than a bun, but not crispy, and no real cornmeal flavor I could taste.  **.

The pulled pork was good, others remarked being pleased it wasn't greasy as pulled pork so often can be.  It was moist, juicy, tender.  The BBQ sauce was a bit pedestrian, but relatively balanced, not too sweet, a bit of smoke.  ***.

The slaw was the best element, and my absolute favorite bite of the whole meal.  It was fresh, crisp, creamy, well dressed, flavorful with a bit of kick from horseradish and a smoky nature.  Excellent slaw.  I wish I could get a big bowl of just that!  ****.

This dish did come together pretty nicely, particularly with the pickles from the pimento cheese platter, and it mostly made me more curious about the pulled pork sandwich.  My favorite of the savory dishes, but I probably wouldn't order it again (I'd just ask for that slaw!).

Soup & Salad

Next up, we had our first decision.  A choice of a very simple salad (as in, literally, just lettuces with viniagrette and cheese) or soup.  The regular menu has both of these items (the soup available as cup or bowl), along with more interesting salads, e.g. a caesar with crispy okra and grit croutons, all of which you can add grilled or fried chicken, sauteed or fried shrimp, or grilled salmon to.

This course was served after the first round of First Tastes had been cleared, our share plates and cutlery removed, and fresh utensils brought out.  It was a slightly amusing course in that the soup portion was really quite small, a tiny cup, and the salad was served in an amusing large bowl with huge hunks of lettuce ("it was like a whole head of lettuce in there!", the others said).  Yet the soup was very rich, and the salad literally just lettuce and extremely light.  The dichotomy between them was amusing laid out on the table.

She-Crab Soup.  Cup. $7.

"Cream, sherry."

While I'm not normally all that excited about soups, this one featured crab (an ingredient I have a label for on my blog for a reason as I opt for it whenever possible!), and it was a bisque, and hey, I like cream, so it was an easy choice for me.  

It was such a let down for me.  The crab you see on top, the single spoonful, was all the crab there was.  There was absolutely no other crab incorporated in.  One bite.  That is it.  I didn't get much of a sense of the taste of it from that sole bite. 

The body of the soup was extremely rich.  It coated the spoon in a way that wasn't very appealing.  It coated my entire mouth in the same way.  I love creamy, but this was just cream.  It was also fairly under seasoned.  I would have loved some kick, but even just some basic seasoning would really have helped.  I added salt & pepper from the shakers on the table to improve it.  The oil on top didn't match well with it either.

Alas, a complete miss for me.  *+.

Southern Inspirations

We had a whopping 7 choices for our main dish.  All but one come straight from their regular menu.  All their top dishes: the signature fried chicken, pork chop, shrimp & grits, and trout.  A token steak.  Two vegetarian options.  At my table (8? people) we had one pork chop, one steak, one vegetarian, and the rest all fried chicken.  The other table, had mostly fried chicken as well, with one person getting the trout.

I had a hard time deciding between the shrimp & grits (particularly as I know people love it at SCK, and I had a version on my Delta flight to Atlanta that was decent in some ways, but not others and left me wanting the real thing), the trout (because I love fish, and people rave about the crispy skin), and, um, one of the vegetarian dishes.  

Spiced Cauliflower. $19.

"Bbq’d peanuts, green tomato chow chow."

For my main dish, I made a bit of an odd selection.  One of the two vegetarian options, even though I'm not vegetarian, and I was pretty excited by both of the seafood options (shrimp & grits, or trout), both of which get great reviews.  But I was really craving cauliflower after having the mediocre version the night before at The Office Bar, I had seen several rave reviews of this dish, and our server talked it up.

It was a unique dish.  Very unlike anything I've had before.  At the base was the peanut sauce, "bbq'd peanuts", which were chopped, and sorta sauce-like.  But it didn't taste strongly of bbq flavor (which I really did want), and it certainly wasn't like a Thai style peanut sauce.  I enjoy peanuts, but this just wasn't a compelling condiment.  It was relatively low flavor somehow, not even particularly strong in the peanut taste.  This was a cold element.  *+.

Then of course, the cauliflower.  It was nicely charred, but a bit too soft for my taste, and again, just didn't taste like much.  It definitely lacked seasoning.  I believe it was supposed to be a hot/warm dish, but it was mildly lukewarm.  This I suspect was a victim of large group dining.  It was basically just quite boring.  Served as individual pieces, not a "cauliflower steak" as some restaurants do for a main dish.  **.

