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King Memorial (North-South, Northeast-South, East-West, Proctor Creek)
Tue-Wed. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thu-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thu-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"I'm a fan! Everything was great! Wine, Small Plates, Large Plates, Desserts, Server, Atmosphere and most importantly the group of friends to…" read more »
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I've only been to Dynamic Dish twice but both times I came away completely satisfied. The food is fresh and delicious....And yes, expensive, especially for vegetarian. I guess that is the price you pay for the freshest ingredients.
Everything I have tried there has been phenomenal; the soup, sandwich, veggies, desserts, etc.
Definitely worth a visit!
At the risk of pontificating too far, before I move on to the Dynamic Dish, let's discuss what makes a review a review. When one writes review, how does one determine an acceptable visit? Does one take an approach of universalism, rating a restaurant based on objective qualities such as décor, service and food quality? Does one, as Keats stated, find beauty in truth, truth beauty, bestowing 5 stars to those restaurants who achieve some Platonic ideal of gastronomy?
Or does one, in writing a review, tend more towards the relativistic in which one's experience within a restaurant determines its quality, regardless of other seeming absolutes? In other words, despite the high quality of the food, the care taken in preparation, the acclaim given by companions sitting at the very same table, you could merely muster a very whelmed "Meh." Such are the existential quandaries facing the average Yelper. And such is my experience at The Dynamic Dish.
In short, the wife loved her turkey sandwich. She applauded the high quality ingredients. (She's obviously taken to heart her latest forays into "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food.") I, being more of the Xbox/Dipshit variety, was less impressed. I ordered the Patty Pan Quiche, a quiche topped with yellow squash and served at room temperature. To my taste buds, it tasted like....room temperature quiche. Could my palate distinguish between the locally sourced vegetables, the cage-free eggs? Did the freshness implied in each bite burst through with each forkful? No.
Then again, my palate is more adept at telling the difference between an Oreo and a Hydrox than it is savoring the latest locovore's spank material. In other words, I am not the target audience for The Dynamic Dish. My wife knew this when she asked me to lunch. She also knew this when she gladly paid the $30+ dollars for the two of us (with only tap water to drink) because 1) she enjoyed her meal greatly and 2) she wisely understood that I would NOT have gladly paid $30 for this lunch and would have complained about it for several lunches hence.
So what do I rate The Dynamic Dish? (The service was fine, by the way.) Is it even fair that I do so? It's like asking my opinion on the Jonas Brothers or Dale Jarrett's latest win or if I'm excited about the new Twilight movie that's coming out. Unfortunately, Yelp requires a rating to proceed and as such, I'm going to have to split the difference between relativism and universalism; it's time I admit to being a raging Kant who encourages others to kiss my a posteriori. I won't rate TDD as low as I would have were I to just wander in off the street, but I must temper others' praise with my own experience. In other words, three stars with one very large, very prominent asterisk.
The best way to experience Dynamic Dish, in my mind, is to order literally the entire menu. Every time.
I'll explain: the last time I went, the menu had a soup, salad, two greens, flatbread, and a hot plate. Everything sounded enticing. The prices made the dishes each look intimidating. But my friend and I took a leap; we ordered everything. I'm not kidding. It was "yes, we'd like the entire menu, please."
And once we said these words, and once the food came out, we experienced Dynamic Dish for the excellent vegetarianish restaurant that all the other Yelpers said it was. The portions were satisfying, and the dishes complemented each other. And yes, we paid dearly for it: nearly $100 for two people. I'm not going to pontificate about the food - others have already done that - but I want to emphasize that in order to get a proper sense of Dynamic Dish, you have to clear your mind, stomach, and wallet.
Maybe they'll label me as someone who just "doesn't get it". Maybe I'm from a small town that still doesn't have a free-standing coffee shop... or a Whole Foods... or a free-range, cage-free organic local farmer's market. And maybe we DID skip school when the Super Wal-Mart opened up in the next town over. So whatever. Yall can kiss my ass.
Ok. Sorry. I had high expectations for this place, and I knew what to expect in terms of... vibe. I did.
We went on 'za night. The choices were interesting, and tasty. We tried 3/4 available za's. They were good, I'm not denying that. Albeit pricey. I've had better pizza. And I've had better "better than you" pizza too.
The desserts were just okay. And expensive. $2 for a ball of oats called a "cookie"? The famous chocolate cake... I mean sure it was edible. But would I make a pilgrimage just for this thing? Ugh. No.
The service... I just can't stand. WHY. Why does everyone think they're superior to everyone else? Why so snooty? So pretentious. Why the funny hats? (yes, one of the servers was wearing a hat similar to something Bobby from Bobby's world would've worn. I think it had a propeller on it.) Why the blank stares?
Guess what. I don't know what kind of lettuce SUMMER CRISP is. So "sue me" if I ask before spending $13 for a plate of it.
I mean whatever. I'm obviously not a fan. The thing is... I do enjoy locally grown fresh food. I love vegetarian options. I fucking get the concept. I just hate the fucking 'tudes that go along with it.
OH. I just remembered, as an addendum. We were the only "table" not to receive the bread. Thanks guys! Every other table had bread, but us.
I think my wife would differ since she is a vegetarian. She would likely give this 4 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed my tofu & pesto sandwich. The chocolate cake was great and service friendly.
