Dessert for Dessert Connoisseurs

I have too many coupons in my purse.  I’m very quickly turning into my mother.  (Love you, mom, but still.)  So, I’ve made a promise to myself to stop hoarding coupons, Living Socials, Groupons, Scoutmobs and the like, and use/shed at least one a week.  This week, I used my Groupon for Tierra.  (NOT to be confused with Terra Grille, Mr. Shap…)

I drive by Tierra every workday on my way home.  However, in the 6+ years I’ve lived in Atlanta, I’ve only been there once about five years ago.  Tuesday night was my second time.  (The suspense builds…) 

Here’s the Q+DD on Tierra:  Tierra is a Latin American + Caribbean bistro featuring cuisines of South + Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.  Tierra is the first and only authentic restaurant of its kind in Atlanta.  It has received high ratings from Zagat, which listed it among its “Top Restaurants in America.”  Tierra has consistently been included in the AJC’s “Top Fifty Restaurants” and has been on Atlanta Magazine’s ”Best of Atlanta” list every year since it opened.  Tierra’s recipes have been featured in Bob Appetit, Flavors and Atlanta Magazine.

So, there’s some hype.

The restaurant itself is teeny-tiny (only a few tables), but very cozy.  When we arrived, I’d forgotten how small it actually was.  We sat down, ordered some Malbec and started to make some dinner decisions.  Stacey and I relied heavily on the ingredient cheat sheets on the table to decode the menu, which I thought was actually kinda fun.  It’s the little things, people…  The boys started with the black bean soup w/ apple cured bacon, platanos fritos + creme fraiche.  It smelled delicious.

I wanted small plates for dinner, so I opted for the mussels in pasilla pepper broth w/ corn, jicama + cilantro (which was featured in Bon Appetit)…

tierra's famous mussels

…and the pionono – platanos filled with beef picadillo.

pionono

I have to be honest.  The mussels tasted kind of bland to me, but I LOVED the pionono.  The flavor + texture was absolutely superb.  Stac ordered a caesar salad + chilled cucumber soup, and the boys both chose the shrimp sauteed w/ garlic-lime sauce + served with coconut rice + kale as their entrees.  They ended up with spotless plates.

We decided to order dessert, and allowed our server to talk us into the tres leches cake.  She informed us that it was award-winning, but honestly, it didn’t look like much at all when it was delivered to our table.  It didn’t have to – it TASTED like heaven.  I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was literally gone in a flash.   We honestly debated getting another piece.  At one point, Stuart said that this was the most amazing dessert he’d ever eaten.  And you can quote him…

tres leches cake

All in all, I thought Tierra was good + I’m glad I went, but I wasn’t obsessed with it.  It was a bit too small for me, maybe a little too quiet, and frankly I was disappointed in the mussels.  I will, however, be back for the tres leches cake.  (I’ve been thinking about it ever since we devoured it.)

Tierra is a well-respected restaurant that has received a number of accolades – they are clearly doing something right.  Just because it wasn’t necessarily for me, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying.  Give it a shot – who knows, it could end up being your favorite restaurant.  And when you do, order the second piece of cake. 

xx, L

Tierra Restaurant
1425 Piedmont Ave NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.874.5951
www.tierrarestaurant.com