The food geek in me likes no restaurant in Atlanta half as well as One Eared Stag . He loves reading the menu, can never decide among a half dozen different dishes to try and never frets about the bad acoustics and uncomfortable seats. He knows that he may not like every dish -- in fact, he may actively dislike several -- but he'd rather eat Robert Phalen's failures than many another chef's successes.
This dude thinks his way out of the box. Whatever you can say about his food, it is rarely derivative.
Check out this mound of Carolina Gold rice tossed with sweet crabmeat, caramelized fennel, herbs and what tastes like a fair amount of butter.
The lacy, otherworldly greenery strewn about the top is fennel stem. Not the feathery fronts nor the fibrous, crunchy bulb but the fractal branches of stem. They look cool, their crisp, cool texture against the hot, rich rice pleases your tongue immensely, and they deliver a clean snap of licorice flavor. This chef saw the hidden prize in the fennel plant.
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