As for the atmosphere, I was a little caught off guard sharing a table with others. It was fine, but I wasn't expecting it.
Overall, a cool concept and it was fresh. I left with a good feeling after I ate. You could feel that it was quality food.
What happened?
I went here with Sean M. for lunch earlier this year and it was fantastic. The sandwich I had was delicious and the dates with nuts were so good. Yum.
I went here for lunch and was stunned to find the prices went up. Way up. It's a recession! Why does a sandwich now cost $12.95? Are you kidding me? And I wish I could say my fig and brie sandwich was tasty, but the brie was too strong for the figs. It wasn't a good combination. The salad, also $12.95 was tiny. A salad that cost that much should not be small. Granted, it was pretty, but again, not worth the money.
I had dates for dessert which were delicious as always. But I don't think I will be coming back.
The wait staff was fine, as we were a table of 10 and we received prompt service. But service alone doesn't fill me up.
The food here is still absolutely great - the concept, the fresh ingredients, the menu changing daily - it's just I have to protest the increased pricing since my last visit in January. I came here last week, and the salads went up from $8.95 to $12.95 & 14.95. Sandwiches went up from $7.95 to $12.95. I felt bad b/c I raved about the place to my friends and said we'd be eating delicious locally grown & organic food for under $10. My friends did enjoy their food a lot - but paid over $20 for a soup & salad.
If money isn't an issue, then by all means, this place is still a gem. I decided to get the cheaper $12.95 salad which had Georgia Oak leaf & butter lettuce w/ scallions, toasted almonds, avocado & mango, and chive joghurt dressing. Yummy but one hour later, my stomach was already growling. I sampled my friend's soup & sandwich - soup was delicious, the sandwich just average. The $5.95 soup was a Georgia leek & chard w/ zucchini & topped with pea shoots, with hints of lemongrass & cayenne. The $12.95 sandwich was an Adriatic tuna w/ capers, kalamatas & tomato w/ side of confetti slaw.
A great healthy but overpriced option for lunch if you're in the Edgewood area.
Ahhhhh ... Dynamic Dish just became my new favorite restaurant. It's too bad I live far away b/c I… Read more »
I was very excited to try this place out, but my excitement was quickly tempered. Upon arriving on a not-too-busy Friday night, my date and I were consistently ignored by the staff. After about 10 minutes of this, we took one of the open tables, upon which we were ignored for another 20 minutes.
I went to the counter to ask the fellow there when we might expect someone to come to our table. Said counterman did not acknowledge my existence and went on slicing cake until my two minutes' worth of "excuse me"s took effect. My existence having been acknowledged, the fellow went on ramble about something completely unrelated.
Frustrated (but still optimistic!), I went back to my table, hoping that the counterman had taken the hint. No such luck. After about five more minutes of unproductive waiting, my date and I decided to take our business elsewhere. As we got up to leave, one of the staff members attempted an apology, which was nice, but it was far too little far too late!
While I love the concept and would like to encourage other restauranteurs to copy it, this is not the version I love. I've ordered lunch here to go several times. Not only is it always $15-20, I'm still hungry and end up eating peanut butter crackers at my desk. Sigh.
Well, DD has great food, but you pay dearly for it. Their daily menu features a soup, salad, sandwich, and entree, plus some basic bakery items. My friend and I both had the sandwich, which on Friday, 7/3 was pesto, tofu, and avocado on a hearty, grainy bread. It was served with freshly made coleslaw and potato salad, both of which were quite tasty.
The only drawback was that the meal cost $32 with tax and tip (quite a bit for a simple lunch sandwich, methinks). DD is definitely worth a try, though. Also, it's easy to miss--the only signage is some inconspicuous red lettering on the window.
Food: solid 5 stars
Service: no complaints but not extra special, 3.5 to 4 stars
Price: umm...my all natural red leaf and warm cheese salad complete with pears and grapes was top notch, but $15?? Really???
I am willing to pay good money for good food but $15 for a salad, even an extra delicious and healthy one, is kind of pushing it. It wasn't even a giant salad.
I will come back for more of their healthy goodness but I am hoping prices improve as the seasons change and more local produce becomes available.
Still can't fault the food here. Good stuff. But I will complain that it's not as enjoyable to dine here now that it's so busy. Nothing you can really do about that. But something they can control is timing.
My friends.... see... I understand that it takes time to prepare food. Good food is made with love and shit. I get that. But when a party of 2 orders two items:
One person orders the salad.
The other orders the special.
Why does the salad have to come out 15 minutes (a kind estimate btw) before the special comes out? Why? Could not the salad assembly be delayed to match the pace of the special? Or maybe could you just hang on to the salad, and then bring both out together?
We never mentioned sharing or splitting these two items. So, it became a bit awkward to sit in front of a salad for a while. Needless to say, it was finally eaten. And a bit later the special came out.
What ended up being a tag team eating event just didn't work for me. And I noticed this was done with other tables as well - but I'm sure the effect wasn't as noticeable because they had ordered other food as well.
So anyway, given the prices, portion and experience I had this last go around - I'm gonna average in at 3.5 ish. Just kinda not so happy.
Food is still solid, just wanted to comment on my experience. My previous 2 visits (after the last update) were kind of so so as well, but the food delay kind of irked me this time.
After months of absence from DD, I finally made it back. David even remembered my name. Apparently… Read more »
Get the soup and byob/w/vodka!
