First Impression

John: 5 Seasons restaurant and brewery in Alpharetta is actually one of the first places I ever ate when I moved to Georgia 18 months ago. I would pass it twice a day (on my way to work and on my way home from work) and I would always think to myself, “I really need to try out that place that looks like it was built around 1897 by the Swiss Family Robinson.” The restaurant has a rustic feel. If you’ve ever seen it, you know what I mean. It looks like it was built with the world’s biggest Lincoln Log set. If I was a cook in the kitchen, I would be afraid to light a fire anywhere because one small spark could burn the whole restaurant to the ground. Anyway, pyromania aside, let me talk about the inside of the restaurant. As soon as you walk in, look to your right, there will be a room. In this room, 5 Seasons brews each one of their beers. There are six huge vats in the room, how huge are they?  They could get the whole population of Wyoming drunk and still have some beer left over. In recap: the building may or may not have been built by pioneers, 5 Seasons brews their own beer on premises and the servers know more about beer then anyone in the world, except for maybe the guy who runs Sam Adams, but even then, it’s a toss-up.

Copsey: If I owned a Swiss cabin, I imagine it might look something like 5 Seasons; I think the only things missing were a roaring log fire and a bearskin rug. Like John, this was one of the first places I ate at when I first came to town, and it must have been shortly after they opened (about three years ago). Then, like now, I was impressed by the flavors of the dishes that were so varied and not on a typical menu. According to the chef (yes, we met the chef as he was hacking away at what would be the ribs for the next evening) 5 Seasons aims to buy everything locally and organically grown, if possible. Fresh is the name of the game. Even the bread, which they make in-house, is made from the bits left over from brewing their beer. Recycling is taken to a new level here and it’s tasty. 

Copsey: A
John: A

Appetizers

John: If I listed every appetizer Copsey and I sampled at 5 Seasons, this review would run 19 pages, unfortunately I can’t do that because we’re only allotted one page. First, we sampled a scallop salad off of the seasonal menu. The scallop isn’t actually a salad, it’s a scallop served over a bed of mixed greens that have been tossed in an Asian peanut sauce. We were warned the sauce was going to be spicy and it was. Just keep in mind that it’s the type of spicy that doesn’t hit you until 12 minutes later. The scallop was juicy and the ‘little plate’ as 5 Seasons calls their appetizers, was the perfect start to the meal. OK, now I have to talk up the chicken wings. 5 Seasons knows their clientele might range from classy couples to Fraternity brothers on their way to a keg party, so they made the menu accordingly. To appease the ‘bar crowd,’ they have things on the menu like chicken wings. These wings were a lot bigger and a lot meatier then what I’m used to getting at wing places. 5 Seasons must be using healthier chickens then Taco Mac.

Copsey: Imagine crab and cream cheese stuffed into a French toast pastry and fried. That’s what the Kari Kari is and it was delicious. Just the perfect amount of crunchy and mushy, along with a little bit of au jus to add some further kick. I like sausages, so I thoroughly enjoyed the bratwurst dish we had, with a veal link and pork link served over sauerkraut. The contrast in flavors must be something 5 Seasons enjoys (as well as cooking to perfection), since the links melted in my mouth in a tasty and bitter mixture that I actually want to have again. Even the chicken lemon grass soup we had to start was great, and a perfect taste of things to come. 

Copsey: B+
John: A-

Entrée

John: Now let me talk about dinner for a second because I had something that I had never eaten in my life: rabbit. As a child, I don’t think I ever understood why Elmer Fudd hunted rabbit. I suppose it never crossed my mind that he was going to kill Bugs and then eat him for supper that night. Anyway, let me be the first to tell you that rabbit is actually pretty good. It’s served three ways; we got the liver (it’s fried), the leg and the loin. Now I liked all three. If you don’t like liver, the dish is served with delectable southern gravy that you can just drench your fried liver in. However, I didn’t need to dip the liver in the gravy because I actually liked it. The loin tasted kind of like chicken, but there is a small difference. It’s really hard to describe. Imagine if a blind person asked you what the letter ‘K’ looks like, that’s what I mean when I say it’s hard to describe.

Copsey: We went with a bar staple – pizza. You might think that a place as swanky as this would do something horrible with their pizza, but you’d be wrong. There were no crazy toppings or experiments; ours was made of homemade dough, goat cheese and carmelized onions. The combination of the sharp goat cheese and sweet onions was unique enough to make my taste buds jump a little. There was no tomato marinara to speak of; which we were assured was on purpose – this made for a light and crisp dish that didn’t fill me up, leaving plenty of room for the other courses.

John: A
Copsey: A

Desserts

John: Lucky for everyone reading, Copsey won’t be writing about the desserts. He’s going to write about all 37 beers he sampled. I will say this, Mel (we decided to bring her for a female’s point of view) really enjoyed the beer that had chocolate as an ingredient. But keep in mind, she is a female and we all know that females will eat anything if it has chocolate in it. For the dessert, we had crème brulee and a chocolate lava cake. I rate most of the desserts we eat on originality and I have to because 99 percent of them taste good. The crème brulee had a perfect layering of burnt sugar over it and the chocolate cake was like eating a soft brownie. However, after such an original menu and such original beers, I expected a little more from the desserts (Don’t get me wrong, they did taste good).

Copsey: Let me get one thing out right off the bat – if you are expecting typical beers from 5 Seasons, you should skip over this paragraph. You don’t go to a brewery and ask for a Bud Light. That’s just rude; you ask for something “like” Bud Light. At which point your server will give you a taster of whatever is closest in taste. It’s important to get the tasters before you get a full pint, since nothing they brew is quite like anything anywhere else. Of course, I had tasters of just about every beer they brewed, making me a very happy reporter. By far and away the best was a delightful concoction called the “quintessence.” Apparently this mixture has the perfect blend of fruits and spices and hops to make a blend that almost tastes like tea. But a beer tea. That might not sound­ too appetizing, but my vocabulary cannot do this beer any justice. Have a taster and you won’t regret it. There are maybe eight beers at any given time running around 5 Seasons, all of different weights and type, such as an imperial stout (and the chocolate stout) and a light lager and ales, etc. Something for the whole family to enjoy. There’s a healthy (very healthy) selection of wine also, for those who prefer a more civilized drink.

John: B (grade is for dessrts only)
Copsey: A (and I liked the desserts too)

Final Impression

John: One thing I can say unequivocally is that every single person in the restaurant was having a good time (including Roswell Mayor Jere Wood, you can read more about the sighting in my Behind the Bleachers sports column). There was not one frown anywhere. As a matter of fact, there was a table of 12 people right next to us and two of those people weren’t even people at all, they were actually little tiny babies. Where am I going with this? Even the babies had a good time, they didn’t cry once. This is one of the few restaurants in North Fulton where you can be comfortable taking your wife out on a date or just drinking a lot of beer and talking sports with the guys. Not many places can pull both those things off at the same time.

Copsey: I was happily impressed by 5 Seasons. Yes, I had eaten there before, but never as part of a famous restaurant duo. If you’ve lived in North Fulton for longer than a few years, there’s a good chance you’ve already visited 5 Seasons. You should go back to sample the ever-changing menu and beers offered. For those who haven’t visited yet, put it on your calendar and go. It’s definitely worth the trip.

John: A-
Copsey: A