by Molly Morris, contributor
Summer is here and I’ve been craving some authentic, deep Southern food since the humidity hit “Hotlanta.” On a mild July evening, I decided to meet up with some friends at Ponce City Market, walk across Old Fourth Ward Park and onto the Beltline to get a late dinner at Two Urban Licks in the warehouse district of Atlanta. I’d heard many people talk about the restaurant’s creatively sultry atmosphere and inspiring take on Southern cuisine, and was anxious to experience it for myself.
It was already dusk at the time we started walking, but lots of people were still out jogging, playing Frisbee and walking on the trail. Two Urban Licks was just a couple hundred feet from the park on the beltline, with a glowing back porch entrance to greet us at our arrival. There is a front entrance with parking, but we just chose to arrive in style (or sweat). We walked through the back entrance to the hostess station in the front, without anyone greeting us at the back. I felt like this was a little odd as it was our first time, but it was a busy Saturday evening so I let it roll off. Another thing that I had to quickly adjust to was the lighting, or lack thereof: the restaurant was very dark, so much so that my eyes took longer than normal to adjust. During dinner, my fiancé had to pull out his phone to use the screen light to see the menu, which may have been slightly dramatic, but not entirely.
Another interesting aspect of Two Urban Licks’ interior is that all the cooking is done in the middle of the restaurant – open wood-fires, live rotating rotisseries and a 26-foot wine on tap barrel wall (for those of us ages 21 and up!). These features not only fill the entire room with incredible aromas, but they also provide diners with an innovative and fresh approach to design. Artwork by the famed Todd Murphy scales the large wall, adding to the eclectic and moody ambiance. Murphy’s piece, “The Courage of Margaret Mead,” has been featured in the restaurant since 1997.
We were greeted warmly and quickly seated in a booth near the live music. One of the great perks of Two Urban Licks is that it is a hotspot for incredible live blues. I loved the volume and vibe that the music gave, but my friends and I did struggle to carry on any sort of conversation over it, which transformed an evening of catching up into just an evening of food and looking at our phones more than we actually talked.
Our waiter was always prompt and enthusiastic about our questions, making suggestions of personal and crowd favorites. We ordered a round of cocktails and a few appetizers to share: shaved calamari with cilantro in a wasabi aioli and pimento cheese hush puppies with green chili jam. These appetizers took us to a different dimension because of how tasty they were. The hush puppies were a little spicy for my personal heat tolerance, but I didn’t let that stop me.
We savored the appetizers as long as we could and our meals were brought out shortly after. The portions of the entrees were quite large, and they were so full of flavor that the four of us barely came up for air or conversation. I ordered the brisket, which had been smoked and roasted for over 14 hours, and was served with butternut squash hash and a red wine jus, making the already-juicy meat even more palatable. It was, hands down, the best brisket I’ve ever had and I could possibly go as far to say that it might have been the best meat I’ve ever had as well. The side of butternut squash hash was rosemary-infused and a good companion to the delicious, fall-apart-in-your-mouth brisket. My friends and fiancé all ordered the same entrée – the slow cooked pork shank, with sautéed collards and roasted sweet potato. While it looked like it was something you’d be served at Medieval Times (bone in, large enough for a knight to fill up on), they all managed to finish up their portions too. I took a small bite of the pork, which was also incredibly flavorful and buttery in its smoothness, but I still feel like I won the prize with the brisket (and I’ve still been dreaming about it since this night).
We were stuffed to the brim with our meals, but decided to split two desserts among the four of us. We ordered the Memphis mud bar, which was somewhat like a large brownie served with peanut butter mousse and banana ice cream. I was skeptical of the banana ice cream as I’m usually not a fan, but this dish would’ve made Elvis jealous. Our table also ordered the chocolate chip bread pudding; this generally would’ve been a texture issue for me as I despise bread pudding, but my taste buds were again proven wrong. Two Urban Licks had me loving every single flavor that fed my senses the entire evening.
Aside from the darkness of the restaurant and the volume of the music, which we all became accustomed to by the end of the evening, Two Urban Licks is an essential stop in one’s quest to taste Atlanta. They’ve mastered the true essence of what it means to “put a little South in your mouth,” only to be supported by an excellent location and a unique experience overall. We walked back onto the beltline with our own belts feeling a little too tight, happy, well-fed and taking in a final drink for the evening – the glorious Atlanta skyline.