And then, the green tomato chow chow.  Here we had a real burst of southern cuisine.  This did have flavor, some vinegar, lots of red pepper (which, sadly, I don't love), onion, a little bit of green tomato, and lots of celery.  I did really like the celery.  Flavor, and interesting bits here, but still not something I found myself wanting more of.  It was also barely lukewarm. **.  

Overall, yes, there were 3 layers of components, and they were interesting, and it was unique, but there wasn't a single part of it that made me want another bite, and they didn't combine together to anything better than their individual parts.  I really regretted my choice.  Low, low **.

This dish is actually on the regular menu as a starter, er, "First Flavors", but it was an entree for us, I suspect slightly bigger portion?

Springer Mountain Farms Fried Chicken. $25. 

"Garlic collards, mashed yukon gold potatoes, honey-thyme jus."

The most popular dish at the restaurant, and the one our server definitely talked up, of course is the fried chicken.  The majority of my group got this.

They all seemed happy.  One diner remarked about how incredible a bite with all components from the plate together was.  The only slightly negative remark was around how plating it with the jus like this meant the base got soggy.

I did try the mashed potatoes, and they were quite good.  Rich, thick, rustic chunky style.  Mashed potatoes that I'd have a hard time not finishing.  **** potatoes.

Dessert

The regular menu has just 3 items on it.  Simple and to the point: southern favorite banana pudding,  chocolate bundt cake, and a seasonal hand pie.  I was definitely hoping the pudding would make an appearance on our menu, as I just adore pudding (hence, why my blog has a label dedicated to it).  I was also interested in the hand pie, because, pie!

We did have the pudding AND another southern classic, pecan pie (well, tart).  This isn't on their regular menu.  We were each served both, which I appreciated, but others who are less into dessert thought was too much.

Banana Pudding / Chocolate Pecan Tart.

Banana Pudding

"Banana pudding, banana jam, vanilla wafer, caramel, chantilly."

First up, the one I was most excited for, the banana pudding.  It was served as an individual trifle, not tiny, but reasonable individual size.  Served in these fairly narrow cups it was a bit hard to get a "perfect bite", as the spoon couldn't quite reach down all the way.  The first several bites were basically just whipped cream.  Good, thick, rich, house made whipped cream, don't get me wrong, and I love whipped cream, but, that is basically all we had on top.  It made up at least half the cup!  Oh, and of course the Nila wafer perched on top.  Great whipped cream, ***+, but, just out of balance, so *** overall.

Below that, was the banana jam, and that I really did enjoy.  Sweetened, stewed banana.  Yum.  ****. There were also some fresh banana slices, but just two in my cup.  

And finally, the base, which I guess was some banana pudding, but there wasn't much of it, and it was way at the bottom, so we barely got to taste it.  It was creamy, and had some banana flavor I think, but, the banana jam was so flavorful it was hard to distinguish.  It could easily have been basic instant pudding.  ***.

I don't think there were any vanilla wafers within, which honestly was fine with me, but I did miss the textural component of the softed cake-like wafers in a traditional banana pudding.

Basically, sure, I like whipped cream, and the banana jam was tasty, but this didn't come together all that well, at least as served in these little jars.  I think the version on the regular menu ($10) is larger, and has additional toppings/mix-ins?  *** because I still polished it off, but, banana pudding can be so much better.

Chocolate Pecan Tart

The chocolate pecan tart isn't on their regular menu, although it has been at times in the past (as has a pecan pie).  I love pecan pie, and Georgia is known for pecans, so this is another one that I do generally love, but ... you may read my blog regularly enough to know how I feel about tarts in general (compared to pie crust, or really, most other bases for dessert).  I also was a bit sad because it had chocolate, and I avoid caffeine at night, so I had to save for the next day.

Others commented that it was just too sweet, particularly alongside the banana pudding, and that it was too much whipped cream, given the mound on top of here and the entire top half of the pudding.  They also said they didn't think it actually had chocolate, despite being called a "chocolate pecan tart" on our menu (besides the visible drizzle of chocolate sauce on the plate).  I still brought mine home and waited to try it, as I prefer my pecan pie warm, with ice cream anyway.

They were right - there was no chocolate in here.  I *could* have eaten it fresh that night!  Regardless, I enjoyed the next day, probably even more than they did, as I heated mine up a bit, and did serve it with some vanilla ice cream.  It was a good little tart.

