Review: Sauced (1)
Ria Pell gets nostalgic in Inman Park
What does nostalgia taste like? Of course, its different for all of us. But nostalgia can be conjured, creating a kind of gastronomic déjà-vu — Ive been here before, havent I? No, I guess not, but it feels eerily familiar.
At Sauced, Ria Pells new restaurant and lounge in 11:11 Teahouses former Inman Park spot, theres a lot of nostalgia conjuring going on. Pell has taken the strange, slightly cramped space and managed to turn its drawbacks into assets. The minute you walk in, youre transported to a kind of 50s/60s/70s flashback, part your grandparents wood-paneled den, part swinging bar from some scene you probably didnt take part in but wish you had. Sauced is masterfully quirky, bolstered by its small scale and Pells small touches — the antlers on the walls; the cube cushions on the low black banquettes; the warm but sparse lighting.
On weekends, what looks like the host stand becomes a DJ table where either Pell or a guest spins vintage soul and camp classics. Bartenders pour cocktails with names such as Goodnight Saint Nick, a mixture of rye whiskey, orange-maple syrup and allspice that tastes like Christmas and looks as if its a prop in one of those garishly colored Jell-O cookbooks from the 50s.
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(Photo by James Camp)