Their soups are always creative and super yummy. Ask for bread with your meal and they will give you about 3 slices with butter or olive oil for free.
When we go here with friends, which is often, we always bring at least one bottle of wine. They do not sell alcohol, at this time, and there is NO corkage fee. I will pay a little more to be able to bring some yummy wine to enjoy with my meal. Think about the high mark ups for wine and then the food prices even out with those to make this a very very affordable, delicious, environmentally friendly, and local outing.
I dream of this restaurant all week, because I thankfully work too far away to drive over for lunch, until Thursday comes and they're open for dinner. We eat here at least once a week.
The staff is very nice and you will often see the owner around delivering food! Fabulous place.
MAKE RESERVATIONS- ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE COMING WITH A GROUP. The space is limited and with shared tables a lot of geometry often has to take place.
This place is delicious and I really do love the communal, shared tables. Be warned that… Read more »
As much I like the food, and concept of Dynamic Dish, it seems they may be getting a little too high (greedy?) off their success. We went there for lunch today and while delicious and fresh, I have to say the prices were way too much for lunch. $10 for a bowl of soup and $15 for a 3 vegetable plate? Yikes! Times are tough, these lunch prices belong to 2006.
Also, when asked whether I wanted more bread with my soup my friend said "it's $10 soup dude; get more bread". After which the waiter quipped "I'll bring it out only if you eat it." For $10 for some soup...I think I could go into the bathroom and flush an entire loaf down the toilet and they'd still be making a profit. Anyhow, the boutique minimal menu, along with the whole 'could be someone's kitchen table' style of decor, is fine, but the prices need to be reasonable.
Really cool place with a definite West-coast style and sensibility. The restaurant itself is LEED… Read more »
Perhaps I came with absurdly high expectations, but I can't deny my disappointment with Dynamic Dish. The food itself was beautiful and sophisticated, and the restaurant was spotless and sleek. Overall, it was the cost for what I got that killed me.
I ordered the salad of the day for $13.95. It was grilled oyster mushrooms over arugula and sunflower seeds, and although the portion was adequate, I was still ravenous. Although it was good, I felt that it was missing a pungent cheese and/or fruit. Because I was still pretty hungry, I ended up ordering a small cup of the roasted yellow pepper and celeriac soup, and it was delicious. The cup was very small, about 6 oz., and I was shocked it was $6. And just like that.... I spent over $20 on what I consider a very light lunch!
My mom ordered the sandwich and salad combo for $8.95, and we found this to be a reasonable price. The gruyere and caramelized onion sandwich was good, but my mom pointed out that I also make the same thing at home that tastes just as good, if not better (she didn't just say that because she's my mom!). I think some fresh herbs would have contributed to a more memorable flavor. The side salad was tasty and aesthetically pleasing, as well. The quality of their ingredients is superior to other soup/salad/sandwich places, but not so much that I would choose to go here rather than Souper Jenny (where, for $12, I get a huge bowl of soup, a salad, a roll, a cookie, and a soda).
I agree with some of the other reviews - the service is a bit chilly and distant. When I requested my dressing on the side, I got a silent stare that said it all. No comment, no nod, just extended eye contact. My salad did come out with the dressing on the side, but I really wasn't sure if it would or not.
Although the restaurant is in a pretty bad area, it attracts an upscale lunch crowd. The tables near the window make for interesting people-watching; I saw at least 4 or 5 people breeze by on HoverRounds with bags of trash dragging behind them. There are only about 35 seats in the whole place (and about 4 tables total), so I definitely recommend making reservations for dinner. Parking is scarce, but I found the mother lode of parking spots on the street behind the restaurant that runs parallel to Edgewood (not sure of the name). I probably wouldn't recommend leaving valuables in your car...
I really love the concept behind this place, and I'm a huge advocate of fresh, healthy food. Although I'm not vegetarian, I rarely cook meat at home and believe Dynamic Dish does a great job of inventing creative, inspired dishes that would make a carnivore feel that he or she isn't missing out on anything. I hope that other places with a similar idea pop up here in Atlanta, and hopefully competitors would trigger DD to lower their prices!
I haven't given up on DD - I will be back, and I do want to try pizza night. I did enjoy the food, but unless I strike it big, I won't be able to afford to make this one of my regular lunch stops.
After reading all the positive yelps, I was almost counting down the hours to dinner at Dynamic Dish this weekend. I fully expected an awesome experience.
It was, in the final analysis, odd.
The food wasn't the problem--that WAS awesome. As you know by now, the menu changes daily. Even though it's limited, it was still hard to decide. My other half had the special entrée, which were 3 little grain cakes with collards and squash. I had a sort of open-face sandwich of brie and kumquats with a green salad. Both were great, the brie and kumquats were an unexpected flavor combo, and worked beautifully. The collards were some of the best I've had. Servings were smallish-- and that's a huge plus to me. For dessert we had two mini cookies. Tasty and just enough.
Sadly, that's where the awesome ended.
We all recognize that the food is only a part of any dining experience. The vibe and service and probably some other subconscious factors all add up to how you feel when you leave after the check is paid.
Add that feeling was just....odd.
Here are some of the contributors to the strangeness.
1st, when we arrived, at close to 6:30, the server was hesitant to seat us due to our lack of reservations (who knew we'd need them at 6:30?) We happily offered to sit at the bar which gave us a great vantage point from which to observe.
