SATURDAY APRIL 9TH, 2011

Date and Time Visited:      Arrival time was Saturday, 8:30 p.m., April 9th, 2011

Restaurant Name:              French American Brasserie

Location:                             30 Ivan Allan Jr. Blvd

                                             Atlanta, GA 30308            

Reservations:  Recommended but not necessary

Dining Style:  Causal to elegant

Cuisine:  French American

Entrees Order:   Beef Bourguignon (short ribs) ($21) and the Skate Wing (sting ray) ($22)

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

               

Food:                           Taste                       

 Presentation                       

                                     Texture                                        Average Score: 3

                                     Portion Size                       

                                    Authenticity                        

Service:                       Wait time           

                                    Quality of Service                        Average Score: 4           

                                    Wait staff knowledge

                                    Wait staff appearance           

                       

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                    Appearance

                                    Atmosphere                       

Cleanliness                                    Average Score: 5           

Noise level                       

                                    Restrooms                       

Smoking?                        No

Patio Dinning:            Yes (upstairs)           

Parking:              Parking is available at a fee

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics):  The French American Brasserie was shall we say an experience in dinning. We both like French food, but rarely eat it. This restaurant could possibly meet the needs of any individual, couple, or group wishing to dine out in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. They also have outside terrace dinning upstairs and it is gorgeous with its beautiful view of the city. The large main dining room with its crisp white table cloths and wait staff dressed in tux will make the average person feel as if they’ve stumbled upon something special and the mind will automatically say, “Hey, I’m going to get some special treatment here!” And it would be completely right. Our waitress performed her job with ultimate precision; almost robot like. Everything was, “Yes sir, no sir; everything is operating within specified parameters.” She sounded like “Data” from Star Teck Next Generation. But hey, we’re not complaining, she got the job done within specified parameters! As for the food, we originally sought out this restaurant because they served New Zealand lamb chops, but guess what?  When we placed our order, the waitress informed us that they were out! Can you believe that! Where on earth can we get some dang lamb chops in Atlanta! So, needless to say we were forced to order something else. I (Jack) had the short ribs and man it was good; very rich though (as is expected with French food). It was tender and the flavor popped in my mouth. I would definitely order it again and I think Jill will too. I (Jill) ordered the sting ray. I won’t order it again. I ordered it because I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something outside the box. Now I understand what Jack means when he says certain fish are too fishy tasting. The sting ray was by far one on the fishiest dishes I’ve ever tasted. The fishiness was similar to eel; won’t order that again either. My sting ray was served over a bed of spinach. The combination was so not good.  Lastly, we have to comment on their restrooms. We were impressed! There restrooms are beautiful. Man, we wanted to pack our bags and move in. We are not going to go into detail about it, but if you choose to dine at this restaurant, please make a special trip to their restrooms, you want be sorry.

Would we go back: We like the richness of French food and would likely venture back at some point in time to sample some of their other dishes. We can’t hold the sting ray dish against them because it is a acquired taste.

Suggested Improvements: Have our New Zealand lamb chops in on Saturday night and we will come back.