I knew I had a problem with the Buckhead Life Group. Atlanta is littered with this kind of completely uninspired pap. “New American”, “Asian Fusion”, etc. It’s pretty, and the ingredients are expensive, and there are some trendy decorations, and nothing on the menu would offend anyone, ever. I didn’t give it one star merely because it’s too mediocre to hate it that much. Totally not worthy of mention, other than the fact that I’m currently pissed at having spent money on it.

And this kind of thing is taking over, or has taken over, Atlanta. Do people just not like food? Do people not know what food is? I could have had the same dishes, prepared the same way, with the same music, at 20 different places in Atlanta that I could name off the top of my head, and probably 100 within a few hours’ drive up I-85. Someone must stop this horrible, miserable trend! Do we, as Atlantans, WANT to be the guy who gets a bonus check and parks his BMW on the street to be seen next to his manicured lawn containing slogan-y, non-offensive political sign trying to stop a parking deck from being built?

This restaurant, and ones like it, are a way for people to spend money and act more “cultured” than they picture they might on a trip to Ruby Tuesday, but it’s pretty much the same thing, but with dim lighting, a self-congratulatory crowd, and recognizably ostentatious ingredients.

Come to think of it, I’m being too kind. This place was not JUST the average completely insulting New American restaurant that litters Atlanta. This was more expensive and of even lesser quality. I haven’t been anywhere in quite a while which had such complete contempt for its patrons. I’m giving it one star after all.

Even though we had reservations, we still had to wait a good 20 – 30 minutes to get our table. And we were finally sat only because my husband recognized the manager who eventually hooked us up.

When we finally sat at our table, our waiter greeted us, and then we never saw him again. They evidently sat all of his tables at the same time and an assistant manager or who knows someone in a suit took our order and finished us up.

This assistant manager didn’t write down our order, and then when he spewed it back to us, it was wrong, we corrected him, but guess what – it still came out wrong.

They ended up comping half of the meal, which made the experience (my birthday) a little less awful, but overall the food wasn’t that good.

A lot of money for a cheesey wannabe trendy ambiance.

Would definately NOT eat there again.