Soon after, several parties arrived, also without reservations and were "discouraged" - I can't say they were actually turned away. Yet, when we left at 7:45ish, there were at least two large tables empty. Considering the table sharing set-up, that's a lot of missed opportunity and disappointed potential customers. And chaos at the counter. I wonder if they should accept reservations only for large parties?
Our service was cool. Not "kewl". Chilly. I almost felt (which I know is silly) like they didn't want us there. We were offered only water to drink. No bread for us, even though it was quickly delivered to others' tables. Our food was a tad slow--- which wouldn't have been a surprise except that everyone else's arrived within minutes of ordering. We had to ask for dessert.
Now, before you say, "hey, friendly works both ways!" please understand that we're not pushy, loud, boorish or otherwise in any way a pain. Quite the opposite- we were cheerful & complimentary-and tipped better than we should have.
So in summary, yes it was odd. We were disappointed, especially since we really, really expected and wanted to like it.
I will go back, hopefully soon, maybe for lunch, maybe with reservations. I need to know if this was just an off night or if the vibe there is just not for me. I'll let you know the result.
I love the concept of this restaurant, and I wish that I could say that I liked the end result more.
The end result is a very limited menu, that in my opinion is way overpriced. A lunch for two (half sandwich/cup of soup combo, daily special, and cup of hot tea) ended up being an almost $40 lunch after tip.
To top it all off, I felt that the service was aloof. And, as other reviewers have commented, our orders came out far apart leaving my boyfriend looking at his food for 10 minutes waiting for mine to arrive.
As good as we felt about heating healthy and local, all in all I don't think Dynamic Dish is worth it.
Absolutely lovely. Spent a fantastic evening here last night (Saturday - so it was pizza night) and our group brought 6-7 bottles of wine to taste as there is no corkage fee.
Quaint, comfortable setting, very laid back, and you order at the counter.
We started with the sunchoke soup and the warm collards in olive oil. The sunchoke soup was beautiful - fresh, sweet and seasoned well. The collards were simple, but fresh and wonderfully bitter.
Then we ordered one of each of the four pizzas. I can't recollect what each of them exactly had one them, but one had pineapple, one had great crimini mushrooms, and another had goat cheese and fresh sweet corn.
For dessert - chocolate vegan cake, mangos with blood orange, and ice cream with cardamom rounded out a great evening with friends.
there's nothing quite like this in Atlanta, and I am now hooked!
After 3 visits to a restaurant, either the axe murderer finally appears and tarnishes forever the original attraction, or boredom sets in, or (if I'm lucky) the adventure continues. Dynamic Dish is the rare adventure.
It's my business to know a lot of chefs. Most of them are emotionally invested in their work. Only a special few have a spiritual affinity with their food - something that transcends mere kitchen wizardry - a connection between heart, soul, ingredient, earth.
I feel connected to the origins of the food when I eat here with my partner, and we sense that the staff is connected to the food as well - and that's magical.
Highly recommended.
Well, Yelp me a new Pie-Hole!
I'm normally reserved after my first visit to a restaurant - kinda like…
Read more »
This is easily the BEST Vegetarian restaurant in Atlanta! Since I am leaning towards becoming a vegetarian, I am soooo happy that this place exists!
Stopped by here a few weeks ago to finally try it out. It's a bit smaller than I expected, but really cute and simple. There weren't a lot of tables, although most of the tables you can share with other people. I mean c'mon, who doesn't like meeting and making new friends! The menu is shown on a chalkboard and you usually have a choice of a few salads, sandwich and two to three main courses. They even serve coffees and teas as well as vegan desserts to compliment your meal.
Since it was my first time, I had to try everything on the menu. David and I started off with the Arugula, Green Apple and Goat Cheese Salad, which was huge and delicious. For our entrees, I got the Walnut-Fig Pate Sandwich and David got these Greek rolls that were stuffed with spinach, sweet potatoes and Hungarian cheese with a side of brussel sprouts. Both entrees were AMAZING.
Overall a great experience and we made friends with the lady sitting next to us. Atlanta definitely needs more green and veggie establishments like this!
Finally had a chance to viddle at a place which has been on my list for a while. And as a proud meat eater, i have to say this place delivers on all aspects even as a vegetarian place. We had two vegans in the crew and I was a bit dissappointed that they didnt have a lot of true vegan options. The pizza wasnt vegan and their desserts were mostly non-vegan. They were forced to have a beet salad and/or black bean soup minus the sourcream. Still both very good though.
We had one stumbling block - our table was not ready at our resevation time. Had to wait another hour actually. Sucks but we just went over to Corner Tavern for a drink and small app. They did give us a complimentary glass of wine for the wait. We also brought with us two bottles to carry us through the dinner.
Saturday night is Pizza night. They have a couple salads, 1 soup, and then pizzas and dessert. I had the Seoul Pizza which was basically a thin crust pizza with some peppers on it. I didnt really taste the Korean inspiration but maybe i'm just critical as a half korean mixed white dude. Pizza was delectable nonetheless. Highly recommend it if it's on the menu again.
The black bean soup is awesome. I mean awesome. Some of the best and freshest black bean soup i've had. In fact all of their ingredients in everything are fresh. I loved the fresh jalapeno slices in the black bean soup.
