Yesterday, I had the awesome opportunity to attend the grand opening of Atlanta’s newest trendy restaurant, TRACE. It boasts an amazing farm-to-table menu and get this….COMPLIMENTARY VALET!
If you’ve ever been or have lived in Atlanta, you KNOW how important this is. Many evening excursions include picking the perfect outfit, getting your makeup “beat fo’ day gawds” as they say, gassing up the car, and spending nearly an hour finding the perfect complimentary parking spot that is within at leaf one mile of where you plan on having fun…or ensuring that you’ve gotten a crisp $20 bill from the nearest ATM to give to the parking attendant.
Nonetheless, TRACE is located inside of the W Hotel in Buckhead (188 14th Street Atlanta, GA) where the old Spice Market used to be. Former Spice Market chef and Georgia Southern alum, Shean Sater will head up the locally sourced menu with delectable items coming from Inland Seafoods, R&J Farms, and Pure Organic to name a few.
The design of the entire space, which is deceptively bigger than you might think feels like an upscale Southern den. It has a well designed mix of dark stained woods mixed with untreated wood accents– like the sign with the restaurants name that greets you in the entry way, industrial lighting, posh booths, and little quirks like this massive wall of decorated pots. I have to give it up to the Starwood design team, they sure know how to make a space feel sexy, sophisticated and fun!
But wait! Let’s talk about the food! As a self proclaimed health conscious food wondering about eating cleaner, I often wonder how would I get to enjoy date nights at restaurants? In knowing that TRACE will be offering locally sourced, farm to table dishes with great vendors, date nights at this restaurant definitely won’t be so bad!
You know the food is good when people are hunting down the waitress for the 20th tray of the passed shrimp and grits hor d’oeuvres. Not to mention the drinks! Our custom bartender made a MEAN Georgia Dawg (Tito’s Vodka, smashed strawberries, simple syrup, and a splash of lemon juice)…let’s just say I had more than a couple “tastings.”
Liz Lapidus put on a great production not only ensuring we got the opportunity to get to know her clients at TRACE but also making sure that it had a very diverse crowd with diverse conversations.
What I enjoyed best is that TRACE allowed us to meet the people behind the scenes that we rarely get to have the opportunity to learn about. I was delighted to get to know the people that sourced their food and am very proud of them for going with so many local vendors.
On your next date night…I dunno…tonight maybe…go to the W Hotel Midtown in Atlanta (188 14th Street Atlanta, GA), say hey to Chef Sater, order a Georgia Dawg and enjoy a bowl of shrimp and grits!
Check out more photos below!
Outfit Details:
Shirt: Similar | Skirt: House of Ubuhle Consignment | Clutch: MMLXX (Custom) | Shoes: Forever 21 (Similar)
SOA Inspired 