Aug. 2, 2011 - Watershed

Aug. 2, 2011
Watershed
406 W. Ponce de Leon
Decatur, GA 30030
404-378-4900
www.watershedrestaurant.com

I've lived in Decatur for 10 years, but it took the announced closing of Watershed to finally get me there. Of course, we had to go early on a Tuesday to experience their award winning southern fried chicken. So glad we made reservations because we saw many people who were turned away at the door disappointed.

Our shared appetizer of crispy pork belly lettuce wraps, Steen's cane syrup, Dijon and creamy coleslaw was by far the best dish of the night. The skin gave a nice crunch while the fat and meat (marinated with a pepper sauce) stayed soft and flavorful. The coleslaw was slightly sweet, while the Dijon and cane syrup gave a background heat and bitterness to the dish. All the flavors blended wonderfully.

My entree was the porcini crusted sea scallops, Tuscan kale, potato gnocchi and wild mushrooms. The scallops were perfectly cooked with just a slight hint of earthiness from the porcini. I considered them more dusted than crusted. The gnocchi was a pillow shape (my dining companion asked why my scallops were square), but nice and light. However, the kale and mushrooms were extremely sour. I couldn't get over how overpowering the flavor was. I made sure that my bites of scallop and gnocchi were different from the kale and mushrooms so there was no cross-contamination.

My friend graciously offered up a white meat piece of the famous southern fried chicken. I was pleasantly surprised at how juicy it was. The batter was more a light coating instead of the heavy dredge you see at most places. My friend told me that the chicken and mashed potato was just like Mom's. In my opinion, that's the highest compliment you can get.

For dessert, I ordered the souffle cheesecake with blueberry compote and wrestled away a few crumbs of the Very Good Chocolate Cake from my friend. The cheesecake was deliciously light. The compote was a good combination of tart and sweet if you had a bite with a berry. If you only got the sauce part, it was cloyingly sweet. The Very Good Chocolate Cake lives up to its name. It was not overly sweet, in fact a little bitter which I prefer. Not being a chocolate fan, I'm not sure I could eat a whole piece, but my friend left only a few crumbs.

The Decatur location of Watershed will close after dinner on Saturday, August 6th. But don't worry, they hope to open a new location (still TBA) by the end of the year.