Atmosphere is also great. open, warm, clean environment with group tables that appear to be made of big kitchen chopping blocks. Bathroom toilets use cistern collected water too. Very green.
I want to hit this place up for lunch sometime or on a non-Saturday evening to enjoy their more creative dishes (instead of the pizzas) the pizza is defintly worth the trip though.
Be sure to bring bottle(s) of wine because it's byob and no corkage fee.
Dynamic Dish...what can I even say? My favorite restaurant in Atlanta, this place serves sophisticated, unique vegetarian fare with a conscience. The produce is local and organic whenever possible, and it's shown off proudly in beautiful seasonal displays on the counter. Not only that, almost every time I go in, I learn a new fruit, veggie, cheese, or dish - and I'm an informed, avid vegetarian.
In many visits over the past year or so, I've never been disappointed in the slightest. The staff is warm and personable, and the BYOB policy means I've always got exactly the beverage I'm in the mood for (even if it does require a little planning ahead). My only complaint is how much I miss the weekend brunch.
Never leave me, Dynamic Dish. My dining options, and I'm pretty sure my whole outlook on life, would be bleak without you.
I had lunch here today & had the best chocolate cake I have ever had in Atlanta. Go & pray that they have it they day you eat here.
Also, I hate the Southern way of eating collard greens. Overcooked, wilted, mushy, too hammy etc...but I ate them here at Dynamic Dish today and they were amazing.
That's all I have to add!
I'm not a vegetarian at all, but this place certainly made me rethink my love for meat. The food… Read more »
Just thought I would post a quickie update: Ate here for Lunch today, and was blown away again: not just by the amazing food we enjoyed, but the afterglow of eating the healthiest meal in Atlanta that I enjoyed all day following.
We had The arugula Salad with hard goat cheese, fava beans, pumpkin seeds and sea salt. And shared a grilled cheese made with aged white cheddar, roasted fennel bulb, and granny smith apples... served with a side of beet and apple salad.
WONDERFUL. And as always, service was spot on.
Amazing, fresh, fun, and healthy. Is so wonderful to find a place that you can walk away from… Read more »
I think I have a problem....
I'm averaging 4-5 visits to Dynamic Dish a week! I'll bring my own lunch to work in an effort to save money and proceed to finish my lunch, feel completely unsatisfied, look at my watch and think "i have 15 min left on my lunch hour...I could make it to Dynamic Dish and back!" So I end up eat 2 lunches. This has happened twice in the last week.
Funny thing is, Dynamic Dish always hits the spot and I'm completely blissed out and happy (and really really full after having 2 lunches) afterwards that its hard to break the cycle.
How about a Dynamic Dish support group?
=)
Yum.
I wanted to give a quick update. It's been at least 3 months since I've last eaten here. I took my… Read more »
We arrived in Atlanta Tuesday afternoon and slept in a room full of America crap Tuesday night. The bed was really comfortable, our friend was very nice. We woke up Wednesday ready for some Atlanta flavor and we asked Urbanspoon and Urbanspoon sang to us, it said "do this and this and that."
The first this was have fun. The second this was take a drive. The that was prepare for something dynamic, which was a helpful tip, but not really helpful enough IF what we wanted was to be completely prepared (because we weren't).
Dynamic Dish let me eat in its restaurant even though my beard looked gross and the velcro on my shoes was all broke. Dynamic Dish waited patiently while we looked over the menu at the counter even though we probably should have waited to approach the counter AFTER looking at the menu. Dynamic Dish put the food on our table and removed the plates when the time was right.
I left Dynamic Dish with a neatly trimmed beard and laces on my shoes. It fixed me and I'm afraid that if I get in to too many other details the magic might not work on you and the last thing I want is to prevent magic, because obviously anyone who prevents magic is afraid of fun and fun is something to be savored, not ignored.
I am giving this place 4 stars because everyone else seems to like it and I do not want to cause a riot. I am sure vegetarians will love it. But...
Okay- this place is a veggie restaurant, right? They were serving anchovies on pizza (?) and nothing vegan when I was there except salad. Yech. And sorry Tim R, I was told this place was a vegetarian restaurant, so sue my friends and some other Yelpers for telling me so (you may want to peruse the other reviews and the category it is in, or tell your boss at DD to change his business info-yeah, saw you on their blog, dude.) On that night there was nothing tasty for vegans. I had high expectations due to reviews. Maybe I will try this place again when I am sure I can eat something on the menu, I obviously went on an off night.
But I have learned that their menu changes all the time, so next time they update their blog with something that strikes my fancy I will be back- so many Yelpers cannot be wrong?
What hasn't already been written about this great place? I went with my brother and several friends, being not too familiar with what to expect. Vegetarian? I don't typically look forward to meals like this. I left a changed person and very much wanting to come back.
The restaurant is very clean and very small. Only several tables that can be shared if needed as people come and go. Be sure to remember that it's BYOB, and there is no corkage fee, which really keeps the cost down. It was Saturday, so it was pizza night. 5 different kinds of pizza, which we all shared across the table. The black bean and roasted red pepper soup was good, pureed and slightly thick. The pizza's were a different kind of pie. Organic ingredients places on a cracker-thin small pie. Of those, the asparagus was the winner and will be featured on many of my homemade pizza's in the future. We spent 2 1/2 hours there and I didnt feel like it had been that long.
While a great experience overall, I didn't get the overwhelming feeling that this was one of the best meals I've had. It was, however, very intriguing and I am very excited to go back.
