Top FLR

Top FLR

Price: $$

Decor: Casual

674 Myrtle St. NE

www.topflr.com

My overall rating: A-

1 down, 53 to go

Well, this is the first review, and let me start by saying that Top FLR is certainly worthy of being number 1.

The restaurant is located in Midtown at 674 Myrtle St. For the geographically challenged: if you take Ponce towards Piedmont, Myrtle street is the 1st street east of Piedmont, right across from Mary Mac's Tea Room.

The restaurant is small, chic, and has a very modern feel to it. The black and white decor screams "contemporary hang-out" (maybe just a bit too much), but the ambiance is enjoyable nonetheless. The walls are tastefully decorated (no pun intended) and refreshingly unassuming, unlike many of the modern/contemporary restaurants throughout the city. To the right of the entrance is a narrow dining room, and to the left is a larger dining area - the bar is also there. There is also a second story dining area, but I didn't venture there. The only strange aspect of the decor is the wall lighting - in the main dining room, there are 2 of 3 pairs of wall lights that can be described in only one way: nipple-like.

Upon arrival, my girlfriend Amie and I were greeted by a friendly man with a welcoming British accent, and he promptly showed us to a corner table with two seats - one of which was part of a padded bench that runs along back wall of the restaurant. Unfortunately, there was a large crowd seated right across from us - a particularly loud group - and the uninsulated, open-duct ceilings certainly made the dining room exponentially louder. Still, despite the noise, the setting was enjoyable. The servers were great: very nice (but not the obviously-fake-and-overbearing-nice that makes you sick to your stomach before you even look at the menu - and believe me, I've seen that around Atlanta plenty of times - achem...Concentrics Group...achhhhchhhem), attentive, and incredibly ...hmm... eccentric; you'll have to experience them first-hand to see what I mean.

The restaurant prides itself on its wine list - which is certainly impressive - but even better was the beer selection. Though small, the list was as diverse as any of the local beer-tastic bars (Brick Store, Taco Mac, Bookhouse Pub, to name a few). Naturally, I tried one I'd never heard of: Cooper's Sparking Ale, an English pale ale that is brewed in Australia. It was excellent!

But, I digress...

...I suppose the food is what's most important, so let me run through our meal. We started with the Artisan Cheese Plate, which was superb. There were four cheeses (I can't remember the names) that were served at the perfect temperature and with wonderful accouterment - sourdough and rasin-bread tostinis. As expected, the cheeses were offered in mouse-trap-sized portions and presented on a Home Depot-esque slab of wood that made the already nearly-too-small slices of cheese appear even tinier. Still, what was lacking in size was certainly accounted for in taste - just delicious.

For the main course, I ordered the "Soft Gnocchi with Braised Oxtail, Asparagus, and Shitake Mushrooms," per the waiter's recommendation. Again, the portion was small - and let me interject here: this certainly seems to be the case at these trendy restaurants that are popping up around Atlanta. The serving size of gnocchi at Top FLR was a-la-One Midtown Kitchen (for those of you who are familiar with that, or any other, Concentrics Group restaurant) - but, again, what was lacking in quantity was more-than-accounted-for in taste. The gnocchi were cooked perfectly and were floating on top of (thankfully not submerged in) a wonderful sauce that combined the flavors of light cream, parmesan, and natural oxtail jus - or at least what I assume is natural oxtail juices; I believe this was my first encounter with the meat.

And speaking of the oxtail, it was shredded to the perfect consistency and placed atop the gnocchi, asparagus, and mushroom. The savory flavor of the meat was an unlikely companion that really brought the meal together nicely. Interestingly, what I liked most about the oxtail was the way it was served. The shredded meat allowed for the meal to have a thick and rich taste without an overbearing sauce - really a wonderful combination of texture, flavor, and seasoning.

Amie enjoyed the Orange-Apple tofu, which was served with boc choy and a japanese eggplant miso. As I'm allergic to tofu, I didn't taste the "meat", but I did try a piece of the boc choy that was dipped in the sauce - again, it was awesome. Despite strong flavors of citrus and soy in the sauce, the boc choy retained its slightly bitter natural taste - the pairing was brilliant.

Unfortunately, we did not try the dessert, although the menu consisted of home-made after-dinner delights. Next time, I will certainly give it a shot.

And believe-you-me there will be a next time at Top FLR. Overall, an excellent meal that was reasonably priced and presented beautifully. If you go - and you should - but if you go, be sure you ate a hearty lunch.

1 down, 53 to go.

--Dan