Sunday, June 21, 2009 | Food, In this Issue..., Reviews, Atlanta
SP Meat market

SP heads to BLT Steak

Photos/TRG

DINING ESSENTIALS

BLT Steak
W Atlanta—Downtown
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd.
404-577-7601
www.bltsteak.com
Daily hours: breakfast: 6:30-10:30 a.m.; lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner: 5:30-10 p.m.
Reservations: Yes
Dress: Business casual
Cost: Appetizers: $10-$23; dinner entrees: $26-$85; sides: $7-$14; desserts: $10; cocktails: $12
Parking: Complimentary valet

 

By H.M. Cauley

Atlanta is home to several restaurants known for serving exceptional steaks. Traditionalists may go to Bone’s; Northern transplants may favor the Capital Grille; others love Kevin Rathbun Steak, not to mention Cabernet in Alpharetta, McKendrick’s in Dunwoody and Stoney River in Roswell. And then there’s Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s.

Now add to the meaty list BLT Steak, recently opened on the ground floor of the W Atlanta—Downtown. It’s a nice fit with the contemporary hotel, with oversized, fabric-covered spheres serving as lights; a well-stocked raw bar; a swanky bar with a wall of booths just inside the front door; and an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs do their thing.

Chances are you won’t catch a glimpse of the restaurant’s creator, star chef Laurent Tourondel, the “LT” behind the “Bistro” of the title. Like so many celebrity chefs who have set up shop in Atlanta lately, the talented Tourondel only makes occasional visits and isn’t a permanent fixture. But the operation he’s established runs smoothly, with a staff well-versed in the particulars of the menu and the bar and eager to please. (At one point in a recent visit, six servers swarmed the table en masse to deliver two entrees and a bevy of sides.)

So the question is: With all these great steakhouses in town, what sets BLT Steak apart? That’s a tough one to answer. Yes, the setting is as elegant as one would expect, with gleaming wood on the floors, tables and ceiling; long banquettes dotted with colorful cushions; and a glass wall showcasing a well-stocked wine room. Yes, some of the prices reach into the expense-account stratosphere that many high-end steakhouses are known for. Yes, there are several great beef dishes, including filet, rib eye, Porterhouse, New York strip and braised short ribs that can be paired with one of eight sauces, including red wine, peppercorn, barbecue and Bearnaise.

BLT does stand out with a few “wow” dishes: duck breast with foie gras; American Wagyu skirt steak; a double-cut rack of lamb for one. But the side dishes of roasted tomatoes, grilled asparagus, leek and potato hash browns and English peas seem safe, tried-and-true choices.
With a nod to Atlanta, the chef has added two regional dishes: grits and Gorgonzola and buttered collard greens. Perhaps the best side dish is the foot-high stack of giant onion rings, delicately fried to a crisp.

If you’ve always wanted to know exactly where that flank or filet comes from, flip over the daily menu and study the detailed drawing of a cow with each body part marked off. If you’d rather not eat a cousin of the Chik-fil-A cows, there are several seafood options: Dover sole is done in a soy, caper and brown butter sauce; grilled tuna is dotted with olive oil and lemon. Unfortunately, the tempting crispy red snapper is only served for two, and the honey-marinated Alaskan black cod is a bit too sweet.

The menu opens with a crab cake, tuna tartar, roasted beets and lobster, chopped or field greens salads. It wraps with a banana and date pudding, peanut butter chocolate parfait and carrot cake. If you haven’t gorged on the breadbasket of giant gruyere cheese popovers, go for the fluffy crepe soufflé in a passion fruit sauce.

Is all this enough to set BLT apart from the equally great steakhouses in town? If you’re a huge Tourondel fan, the answer is yes. You can indulge in your favorite chef's cuisine and then take home reminders of your visit: Bottles of the chef’s steak and barbecue sauces are for sale, along with cookbooks and other BLT mementos. Is BLT good enough to woo local diners away from their current steak favorites? Maybe not. Yet as the city has seen with its other celebrity-chef spots, the locals may not be the target market. A recent mid-week visit found the bar and dining room so filled with convention-goers that the locals really weren’t missed. SP