*This is part of a series of restaurant reviews we are doing in anticipation of Michelin coming to Atlanta. We have been to several Michelin restaurants around the world (nothing in the US yet), so we consider ourselves somewhat of a Michelin snob. Michelin publishes their official criteria of earning a star (or stars), which are the 5 tenets. Here, we will try to talk about each tenet and see how the restaurant we predicted MIGHT be Michelin worthy, fared with these 5 tenets.
Little Bear is a small neighborhood restaurant that features farm to table organic fare with a hyper focus on seasonal ingredients. There are only roughly 12 items on the menu, with a combination of savory, sweet, hot and cold dishes. Little Bear is created by chef Jarrett Stieber, named after the couple’s Great Pyrenees dog, Fernando L. Bear, which resembles the looks of a little bear. Besides great food, Little Bear its also known for is great cocktail menu and reasonable prices.
Little Bear’s dishes are tapas style. It would take about 3 plates plus dessert to be full. When we went, the menu had full of awesome sounding dishes, but we decided to go for the “Dealer’s Choice” for each of us, which is a 4 course prix fixe meal decided by the chef. We also got one order of the “Booze Pack” to share, which comes with 1 fancy off-menu cocktail, 2 fancy off-menu glasses of wine, and 1 house-made nightcap. This ended up being the perfect amount of food and drinks.
Cocktail: Strawberry Mai Tai
The first drink we received is the Strawberry Mai Tai. It’s made in house and you could taste the freshly muddled strawberries. I’m not sure why they don’t just put this on the regular menu – it was SO AMAZING.
Course 1: Chilled Pepper & Squash Soup
Chilled Pepper & Squash Soup is a cold soup with cabbage, chili crisp kabocha, shishito, huacatay, hot ‘n sour tomato, and buttermilk. So many interesting ingredients and it’s got a kick! A cold soup is typically not something I would have ordered myself, but this was OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Fancy Wine #1: È! Orange Vino Bianco
We were given a glass of organic orange wine, called È! Orange, from Podero Celario, a farm in Italy. I was surprised that the waitress was able to tell us a lot about the origin and details about the wine. Vino Bianco means Italian White Wine. This tasted great. Wish the glass was bigger.
Course 2: Lettuce Salad
Our second course was the lettuce salad. Don’t let the name fool you. This lettuce salad comes with a million ingredients, and the coffee tahini salad dressing was to die for. It had lots of fresh herbs, pecan dukkah, heirloom tomato, even salted peach. How’s that for a salad? IT WAS SO GOOD.
Fancy Wine #2: Xisto Ilimitado Douro
Next up we were given a glass of Xisto Ilimatdo Douro. Once again, the waitress told us a lot about this wine. It’s a Portuguese wine from the region of Douro. It combines 6 varieties of grapes, each taken from the area that’s the best for its area. The result is bright, focused and fresh.
Course 3: Peach Sambal Chicken
Perhaps not what I would have ordered for myself, but this Peach Sambal Chicken was delicious, spicy, and filling. It came with eggplant, onions, okra, duo jiao, basil and a funky peach sauce. Everything came together wonderfully. The chicken was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Nightcap: P, B&J
We are on our last drink of the night, P, B & J. This is a “nightcap” but I don’t want the night to end. It’s made with Pecan Amaretto and Georgia Strawberry Liqueur. The result is sweet, peachy, nutty deliciousness.
Course 4: Golden Curry Custard
The final course of the night is a dessert called Golden Curry Custard. It’s made with meringue, peach, herb coulis, and flowers. This was out of this world. Every bite was mesmerizing.
Michelin Star Worthy?
So how does Little Bear score against the 5 tenets of Michelin Star criteria? Let’s see.
1. Using Quality Products
Little Bear’s ingredients are very high quality, marked by local, organic, seasonal choices that present themselves perfectly on the table. This is an easy checkmark.
2. Mastery of Flavor and Cooking Techniques
Chef Jarrett has been cooking since he was 16 years old and his style is to not be afraid of the kitchen. He likes to incorporate many ingredients, cuisines and textures, but he makes sure it all works at the end, and it sure does. It’s almost like the opposite of Aria, where each dish only had 4 ingredients.
3. Personality of the Chef in the Cuisine
Chef Jarrett likes to crack jokes. The “Dealer’s Choice” option on the menu tells you to simply tell the waiter, “just f’me up fam!”. I’m not sure if that’s my type of “humor” but it shows that the chef doesn’t take himself seriously. (Combined with the fact the restaurant is called Little Bear, named after his dog.) You can also see his personality through his dishes, all of the bold flavors, and the focus on hyper seasonal ingredients.
4. Value for Money
The cost of the dishes are quite low for what they are. I assumed this means the experience would be compromised, it was not. The service was exceptional and the waitress knows her stuff. The restaurant was very clean and the interior décor was beautiful and appropriate for a farm to table jaunt. There’s free parking behind the restaurant and plenty of it.
5. Consistency of Food
This restaurant has been around for a while and has won many awards. I believe the food is very consistent here and I watched the waitress measuring the wine pour with a digital scale.
Conclusion
This was an amazing experience and we’ve been talking about it nonstop since we came home. Everything on the menu looked amazing and everything we tasted was out of this world. It wouldn’t surprise me if this restaurant receives a Michelin star, but since the price is pretty low, it’s possible they would receive a Bib Gourmand. Keep in mind a restaurant cannot receive both a Michelin Star and a Bib Gourmand, so if Little Bear deserved a star, and qualified for Bib Gourmand as well, they would just receive the one star. Currently I’m leaning towards a Bib Gourmand for Little Bear, mostly because we did notice some serving bowls with chips on them. I would be shocked if Little Bear doesn’t receive some type of recognition from Michelin.