The blog name is a reference to an inside joke when two of my roommates, one of my roommate’s cat and I were standing around in our kitchen. We were to be named “three asians and a cat.” Well, blessed as I am, I’m often alone (along with the three cats in the house) when concocting my next dinner menu or scheming to eat out, so it is only natural to turn the joke around to become the current title you see at the top.

Just for good measure, here are pictures of the cats:



And here’s a picture of the cats five minutes ago:*

I can already see PETA storming my way. And my roommates.

Anyhow, enough about the boring topic of me and more about the exciting topic of food. Yesterday, I had attended a birthday party at WaterHaven .†

When we arrived at the restaurant, located on the corner of the Centergy building in Tech square, we were seated at a table prepared for 20+ near the entrance to the kitchen. The decor was somewhat similar to The Global Cafe that WaterHaven had replaced, which I would classify as upscale super-modern. This style is reflected in the prices.

As it turns out, the birthday boy had negotiated for us to be served a special events menu, which included family style appetizers, entrées from the lunch menu and a limited dessert selection. This menu was much more affordable for college students than their regular dinner menu.

The appetizer platters included lamb sliders, flatbread pizza and fried green tomatoes. The flatbread and the fried green tomatoes were nothing call home about. The flatbread was merely topped with cheese and some herbs and tasted like a generic cheese pizza. The fried green tomatoes were cut into such small pieces that it was impossible to taste the tomatoes or feel its texture. However, the highlight of the evening was the lamb slider. These little delights consisted of mini juicy lamb patties tucked inside yeast rolls and served with mint yogurt. The patties were perfectly seasoned and carried the full flavor of lamb. This great flavor and fattiness was nicely balanced by the yogurt. It is almost worth coming just for these alone.

I ordered the crab cakes from the entrée menu. True to its price ($12.95 for one cake and a side of pasta salad), these cakes contained mostly lump crab meat and just enough filler to hold the cakes together. However, the crab meat was not of the best quality, so the cakes were a little bit dry and leaned toward the bland side. The flavor was definitely surpassed by that of the lamb sliders.

Of course, no meal is complete without a healthy serving of dessert. The choices of the night were chocolate icebox pie and lemon panacotta (both were $2-3 for the special portions we were receiving). Since our friend raved all night about the chocolate pie, almost everyone exclusively chose that option. Due to the low prices, the servings were very, very small. The pies were very rich in cocoa and plenty sweet to balance it out (I tend to have a preference for dark and bitter chocolates). However, either the pies were frozen at some point or the chocolate did not properly melt or whatever other reason, the filling was neither smooth nor creamy. It was slightly stiff and contained mini-chunks of chocolate. Not something to recommend to a friend.

Service was great for having only one waiter serve the entire party. The friendliness could be improved, but it did not significantly detract from the dining experience. The owner even passed by to ask how everyone is doing. Kudos to them for putting up with cheap college kids to attract more business.

As I forgot to bring a camera with me to the restaurant, the pictures above have been stolen from http://atlanta-restaurantblog.com/2009/10/waterhaven-midtown-atlanta-ga-restaurant-review/.

* Borrowed without permission from passionatenonchalance.com. Contact me if you want this removed.

† Happy birthday to David and Kathleen! Not that either will ever see this.

WaterHaven
75 5th St.
Atlanta, GA
(404) 214-6740