I still need to write a review or 6 on some of the restaurants I visited while in San Fransisco, but that is going to be somewhat of a project. So, first up on the out of town review list is where we ate for my birthday while I was in Atlanta. TAP is in midtown Atlanta and has all the makings of a turn n' burn establishment so I really was not expecting anything more than good company and some decent beer. I left pleasantly surprised.
The hostess immediately started busting my balls when we came inside since I never returned her phone call confirming the reservation. She wasn't serious so no harm no foul, but this was kind of a precursor to the service for the rest of the meal. Most of us were just focused on pre-gaming a little bit so we decided to just get some appetizers to start off with. For our shares we chose the buffalo calamari (tossed with bleu cheese and celery), fried pickles served with jalapeno cream sauce, and braised octopus (served chilled tossed in a basil vinaigrette). Two of those sounds like pretty standard issue bar grub, but all three were outstanding. The calamari wasnt drenched in hot sauce and bleu cheese, but was just lightly dusted with both and had cheese crumbles in there as well, which was nice. The fried pickles were sweet pickles which is a change of pace from the usual sour kind that are fried. The jalapeno sauce that came with the pickles was not overpowering, but instead served as a good counter to the sweetness of the pickle. My favorite was the octopus. Not everyone tried this, but the people that did liked it. I think most of the time when people do not want to try a "weird" food like this it is mostly based on texture than the actual taste. The texture was straight up gummy bear, but the taste was fantastic and very refreshing. The octopus was a great lead in to what I ordered next. After our apps most of the table was pretty full so people shared burgers, salads, etc. All of these got pretty good reviews. I just ended up getting another appetizer and chose the Tuna Tataki (sesame seared tuna, avocado dressing, sun dried tomatoes, mixed greens, and orange oil). This was another surprising dish. Sun dried tomatoes with my tuna? Seriously? How is this going to work? Well, it did work and it went great with the avocado dressing. Another good summer dish that was very refreshing and probably not something that would not be difficult to do at home. There wasn't too much pepper on the tuna either. So many time I have come across this seared tuna dish with TONS of pepper on it. I love pepper too, but people can go crazy. I could have had a little bigger portion, but it was an appetizer so I didn't expect it.
TAP is a pretty solid spot. I think if I went back it would be for a happy hr or something so I could just try more of their appetizers (seemed like that was the strong part of the menu). Glorified bar food is how I would categorize it if I had to. There wasn't too much negative going on while we were there, but if I had to choose something I would say that they need to fix the bathroom situation (climb three stories to take a leak? not cool). That and our waitress was a joke and could not have cared less. All in all a pretty chill place though. Great beer list, great food, and plenty of room to crush both. Tom top it off, Lorin picked up my tab. Thanks!
Overall - B+
Highlights - Octopus, beer list, and the space
Lowlights - Service
