Perhaps schnitzel might be Atlanta’s next food trend? It’s showing up at a few places, and, this summer, a neat little place that specializes in chicken cutlet schnitzel opened in that same great strip mall where Wuxtry Records and Mediterranean Grill are located. It is called Seven Hens, and I first read about it when My Little Foodies gave it a writeup. It sounded interesting and, since Marie and the baby and I were out with our teenage girlchild one Saturday last month, we stopped by for supper.
I have always greatly enjoyed teasing my daughter about her phobia of surprises or unknown things. I simply told her that we were having schnitzel for supper and left it at that, and she steamed and stewed and demanded answers. What in the world was schnitzel? Marie finally took pity on her and explained that this is an old European technique of pounding meat really thin before dipping it in an egg batter and coated with light breadcrumbs in various spice mixes before a quick frying.
Owner Michael Gurevich designed the restaurant to look ready-to-franchise. Like Roy’s Cheesesteaks in Smyrna, this looks every bit ike a corporate chain without any other stores yet, with a fancy logo and big advertising boards showing happy spokesmodel eaters chowing down on the various sandwiches available. The basic menu offers six sandwiches named for various nations, or guests can build their own. Every couple of months, they rotate in a suggested special. Right now, in celebration of Oktoberfest, they are offering the German, with caramelized onions, sauerkraut, dill sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.
Their most popular sandwich so far is the French, which is what I ordered. It comes with an olive tapendade aioli and Dijon mustard with lettuce, tomato and onions. Most of the variations really just appear to come in the types of sauces. With sixteen different toppings and spreads, quite a few flavor combinations are certainly possible, but what really sets each sandwich apart are the spices within each of breadcrumb mixes. Marie’s Chinese chicken is made with a sesame seed panko medley, mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce, and the girlchild’s Italian had pesto and a sun-dried tomato aioli. All of their sandwiches are offered on either a freshly-baked baquette or a wrap, or they can be made as a platter or on mixed greens as a salad, and any can be made with tofu rather than chicken.
The prices seem to be on the high side for the fast casual style of restaurants. A sandwich comes to about $7.50, and adding a great big pile of fries and a drink makes it ten. On the other hand, we were each very pleased with our dinners and none of us left still peckish for anything, although my daughter sensibly didn’t quite finish hers so that she could save room for a coconut popsicle from the King of Pops freezer. Clever girl, isn’t she?
You can see all the restaurants that we have visited for our blog on this map, with links back to the original blog posts. It’s terrific for anybody planning a road trip through the southeast!
Marie, Let's Eat! 
I think that the owner made this place look too corporate. It doesn’t look like a place from the heart, but a place from his wallet.
There’s some truth in that. I kind of wish it had a chance to develop an identity before it went through the franchise-look-design-machine, like Achim’s K-Bob did before it became Keba Spitfire Grill, but then all we’d do is complain that it used to be more unique and friendly. Still, the food’s good and even if they never grow from this location, what they have is pretty special. We appreciate your comment!