(At C&S) The focus is on fresh seafood, a well-stocked raw bar, and classic prime steaks. Combine that with a menu that is formidable and spans the fare of the classic Manhattan steakhouse to that of a Parisian brasserie

Growing up in small town USA, there weren’t many restaurants you would call “fine dining”. I guess the closest we really had was Quincy’s, home of the big fat yeast roll, and Bill’s Grill, home of cheeseburgers and a great hamburger steak. They both had seating. So, yeah. That was it. The definition of fine dining.

I do remember my first experience in a nice restaurant. My daddy had taken mama and I to Charleston for shrimping and fresh oysters. That night he took us to Henry’s on Market Street. I had never seen anything like it. There was a mahogany bar, someone playing the piano and a man dressed in black and white with a bow tie. “Who is that daddy? The man with the bow tie?” I asked. “He’s the Maitre D,” daddy replied. I had officially graduated to restaurants with men in bow ties called “Maitre Ds”. I’ll never forget that experience.

You don’t see Maitre Ds around much these days. Not in the classic sense of the term. I believed them to be long gone with many formal things of the past. Imagine my surprise when I walked into Clark & Schwenks Seafood & Oyster Bar and right there he was…the Maitre D. And there I was, in my mind, 8 years old, holding my daddy’s hand in old world Charleston.

I recently had the privilege of having dinner with Erica Angie of “Eating with Erica”. She hosted a beautiful event with several wonderful women at Clark & Schwenks Seafood & Oyster Bar.

The food at Clark & Schwenks Seafood & Oyster Bar aims to fill a gap in the Atlanta restaurant scene. C&S, for short, is a collaboration between two Atlanta food scene veterans with experience in fine French & American restaurants in Atlanta and a dual passion for excellent food. The focus is on fresh seafood, a well-stocked raw bar, and classic prime steaks. Combine that with a menu that is formidable and spans the fare of the classic Manhattan steakhouse to that of a Parisian brasserie.

On this night we were warmly greeted with cocktails and the spectacular Le C&S Plateaux de Fruits de Mer with fresh jumbo shrimp, oysters on the half shell, clams and red king crab with all accompaniments.

Several appetizers followed, each just as divinely delicious as the one before.

The Kona Kampachi Sashimi was delightfully light, perfectly sliced paper thin and expertly seasoned with pink sea salt and lime.

Entrees for our party included Crab and Parmesan Crusted Flounder with an excellent Tomato Chive Oil and Lobster Glace; Pan Roasted Steelhead with Lemon Basmati Rice Croquettes, Haricot Verts and Pistachio Tarragon Butter; Grouper Picatta and more. My entree was a beautiful Grilled Swordfish with Confit Mushroom Potato Saute, Blue Cheese Fritters, and Peppercorn Sauce. Those Blue cheese fritters…those blue cheese fritters y’all.

Sides were shared by the table and featured dishes such as a sinful Truffle Lobster Orchiette & Cheese with Tarragon Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Truffle Fries (do we see a beautiful truffled pattern here?), Matchstick Zucchini, Vichy Carrots and on and on…it was fabulous. Although the dishes were endless, they had me at “Truffle”.

Then there was dessert.

Just for good measure…dessert from a second angle. Who would have ever thought to make a cake from Polenta; Clever and certainly unique.

The highlight of the evening was our feature presentation from Cari detailing her new concept called PostFav. PostFav is a unique app designed to connect restaurant owners with influential city bloggers who love to share their experiences on social media.

Restaurants post their information on the app and bloggers have the opportunity to “Like” or “Pass” on the restaurant. If the blogger “Likes” the restaurant, and they “like” the blogger back, there is an opportunity to form a branding relationship.

If you are a blogger in the Atlanta area, enrollment is easy at PostFav.

Very special thank you’s to Erica Angie for hosting a wonderful evening in conjunction with C&S Seafood & Oyster Bar and to Cari with PostFav. From the Maitre D to the hot towels with lemon after dinner, this brought back so many memories and I thoroughly enjoyed the step back in time.

Life is too short to eat ugly food y’all.

* Thank you to C&S Seafood for providing such a memorable meal, to Erica Angie at www.eatingwitherica.com and to PostFav for a fabulous evening. Although the meal was provided at no charge, all thoughts, opinions and drooling are my own.