by Bryant T. on Wow, I was reading up the other reviews talking about asians and seriously, there are a lot of them (I'm included). Guys wear the typical plaid or military button-down w/ jeans with their faux hawk and girls with their dress or top/shorts. Pretty cool place but pretty small too. Get valet -- it's worth it and they're pretty cool.
by Josef Bardney on For the past couple of years I've been avoiding Ecco. Last night, after finally visiting, I was trying to remember the reason. I think it was because their menu was a little pricey when they first opened or maybe it was because I lived in Peachtree Lofts 10 years ago when it used to be a fencing school / drug dealer HQ. Whatever the reason may have been, I was kicking myself for not giving this place a visit earlier. Great atmosphere, really flavorful food, and not that expensive for the level of establishment. They have a nice little outdoor seating area as well. Though a vegetarian, the menu was very diverse and I was able to choose from many different veggie-friendly selections from the appetizer and side sections. There was no veg entree (unless you eat fish), but you can put together a nice little smorgasbord of assorted sides and apps to make a very filling and satisfying meal. I had: Pommes Frites Grilled Asparagus and tomato salad Spinach w/pine nuts and tomatoes Farro mushroom risotto Gingerbread cake with toffee sauce Everything was as close to perfect as possible. All portion sizes were more than ample and everything was seasoned and cooked perfectly. The grilled white asparagus with tomatoes was the highlight. I've never had tomatoes that tasted so good. The seasoning they use on this dish is amazing. Risotto was also perfect. The nice thing about Ecco is that they get all of the important things right: atmosphere, service, selection, value and quality. None of the dishes I had were heavy or ladden with thick salty sauces. They all were well balanced and you could actually savor the flavors of the food. It seems a lot of restaurants intown make a point of over salting the dishes which really makes everything taste the same. Not at Ecco. While as blissful as the experience was, I do have a few criticisms (as always). First, I went on http://Opentable.comearlier that day (11am) to book a reservation for four that night (Sat. @ 8). To my surprise, everything from 5:45 to 9:00 was unavailable. So I called to make a reservation knowing that they probably only allot a certain amount of tables for http://opentable.com. The hostess said they had only a 7:00 available so we took it. The entire time we were at the restaurant, it remained a little less than 3/4 full. I seriosly doubt that many tables flaked on their reservations. My second suggestion, more so than a criticism, is that they better notate the sources of their meat. While I myself don't partake in the feasting of the flesh, many in my party did and thankfully are all very conscious of where their meat comes from, how it's raised and what it's fed. Aside from the organic chicken on the menu (which that notate as such), the other meats are not distinguished from each other as being all natural, organic, grass fed, etc. when a few of them actually are. I would think this would be a selling point as more and more people are increasing mindful of the food they are consuming. Why not let everyone know that your dead cow is all-natural or roamed the open prairies. It's not really a relative issue for me, but I thought I'd make the case for the conscious consumer or meat.
by Nicky Holliway on I'm not a bar/club kind of girl, but I usually have a blast at MJQ. Like any clubbing experience, it depends a lot on the people I go with, and whether we "click" over the course of the night. The cover price seems to have doubled from $5 to $10 over the past few years, so that sort of stinks, as I tend to avoid cover prices and search for free Ladies Night opportunities. However, the establishments offering such bargains tend to be lame. The bar is cash-only, which isn't that big of a deal, since there is a glowing, spaceship-like ATM inside, beckoning drinkers to make withdrawals. The music always is good, encouraging me to slough off my white girl shell and flail like a piece of seaweed without care. Plus, the crowd is cool and non-judgmental, and truly there to dance, not engage in seedy behavior. Seriously, one of my girlfriends left her purse on a stool at MJQ last weekend, and when she returned a couple hours later to look for it, it was still there. While the fun factor for all my social outings depends on the group of people I'm with, MJQ makes it easy to have a great time.
