There’s a miracle in Sandy Springs and here it is: lemons taste sweet and tequila goes down smooth thanks to a special berry at {three} sheets.
If that sounds a little trippy, well, it is, but in a good way. It’s called flavor tripping, and {three} sheets, a trendy urban dining lounge in a strip mall less than a mile outside the Perimeter, hosts the events the first Wednesday of every month. The Miracle Fruit, which hails from West Africa, has been used for its strange flavor altering properties for centuries.
While flavor tripping events have grown in popularity in places like Chicago and New York, the restaurant is the only place in metro Atlanta — and likely Georgia — where you can get this kind of experience. And at $20 plus tax and gratuity, it’s an affordable evening out.
It starts off as you’re led to a table with plush seating and given a menu that outlines the history of the miracle fruit and what you’ll be enjoying that night. Your server brings out a platter, artfully arranged, with a variety of food items and a small red berry in a metal dish.
Photo by Duy Thuong Ngo under CC 2.0
It’s not much to look at: the color and size of a cranberry, the shape of a Roma tomato. Your server instructs you to place the berry in your mouth, chew it so that the flesh and juice cover your tongue, and then spit out the seed.
Everyone sits at the table for a moment, chewing thoughtfully. The berry is only very slightly tart. You spit the seeds out and look at your platter.
Photo by Cheryl Rodewig
Menu: First Course
Here’s the first course: lemon, lime, grapefruit, Granny Smith apple, cottage cheese, french fries with ketchup and Texas Pete hot sauce for dipping, a strawberry stuffed with goat cheese, olive oil cake topped with sour cream and kiwi.
The fruit reacts slightly differently for everyone (and no one knows exactly why it does what it does), but the experts agree there’s something in it that makes acidic foods taste sweet. So the lemon becomes lemonade, and the lime, key lime pie. The cottage cheese reminded me of clotted cream like you have scones at fancy teas. The strawberry and goat cheese might be the tastiest — a perfect replica of a mini crustless strawberry cheesecake. The hot sauce is still spicy, but there’s a sugary undercurrent like a honey barbecue.
And you’re only halfway through.
Menu: Second Course
The second round is liquid: a tequila shot, sour apple martini shot, and Guinness with lemon sorbet. Plenty of people can’t stomach the flavor of tequila, but the miracle fruit takes away much of the bitterness, leaving — not much actually — at best, it will be almost flavorless.
Photo by Cheryl Rodewig
Don’t wait too long to get to your tequila. It’s your biggest hurdle, and the effects of the berry only last for 30 minutes to an hour. The martini shot is more apple, less sour, and the sorbet floating in Guinness is something like a grown up root beer float.
This Buzzfeed video shows how other diners react to the weirdness.
Since the sampler isn’t a full meal, you may want to stay and order off the menu for dinner after your trip is over. The restaurant specializes in cocktails and creative eats like lamb lollipops and masala flatbread. There’s outdoor seating on an upstairs patio, and a DJ spins tunes Thursday to Saturday nights.
Photo courtesy of {three} sheets
Because they order the berries fresh for the events, flavor tripping is by online reservation only. You sit at a table with just your own group, but they can also do larger private parties if you’re looking for something special.
If flavor tripping sounds too wild, you can always try one of their other events with adventurous pairings: fried chicken and champagne, wine and grilled cheese. Only 21 and up at this spot, and attire is casual chic, so leave the T-shirts and tennis shoes at home. Parking is free and plentiful.
