Two Monday evenings ago, my guest & I were invited to have dinner at The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill located in the heart of Downtown Roswell (a HUGE thank you & shout out go to Morgan & ML+A and TBK teams). Brought to you by the culinary team behind Southern Proper Hospitality (Gypsy Kitchen, Smokebelly BBQ, The Southern Gentleman and Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails), The Big Ketch opened their first location in Buckhead back in October of 2010. This local beach house known for its chef-driven, fast casual seafood menu, has been a popular destination amongst Atlanta residents for years, which led to the opening of their second location OTP (outside the perimeter) in the Alpharetta/Roswell area in late October of 2015. At the helm of the kitchen is Chef Derek Dollar, who also leads the kitchen at Milton's Cuisine and Cocktails. Although not much is known about Chef Dollar, it's pretty clear that his incorporation of local and seasonal ingredients to create elegant and contemporary Southern comfort foods is what keep the masses comin' back for more. When dining at The Big Ketch, you can't help the fact that you'll want to order every single item off of their fresh seafood menu, not only because of the affordable prices, but also because the atmosphere here is unlike that of any other restaurant in the area. With their bright and lively environment, followed by their happy hour specials Monday-Friday from 5-6 PM with dishes starting at $1.95 and up, there's a whole lot to love in addition to their freshly shucked oysters & award-winning lobster rolls. Additionally, the decor here was inspired by the soft tones of Rosemary Beach, a touch of the East Hampton and a dash of Nantucket, bringing the best of the best beaches to Buckhead and Roswell. With a chef in the kitchen who knows all of the right dishes to satisfy the landlocked masses and a restaurant focusing all of its attention towards offering some of the best seafood in the city, you can bet that my guest and I were ready to get our grub on that evening!
Let's get started:
☆Exterior
☆TBK Restaurant Sign
☆Main Dining Room #1
☆Main Dining Room #2
☆TBK Roswell Menu
☆Spicy Boiled Peanuts: With a hint of spice in every bite, these boiled peanuts were the perfect way to start off our meal!
☆Beach Balls (Surf and turf fritters with bacon, shrimp, and green onions): Also known as the "Hushpuppy on STEROIDS!" according to Sarah (server), these warm, pillowy bites had delicious pieces of crispy bacon and succulent shrimp mixed throughout the batter. Deep fried to a perfect golden brown color and served with a mango chili sauce, these certainly packed a delicious punch!
☆Crab & Shrimp Dip (Served hot with pita chips): This dip is hands down, one of my favorite dips in the city! It's creamy, delicious and just melts in your mouth. Plus, it doesn't hurt that it's also cheesy, loaded with chunks of crab meat and shrimp mixed throughout and served with some perfectly seasoned pita chips either.
☆Basil-Blue Moon Mussels & Clams (P.E.I. mussels and Sapelo Island clams, poblano peppers, onions, fresh citrus, wine, tomatoes and Blue Moon Beer, served with toasted bread): The mussels and clams were fresh, juicy and perfectly prepared, while the basil blue moon sauce was out of this world good! The basil and tomatoes gave this dish an overall Italian feel, but the blue moon helped to create a smooth balance between each of the individual ingredients and was simply divine! While we devoured these little shellfish with ease (I'm talking within 5 minutes!), we dipped the toasted bread into the savory broth and reluctantly let Sarah take it away when we were done-SO good!
☆1/2 Dozen Louisiana Bay Oysters on the Half Shell: Ya'll know how much I love my raw oysters and these are no exception. Beautifully shucked and cleaned, our oysters were served with a side of cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish and a basket of saltine crackers. Slurp, slurp, slurp we did!
☆Grilled grouper with a side of hushpuppies, sweet & tangy slaw and spicy remoulade and mango sweet chili dipping sauces: My guest really enjoyed his entrée -he loved how fresh the grouper tasted and how well the sweet & tangy slaw and mango sweet chili sauce balanced out the subtle flavors of the grouper itself. Additionally, he mentioned how much he enjoyed the hushpuppies as well, particularly when paired with the homemade remoulade sauce. After taking a few bites of his dish, I'd definitely have to agree with everything he said!
☆Hot buttered lobster roll with charred teriyaki brussels sprouts and parmesan corn-on-the-cob: After deciding back and forth between TBK's award-winning lobster roll and the grouper reuben sandwich, I eventually decided on the lobster roll since I knew I was already a huge fan of it! The New England style roll was slightly sweet, buttery and toasted and the lobster was incredibly tender and succulent! And although this picture doesn't do it justice, it had a gorgeous red color to it as well! It's not mixed with mayo and all of those other filler items, but rather, real, juicy Maine lobster meat-AMAZING! Of course knowing me, I made sure to use some of the extra butter they provided me with because we all know the more the butter, the better (esp. in the South!). The charred brussels sprouts were absolutely delicious! It was light and crispy and the addition of the crunchy white rice noodles that you typically see with an order of Mongolian Beef was a nice touch as well. And that parmesan corn-on-the-cob? It was warm and oozing with rich parmesan flavor!
