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Toast: Here’s to fine food!
by Christine Woodhouse

Taking its lead from Atlanta’s successful fine dining restaurants, Toast offers a menu of spectacularly fresh, house-made everything (from soups and sauces to breads, pastas and desserts). Unlike much of its competition, Toast offers this extremely high caliber food at every-day prices.

Toast is managing partner Derron Deraney’s second venture in this key corner spot behind the Biltmore. His first dining enterprise, Ami, was a more upscale endeavor with higher prices and a more formal atmosphere. When diners didn’t respond to the high-end restaurant with low lighting, Derron brought in four partners (including chef Drew Van Leuvan, designer Todd Vaught, and architect Thom Williams ) to reinvent the space. The result is a casual, loft-style comfort zone with features like a giant green chalkboard adorning one wall and bright orange paint on another, brushed metal counter tops with matching barstools, exposed brick, and a bar built from cement blocks.

Tucked amidst the brick facades of nearby condominiums and the Biltmore’s converted office space, Toast is the perfect compliment to midtown’s blossoming residential destination. My first visit involved serious debate between the decidedly upbeat atmosphere inside and the calming patio area outside. I ultimately chose the patio for its dinner-among-friends feel and thanked my companion for being agreeable to either. Our view included joggers darting past more leisurely dog-walkers, all on unblemished sidewalks alongside a perfectly manicured stretch of grass. It would almost be a “Stepford” experience if the effect weren’t so relaxing. I can’t remember ever surveying a restaurant’s outdoor seating and hearing the words “neat and clean” resonate so loudly in my head. It wasn’t long before I did my part to change all that, sullying up our clean white tablecloth with the few crumbs and drippings I couldn’t cram into my mouth.

We started with two of Chef Drew Van Leuvan’s pastas in reverence of his former occupation, supplying fresh pasta to 28 area restaurants. The sweet corn and mascarpone agnolotti with chanterelle mushrooms burst with a nutty, earthy flavor at first bite, following up with the taste of sweet buttery cornbread. Never has a pasta been so soft! The English pea and brown butter cappelletti delivered further proof of Drew’s dexterity with noodles. Curried hazelnuts brought richness and depth to the pasta while pureed peas made for a unique and delicious filling. My new summer favorite, however, is the citrus crab cake. Surrounded by a pool of tart, light tomato gazpacho, it is the perfect antidote for a hotlanta evening. Its seared edges encase soft chunks of crab and a luscious slab of avocado is perched on top.

Sandwiches and salads are as tempting as the entrees at Toast. The menu offers a signature stuffed sandwich of the day, called the toasty, which involves bread dough baked around a changing list of gourmet ingredients such as prosciutto, parmesan and roasted red peppers. Gooey, cheesy sandwiches are indeed alluring but I could not be deterred from the salmon sandwich with arugula pesto. Served on a fresh, crusty baguette that is simultaneously softened by the pesto, a thick piece of salmon shares space with ripe plum tomatoes and parmesan cheese – all conspiring to deliver the best tasting salmon sandwich I have ever experienced. I couldn’t contain myself over the Caesar salad either, especially when our waiter, Daniel, mentioned the large anchovy slice. The anchovy, packed in olive oil so as not to disintegrate into overly salted mush like much of its canned competition, mingles with sweet challah bread toast points leaning t-pee style atop whole romaine lettuce leaves. The pungent anchovy and wide shavings of parmesan cheese eliminate the need for heavy dressing so only a slight hint is present.

The entrées at Toast are masterpieces of freshness and simplicity as well. The selection includes pasta and meatballs with roasted red pepper, pine nut, tomato, onion and capers; seared jumbo sea scallops with tomato tortellini and truffled tomato broth; and potato and chive gnocchi with baby artichokes, feta cheese and arugula pesto, to name a few. All sounded divine but my dinner date and I could not pass up the evening’s specials. We tried the Nantucket bass striper and the roasted chicken breast.

The bass, brought in that day, was served over mussels and a bouillabaisse made from shrimp shells, carrots and melon. I tasted the carrots’ subtle sweetness first and then the clean, lighter melon, which served to slightly cleanse the pallet before the seafood flavor took over. The lean bass was more steak-like, resisting the typical white fish tendency to flake. The firm, mild fish absorbed its surrounding flavors and paired perfectly with the soft, chewy mussels. The noticeable absence of a starchy side was a welcome change.

The roasted chicken breast special also dispensed with the tradition of pasta or potato plate fillers. Instead, the chef created a thick zucchini broth, mimicking a heavier cream sauce but achieving a much lighter, healthier result. The roasted chicken matched the broth’s colorful minced vegetables with equal but complementary flavor. Two winners in a row means I will always trust this chef’s nightly specials!

As if I needed more convincing on Drew’s refreshingly bright future with food, I acquiesced to a taste of Toast’s homemade desserts. The blueberry pie is presented as more of a tart, baked in a light crust with a hint of lemon and a scoop of cookie dough ice cream on the side. It’s a perfectly portioned dessert, designed to cap off your gourmet dinner with a civilized measure of sweetness. The chocolate truffle cake is for the chocolate addicts who require a more emphatic ending to their meal. The warm cake offers a deep, dark chocolate center inside a brownie-like crusty edge. Roasted bananas highlight the cake’s intensity while the chocolate sorbet seals your chocolatey fate.


Toast is located at 817 W. Peachtree Street, Suite E-125, behind The Biltmore on the corner of 6th and Cypress. Their phone number is (404) 815-9243. Also visit them at www.toastrestaurant.com.
From top:
Potato leek soup; Cured salmon; Seared jumbo scallops; Chef Drew Van Leuvan.