Tasting Intown: Bazati

Tasting Intown

By Megan Volpert

Everybody wants a piece of the BeltLine. Lots of micro boroughs are popping up all along it. There is plenty of room for further development and yet already a cornucopia of killer options no matter what section of the BeltLine is nearest to where you are. But location alone does not a success story make.

Which brings me to Bazati. Located at Common Ground between Two Urban Licks and New Realm Brewing, the restaurant is a three-in-one: a brasserie downstairs, a series of tiny boutique shops, and a Miami-inspired joint called Estrella upstairs on the roof. It’s been open for a little over a year and there was a fair amount of buzz about the French dinner menu last summer. We went for brunch on a beautiful Saturday at noon and will not be going back.

The space is gorgeous. There are huge windows letting in lots of natural light and the gigantic patio overlooks all the BeltLine passersby. But you can also see the happily overcrowded patio at New Realm next door and it will unavoidably lead you to believe you’re missing out on a better time. We were at Bazati during the high tide of the weekend, and only two other tables were seated the entire time we were there. The upstairs spot likewise has only a handful of guests, and there were a half dozen people at the bar. Bartenders and servers alike were greatly amusing and friendly, though this did not much placate our table during inexplicably long wait times for our plates.

On the surface, Bazati is nice to look at and nice to chat in. The deeper problem is that most of the food we ordered was merely passable. As in: if your suburban dad who is a picky eater wants to “experience the BeltLine” and “see some city culture,” you can take him here for a decent $26 steak frites. The steak was properly cooked and the eggs on the Benedict were properly runny, but the burger was sadly very well done.

I’d ordered the namesake Bazati

Continued on page 44

Eburger because I’m a sucker for lamb, but was brought L’Americain with Angus beef instead, which I would have sent back had it not taken so long to arrive.

Fortunately, I’m always willing to pile up the small plates and dessert. The caprese salad adds a nice touch by smoking the mozzarella, but then undercuts its own success by butchering both the heirloom tomato and cheese too thin. The fried brussels sprouts with lemon and capers were a delight. Normally I’m quite tempted to fill up on bread, and you’d think a $4 bread service at a French brasserie would be truly something to fawn over—but as my mother would sometimes say on a Saturday, “this tastes like Friday’s bread.” There were two slices of an olive loaf, a small baguette that was more stale than crusty, and a pat of piped butter still too cold to put a knife through cleanly.

As for dessert, the flourless chocolate cake is the same as everywhere else, the raspberry crepe has great filling in a somewhat overcooked and thus rubbery package, and the profiteroles with pistachio ice cream calmed me down enough to think maybe this place can still turn things around. But let’s be real. Bazati has already had a year to make good on the feedback from their early lukewarm reviews. Their legit French chef, Remi Granger—formerly of very successful ventures like Gunshow, Revival, and Bread & Butterfly—has already bailed. The fact is that if a French brasserie can’t get simple bread service right, it’s toast.

Quick Bites

The women-centric Dames & Dregs Beer Festival returns Aug. 10 from 1 to 10 p.m. at The Masquerade at Underground Atlanta. There will be more than 120 beers and spirits to sample, women-led panels on the brewing industry, food, games, giveaways and more. General admission is $35 or $50 for VIP at damesanddregs.com.

The Atlanta Summer Wine Fest will be held Aug. 10 at City Winery with two sessions to choose from – noon to 4 p.m. and 6 to10 p.m. – and more than 50 wines and a selection of local beer. There will be live music upstairs, DJ Q-Tip downstairs, and food will be available for purchase from City Winery. Tickets are now on sale for $45 and will increase to $50 after Aug. 1 and $60 at the door. Sales tax and ticket fees will be added. More details and the link to tickets can be found at atlantawinefestivals. com/summer.

◄ Taqueria del Sol, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, and Charleston’s Home Team BBQ are teaming up again to bring the Hatch Chile Fest to Atlanta on Aug. 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. The event celebrates the annual harvest of fresh chiles from Hatch, New Mexico while raising funds for Hogs for the Cause. The one-day, block party style festival will take place at the Westside location of Taqueria del Sol, 1200-B Howell Mill Road, and will feature food stations from the participating restaurants, Hatchinspired cocktails, local beer from Creature Comforts and live music by Moontower. Tickets are available through bigtickets.com.

The inaugural ATL Wine + Spirits Fest will be held Aug. 24 from 6 to 10 p.m. at The Promenade at Piedmont Park. Proceeds will benefit The Piedmont Park Conservancy. ATL Wine + Spirits Fest is modeled after the Wine on the River hosted in Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Louisville, and Mobile. The event will highlight wines from various regions across the globe and feature hundreds of varieties of wine, beer and spirits for sampling. All attendees will receive a souvenir wine glass and passport designating the various regions. Tickets are on sale now: General Admission tickets are $49 plus tax per person and include a souvenir wine glass and all wine samples. DayOf General Admission tickets are $59 plus tax per person and will only be available if advanced tickets have not sold out. In addition, a “Designated” Driver ticket which excludes any access to alcohol sampling is available for $20 plus tax. All tickets are available online at ATLWineandSpiritsFest.com. This is a 21 and older event and everyone must have a valid ID for admission.

► The 16th Annual German Bierfest will offer a day filled with authentic German beers, live music and food on Aug. 24 from 2 to 7 p.m. in Woodruff Park in Downtown Atlanta. Receive a commemorative sample glass to use to enjoy unlimited samples of more than 35 authentic German Beers. Atlanta area German restaurants will serve up bratwurst, pretzels, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and more. Tickets are available through freshtix.com.

Fred’s Meat & Bread is the latest Atlanta-based restaurant to operate inside MercedesBenz Stadium selling its famous cheesesteak sandwich created by Chef Todd Ginsberg. Fred’s cart at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is near section 116.

Curry Up Now, the Indian fast casual and transplant from the San Francisco Bay Area, has opened its first metro outpost at 1575 Church Street in Decatur. The restaurant is known for its Tikka Masala Burritos, Deconstructed Samosas, Indian street food and more.

New Realm Brewing and Lyft have partnered to help Giving Kitchen , the nonprofit that helps food workers in need. Until the end of the year, if you take Lyft to New Realm in Poncey-Highland, $4 will be donated to the charity.

◄ Bea Lewis, founder of Hush Dinner Club, will open Concept , an American, diner-inspired restaurant, along Georgia Avenue in Summerhill in early 2020. Concept will blend modern American cuisine with the interior look and feel of a traditional 1950s diner. There will be a 1,200-square-foot dining room, a 1,300-square-foot industrial kitchen and a 2,000-square-foot patio. Once complete, the patio may also be reserved for private events. The restaurant is part of the Summerhill redevelopment from Carter in partnership with Oakwood Development and Healey Weatherholtz Properties. The team is developing 35 acres into a mixed-use neighborhood including corporate office uses, traditional multifamily apartments, specialty and neighborhood retail and private student apartments.

► Tickets for Taste of Atlanta , which is set for Oct. 18-20 at Historic Fourth Ward Park, are now on sale. The 18th annual festival will feature more than 100 restaurants as well as onstage cooking demos, cooking classes and new this year, Food Districts, a more expansive VIP Experience and a Saturday night concert. Buy tickets at tasteofatlanta.com.