Ah, Decatur. Once another troubled suburb of Atlanta, this city is in its cultural renaissance; locals now frequent the many unique restaurants and shops lining Ponce de Leon that really highlight how far this city has come in recent years. The Iberian Pig, a local restaurant serving modern Spanish cuisine and tapas, has had its delicious meaty arrow lodged in my heart for years. My birthday was this past Saturday, so I decided it was time to return to my happy place with my girlfriend and two close friends along for the ride.
On a typical Saturday evening, the restaurant is bustling with activity; diners converse happily over tapas plates, cocktails, and glasses of wonderful Spanish wines while servers move around tables like some kind of synchronized dancing act. On the right side of the restaurant, the bar staff are busy making incredible cocktails while a leg of beautifully marbled Jamón Ibérico, a cured meat made from the famous black footed Iberian pigs of Spain, is expertly sliced into thin slivers. That night, we had the benefit of eating on the second floor balcony overlooking the restaurant floor, giving us an intoxicating view of the restaurant in action. Unhealthy things were about to happen that night, but man, did they taste so good.
On one’s birthday, a cocktail is always in order. I had to go with the Iberian Old Fashioned, a signature cocktail made with bacon infused rye whiskey, organic maple syrup, Angostura bitters, orange and lemon twists. This is one drink I could never get tired of; the smokiness of the bacon infused rye with the syrupy sweetness of the maple syrup is one of the most amazing collaborations in the history of the cocktail. Everyone should try this at least once in their life. The white sangria is a must try as well if wine is more your style. Using a crisp Spanish white wine, this delicious wine cocktail is blended with brandy and muddled with apple and lemon, making it a perfect refresher for the evening.
The Iberian Old Fashioned
As The Iberian Pig is all about tapas, attention to detail is one thing this restaurant does not skimp out on. From imported meats and cheeses to a wide variety of brilliantly prepared small plates, every dish that is put in front of you looks and smells as if it came directly from Spain. The prices of each dish ranges from around 5 dollars to upwards of 20 dollars, depending on what you order and what ingredients are used to make it. As we pondered over the menu, deciding on what to order, we knew we had quite a few rounds to get through before we even began to contemplate ending our meal.
Jamón Serrano and Monte Enebro
Eat.Cook.ATL 