☆Creole Shrimp and Grits {Tomatoes, green onions and Cajun white wine butter sauce served with a house salad): You're not a true Southerner unless you order shrimp & grits any and every time you see it on the menu! Fortunately for me, I always have to order it because I like being able to compare each restaurant's version of this classic Southern dish with one another. At TBK, they're simply amazing! The grits themselves were thick and creamy, just how I like them and the white wine based sauce was just heavenly. It was rich without feeling at all heavy and the medium to large sized pieces of shrimp were a pleasant surprise since many restaurants tend to go with the smaller sized shrimp. Additionally, the dressing on their house salad was mouthwatering! If Italian dressing had a baby with Caesar dressing, you'd get TBK dressing. Okay, probably not, but whatever it is, they've got to bottle it up and sell it-holy cow!
☆Mango Key Lime Pie: When you come to a beach-themed restaurant, you can't help but get in the mood and order a popular summer time dessert, which is why I opted with the mango key lime pie. The pie itself is insanely creamy and smooth, with just the right amount of tart and tang with each bite. Although it's sweet, it's not at all overwhelming and just so happens to cleanse the palate. The graham crust holds the pie up nicely without making a crumbly mess and the addition of the fresh fruits adds a great touch.
☆Chocolate bread pudding with a caramel gelato center: Warm, dense and gooey chocolate bread pudding in a pool of chocolate syrup and topped with a generous scoop of caramel gelato to help balance out the heat, this dessert did just that!
As you could've probably guessed from my photos alone, my guest & I had a wonderful evening dining at The Big Ketch, which is probably no surprise since we've been huge fans of their Buckhead location for years now. From the moment we stepped into the establishment, we were immediately greeted and seated in their gorgeous dining room. Our server, Sarah, immediately introduced herself, welcomed us and took our drink orders. Once she brought over our beverages, she began to walk us through the menu and made some recommendations based on what items are the most popular and what items she personally liked. With her help, we chose the following appetizers: beach balls, crab and shrimp dip and basil blue moon mussels and clams. While my guest already knew he had wanted to order some type of grilled fish, I had a hard time deciding between their house specialties and the lobster roll. However, with Sarah's help, she highly recommended the lobster roll since it's one of the dishes that TBK is known for. And just for safety measures, we tacked on a shrimp & grits because what did I tell you? I can't ever go without ordering it if I see it on the menu, I just can't! Not long after we ordered, all of our appetizers came out at once, then our entrées shortly after. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect! We never once felt rushed and Sarah did an impeccable job ensuring that we had enough time before the transition of each course. She checked up on us multiple times to make sure we had everything we needed and that we were enjoying all of the various dishes we had ordered, which included ones that we ordered based on her recommendations. Every restaurant needs a server like Sarah! She was friendly, incredibly attentive, helpful and had a very easy to get along with type of personality, which I always appreciate when dining out. And it was a pleasure getting to meet & chat with Laurel, the general manager of TBK Roswell, who took the extra effort to welcome us with open arms and make us feel right at home, which again, is always appreciated. Unlike the Buckhead location where it's situated in a rather nondescript shopping plaza, the new standalone location will absolutely blow you away like it did for me! The moment you step inside, you'll notice two dining rooms. The room to the right includes the bar area and several booths, while the room to the left has mainly tables along with several booths surrounding the outer perimeter and a set of vintage barn doors that I believe serves as a divider in the center. In comparison to the Buckhead location, there's also a large chalkboard here featuring the fresh catch of the day as well as daily specials. Additionally, the elegantly decorated dining rooms with its high ceilings, dome-shaped light fixtures, chandeliers and overall use of soft, neutral colored tones throughout the restaurant simply exude that beachy vibe that they strive to offer. Although TBK is a very casual seafood restaurant, the interior is chic, rustic and wonderfully spacious, which are traits that you rarely find at affordable Atlanta seafood restaurants, whether you're in Buckhead or in Roswell. So if you live in the area and have yet to check out TBK, then you're truly missing out on this gem! You won't find any of that nonsense frozen seafood here as ALL of the seafood at TBK is brought in fresh daily, so you know it's the REAL deal! So, regardless of what you end up choosing off of their menu, it's going to be a winner because it'll be fresh off the boat and cooked just the way you like it. My fellow Atlantans, we NO longer have to feel landlocked when we've got places like TBK at out fingertips! Just one last note before wrapping up, thank you again to Morgan & the ML+A and The Big Ketch teams, especially Sarah and Laurel, for making our dinner here so enjoyable! If I haven't said it enough, you've got to drive on over here and satisfy your fresh "Ketch" fix today!
Have a splendid day,
-Sandy
FTC: Although this was a media event and my meal was comped, I will always provide an honest review & experience of the restaurant.
If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an emulate bellavivere {at} gmail {dot} com-Thanks!
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