The tart shell was better than average, not just a generic compressed slightly sweet form, it was definitely thicker, darker, and more flavorful than most.  I didn't mind it at all, although of course I'd prefer flaky pie crust.  ***+ shell.

The filling was pretty classic pecan pie.  Crunch from pecans, nice level of sweetness, gooey.  Nothing surprising like honey or maple, just likely corn syrup, which truthfully is what I think makes a good pecan pie anyway.  ***+ filling, although the ratio of filling to tart shell left me wanting more filling.

I wouldn't go out of my way for this, and I still prefer pie over a tart (more filling, better shell), but this was good, and I'd happily eat another.  ***+.

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Dining at the Epicurean Hotel, Atlanta

During a recent trip to Atlanta, I stayed at the Epicurean Hotel (which, I loved, for so many reasons!).  During my time there, I did check out the main hotel restaurant for breakfast twice, and attended a private reception at one of their other dining establishments.  Sadly the food was not the high point really, a surprise for a brand so focused on being, well, Epicurean, but everything else about the hotel was exceptional (the rooms, the staff, etc, etc).  But this is Julie's Dining Club, and thus, the focus here is on dining.

Reverence, Breakfast

Reverence is the hotel restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus weekend brunch.

I opted to do a la carte my first morning, and to get my food to go, but I did look at the buffet before making my decision, and it did look good.  I noticed they allowed that togo as well (others were packing up boxes), which I appreciate as someone who often needs to eat hotel breakfast pretty quickly before heading to the office.

Buffet

The buffet is served weekends (and holidays) only, for brunch, 9am-1pm.  It is a whopping $38/pp, as tends to be standard for hotels.  I didn't partake, but did walk through so I could share here with photos.

Buffet Lineup.

I did appreciate that they provided a menu lineup of the buffet, although that indicates that it doesn't really change much. 

Seasonal Fresh Fruit.

First up, sliced fruits: cantaloupe | honeydew | pineapple | watermelon | orange.

Seasonal Berries.

Then the nicer fruits - berries! Strawberry | blueberry | blackberry | raspberry.

Breads & Spreads.

Basic sliced multigrain & wheat bread with toppings: jam | marmalade | honey | butter.

Hot Foods.

There were 5 different hot items in these stoneware serving dishes, your classic breakfast meats (bacon, chicken sausage), carbs (roast potatoes, grits), and scrambled eggs.

Chef Egg Station.

If you wanted made-to-order eggs instead, a chef was stationed with two burners and fixings for omelets, scrambles, and fried/over easy/etc eggs. 

Omelet Fillings.

tomato | onion | mushroom | jalapeno | spinach | cheddar | mozzarella | goat | feta | bacon | ham | spicy sausage

Cheese & Charcuterie.

Simple assorted cheese, charcuterie, fruit.

Granola Parfait.

I liked the look of the parfaits in the jars, with homemade granola and vanilla greek yogurt.

Regular & Chocolate Croissants.

The pastries looked decent too, freshly baked, nice egg wash shine.

Homemade Cake.

Cake for breakfast! I approve.

Cookies.

And cookies for breakfast? Excellent.  They weren't healthy style cookies either, just, regular cookies.  For breakfast.  Rules don't apply when traveling right?

A la carte menu

Breakfast / Lunch Menu.

I ordered from the a la carte menu, that really was fairly small on brunch days: only 7 main dishes, and some very basic sides.  3 healthy lighter dishes, 1 full breakfast with eggs, 1 sweet carbs, 1 interesting hash variation.  That was it.  My first choice was easy though, I'm all about dessert masquerading as breakfast, so, the French toast it was.  My second order was a bit random, just to try something.

My food was ready within 15 minutes, and came with all utensils and everything needed.

Tiramisu French Toast.  $17.

"Coffee mousseline | white chocolate crumble | macerated strawberries & blackberries."

Ok, so this looked worse for the wear when I opened my box. I'm sure it looks much better when served in the restaurant.  But alas, the toppings were so lofty that they hit, and stuck to, the lid of the box, so I opened it to find this.

Looks aside, this was good.  The base was very very thick slices of puffy brioche.  It didn't really seem to have much French toast eggyness to it, which I liked, as that's the one thing about French toast that I don't generally care for.  Rather, it was just moist inside, and lightly crispy outside.  Dusted with powdered sugar to make a bit sweet.  A good base, better than most French toast, particularly for my preferences.  ***+.

