Celebrating My Birthday with South African Cuisine at 10 Degrees South, Atlanta, Georgia

I turned 38 years old on Sunday, June 20th of this year. My husband, Bill, is great about taking me out to celebrate my birthdays, even though I'm inching closer to an age where I'd rather forget how old I'm getting. When Bill asked me where I'd like to go for dinner this year, I remembered a lovely meal we enjoyed at 10 Degrees South back in February. That meal, which we'd enjoyed on a whim a week before Valentine's Day, was unforgettable, mainly because we not only found a new wine we liked, but we also discovered the wonders of ostrich.

Back in February, 10 Degrees South had ostrich on the menu and Bill, being an adventurous diner, ordered it. I stuck with a more familiar entree of prawns. Bill offered me a taste of his ostrich medallions, which were cooked to medium rare and extremely tender. One taste of that ostrich, expertly prepared, tender textured, and flavorful, and I was definitely a believer. Not only did we love the ostrich, we also had fantastic service by a waiter who was fresh from Cape Town and had the accent to prove it.

So, for my birthday this year, I was hoping I could enjoy some ostrich and more great service, and that's what prompted me to make a 6:30pm reservation on the evening of June 19th. We celebrated the night before my actual birthday because Bill had to go out of town Sunday evening. An added perk to the early reservation was the 1,000 points we would score on OpenTable.com, an online reservation service that awards points that can be later redeemed for a dining cheque, basically a gift certificate that can later be used at a participating restaurant.

First impressions

The first thing to know about 10 Degrees South is that it's located at 4183 Rosewell Road in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Rosewell Road is kind of on the fringes of the big city. 10 Degrees South has a big sign, but it's surrounded by unrelated businesses. It's easy to miss the restaurant's tiny parking lot if you don't watch carefully.

Pulling into the parking lot, we drove up to two valets... the same two guys who parked my MINI Cooper convertible the last time we dined at 10 Degrees South. They greeted us and expertly parked my little car at the edge of the front of the parking lot, where it was dwarfed by all the Mercedes and BMW SUVs owned by other patrons.

The greeting

We walked through 10 Degrees South's front doors and were immediately in a dining room, outlined by large windows that let plenty of the slowly setting sunshine in. A hostess stand was situated right in front of a canvas draped doorway on the far side of this long, narrow dining room next to the entrance. Through that doorway, there was another dining room, a darker, more romantic one, where Bill and I had enjoyed our dinner back in February.

Alas, the hostess took us to a two top table in the front dining room. We were surrounded by other tables. I guess I could have asked for another place to sit, but it was clear that 10 Degrees South was in for a busy night. I used to wait tables and hate to complain in restaurants unless it's absolutely necessary.

The menu

We were presented with the evening's menu and I was immediately saddened to see that ostrich was not being offered. When our waiter arrived to ask us for our drink order, we asked him about the ostrich. He said that 10 Degrees South had recently taken ostrich off the menu. I got the impression that the reason it was taken off had to do with its availability. The waiter quipped that a lot of people were asking for it, so it's not like it wasn't selling. I also got the impression that they were hoping to be able to offer it again sometime in the future.

According to 10 Degrees South's official Web site, "South African cuisine is a fusion of French, Portugese, Dutch, German and Malaysian cuisines with strong Mediterranean influences." Indeed, I saw a lot of beef, chicken, lamb, and some fish dishes, mostly served with rice and some type of vegetable. I didn't see a whole lot of selections for vegetarians.

Since the ostrich I had so been looking forward to was off the menu, I started considering the other options. Unfortunately, none of them excited me as much as ostrich. I finally settled on the "Sosaties" ($28), which was basically skewered beef filet, marinated and topped with an apricot sauce. It was served with yellow and white rice and sauteed butternut squash. As a first course, I ordered the "Safari Salad" ($8.50), which I remembered from our visit in February. The Safari Salad had mixed greens topped with fresh fruit and papaya vinagrette. The salad I had in February was made with mangoes, but the one I had for my birthday featured cantaloupe. I preferred the mango version.

Bill ordered a Greek salad ($8.50), which was mix greens with feta cheese, black olives, and Greek dressing. His main course was the "Filet Au Poivre" ($30), an 8 ounce Angus filet mignon served with a Madagascan creamy peppercorn sauce, potatoes, and vegetables.

We paired our meals with a bottle of 2008 Crios, a malbec from Argentina ($35). The wine steward was the same man who had helped us choose the 2005 Mulderbosch Faithful Hound Stellenbosch ($45) on our last visit. Somehow, he remembered us (or, more likely, looked us up on OpenTable) and suggested the Crios malbec from Argentina, which he said was a new offering. Bill and I liked it fine, but we would choose the Faithful Hound over the Crios.

Service

Our waiter was friendly enough and attentive, though it was very busy on the night of June 19th. Unfortunately, our table was very close to a party of four, so we were close enough to observe when their waiter (another guy), spilled sauce on one of his patron's pants. The waiter was quick to bring the guy some soda water, but I could tell the patron wasn't impressed. When the wine steward left a business card on their table, I noticed that no one bothered to pick it up. Bill and I did do a lot of our own wine pouring, but that's okay. The service was otherwise satisfactory.

Dessert

Another menu item I was looking forward to ordering was the Chocolate Mousse Pyramid ($8). This is basically a small amount of chocolate mousse molded into a pyramid with a smooth white chocolate center. Sadly, I didn't get the chance to order it, because our waiter surprised us with a serving of Flan ($6), traditional caramel custard, with a birthday candle in it. He also brought us two forks, never even giving us the opportunity to ask for a different type of dessert. Usually, when Bill and I go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, we each order our own dessert so we can taste each other's selections.

Thankfully, Bill ordered me a Chocolate Mousse Pyramid to go, though, so it was all good. I did enjoy the Flan, though not nearly as much as I liked the Pyramid, which I had at home on my actual birthday.

Restroom/Bar area

One thing to know about using the restroom at 10 Degrees South is that there's only one toilet for each gender. That means, if someone's in the bathroom when you need it, you'll have to wait outside. This happened to me when I was at 10 Degrees South, and it gave me the opportunity to look in the bar area, which was dimly lit and entertained by a guy singing and playing guitar. It was a little loud back there and the bar was well attended. People seemed to be having a great time. It looked like there was an outdoor area near the bar as well, though I didn't get a chance to look carefully.

The restroom was clean, well stocked, and well lit.

The bill

Our bill came to about $140 before the tip. It was run through with the tip added, though curiously, my husband found a second separate charge in the amount of the tip. This was later reconciled, but since he paid with a debit card, it did limit his funds a little for a couple of days.

Overall

We had such a wonderful experience on our first visit in February. I was a little let down by our second visit, but having worked in the restaurant business, I know that every place has its off nights. Despite a less than perfect evening, I'd be willing to try 10 Degrees South again. The food is good and the service is good enough. However, I hope they get ostrich back on the menu soon... without it, 10 Degrees South just isn't really that unique.

If you go...

Be prepared for some noise. The floors are hardwood and there's a lot of echo.

Live entertainment is offered on some nights.

Dress appears to be business casual, though we did see some folks, including staff members, wearing nice jeans.

Try the ostrich if it's on the menu

For more information: http://www.10degreessouth.com/