Double Birthday at Empire State

Not the Empire State Building–Empire State South! It’s one of Atlanta’s hottest new restaurants owned by Top Chef winner and Judge, Chef Hugh Acheson.

Those of you long-time readers may remember that my brother (David) and my husband (Jason) have the same birthday! Crazy coincidence! So it looks like we’ll be having double birthday parties forever! This time the festivities are going on all weekend to celebrate these two awesome young men. The pinnacle of the celebration happened this morning, when we went to birthday brunch at Empire State South! We’d all been looking forward to this for a LONG time because this place has gotten rave reviews.

We had all looked at the menu online so it didn’t take us long to order!

We got their pimento cheese spread with bacon marmalade and their deviled ham spread with pickled mustard seeds for a starter. They were served with toasted sourdough bread and both were excellent. The bacon marmalade was really something to write home about!

I also ordered a chai latté to start with and it was delicious! Just enough chai spices and a heavenly foam on top.

For my entrée I got the Griddled Pork Belly which came with grits, sorghum, walnuts, swiss chard, and a coddled egg. What I loved about the food was that the flavors were so clean and pure. You don’t get slapped over the head with a bunch of loud seasonings. It’s the food itself that really shines through. Everything from the grits to the egg was cooked perfectly and was outstanding.

One birthday boy got the Steak and Egg, which was a grilled hanger steak served with creamed collards, roasted turnips, hot sauce, and a fried egg.

The other birthday boy (and everyone else at the table but me!) got the same thing!

Everyone loved their food and we had a great time. The atmosphere is upscale and modern but also very cozy at the same time. There are lots of antique and Southern inspired touches that really gave the restaurant a lot of personality. It’s easy to feel right at home.

Despite being pretty full, dessert looked so good that we ordered a bunch!

The pastries were the same as the other food. In other words, they were awesome. Here’s what the family said:

The Baker (aka mom)- “Amazing brunch experience. The fresh ingredients are the star of the show.”

The Expert Eater (aka my hubby)- “Extremely delicious. Everything melts in your mouth.”

The Prodigy Food Critic (aka my 9-year-old sister)- “A party in the mouth. That is it.”

Couldn’t say it any better myself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON AND DAVID!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren