My co-workers were there for lunch and being extremely conscious of my newly established dining habits, I ordered light with the Bone Garden salad, a fresh mix of greens, black beans, corn, tomato, onions, bell peppers and fried tortilla strips (I only had a couple) with cilantro lime dressing on the side and an addition of seasoned chicken. Maybe it was because I’d just had a similar dish two days prior somewhere else, but it wasn’t my favorite. The chicken was rubbery and the dressing watered down.
But who wants a freakin’ salad when you’re having Mexican anyway? That’s when I sort of blew my diet by sampling other items on the table, like the housemade salsa and chips and a small corner of my boss’s roasted pork enchilada, which was a delectable combination of tomatillo sauce, Chihuahua cheese and sour cream. One of our designers couldn’t stop raving about his de canasta taco, a special concoction of black refried beans, mashed potatoes, shredded chicken and spicy tomato salsa. All the dishes on our table epitomized authentic Mexican cuisine; there were no combination plates in sight.
Then came the desserts for the five of us to share. Both the sweet banana empanadas and homemade flan with almonds were almost irresistible. I indulged in tasting each sweet treat for pure guilty pleasure, and the empanadas quickly won me over, with their sugary outside and warm, fruity inside. Viva la Mexico, indeed.
Read Kirsten Ott's full review:
http://www.sundaypaper.com/More/Archives/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3021/Better-off-dead.aspx..NOTE: Bone Garden was voted Best Bar for Team Trivia in 2009's Sunday Paper Reader's Choice Awards...
Michael Benoit, along with his brother and sister, opened the original Vortex back in 1992. Today, he oversees two Vortex locations, known for their delicious burgers, offbeat décor and a healthy dose of attitude. Not content with merely serving what many consider to be Atlanta’s best burgers, Benoit recently opened Bone Garden Cantina, promising authentic Mexican food in a similarly funky setting bedecked with paintings and sculptures with a skeletal theme. The Sunday Paper subjected him to the Quick Q&A to get the skinny.
To read the interview:
http://www.sundaypaper.com/More/Archives/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2661/Digging-in-Michael-Benoits-new-Garden.aspx