Livingston Restaurant + Bar Brings Elegance and Simplicity to Spring Menu
Livingston Restaurant + Bar celebrates spring with a bold new menu from executive chef Steven Meese. This menu is about getting attention. Atlanta has long been viewed as brash and sassy, and the internationally acclaimed chef feels right at home.
“Atlanta is the Hollywood of the South and a big sports town. There’s an incredible food scene with chefs doing great work,” he continues. “I want to bring the dishes, the tricks and techniques I learned working in world-class restaurants in Rome, London and New York. We have clear goals to achieve culinary excellence for our guests.”
And it’s not bragging when you have the skills and experience to back it up. Greek-born Meese has worked with internationally acclaimed chefs such as Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Grant Achatz, Jason Atherton and Sunny Jin. Meese also is well known to many food lovers as the creator, host and producer of the PBS series “A Chef’s Journey.”
“Walking across Piedmont Park with the skyline in the background, surrounded by flowers and trees, it’s beautiful! There’s not another city like Atlanta in terms of culture and history,” he says.
Meese is speaking from high above the intersection of Peachtree and Ponce, ground zero for classic architecture and glamour of early 20th-century Atlanta. Livingston Restaurant + Bar is housed inside the historic Georgian Terrace hotel, the grande dame of Midtown hospitality and one of the most notable hotels in Atlanta. The historic property is a landmark of modern luxury and sophisticated Southern hospitality.
Cutting-edge elegance is at the forefront of the Meese’s spring menu for Livingston Restaurant + Bar. With the new season, the skilled chef features dishes with bold spring flavors created with ingredients sourced from local and regional farmers and purveyors including White Oak Pastures, Joyce Farms and High Road Creamery. “I want to honor the ingredients and techniques of the region. Simplicity is the best form of elegance,” he says. Meese’s menu features a mixture of Southern and European components, a style he calls European Southern modern cuisine.
The chef elaborates, “It’s showcasing local and regional products with the best techniques and presentation.” With confidence, Meese wields his chef’s tool kit with finesse. There are five cooking techniques involved to produce tomahawk pork chops. First, the 32-ounce Niman Ranch bone-in chops are butchered in-house and seasoned with a hearty Spanish spice blend of 10 herbs and spices. The hand-trimmed steaks are then vacuum sealed and cooked sous vide along with butter, herbs and extra-virgin olive oil. Once meltingly tender, the chops are then lightly smoked, followed by a sear in a hot skillet, finished in the oven and then flame flash-broiled to extract every single bit of flavor from the meat.
It’s far from a straightforward preparation but served with sweet corn puree and sweet hot piquillo peppers, it’s a seemingly uncomplicated entrée. Chef Meese acknowledges the long cooking process, and yet describes the mouthwatering combination as “recognizable ingredients in a simple dish.” It's the level of excellence and execution that distinguishes it.
Along with the epic chop, highlights of the newly unveiled spring menu include appetizers such as smoked white asparagus soup with rich peekytoe crab and vibrant parsley oil and a salad of Bartlett pear poached in ponzu, mirin and star anise with wild greens, watermelon radish, goat cheese croquettes and avocado lime vinaigrette.
For the main course, guests can enjoy house-made spring pea ravioli inspired by the chef’s work in Italy served with creamy local chévre, earthy morel mushrooms and Parmigiano foam or a special feature of White Oak Pastures short ribs that are first seared then slow-cooked sous vide for a mind-boggling 72 hours of controlled perfection, crusted with crispy panko and savory Dijon mustard and served with cipollini onions, fingerlings and heirloom carrots.
“We want Livingston guests to go on a journey. This spring menu is about savoring Atlanta, savoring Southern ingredients and savoring the season,” says Meese. Handcrafted cocktails with house-made elixirs, an extensive wine list and a curated selection of desserts complete the opportunity to round out the experience.
Livingston is located inside the historic landmark The Georgian Terrace hotel, the oldest operating hotel in Atlanta, at 659 Peachtree St., NE. Breakfast is served Monday-Friday 6:30-11 a.m. Dinner hours are Tuesday-Thursday 5-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5-11 p.m. For more information, call 866-976-34878 or visit thegeorgianterrace.com.