Get some good wine, good friends, and you should have a different kind of dining experience.
Did she. . . did she not just. . . *
Bah, it could be my imagination.
Anyway, today I decided to do something a little different today and go for a vegetarian meal. My rationale is as follows:
- I *really* need to eat more vegetables. If nothing else, I need to diversify away from rice and pasta (though I seriously heart them).
- I also need something that is light and cleansing. So no beef, pork or even chicken, for that matter.
- I ran the 5K today, so anything less than a healthy meal is not an option.
I decided to give this place a try, since this place had good reviews (in particular, Tami's review), so I made my way down to downtown and got off JW Dobbs. As I made my left, I recognized that I been on this street before (since it wasn't too far from my place of work) - in particular, with my attempt to run a few miles from and back to my job - right in the middle of the summer day.
*Flashback: a few months, walking back to work.
"Crap, it's frickin' hot. . . . dang, this neighborhood is sketchy. . . whoa, I think I'm melting . . . wheeee. . ."
Okay, so it wasn't a positive experience.
Anyway, I didn't expect it to be in the sketchy part of down. I had thought that it is probably up ahead in the gentrified part of down, but that was dashed to pieces when I passed Jackson. I parked, looked around for something like a gathering of urban pioneers that would indicate the location of this restaurant. Failing that, I took my laptop from my car (which is fair unusual for me to do, but I don't trust the area enough to leave it in there) and walked east.
Looking at the windows, after passing by the boarded up thrift store, I found the place Then I walked in. .. actually, almost stumbled in like a poor traveler just getting out of the blizzard and look around a bit.
The interior is a complete contrast to the outside. The tables. . . were not regular restaurant tables, but stylish dining tables (well stylish to me - what do I know about tables?). Silverware are in the jars for people to pick out after ordering the food. There are paintings on the walls made by apparently local artists, which adds to the charm, me thinks.
Ordering the food was fairly straightforward - you walk up to the counter, pick out your items and then head over to the table.
For the food, I ordered the following (which turns out to be a mistake, in retrospect).
- Georgia arugula salad with bucheron chevre, table grapes and sliced green apple
- Grilled(?) tofu sandwich with avocado mousse and heirloom tomatoes, with a side of pink eye peas topped with orange.
- Carrot juice.
The carrot juice came first. It was quite tasty - I can tell that it was freshly made and didn't came from some container. Then the salad and the sandwich and I went right to work.
The salad I wasn't expecting much except to be good, but the bucheron chevre (which is apparently some sort of cheese) really tempered the peppery of the arugula and made it a lot more pleasant to eat (maybe peppery is not the right word - help me out, guys), which elevates it to excellent.
The surprise is the sandwich. I was expecting the tofu to be quite tasteless, but it had flavor - almost meaty, in fact. And pairing the avocado mousse as the condiment made it a pleasure to eat.
So by the time I was done, I felt quite cleansed. Light? Not so much. Apparently, I forgot that the laws of physics still applies to vegetarian foods well, so I was quite stuffed (I think I surprised the host when I finished both dishes - I think her exact words were "amazing". I don't think I stunned my hosts since I was 12, when I once ate 8 plates of spaghetti). Fortunately, it didn't last too long - when I went inside the car and away from peoples' ears, I let out a nice dignified burp (which, come to think of it, is the reason why I don't eat too much vegetables - dang things give you gas).
In short, it was my first complete vegetarian meal and I loved it. That said, I probably should order just a single dish next time - I don't think I need to freak the hosts out with my overwhelming consumption. :D
*If you are wondering what was I talking about, message me.
A friend and I were graciously accommodated after showing up with minimal space around 8 p.m.
When we arrived there was a woman waiting on an acquaintance of the opposite sex, and we were informed that there was only two more of the special. On this night there was the special, the salad, the soup, and the sandwich. We decided each of our groups would have the special, and we also ordered the soup and salad.
It wasn't a huge amount of food, but adequate. I was very impressed with the presentation, and the ingredients were all very high quality. The special lacked a great amount of flavor, but the soup was amazing.
I brought a bottle of wine, and uncorked it myself with very little pomp and circumstance. It was a good night, and I'll try to make it back here to try something new.
I read a lot of hype about Dynamic Dish and was disappointed with organic pizza night. The pizza has a cracker crust, basically like a healthy cracker, which is not really most people's idea of what pizza is. There was barely any cheese on it, so it's basically about the toppings, which are odd to say the least. I thought the Turkish pizza was fine for what it is. The Georgia with leeks, pumpkin, lemongrass (??) and jack cheese was well, pretty bad. The salad we ordered with golden beets, cashews and apples was excellent. Unless, you are into extremely healthy, not very filling pizza (cracker bread), I couldn't recommend pizza night. Skip it. But I do find the menu interesting and would consider going back and having something other than pizza. Several reviews on Yelp state that it's a vegetarian restaurant. While most of the menu is vegetarian, there was bacon included on one pizza, so not quite vegetarian.
Ok, so regardless of all the great reviews that DD gets on here, I was somewhat apprehensive going there. Don't ask me why. It's not like I don't trust my fellow Yelpers, but I just feel that once a place gets that much attention, there's a bit of peer pressure to rate it highly.
I should learn to trust my fellow Yelpers.
