Atelier & Thattu at Home

Atelier suffered some damage in one of the big storms last month, so they had to close for a few weeks to make repairs. They brought back their quarantine-era weekend takeout, which we signed up for straight away.

And, yesterday was our monthly Thattu supper club delivery, so this post is a double-feature.

Atelier

They'd already made repairs to the dining room. The kitchen's ceiling needed a drywall patch, but the biggest problem for them was their HVAC wasn't working. Dining in would have been unpleasant in the late-August heat, especially with the stovetops going. But, for the takeout, they set up some fans, opened the doors, and tried to make things that didn't require high BTU output at all times.

As usual, they knocked it out of the park: everything was fabulous. I liked the pita pals¹ for the same reason I love the larder and the quarentine-era chacuterie board -- lots of little Things and bread is my favorite combination of Things.

That theme continued into the second course with the lettuce wraps. I usually see that at KBBQ instead of sausages -- but the sausages they made were great. They packed a HUGE punch of flavour, which is necessary to stand up to kimchi and the other fixins.

I'm sure I've had deconstructed lasagna before, but this one was memorable. Truffle ricotta is good and all, but the real star was the noodles. They didn't have layers of filling -- instead, it was just a brick of layered pasta. It had, I dunno, ten or twelve layers in there. Lasagna benefits from moar layers!! and this delivered.

Stack of charred pita bread next to several small cups with dips and accoutrements. A tall cup has small yellow squash sliced lengthwise. One cup has a dark brown chunky dip. Another cup has a super-smooth, light brown dip. The last cup has a brick-red paste. — The Pita Pals: the creamiest baba ghanoush ever, pickled summer squash, garlic scrape tapenade, and rhubarb chutney

Two plates with a small heap of seasoned rice next to two stout, well-charred case-less sausages. Next to the plates is a cutting board with big, vibrant green whole lettuce leaves and cups of herbs, kimchi, and other toppings. — The Pita Pals: the creamiest baba ghanoush ever, pickled summer squash, garlic scrape tapenade, and rhubarb chutney

Thattu

Thattu did a seafood theme for their second supper club menu.

Fish for a dinner they're delivering mid-day is risky, but they pulled it off: the milkfish curry reheated nicely, and the fish stayed tender instead of becoming a solid brick of rubber. The reheating directions were very specific on how to avoid that; probably a good decision to include that bit.

But. The fish in the curry was a couple steaks cut from the whole fish -- bones and all. Having to deal with all the little (and sometimes large) bones was annoying. If they do fish again, I hope it'll be 🅱️oneless.

Several of the dishes featured plantains. I wasn't aware that bananas originate in that area. I always thought they were from the Americas, since that's where all the banana terrorist companies are. But no, plantains are featured in south indian cooking. The more you know~ ⭐💨

It's hard to pick a favorite here, because even the veggie side dishes were knock-outs.

Two dark-brown cakes on a white plate. The cakes are round and a little charred. Between them is a container of creamy sauce: off-white, with flicks of spices. — Sort of like crab cakes, but 200% better

Bowl of rice with a fish curry on top. There are two huge chunks of fish, sliced as steaks off a whole fish. The curry is vibrant orange. Some vegetables and curry leaves are visible in the sauce. — Sort of like crab cakes, but 200% better

Executive chef Bradyn Kawcak called 'em that on Instagram, I'm told. It's a charming name! ↩