Dinner and a movie
May 7, 2009
Atlas Foods: Mediocre meals offset by excellent appetizers
By Matthew Jackson
Photo by Daniel Kim.
Ellen Dessler pours a pint of beer at Atlas Foods in University Village.
Photo by Daniel Kim.
Atlas Foods specializes in seafood and also offers standard American fare.
Conveniently close to campus and different than restaurants found on the Ave, Atlas Foods in the U-Village offers satisfactory appetizers and drinks, and mediocre entrées with nice presentation and atmosphere.
Atlas Foods is one of four restaurants owned by Chow Foods. With dining in Queen Anne, West Seattle, the U-District and Ballard, Chow Foods’ restaurants pride themselves on reflecting the character of their neighborhoods. Three of the restaurants feature seasonal menu options in celebration of different cultural foods and flavors; currently, Atlas Foods’ menu focuses on Albacore Tuna.
Atlas serves breakfast on weekends, and lunch and dinner daily, with a happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
Every night, Atlas offers Blue Plate Specials for $9.50. These include daily specials such as enchrittos, mahi mahi tacos, chicken fried steak and brisket. All come with a cup of coffee, but Atlas refuses any substitutions, and it is best to come early, as they only prepare so many of these plates.
With a typical appetizer and salad menu, fare varies from basic to specialized, with a simple green salad to a roasted portobello salad. The hummus platter is light and fresh, with pita bread served beside traditional hummus with charmoula olive relish, harissa peppers, marinated red onion and cucumber salad, and preserved lemon wedges.
Somewhat heavier — but served in a modest portion — the onion rings are thick and perfectly crispy. The tartar sauce served with them is perhaps the best tartar sauce to ever accompany a deep fried, breaded ring of onion.
The Maytag Bleu Ribbon salad is refreshing and crisp. With a peppery bite, the romaine lettuce and Treviso is balanced well with the white balsamic bleu cheese vinaigrette.
Entrées cover a multitude of tastes, but tend to disappoint. With choices ranging from classic burgers to Albacore Pappardelle (seared rare over fresh saffron pasta with prosciutto, capers and a white wine butter sauce with lemon and garlic), dishes are frequently underwhelming and leave something to be desired.
The fish and chips is breaded in cornmeal, making it feel heavy and dense to those expecting the more popular beer-battered version of this classic. However, the fish proves a worthy means of getting one’s hands on the exceptional tartar sauce.
The South by Southwest Burger takes a beef patty crusted in pepper and garnishes it with pepperjack, roasted anaheims and a habanero aioli. Though decently spicy, the balanced flavors are bogged down by a general greasiness, which renders the burger somewhat subpar.
The drink specials, however, make Atlas almost worth the unsatisfactory entrées.
Monday through Friday features happy hour, when a wide range of microbrew pints, Kingfisher Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are $3, and Pabst Blue Ribbon is $1 a bottle.
Every night of the week also features specialty cocktails for $3. The happy-hour selection of appetizers offers eight dishes also for $3 each, although the choices are as lackluster as the entrées.
For a simple, early evening of cheap beer and specialty drinks, Atlas Foods isn’t bad. But for both drinks and food that meet expectations and rise above mediocrity, try The Ram instead.
Reach columnist Matt Jackson at arts@dailyuw.com.
Star Trek: Boldly going where many have gone before
By Robert Frankel
Star Trek continues the 2009 summer movie season, which began with last week’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, by living up to the expectations of a summer blockbuster picture on all accounts.
J.J. Abrams, creator of the television series Lost and producer of the film Cloverfield, revisits the floundering series in this new movie, a famous cultural icon that has spanned all forms of media.
The film employs a plot device that casually circumnavigates the pre-established Star Trek timeline, exploring the inceptions of James T. Kirk’s (Chris Pine) and Spock’s (Zachary Quinto) lasting relationship, beginning with their time as children on different planets and continuing with their work together on the Starship Enterprise.
Armed with a dazzling array of special effects, the duo must work alongside other recognizable characters from the original series, such as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Lt. Uhura (Zoe Saldana) to ward off a menace new to the franchise, the revenge-bent Romulan Nero (Eric Bana).
The film is very entertaining, packed with fast-paced action and breathtaking space battles. There are many laughs scattered about the film, usually as homage to characterizations or trademarks from the original series.
Abrams, however, is a terrible director. His incessant use of a fluid camera is effective as both a tone-setter and as a grievous annoyance, and many times, seems like an exercise in amateur cinematography. There are times when the music swells too much, causing key scenes to become either melodramatic or underwhelming. The story, as a whole, is little more than pretense for the film’s battles.
At his best, Abrams is showcasing violence and spectacle. The visual conflict in Star Trek is a wonder to behold, with scenes of organized chaos looking sharp and pushing the limits of modern digital effects. The gunplay and chases are exciting, and even the interpersonal conflicts, excepting the camerawork, are skillfully presented.
Pine and Quinto are strong enough in their leading roles to essentially carry the film, but others, such as Urban, Pegg, Anton Yelchin’s Chekov and John Cho’s Sulu, help flesh out the rest of the crew. Leonard Nimoy’s part as the elder Spock will either appease die-hard Trekkies or have them in fits of rage.
In the end, Star Trek is a great summer film. Even though it trades creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision of exploration and ideas for the more fashionable ones of grit and violence, it is still an exciting and fresh piece of escapist fare that is sure to make many new fans of the series.
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at arts@dailyuw.com.
2 Comments
The Atlas food is absolutely horrible. Last time I had the hash browns and they were burnt to a crisp outside and a crunchy undercooked slop on the inside. Furthermore the waitresses have always been slow to service and have spoken to my friends and me in a negative tone on more than one occasion.
Piatti next door is infinitely better and in fact Johnny Rockets even gives a better experience and better food than Atlas. Please go anywhere else and let this restaurant close in shame and indignity.
Totally agree with with the other comment, I had very overcooked/burnt hashbrowns served to me as well and the food was pretty substandard. For the prices they charge, both the service and food should be a lot better. Especially given the alternatives in U-Village and on the Ave.
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#1 John G.
(Seattle, WA)
on May 7, 2009 at 12:09 a.m.