The coffee mousseline was very good.  Rich, creamy, really strong coffee flavor.  I could eat it like a coffee mousse and be more than happy.  I didn't necessarily taste "tiramisu", e.g. it was missing the mascarpone component, and there wasn't anything ladyfinger about this either, nor a dusting of cocoa, but, it was certainly coffee forward, and quite enjoyable.  ****.

The white chocolate crumble might have been nicely perched on top before it got ruined in my box, but I didn't really find it.  The macerated berries were good and rounded the dish out.  It also came with maple syrup, that was a bit thick and perhaps not real.

Overall, it was good, easily could be seen as dessert (particularly if you just added a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream), but it wasn't too over the top decadent to be breakfast/brunch.  I'd still consider it more of a thick brioche toast with coffee cream than "tiramisu" exactly, but that doesn't quite roll off the tongue as easily.

Acai Bowl.  $16.

"Acai blended with bananas | honey | peanut butter | granola | assorted fresh fruits."

This one was a strange order on my part, but I have two friends who had both been talking about their love of acai bowls recently, and I was curious to see if I too could love acai bowls.  Plus, I wanted the (housemade) granola and berries anyway.

It too looked a bit silly in the box square box, I'm sure much prettier in an actual glass bowl where you can see the lovely acai base, but hey, it worked.

The fruit on top was fresh, vibrant, ripe, very good.  It was late January, but the fruit really was mid-summer quality.  ****.

The granola was good, a very toasted style, loaded up with lots of crunchy seeds.  No big chunks as I do kinda like, but for an acai bowl, this made sense.  Much better than generic granola.  ***+.

And then the base.  That ... was not a success for me.  It was very bitter.  I didn't taste any of the promised honey, nor the peanut butter really.  And it was more melty than I think it should have been.  Kinda just cold bitter thick liquid.  Maybe I just don't like acai.  Maybe this wasn't very good.  I'm not sure, but I really didn't care for the base at all.  *.

Overall, I salvaged the toppings, but I clearly wouldn't get this again.

The Office Bar, Evening Social

Our first night we had a welcome reception at The Office Bar, a separate space run by the Epicurean, but in the building across the courtyard, not the same building as the hotel and Reverence (where they do have another, smaller, hotel bar).

"An ideal spot to grab lunch on the go, wind down those last few hours of work with a cold one in hand, or catch a game on one of our five oversized LED TVs. Transform your casual afternoon outing into a cozy nightcap at The Office Bar."

We had a small buffet set up, which featured all items from their regular menu.  The food was highly underwhelming, worse than expected really.

Cheese / Charcuterie.

I tried one triple creme cheese that didn't really have any flavor, not even in the rind, and some berries, that weren't particularly ripe (the breakfast fruit was much better).  Not a great lineup.  Nothing looked particularly appealing on the charcuterie platter (no pates, no pickles, just salami).

Flatbreads.

I didn't try any of the three flatbreads that were a thin wafer style.

Short Rib Sliders.

"Romaine | kansas bbq | buttermilk dressing."

I didn't grab one of the sliders on my first round at the buffet, and when I saw that the few people who did didn't bother finish theirs, I wasn't inspired to try them.

Baja Shrimp Tacos.

"Beer battered | chipotle aioli | cabbage slaw | pickled onion."

I had seen reviews of the shrimp tacos not being great, even when served fresh for regular guests (not as event buffet), but, I really do like fried shrimp, and aioli, so I was still hopeful.  And ... yeah.  They just had far too much batter that wasn't particularly good, WAY too much aioli, and a bunch of harsh pickled onions.  Some of the issue was certainly just sloppy assembly, but the flavors weren't balanced, and they were just too heavy in not delicious indulgent ways.  *+.

Fried Curry Cauliflower.

"Homemade hot sauce | buttermilk dressing."

The dish I was most looking forward to, and perhaps the best thing we had, was the fried curry cauliflwoer ... but that isn't saying much.

Like the shrimp, the cauliflower just had way way too much batter on it.  Very greasy, and just tons of batter.  There was some curry spicing, so that made it interesting at least, but most people just ended up discarding batter carcases on their plates (which was easy, as they fell apart as you tried to eat anyway).  The cauliflower was juicy and moist inside.

The buffalo sauce did have some kick, the ranch was ranch.  Both creamy, and flavorful, but not entirely great matches for the strong curry flavor.  *+.

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