Description: For sheer Atlanta-ness, Rare was hands-down the best restaurant I found in the city: a tapas-style take on soul food served in a plush, lounge-y room to a crowd of
very well-dressed professional-types (seriously, I was a little embarrassed by my going-to-a-baseball-game-later outfit). There are bar seats and a cafe section near the front of the house, but you'll want to sit in the dramatic main dining room where a lucky few will eat their meals from pillow-laden cushioned benches. Everyone else will get more typical seating, but the fabulous casbah-inspired atmosphere should keep you from getting too envious, and once the food arrives you'll be past caring what you're sitting on.
The menu concept sounds a little jokey, and I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the newspaper review I read was a rave, and there was a seat at the bar available when I arrived. There's a specialty cocktail menu, but I stuck with my favorite anachronistic old man drink (highball) which was pleasantly strong. The universally awesome thing about tapas is that you can have a fairly inexpensive meal at a fancy-pants place. Rare helps you out by serving "small plates" that are actually pretty sizable. My Egyptian Feta Salad was served on a freakin' dinner plate and that, plus an order of Georgia Street Tacos (tilapia, remoulaude and southern caviar) was plenty filling. I don't eat poultry or red meat, which limited the menu somewhat, but there's a good selection for fish eaters. Vegetarians will not find much more than token acknowledgment. If I did eat chicken, I'd have felt obligated to try the Chicken and Waffles, because, dude, chicken and waffles!
My boss, who's about 15 years older than me, summers in Provincetown and old-school WASP (ie Not Like Me) was in Atlanta a couple months after I returned from my trip. I recommended this place to me and he's been raving about it as well - you get a bonus thumbs up with this review!
I ate a very early dinner on a Friday night and didn't have to wait for a table, but the restaurant filled up quite quickly so reservations are probably a good idea. This felt like the type of place that gets a big crowd at peak times, and rightly so. I imagine it's also a good after-dinner cocktail spot. A review I read on another website that shall not be named said Rare felt a bit like a Sex In The City kinda place, but it's in Atlanta, so not all the customers are white.
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