Cheap eats at Atria

March 13

I sure wish people would tell me when my collar’s sticking up. This would be such a good picture of me if someone had just tucked my collar back down, and I so rarely take a good picture.
With me is my new friend Sandra Fowler, a multi-talented woman with a background in the type of foodservice that most people find not so romantic but that I find fascinating. She’s a Yum! veteran and has also worked for Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. But at the moment she’s doing documentaries on sustainable food-and-drink production for PBS.
Sandra’s new to town, and my boss, Ellen Koteff, is one of her mentors, so obviously I agreed to meet her for drinks.
I suggested Atria.
Did you know that the bar at Atria, formerly know as Grayz, in the space that once was Aquavit, is a gin bar? That’s how they’re promoting it, at any rate, and they are fairly committed to expanding the horizons of vodka drinkers. Their key weapon: a gin, blackberry and mint number called The Bramble.
But there is other news coming out of Atria, too. This week they introduced a lunch menu and everything on it is less than $10.
Some examples:
Bratwurst and sauerkraut $7
Hummus, babaganoush and okra stew $8
Potato-leek soup with chervil $5
Hanger steak salad with peanut, radish and sesame-ginger vinaigrette $9
You can even get a can of Pablst Blue ribbon for $3