Mingling at the Blue Ridge Grill

Located just outside of the perimeter on Paces Ferry Road, Blue Ridge Grill is an Atlanta gem. The romantic country setting inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia and the Southern-inspired menu make this eatery is perfect for date night or a quiet evening with friends.

Last evening, members of the food blogging community and media were invited to a tasting event to sample new items on BRG’s seasonal menu. As we mingled around the “front porch” area adorned with black wicker furniture with owner Richard Lewis, the super-friendly staff circled around with glasses of white burgundy (Bourgogne, "La Montaine," Alain Patriarche 2012) and Malbec (Achaval Ferrer, Mendoza 2011) selected by BRG’s wine steward, Martin Donovan.

Soon plates with menu items created by Chef Joe Brown started to arrive. We sampled sumptuous dishes including pecan-smoked Atlantic salmon served over a salad of julienned jicama, thinly sliced European cucumber and avocado tossed with honey-lime vinaigrette; golden lump crab salad made with Gulf coast lump crab meat tossed with tarragon, chives and Duke’s mayonnaise served with a celery root puree, French radishes and orange supremes tossed in vanilla oil; butter-roasted chicken breast stuffed with Georgia pecans, corn, sourdough bread, cream and parmesan, served atop a sautéed corn, Patak Andouille sausage and roasted globe artichokes; and, grilled, and brined Berkshire pork chop served over sautéed mustard greens, Comeaux's Tasso ham, cherry tomatoes and zest of lemon.

We also sampled BRG’s signature corn soufflé made with sweet corn baked into rich custard which is more like a dessert than a side dish. And speaking of dessert… the pecan wedding cookies, raisin cookie, and cinnamon raspberry "Linzer" cookies completed the assemblage.

As dusk fell over the city, we said our goodbyes vowing to return very soon. We recommend you do the same! Blue Ridge Grill is located at 1261 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30327 and is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30am to 2:30pm, dinner Sunday through Saturday from 5:30pm to 10:00pm, and offers brunch on Sunday from 11:30am to 2:30pm.

While the menu items we sampled were complimentary, the opinions included herein are honest and unsolicited.

Association of Food Bloggers, Atlanta Food Bloggers' Alliance, Atlanta Restaurant blog, atlanta-restaurantblog, ATLEatsNTweets, FoodBloggersASC, Malika Bowling, Malika Harricharan