There are always issues to be worked out when a restaurant opens inside an old house. A rare occurrence in the Atlanta area, this sort of thing is far more common in New York and New England where existing architecture prevails over the bulldozer.
The predicament usually comes with crowded dining rooms adorned with quaint remnants of times past, squeaky floors and a kitchen that was meant to serve a family, not 40.
Pleasantly, this is not the case with Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails, a restaurant in the charmingly rustic Crabapple corner of North Fulton County. The stuffy name is no indicator of how well renovated the circa 1843 home of cotton farmer John Broadwell actually is — beautiful wide-paneled wooden floors, fireplaces and warm touches such as framed photos of farm life highlight the cavernous space.
The house has had several restaurant incarnations prior to its present one, and last summer new management and a new chef, Boyd A. Rose (from Alpharetta's beloved but closed Rainwater), arrived.
The "cuisine" part of Milton's is a crowd-pleasing coupling of new chef meets old South; the "cocktails" portion is simply an indication, I presume, that liquor is served, since there is no specialty cocktail list or peculiarly unique cocktail associated with the restaurant, at least not according to my server.
What Rose does with an overly long list of entrees and two or three obviously signature appetizers — flash-fried oysters, crispy edged with a hollandaise-style sauce pepped up with lemon and horseradish; warm, ooey-gooey pimento cheese dip served with thin, crackling lavosh crackers and crostini — is completely acceptable, but hardly formidable. He capitalizes on the same kitchen ideals he did at Rainwater: Give folks what they want, and pep things up a bit for style.
His style, however, is lost in the '90s: Squiggles of overly thick sauces pair with nearly everything from those oysters to a dated molten chocolate cake. Grits are served polenta-style with far too many of the entrees. Roasted red peppers and penne pasta tossed with sun-dried tomatoes went out with tube skirts and Ace of Base. And I've seen better wine lists at Applebee's.
There's a certain grain of honesty lost in this kind of cooking, whether it proves popular or not. And from what I can surmise from my visits, Milton's is an attractive spot with those who live nearby. Rose's simpler approach to a filet flavored with rosemary and basil and served with a scrumptious concoction of macaroni baked with blue cheese and brandy-and-red wine reduction might be a reason why. Salmon seared lovingly and served stack-style over creamy asiago-laced grits, sautéed spinach and a sweet corn sauce might be another.
Meatloaf proved too sweet for my tastes, though it raised no objections around the table, and the mashed potatoes were nearly worth the $13 anyway. But if I never see another stack of fried green tomatoes with goat cheese, I'm good.
On the other hand, fried artichokes are an easy pop-in-your-mouth starter, and artichokes fare favorably in a smooth bisque, too.
I had the same server each time I visited, so it's hard to discern much about the wait staff, though polite and prompt are two adjectives that come to mind.
And that molten lava goo cake is a bit of a canard when it comes to Milton's desserts — on a subsequent visit the standard was raised high with a warm, fresh-from-the-oven peach cobbler and a slice of moist, spicy carrot cake with warm icing dripping from its towering layers.
Would I go out of my way to make it to Milton's? Hardly. But I'm sure the folks in Milton and nearby Alpharetta are glad to have its hospitality.
MILTON'S CUISINE & COCKTAILS
Overall rating:
Food: American
Service: Prompt and polite
Price range: $$-$$$
Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diner's Club, Discover
Hours of operation: Open daily for dinner from 5 p.m. (until 9 p.m. Sunday-Monday; until 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday). Sunday brunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Best dishes: Fried oysters with lemon-horseradish hollandaise, filet with blue cheese mac-n-cheese, pimento cheese dip, peach cobbler
Vegetarian selections: Pastas, salads, pimento cheese dip, fried artichokes
Children: Yes
Parking: Adjacent lot
Reservations: Yes
Wheelchair access: Yes
Smoking: No
Noise level: Low
Patio: Yes
Takeout: Yes
Address, telephone: 780 Mayfield Road, Alpharetta. 770-817-0161
Web site: www.miltons-atl.com
Pricing code: $$$$$ means more than $75; $$$$ means $75 and less; $$$ means $50 and less; $$ means $25 and less; $ means $15 and less. The price code represents a typical full-course meal for one excluding drinks.
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