 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Café Sunflower (casual) ***1/2 (Buckhead location) 2140 Peachtree Rd., NW Atlanta, GA 30309 404) 352-8859 Buckhead hours: Lunch Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sat. noon-2:30 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Thurs., 5-9 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 5-10 p.m. (second location in Sandy Springs) Café Sunflower is a restaurant on the verge -- on the verge of veganism, (but not quite there) and on the verge of uber-popularity. On weekends, Sunflower is a comfortable mix of couples, a few families and friends meeting for sustenance and good company. With gourmet and mock chicken dishes, the café is a great vegetarian alternative to haute cuisine. Menu: *** The owners at the Buckhead location recently changed their lunch and dinner menus. The eggplant lasagna, stir-fry and ravioli dishes have been revamped to offer a more complex taste. Also, the pot stickers now offer a surprise ginger flavor that adds a fresher alternative to traditional greasy stickers. If you are a die-hard vegan, they have plenty of choices. Rest assured, true-blue vegetarians will find some filling choices. Just don’t expect the mock chicken to totally convince your hearty carnivore friends. And if all else fails, try one of the new sandwiches. Prices for starters range $4 to $13, entrees range $8 to $16, desserts are all $6 each, the new sandwiches are around $6. From “soup to nuts,” expect to spend $15-$25 per person for lunch or dinner. The Buckhead location is the only one that offers wine and beer. Food Quality: **** Sauces are light, flavorful and complex. Cheeses (who can really live without them?) with entrees are delicate, and vegetables are always just crispy enough. Food Presentation: **** The dinners have a gourmet arrangement, but portions are always ample. Atmosphere: ***1/2 If you want to have a nice quiet dinner with a date or a friend, go during the week. On the weekends, children and a loud crowd seriously mess with your romantic mojo, so bring a crowd of friends with you instead. Cleanliness: **** No table is ever left untidy. The Buckhead owner’s son, Alex, and the wait staff are lightning-fast to clear the tables after the guests -- even on busy weekends. Service: *** The owners are always happy to talk to you personally about the dishes. Wait staff are patient and offer suggestions to the faint-of-heart. Menu recommendations: Absolutely do not pass up the Asiago stuffed olives with a sour cream sauce. It’s artfully served with a few greens and a slightly unusual balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The combination of gooey Asiago cheese and chilled sour cream sauce will make you jump for seconds. If you’ve got a few friends flirting with the idea of vegetarianism, try the sweet and sour chicken with vegetables. The mock chicken (soy in a light batter) isn’t exactly like the real thing, but the light sauce is more complex and savory than one you might find at a cheap Chinese take-out joint. Desserts are a treasure unto themselves at Sunflower. Most of them are egg-less and non-dairy, but who knew raspberry chocolate mousse cake could be orgasmic without them? review by Ashley M. Wilborn |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
