Pano's and Paul's - Appetite Stimulus Plan

Friday began an exciting week of dinners, we have several of my favorites and a few new locations planned through next Friday. The camera didn't join us for dinner on Friday or Saturday nights, but I will try to remember for the next two!

Pano's and Paul's is a restaurant that has been on my list for years, but we never made reservations. With the Open Table's Appetite Stimulus Plan last week, it seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a try. The plan included a long list of restaurants in the Atlanta area, each one offering a three course tasting dinner for $35. The restaurant is "hidden" in a strip shopping center, an odd location for an upscale restaurant, but you quickly forgot that as you entered the restaurant. We were seated relatively quickly and reviewed the menu, pleasantly surprised to see a wine pairing option added to the dinner for a total of $55.

The dinner actually was 4 courses, including an amuse bouche, another nice touch. The Amuse Bouche was a shrimp with an avocado puree. A tasty bite, nice start to the dinner. Unfortunately, the wines were really only paired with the main 3 courses, so the Pinot Noir I was brought did nothing to enhance the flavor. Kirk was given a Savignon Blanc, which I stole a sip of!

I chose a lamb appetizer to start the meal, which paired much better with my Pinot Noir . It was a tasty dish, although a little more salt that I would have chosen, although the tomato-based sauce that was served with it balanced out the salt a bit. My entree was a duck with swiss chard and potatoes, paired with a Merlot. This was the best course of the meal, the flavors of the duck and potatoes were perfectly balanced and it almost melted in your mouth. Dessert was an apple tart, which was a little dry for my taste, but it was served with a spiced ice cream topped with a crisp banana slice - heaven! Ice cream is generally something I will leave mostly untouched, but this one was excellent. The dessert was paired with a slightly sweet Muscato, which was also delightful.

Overall, I would rate Pano's and Paul's as average. The prices for the main menu were lower than I expected, with most entrees in the $20-$30 range. It would be worth visiting again to try their regular menu, but it's not one that will be on my frequently visited list.