Last weekend was full of graduation parties and holiday celebrations, but Mario and I wanted to sit down for a quick “real” dinner instead of filling up on hors d’oeuvres. We decided to try out Rosebud in the Virginia-Highland area.

Rosebud

Photo from Rosebud’s Facebook page

It was a cold, rainy evening, but Rosebud was nothing but warmth, from the host to the bar to the food.

Again, this was (unfortunately) a quick dinner because we had two parties to get to, so we skipped apps and drinks and went straight to the entrees. I had the duck risotto (roasted mushrooms, dried apricots, and fresh sage), and Mario got the Kobe burger (grilled onions, Rouge Creamery soba ale cheddar & Rosebud steak sauce):

Duck Risotto

Kobe burger & housemade fries

My duck risotto was just dreamy. It looked like a small plate at first and had no sides, but it was really filling and I couldn’t even finish the whole thing. The mushrooms were thick and flavorful, the risotto creamy, and the apricot bits added a really great sweet contrast to the savory dish. I think the only thing that could have made it better was if it were topped with a few crispy duck skin strips.

Mario really liked his Kobe burger and the Rosebud steak sauce (he was dipping everything in it), but wasn’t impressed by the housemade fries, which I could tell were under-seasoned just by looking at them.

One really cool thing about Rosebud is that they truly are locally sourced. On the back of their menu, they have a list of all the local farms and dairies from which they procure their ingredients. They also had a really interesting cocktail list and lively bar area, but I opted out to enjoy the libations at my party destinations. From what we could tell, the space was a little small, so we were happy we had made reservations. We really enjoyed our meal there and are looking forward to seeing what other delicious dishes can be cooked up with local food!

www.rosebudatlanta.com