Seven Lamps
3400 Around Lenox Road, Atlanta. 404-467-8950, sevenlampsatl.com
With my family all out of town, I recently enjoyed a “me” day in Buckhead. I did some shopping, ran some errands and got myself a ticket to go see “Jurassic World” in 3-D, something my ladies would have hated — 3-D gives them headaches.
I also wanted to treat myself to a nice dinner sitting at a bar somewhere, but that proved difficult. I looked at the old-school menu at Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, and I just wasn’t feeling it. I told the bartender I wouldn’t be needing that napkin tablecloth and skedaddled.
Next up, I tried St. Cecilia, which seemed like just the ticket. Alas, the restaurant was serving only a family-style three-course Sunday dinner. Could a loner at the bar just get a plate or two?
No? Bye.
I ended up at Seven Lamps, the cocktaily, small-plates restaurant in the Shops Around Lenox. The menu — with its sausages, cheeses and pastas — proved a perfect one for me to hack.
Hack? Let me explain.
Most restaurant menus in these Unites States of America are designed to get you to order way more food than a human being should consume at one sitting. I get sick of eating more than I really want, sending waste back to the kitchen or, worst of all, packing up leftovers that won’t travel well and will only serve to degrade my memory of the meal.
I have many preachy opinions on why American restaurant portions grew so huge and the damage they do our perceptions of value. But it will suffice to say I’m happiest when I can build a meal that manages to have a lot going on with just the right amount of food.
So, I hack menus. Appetizers, entrees, side dishes, desserts: These words mean nothing. You can put them together in any way you want.
I don’t mind at all asking for shrimp cocktail, Brussels sprouts and bread. Or salami, salad and cobbler. Or one great kitchen-sink burger, no fries, no nothing. I’ll eat until I’m almost full — not to diet as much as to feel satisfied.
At Seven Lamps, I ordered three great little Shigoku oysters and tried not to slurp them down in eight seconds flat. I could have eaten a dozen more.
Next up, a half order of handmade black pepper pappardelle pasta with snappy local shrimp in a spicy broth. I had to slow down to savor each of the six fat pasta ribbons and the three shrimp, wiping them around the bowl to get as much sauce as possible to cling. I’ve had good meals and bad meals at this restaurant, but the pasta never fails to hit the spot.
I gave myself a few minutes to gauge the remaining hunger. There was a steamed bun filled with lobster salad on the menu, as well as a grilled sausage link, but both of those items seemed a little bigger than the empty part of my stomach. So, I got a single wedge of cheese from the many offerings (the great washed-rind Harbison from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont) and washed it down with beer.
I know I get obsessive about what I eat (it being my job and all that), but when I feel that perfect satiety after an interesting and varied meal, I want to break into song. I know it doesn’t sound like much food, but I probably consumed a good 1,000 calories and had my indulgent restaurant meal and left the restaurant feeling neither hungry nor heavy.
So, hack away. Here are my best tips:
- Think variety: When you get a lot of the same tasty food, you'll consume it mindlessly. But if you can work a small and not-too-expensive extra course, do it. I will always order a few oysters as an opening gambit if they're available.
- Never order a full portion of pasta: Good pasta places always serve half portions. Pasta should leave you wanting one more bite.
- Make sure to eat some protein: Love your bread, vegetables and salad, but a crabcake or a sausage will give a less voluminous meal some focus. Dense calories make your brain happy.
- Side dishes rock: Even if you're not getting an entree, it doesn't mean you can't order the asparagus or the roast potatoes as a course.
- Beware the cocktail conundrum: You know your own liquor limits — the point between happy and drunk. I can have two drinks, and if one of them is a cocktail, then it better work well with the first bites of food. Sweet cocktails like salty food, such as charcuterie or fried calamari. A beer or glass of champagne, on the other hand, likes everything and tends to last a little longer.
- Skip dessert or skip the main course: Among my favorite meals are ones that consist of salad, cheese and dessert. Isn't it great to dig into a fantastic piece of pie or cobbler with some hunger in your belly?
- Stop when you think you might be able to eat one more thing: The Japanese have a saying for this: "hara hachibunme," which means fill your stomach 80 percent. Once you start digesting, and your brain and your stomach align themselves, you will feel that all-too-rare sensation in an American restaurant: real satiety.
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