The List, Pt 3: St. Cecelia
Creative Loafing’s 100 Best Dish List just premiered, so it’s off to the races for Atlanta eaters! Last week I recapped bites I’ve already sampled, but here’s the first new entrant, from the always reliable St. Cecilia. This spot is one of our date-night favorites with a fabulous dining space, attentive service, and a menu with no apparent flaws.
That said, the dish from the list was particularly scrumptious, as promised. The pick? A homemade agnolotti filled with braised short-rib and seasoned with a drizzle of red wine au jus, scallions, and Parmesan cheese.
Nothing wrong with THOSE ingredients!!
What’s surprising is how much the rib flavor shines in the dish. The pasta almost disappears as the rich meat commands all of the attention. The flavor is wonderfully intense.
The flavor is as pretty as the picture!
Of course, I’ve reviewed St. Cecilia in detail before (here), so I won’t do a full dish play-by-play, but I did want to call your attention to two other stand-outs from our recent meal.
The first was the meat board which not only tasted great, but had one of the most generous servings I’ve seen in town (small plate is pictured).
Granted, it’s not as fancy or exotic as the boards from Cockentrice or Empire State South, but we thoroughly enjoyed the dish.
The second standout was the apricot cake with toffee and orange foam. What this dessert lacked in visual appeal, it more than made up for in flavor. The orange foam situation (pardon my technical terminology) was some sort of bubbled deliciousness. If you imagine a Frosted Orange from the Varsity being made into a whipped foam, you’ll have a sense for the flavor.Plus there's some cardamom thrown in the mix. Can you imagine? Oh my -- YUM!!
You should go ahead and split this with your dinner dates because one can only imagine the calories.
The List is off to a great start. Can’t wait to share next week!