Pano & Paul's

I'm trying to think of what word or phrase best describes our dining experience. I'm going to go with "OMG". It was a very good dining experience. We were taking advantage of the Buckhead Restaurant Group's restaurant week which turned into restaurant month.

We started the meal with a corn chowder amuse. It was a wonderful way to start of the meal. This amuse was served in small crock and you could taste the freshness of the ingredients.

Next up was the appetizer course. I opted for the scallops in the butternut squash bisque. This course arrived with two perfectly seared scallops in a bowl. The waiter the added the hot bisque around it. The bisque had ginger and candied pecans...WOW!!!

Angela opted for the salad since she has shellfish allergies...I feel bad for her too!

The next course came... the entree. I am very interested at this point. Angela had the sole. it was perfectly cooked. The capers were a wonderful accent to the fish.

I had the sliced sirloin and the beef cake. I was thinking the same thing that you probably are....what the heck is beef cake? I made sure I asked... it is basically a pot roast made like a crab cake. It was juicy and wonderful!

I am going to forgo pics from desert. It was relatively Blah... I had the vanilla bean cheesecake, nothing to right home about. Angela had the Hazelnut chocolate cake...not impressed. The deserts were pretty good/edible...just OK. On a bright note...we went back, I had the cinnamon creme brulee...VERY GOOD!

Ann's Snack Bar

On 10/18/08 we decided to pay a little trip to Ann's Snack Bar. Ann's is an institution in the area and has won the "Best Burger" award numerous years. With accolades like that and those on the web, we just HAD to stop by and visit. Ann's only seats 8 and you had better wait until someone leaves out before you enter.
After about an hour or so wait, a gentleman comes out to the patio and takes our order. Because this place is known for the "Ghetto Burger", I decided to order it. Angela gets her old reliable burger with a few condiments. When it is finally our turn to go inside, we promptly take our seats and I watch our burgers come together. It was a LOT of meat on that burger!!!

My synopsis:
It was good for the experience to say that I've went. Especially watching others make the same mistake we made...LOL.
I can not say that I was overly impressed or that it was the best burger that I have ever had. It was pretty good, but nothing that could not be easily recreated in your kitchen. I would have to put the Vortex over Ann's.

Pros: You get a lot of burger for your money.
Cons: Parking and the wait.