This shotgun style layout restaurant located in the Marietta Square is a definite departure from the pizza / pub fare found at many of the restaurants on the square. The weather was unusually warm last week when I visited and there were many families frolicking in the square enjoying the art in the park. Lots of restaurant patrons were enjoying their meal outside too. As the decor is pretty interesting, I chose indoor seating, being the first in my party to arrive.
If you visit The Butcher, The Baker website, you’ll only see a partial menu of offerings. Just reading this sample menu, I wasn’t overly intrigued to visit, but after the prodding of many friends, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The full menu is a lot more interesting, and is divided in three sections: Snack and Share, Belly Up and Save Room. The Snack and Share section, with nearly 20 options was way more appealing than the Belly Up with only about five selections. They have a nice cocktail menu and my Georgia Heirloom was perfect for sipping on all during dinner.
Choosing five selections from the Snack and Share, dinner seemed off to a good start. Oh and they have such lovely breads (yeast rolls with sorghum butter) you will be tempted to fill up. The first snack to arrive was the Pork Belly with Pimento Cheese and chow chow. I could take it or leave it. Meaning I’ll take the cheese and chow chow and leave the belly. I expected it to be softer, but this was tough and nearly impossible to cut.
Another dish, the mushroom flatbread with farm egg, mascarpone, pesto and frisee was disappointing too with too much of a doughy quality. Too bad as the ingredients made it sound so promising. The smoked trout was mediocre but the cracker served with it totally overpowered the trout.
But all was not lost. The veal sweetbreads with pumpkin and kale was quite delicious. It has a honey drizzle on top that was a nice touch, though the pumpkin seemed lost in the dish. Our favorite dish though was the Manila Clams and Rabbit. The rabbit was so tasty, I now want to return just to taste the deviled rabbit that is part of their charcuterie board.
We shared one taste from the Belly up section of the menu: the Monkfish with turnip greens and quince jam. The sweet jam went well with the slightly salty fish. It was decent, but I’d rather have saved my 20 or so bucks and went straight for dessert, Maple pot de creme with roasted pumpkin and pumpkin chips. Can you tell it’s pumpkin season yet?
The Butcher, The Baker
23 N Park Square
Marietta, GA 30060