Après Diem: Comfortably Trendy

I’ve been in Atlanta almost seven months now, but my grad student status has severely limited my 'extramural' culinary adventures. So I made a pact with myself at the beginning of this semester that I would work harder at eating good food (as opposed to pizza and burgers, all the time) when I go out. the trick is finding places I can kinda-sorta-maybe-once-in-a-while afford.

Early in my tenure here, I discovered Après Diem, and have been going there pretty frequently (OK, like once or twice a month) for late-evening drinks and snacks. The atmosphere is much trendier than I’d usually tolerate, with its colored ‘mood’ lighting and live-dj-techno/house soundtrack, not to mention the almost universally gorgeous staff.* But somehow, Après Diem manages to remain comfortable and easygoing, and it works for me.

Like I said, I've mostly been there for drinks and/or snacks, midway through an evening's carousing. The drinks are good and, if you stay away from the sugar-tinis, not too expensive; the wine list is small but nicely varied, ditto for beers. The appetizers/snacks menu is nice; I really like the baba ghanouj, the hummus plate, and have been made very happy on more than one “last stop before home” by the brie and baguette. The espresso and coffee are good too, and served late enough that Après Diem also makes a good last-stop spot to wait off those drinks before driving home (this is the thing about Atlanta: you have to drive. Everywhere. All the time. No matter what.).

Anyways, I liked snacking there enough that I decided to try dinner there, and one night after a play a friend and I decided to do so. Sadly, the kitchen closes at midnight, and we got there at 11:58, so it was put off.

Fresh off a stressful week, another friend and I decided to finally eat dinner at Après Diem, at a reasonable dinner hour (around 8, as opposed to around midnight). We were seated by a lovely blond woman of ultimately indeterminate - but I’m pretty sure north English - accent, who was also our server. Her only real gaffe of the evening was immediate: she was quick to offer drinks, even before we had a chance to look at the list, and it wasn’t until she had come back again and taken our order that she brought water. No matter, we had beer!

My companion ordered the roasted portobello sandwich, and I the Asian-style tuna. I should mention that my meal came with an appetizer salad, and his did not, but that this is not made particularly clear on the printed menu. Either way, the salad was actually quite tasty (I’m not sure what the dressing was, but I liked it!), and would have been plenty to share but for my companion's aversion to green vegetables.

The portobello sandwich looked, and was reported to be, really good. Serving sandwiches on focaccia still worries me sometimes - I feel like it’s too easy for the bread to overwhelm its contents - but my companion reports that it was really what made this dish great. The fillings’ mix of flavors, and their strength, clearly balanced well with the thick bread, which also has the advantage of not getting so soggy with all that veggie goodness inside.

I ordered my tuna seared (it always makes me laugh a bit when the menu says “seared tuna” and then they ask you how you want it cooked), and it came out on a very pretty plate with lightly sautéed halved carrots, mini-zucchinis, and grape tomatoes, topped with the ‘Asian-style’ sauce and pickled ginger. The flavor was really good, and the veggies perfect, but the fish itself was a bit tough. Tasty, but just not the best tuna I’ve had, which surprised me - it was listed as "sashimi grade" on the menu.

It's no shock that our two cheques came out rather differently - my companion’s sandwich was $8 and my tuna $20 (plus a couple of beers each), totaling about $50, plus tip. Not bad at all by normal standards, but we're grad students. We'll have to await another special occasion (since lotto jackpots are especially unlikely for statisticians-in-training who can't bring themselves to buy tickets) to return for dinner, but I do plan to do so when the moment arises.

All in all, Après Diem makes a good dinner spot, but its real strength lies as a cool place for drinks and snacks, as the more relaxed portion of an evening out in Midtown.

* Seriously. If the employees,’ uhm, assets are how you’re selling your place, I’m generally gonna be wary. Après Diem manages to pull it off.

Après Diem
931 Monroe Drive (next to the Midtown Art Theater),
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
404.872.3333