Last night Susan and I met up with friends of ours for dinner at Atera. The idea of spending several hundred dollars a person for dinner seemed more than a bit crazy to me but I was proven wrong: it was completely worth it and I rank it among a small group of magical experiences that money can buy (right up there with say scuba diving).
This is not a regular meal in any form. We had close to 30 different dishes and each of them was a uniquely enchanting combination of flavors and textures. Every time I put something into my mouth I had to close my eyes to appreciate the full richness of what Chef Matthew Lightner and his crew had created.
The pacing and order of the dishes was perfectly orchestrated to never feel rushed and yet provide a kind of ongoing continuity and heightened state. Add to that an intimate setting with elegant but unpretentious decor, a super friendly, knowledgeable and approachable staff and you have an experience that I know will stay with me.
I hope that they can carry on at this extraordinary level for some time (it surely must require supreme effort) because I plan to return but can’t see myself doing that more than once a year.
