Unless you have a GPS or someone directs or drives you to Seeger's, you’ll likely pass the craftsman-style bungalow, a renovated 1920s house surrounded by Buckhead high rises.
It struck me as the unassuming home of an aged eccentric, holding out for eminent domain or death, whichever comes first.
There's no Seeger's sign. No sign that this white-cottage anomaly is anything but a relic.
A relic it's not. Seeger’s is Esquire "Restaurant of the Year" and two-time Mobil Travel Guide "5-Star Award" winner.
Seeger's is no-pretense dining, unsurpassed gastronomy, and impeccable service. Decor is modern and elegant. Patrons expect and get an unforgettable dining experience in understated, homey ambiance. Seeger's is a concept realized. Allow two hours for the process, although attending begins on
arrival.
NB: Make reservations, obtain GPS. If kids, make arrangements.
Enlightenment
Dawg Life publisher Jim Hughes and I were invited to savor the menu. The
menus change everyday based on what is available from the market.
Notable, some items are Georgia produced: goat cheese from Conyers,
range-chicken eggs from Fayetteville, locally grown vegetables in season; flowers from Dawson County.
Our menu:
Amuse-Bouche
Chilled Bouchot Mussel Veloute
2000 Domaine Grassa, Sauvignon Blanc, "Lalande" (Gascogne, France)
*****
Beet Gelée, Heirloom Beet Salad, Nasturtium Flower
1999 Franz Küntsler Riesling, Halbtrocken (Rheingau, Germany)
*****
Sea Scallop, Olive Oil Butter Sauce
2000 Lucien Albrecht, Pinot Blanc (Alsace, France)
*****
Maine Lobster on Rhubarb
2000 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay
*****
Four Story Farm Veal Medallion, Grilled Cépe, Green Tomato Chutney
2000 Campuget, Merlot (Nîmes, France)
*****
Soumaitrain, Vegetable Coulis
2000 Domaine Vieux Lazaret, Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc (Rhone)
*****
Grapefruit Sorbet, G. Seeger's Cuvee
*****
Meyer Lemon Goat Cheese Tart, Basil Coulis, Strawberry Sorbet
2000 La Morandina, Moscato d'Asti (Italy)
*****
Petits Fours
The presentation is a progression of dishes/servings--up to 10--each on or in a separate plate or bowl. Each is accompanied by its silverware. Most are paired with a select wine, which the wine steward explains as to qualities, origin, and vintage.
The wines, sipped, complement the dishes' distinct flavors.
With the exception of a couple of courses, visualize most as modest, which may be overstatement. They are purposely tantalizing, not satiating. Satiation is finale. The Chilled Bouchot Mussel Veloute was three to four tablespoonsful. A perfect portion.
We're unaccustomed to a nominal serving in a 1-liter bowl, or a dollop of dessert--with a stem of dried lavender--on a 15-inch platter. Yours.
Unaccustomed also to an array wine glasses before you--containing separate wines, and going through most of the silverware in the kitchen drawer in one sitting--yourself. If the cubic footage of the dishwasher crosses your mind,
don't go there.
One of the oldest parts of the brain is tapped and treated by Seeger's
culinary creations. Beginning with the tongue’s sensations--sweet, sour, salty, bitter, add the myriad odors the nose organizes. The result is an extraordinary experience in the diner's brain and being. It's a sensory, miraculous mix.
Conceptualizing and communicating taste--piquancy, flavor, savor, tang, tartness--is difficult. More so, what verges on the Transcendental.
It's intimated in a collage of phrases from discriminating diners: "focused flavors...clarity of tastes...relationship of ingredients...sensual thrill...
exhilarating...precision of balance...taste Sensations...heavenly...paradise
for the palate. Unforgettable."
Seeger's is an intellectual and existential experience. Enlightenment creeps upon you. You're in new territory. Satori.
Guenter Seeger
Finally, Master Chef Guenter Seeger, the man who spent 12 award-winning years at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead.
He's intense. Passionate definitely comes to mind. Yet he's surprisingly
personable. He gives acute attention to every select serving. One's reminded of an artist with a brush--a Picasso, a Pollock--as he glazes salmon and drips decorations on a platter. Too little or too much, and perfection is missed or marred.
He works in jeans, an apron, and canvas shoes. Like the restaurant,
unpretentious. His blonde-brown hair, parted in the middle, falls in natural spirals left and right, ear level, which he oft tosses from his forehead with a finger. Early 50s, he had more than a shadow of whiskers. He's not there.
I asked him what's his major role in the food-preparation process, which
includes recipes and managing assistants. He replied without hesitation: "Inspiration."
Priceless.
"And what do you do for pleasure?" I asked.
He looked about the kitchen, an arena of creative activity, organized frenzy focused on excellence and pleasing discriminating diners: "I have all this."
Jim Hughes succinctly summed it: "Seeger’s is memories, not just a meal."
*************
See Seeger's menu at: www.seegers.com or seegers@relaischateux.com
Chef's Menu ($80), pairing wines ($55): $135 per person
111 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Telephone: 404-846-9779; fax: 404-846-9217
E-mail: sixcourse@aol.com
Open Mon-Sat., 6-10 p.m.
Free parking.
(Jack Reeves, MA, JD, is an award-winning Georgia journalist. He lived two decades in South America, Africa, and Asia. In the past 40 years he's prepared 99.9% of every meal he's consumed. He writes the humor column the "Sage of Bucksnort" and inspirational "Life Lines" published nationwide. He lives and cooks from a cabin beside Lake Oconee. E-mail: LakeOconee@aol.com)