The Tomato House
Tucked in a sidestreet in downtown Senoia, with a simple green awning and signage on the doormat, resides The Tomato House. From the moment I walked in I was pleasantly surprised. Clean, rustic, elegant - three words I'd use to describe this place. We were greeted by the owner Tracy Brady, a native of Manhattan who has made Senoia her home. Her concept is classic Italian with a southern infusion. Our excellent server Jessica,(formerly of Ten East Washington) walked us through the cocktail options and we went with the Driving Miss Daisy, a frothy martini infused with lavender, and a Hot and Dirty Martini rimmed with chili powder. Both delicious.
As we took in the menu, I noticed where the southern infusion came in to play with pork belly as one of the appetizers. We decided to start with a charcuterie board which is rarely found on menus in our region. It was delivered by the executive chef Jarrod Reeder who described each component. The board was impressive with the standouts being the sheeps milk cheese, dolce gorgonzola, housemade pate, and Proscuitto de Parma. The incredible crusty bread was the perfect vessel.
The chef highly recommended the pork belly appetizer and so we took him up on that along with some of the most succulent scallops I have had in a very long time. Word to the wise however, remove a bit of the thick bacon surrounding them, the bacon, while delicious overpowered the amazing flavor of the scallops. The Verdicchio by the glass was an outstanding pairing for all. Their wine list while not huge is very interesting, offering some of the usual suspects but also a few unfamiliar ones I hope to try. On to our entrees. I was thrilled to see their inclusion of Spezzano's sausage in their dishes!
Owner Tracy was glad to be able to source a great local product to showcase. While the menu boasts some really intruiging options alongside the standard Italian fare, there was only one choice for me as Carbonara is my favorite pasta dish. While it is simple ingredients it is sometimes difficult to execute and serve as timing is everything in this dish. The homemade taglietelli pasta was perfect and the sauce of eggs, parmesan and pancetta creamy. The addition of peas and mushrooms were very good. Be sure and get extra black pepper. I was rather stuffed and wound up taking most home. It was devine for breakfast the next day.
As for dessert, we could'nt resist the cheesecake with bourbon bacon brittle and the strawberry shortcake. Both were outstanding and even better paired with the Prosecco infused with St. Germaine. From charcuterie to shortbread, I've not been this excited about a new restaurant in quite a while. I look forward to my next visit.
