After hearing from a few people that Alta was good, and operating on the pretense that it may be over-hyped by these people - we went for it.
We met at about 8 pm for dinner, and the restaurant is in a very cool space. Its in a town house, and you have to walk down the stairs to enter. There is a small bar at the front of the space, and the back opens up to two floors of dining. Exposed ceilings, fireplace. It was nice. They served my favorite brand of beer at Alta! Coopers from Australia, and that earns some serious points in my book.
It is a small plates restaurant and we had the following: Marcona Almonds (good but just nuts in the end), Moroccan olives, Fried goat cheese w/ infused honey ( I liked the honey aspect) Lamb meatballs (which were good), Crispy brussel sprouts, gulf shrimp and chorizo skewers, pulled pork empanadas, braised pork belly, Danish pork ribs (which were the highlight of the meal – the sauce was superb.) Sea scallops, lamb skewer, skirt steak. The food was pretty good, the ambience was far superior. I would go back.
A "new american" approach to cooking that so many restaurants are succumbing to. I appreciated that the small-plate effort was there, but it felt almost forced. Like the way they were cooking the ingredients they chose didnt belong on a small plate. I would go back with a group for the environment - not necessarily the food.
-gingergrubmeister
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