There is this great farm to table restaurant that I got to visit in Atlanta recently called JCT Kitchen. It’s located in an area that use to be old factories and now it is being transformed to a popular hangout.
The restaurant inside is beautifully decorated with reclaimed wood, flowing curtains, and cozy lighting.
The choices that the chef had on the menu the day I visited were unique and not found at many restaurants I visit. Everything from rabbit to swordfish, no matter what type of protein you prefer there is something for everyone on the menu.
My table started off with a few appetizers. We started with the deviled eggs. These delicate eggs came out topped with thin slices of country ham and drizzled with olive oil. The filling was extremely creamy and fluffy. The ham added a slight salty taste.
The other snack that came out was the toast. This is a very vague name to be sure. What this dish contained was a toasted slice of baguette topped with out of the ashes (which is goat cheese), celery and a fresh apple salad. The cheese was so creamy with a slight tang. The celery added crunch and the apple salad offered a sweetness that counter balanced the cheese.
The final starter was the Stracciatella. Stracciatella is a buffalo cheese. They make this cheese fresh. It comes with African squash and a hazelnut drizzle. It is served with a fresh flatbread. This cheese too was super creamy and had a mild, light taste. The squash had a savory taste that paired well with the cheese. The flatbread was soft and had a great taste from the light grilling they did to it.
One of the most popular dishes at JCT is their fried chicken. I was able to try one of the wings because one of my dining partners ordered this dish. The breading on the chicken was extremely crispy; I love that with fried chicken. That crispy outer layer helps seal in the juices and flavor. As soon as I took a bite the juices just flowed out. The chicken was cooked perfectly. The flavor that the chef captured in this chicken proves why this is their most popular item.
I ordered the Gulf shrimp for my dinner. This was their version of shrimp and grits. The shrimp were chopped up into pieces, which made it a little easier to eat. These shrimp were mixed with red mule grits and shrimp bordelaise. They also added a generous amount of cheese in the grits as well. That cheese made the grits really creamy and salty, which was the perfect accompaniment to the fresh shrimp. The dish is rich so I was not able to finish the whole thing.
We shared a few sides around the table. The macaroni and cheese is a must try. This cheesy goodness was blended with bacon. That crispy, salty bacon flavor was fantastic with the cheese. They cooked it in the oven to create that wonderful crispy top layer.
The other side was the Brussels sprouts. These were paired with apples from Georgia and tossed with chili honey. They were roasted to create those crispy edges on the Brussels sprouts. The sweetness of the apples offset the bitterness from the sprouts.
The food I got to enjoy was extremely filling. Because of that, I had no room for dessert. That was a bummer because many of the desserts sounded wonderful. I would definitely come back to JCT and would bring more friends with me. Check them out at www.jctkitchen.com
Enjoy!
T