Dynamic Dish justifies the hype. Yes, the place can be considered pricey. Yes, the parking might be a bit of a hassle. The food though? Absolutely awesome. I had the kohlrabi soup to start and then sesame marinated tofu, bok choy, red pepper over quinoa.
It was so simple, but exquisite is the best way I can describe it.
There is also some suggestion that the service is cold or frigid. I did not experience any of that. We showed up on a fairly busy evening (I suppose most evenings are busy, as they're only open late twice a week) and we did have reservations. We were greeted and seated promptly and the waitresses were all smiles and quite friendly. They explained every detail about every dish and made suggestions.
I'm a big fan of Dynamic Dish. Although I will agree with the suggestion that the more of this type restaurant in Atlanta, the better.
I have already written about Dynamic Dish...but I have to specifically mention Pizza Night again. On Saturday evenings, Dave and his peeps make these amazing thin crust (think cracker flatbread) pizzas with incredible combos of organic toppings. This past Saturday I had anchovy with spinach while a friend had a special "white" pizza - it has a fancy German name which I won't even attempt to butcher - with leeks, gruyere and emmenthaler cheese.
He also made a wonderful simple green salad with toasted sunflower seeds on it....and his gazpacho is always so clean tasting and freshly made.
Still my favorite restaurant in Atlanta...
Dynamic Dish is my favorite spot in Atlanta right now. I've been a number of times for both lunch… Read more »
I must start off this review by saying that my visit here was long overdue. Having heard about this place a while back, and the fact that I am in the neighborhood, I have no excuse. And now I have no excuse for not going back often, now that I have had my first taste.
Walking in here, I had great expectations. Between Tami H's ROTD yesterday on this place, and the load of good reviews before it, I couldn't wait. The decor as I entered instantly reminded me of a very Californian cafe. Very light, semi-contemporary, and just a lot of attention to the details, like in the light fixtures, etc.
The menu, mounted on the wall behind the counter, listed the items for the day. Two items stuck out immediately. A salad, consisting of dandelions, goat cheese, walnuts, and apples, was one, while the other was an open faced sandwich, wheat bread, covered with goat cheese, pecans, and figs. Being that this was my first time here, I decided to go with both.
The items came out simultaneously, and both were of great size portions. Honestly you could do with just one or the other, but I wanted the variety.
Paired with the sandwich was a small cucumber salad, as well as a potato salad. The potato salad was amazing... It was so light and summery. Just perfect. The cux, light as well, had a wonderful taste to them as well. The sandwich, which my only complaint was that the bread wasn't toasted to hold it's shape, was just amazing in flavors. I love figs, and this was just a treat. Paired with the pecans and goat cheese, it was just heaven on a slice of bread.
The salad was a nice contrast to the flavors of the sandwich, especially with the dandelions. It had a nice "bite" to it, though when you had a fork full of all the ingredients, it was just a well balanced pairing of flavors. Nothing seemed to be overpowering, though on their own I can see how they could be. Genius.
I will be back here sooner than later, and am thankful that I decided to finally stop procrastinating my visit here.
Dined here for the first time last night, and I was really impressed.
We made reservations.
We had the Vegan Salad (Roasted Beet Quinoa over Swiss Chard & red watercress) w/toasted sunflower seeds and red grapefruit slices. It was DELICIOUS and the plate presentation was beautiful. Also tried the Vegan Steamed local collards w/Rosemary roasted tofu and russet potatoes which was yummy as well.
I am not a Vegan but both entrees were delicious.
Service was great and we BYOB'd. I will definitely be back!
I came here on a Saturday evening after a day at the show at the Americasmart and was so happy I stopped in.
I wanted a cafe like experience with food that I couldn't get in L.A.
As I was walking out of my hotel, a cab driver asked me if I needed a ride and I said I would prefer to walk (it was so warm and lovely out).
He asked me where I was going and I told him.
"M'am you can't walk there. Let me take ya".
I shrugged but got in.
He started to make me nervous.
I walked in and the restaurant had about 20 people inside- they were giggling and laughing and drinking wine.
Good sign.
I glanced up at the chalkboard behind the front counter ,which displays the daily menu, and ordered a baby artichoke pizza. Sounded delicious!
I wasn't too crazy about the idea of "communal" dining, but whatever, I was hungry.
The individual pizza was lovely. Sweet and rich and so fresh tasting. The cheese was creamy- not too light and not too greasy. The crust was crispy thin and delicious! I loved the marinara sauce too.
I ordered a homemade chocolate chip cookie with roasted almonds for desert and that was gone in 20 seconds. Yum! Yum!
The cab driver was going to pick me up in exactly 30 minutes.
After waiting 15 minutes, I decided to make the venture and walk back to the hotel. Okay a bit sketchy, but I kept my head down and kept going.
You don't really get a chance to walk around the cities in L.A. so it was fun!
If you are looking for a quaint, quiet and unique casual dining experience, with a slight contemporary organic artistic edge, please stop here.
Staff is super nice and suggestive, patient and humble.
I hate to stay seated through the standing ovation, but Dynamic Dish failed to summon me to my feet.
First, the requisite details. The décor is minimal and modern. It's softly lit and makes use of open space, communal wood tables, and touches of brightly colored, fresh vegetation. It's a welcome breath of fresh air in the O4W and Georgia, in general. I am a firm believer in supporting local farmers, small businesses, and sustainable practices. The entire concept behind Dynamic Dish appeals to me on multiple levels and I frequent restaurants with similar practices and objectives on the West Coast.
