I had always want to go to a Star Provisions Star Provisions restaurant, having heard a gazillion times over that is the best restaurant in all Atlanta. Because of this, I was delighted to receive an invitation to Abattoir, until I went to the site. Abattoir bills its fare as "whole animal cuisine", offering up lots of innards, head cheese and tongue. Whole animals don't really bother me, but I was a little turned off at "innards". As a marketing term, it just didn't seem appetizing! Still, I'm game so off I went. 

The inside of Abattoir is lovely. In a warehouse, the space is light and airy, and the furnishing speak modern French country to me. It is very relaxing and friendly. We were offered a variety of water (local tap is always my choice), told about the menu, and then offered wine. They had a $15 Vinho Verde special that I had to try. I loved it so much I bought 2 bottles at Total Wine the next day! We also selected Earthquake's Petit Syrah, which was excellent. 

For dinner, we started with snacks of chicharrones (pork rinds) that were good but not amazing. This was ok because we also ordered the crispy ceci peas with cumin. These were indeed amazing. Go. Order them. Enough said. From the "Food in a Jar" portion of the menu, we chose the potted chicken liver and foie gras. Also very yumm. 

One of our group ordered the cucumber soup. I must say, the bright green color was welcome to all our meaty browns. I will include a picture just to freshen up the page! 

Since Abattoir is known for meat, I had to select the pork three ways. 

This little piggy was prepared in a simple yet elegant manner, featuring pork belly and ham. What I loved about this dish was that I really got to taste the difference in the meat and to eat pig as it was meant to be tasted. I loved the chef's intention. The only issue was that I felt it needed a little sum sum. The cream on top just wasn't doing it for me. I like a light sauce or seasoning, even if it's just really good salt and pepper. The simplicity of this dish was educational but left me wanting more layers, more mystery. This is no fault of the chef... just my own preference. I think I would have been better served to order the lamb, which was a bit more brazen in preparation!

I really really did like Abattoir. I felt like I was getting really good, from-the-farm food from people who care about the preparation as much as I care about eating. The prices I thought were more than fair. Entrees span the $20 range, the wine special blew me away, and apps were mostly $5-6. I would take a date here, or better yet, have an impressive business dinner without breaking your expense account, which is exactly what we did!