Eat, Pray, Love at Babette’s Café

One of my favorite Virginia-Highland restaurants is Babette’s Café. For those of you not familiar with the area, Virginia-Highland is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, founded in the early 20th century as a streetcar suburb. It is named after the intersection of Virginia Avenue and North Highland Avenue, the heart of a busy commercial district at the center of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is famous for its bungalows and other historic houses from the 1910s-1930s. It has become a destination for people across Atlanta with its eclectic mix of restaurants, bars, and shops.

Chef Marla Adams named her gem, Babette’s Café, after Babette’s Feast, a novel by Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Isak Dinesen). Gabriel Axel wrote an adaptation of Babette’s Feast, which in 1988, won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Like its namesake, Babette’s Café is also award winning, boasting Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Restaurant of Distinction Award, Best of Citysearch Top 10 Best of Brunch, Zagat rated Very Good to Excellent and ranked second-place for Best Short Wine List on Restaurant Hospitality Magazine’s Best Wine Lists in America.

Since food is one of the central themes of life, it stands to reason that it would make a good theme for the cinema. There is something sensual about a well-crafted movie featuring food. The smells and tastes leap off the screen and make the viewer hungry for more. Inspired by the book and movie, Eat, Pray Love, Babette’s Café is offering a series of Italian specials through Sept. 26. Tropical flowers, candles, and luscious food make for a spiritual evening.

I had the pleasure of dining at Babette’s Cafe on Wednesday for a post birthday celebration with a dear friend. My experience -- spiritual, indeed! The squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta made my tastebuds jump up and down with joy. The Bucatini Amatriciana was THE pasta perfection on this side of Heaven. The wild mushroom risotto with roasted duck and wild mushrooms -- the perfect marriage -- sensual richness meets delicate, woodsy and earthy flavors.

For life’s gastronomic pleasures, dining at Babette’s Café is a cardinal rule! Thank you Chef Marla Adams, for consistently offering an impeccable dining experience.