That said, two things about Dynamic Dish struck me as incongruous to the friendly neighborhood destination it seeks to be.
1. It's not friendly. That totally goes against the friendly neighborhood thing. There's a palpable air of eco-pretension. I just made that word up, but you know what I mean. It's very earthy and if you're not wearing your hand-dyed hemp clothes and winter beard, you barely receive any acknowledgment. We dined on a weekday at 6:30 pm. There were only two other people there and we were asked if we had a reservation. We admitted [quizzically] that we didn't and looked around the empty room and at each other. Some of the unoccupied tables had small reservation cards that read "8:00 pm." Others said nothing. We were then offered seating at the "bar." The bar is actually the table where the cash register is housed. It suited us just fine because we aren't averse to bar seating and we had plans in the not so distant evening to tend to. We left at 7:15 pm, walking by still unoccupied tables.
Service wasn't particularly attentive nor dismissive; just fine. This wasn't the case for other patrons, who were gregariously welcomed and greeted. I certainly wasn't looking for a hug or an orgasm, but some warmth or personality in a purported thoughtful and conscientious establishment seems appropriate.
2. The prices aren't justified, no matter how precious the produce may be. We shared two small bowls of soup and a sandwich [the entrée wasn't anything that interested us] and the bill totaled almost $40 [eta 2/23/09: checked my receipt after being blasted by a DD employee and it turns out my bill was $35, not $40. My bad, but the point remains the same]. Granted, $40 is not a lot for dinner - if you actually consumed an entrée and/or find yourself sated. But to spend almost $40 only to have to go find a real meal elsewhere only a half hour later, it makes less sense. The two soups that evening were beet with horseradish and crème fraiche [it was fine, but I've had much better at Russian dives] and a winter stew with lentils and spelt berries that sounded positively divine. It wasn't. It tasted like grass and Seasonal Affective Disorder.
The sandwich was arugula, granny smith apples, and cheese [a very potent, yummy cheese whose name currently escapes me]. Anyhow, that too was $10. It wasn't on particularly robust or enthralling bread. It didn't possess any butters, dressings or spices. It was simply an apple and cheese sandwich. Tasty and healthy, sure. Deserving of ten dollars? Not if I can help it.
It's prohibitively expensive for the average person and makes vegetables seem a luxury. Organic foods are more expensive, yes, but the end product simply doesn't warrant the price point, no matter your noble intentions. At some point, you're simply ripping people off in a very environmentally sound way.
Our communities are starving for unprocessed foods and healthier options. I haven't written it off completely because I want to believe in them and have them succeed. Their menu changes every day and it's statistically improbable that I won't find something that delivers in every way imaginable. I will probably give DD another opportunity, but it suffices to say my first experience was wildly underwhelming.
Two of my friends and I ate here in December on pizza night. The pomegranates in the salad, the squash on one pizza, the anchovies and pesto on the other pizza, and the non-existent corking fee make this place a gustatory champ in my book.
Plus, the butcher block tables and eclectic mix of chandeliers make the otherwise open space feel cozy and warm.
I'm not a vegetarian, but Dynamic Dish is my favorite spot in Atlanta. David and crew put together fresh, creative, and wholesome food.
This is as casual as you can get- Counter service, menu on a chalk board, etc.... but the food is exquisite.
Dynamic Dish is BYO with zero corkage. I find the food extremely friendly for pairing. We usually pack in Champagne or sparkling wine, lighter whites- like Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, or Muscadet, or light bodied reds like Burgundy or Cru Beaujolais.
Saturday night is also Pizza Night. Dave's pizzas are great, fresh, and usually topped with interesting cheeses and things like fresh peas, and arugula.
I love this place.
Well... Its about 3:30 am and I am just about starting to sober up. This is as good a time as any to yelp a review about my new favorite restaurant in the DOWNTOWN.
Dynamic dish was perfect tonight. It was a Saturday, pizza night. After reading a couple recent reviews I encouraged my friends and I to pick a few bottles of wine at the Kroger and check out the DD. What a great restaurant!
Us, a 5 top of young 20 somethings, walk into dd at 9:20pm Saturaday night. The place was almost full except for a four top which happened to suit the five of us just fine. The sever brought over a wine key and some water while we figured out how the place worked. You don't receive a menu because it is written on a chalkboard in the middle of the space. It required a little effort to read the board from my point of view ( i had to get up and check it for a closer look) but the experience lends it self to a new and exciting way to dine out at this price point/quality. The menu changes every day, so this format works very well for them.
Tonight the menu was all vegetarian, but I have heard that they do serve meet occasionally.
We ordered pizzas, one with sunchokes and some root veg I cant remember at the moment.. and the other with olives. Delicious thin crust fresh pizza!
We also had a salad course of endive and roasted pumpkin seeds.. mmmm.
Overall the experience was refreshing and a treat for this city. It felt like a posh veg restaurant in San Francisco, similar to Cafe Gratitude... but in the ATL! What a treat! I am a meat loving ex fine dining server by the way.... Go To Dynamic Dish!
College Park, GA
Category: British
Neighborhood: Buckhead
Category: Vegetarian
Neighborhood: Westside / Home Park
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Buckhead
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Buckhead
Category: Turkish
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