HYATT REGENCY ATLANTA SERVES GUESTS THE SOUTHERN WAY
Landmark hotel launches Sway, a locally sourced dining experience showcasing the rich, home-cooked flavors of the South
ATLANTA, Ga. (Sept. 15, 2011) – Hyatt Regency Atlanta today announced the opening of Sway, a destination restaurant in Atlanta’s downtown that sets a new standard for hotel dining and combines the flavors of Southern kitchens, family cook outs and Sunday dinners with the freshest ingredients from local farms, dairies and butchers.
Guests notice Sway is something new from the moment they’re greeted. The first thing they meet is Sway’s enormous, bright, bustling kitchen. The heart of the restaurant, the kitchen invites guests with the sounds and smells of what’s to come. Sway’s kitchen is designed around a landmark cast iron oven, that’s reminiscent of another century. Made by British craftsmen Tom Chandley, Sway’s oven is one of 50 in the world, and had to be assembled by the only American crew trained to install them.
Sway’s signature oven fills the restaurant with the aroma of baked pies – made fresh every day – like a family kitchen. As they sit down, guests find the wooden tables and leather-lined chairs are welcoming and comfortable, while the table scapes are simple: everyday burlap napkins and custom made ceramic salt and pepper cellars and sugar bowls – no white tablecloths. China and flatware are casual and familiar, and meals are served in cast iron pots, wooden bowls or pickling jars, all selected to recall casual home dinners.
But the flavors are what bring Sway to life. Fried chicken is the signature dinner, from a recipe that takes 24 hours to perfect. Sway brines its chicken overnight and then marinates the pieces in buttermilk. Just before dinner, the chicken is dredged in seasoned flour, crisp fried and brought to the table hot and crunchy and covered in fresh herbs – complemented with a side mashed potatoes and turkey gravy in a miniature cast iron pot.
Mornings at Sway start with seasonal peaches, bananas and apricots or a specialty from the oven, pecan sticky buns served hot, gooey and large enough for a family of 4 to share. Lunch has a surprise, Atlanta’s tribute to the Hot Brown, the Louisville open faced sandwich. The Sway Hot Brown is a fluffy biscuit – a house specialty – under fresh roasted turkey and topped with brown gravy and fresh, seasonal vegetables.
Appetizers are borrowed from a town potluck: tangy house-made pickles; creamy deviled eggs with dashes like crab meat, bacon or heirloom tomatoes; and pimento cheese made from sharp cheddar and roasted peppers, and served with salty crackers.
And then it’s desert, Sway style. Sway offers Atlanta’s only Southern pie bar, a family-style smorgasbord that invites guest to sample from a long table of flaky, sweet surprises such as seasonal fruit pies, chocolate pie and coconut cream pie, all made daily on the premises.
Sway is the mission of Hyatt Regency Atlanta Executive Chef Martin Pfefferkorn, a native of Austria who has learned his craft in leading resorts in Europe and the U.S. Chef Pfefferkorn has spent the last two years building Sway from the ground up, from its signature kitchen to its warm tables and its farm-to-table menu.
“As a newcomer, I’m continually amazed by the South’s rich, distinctive, remarkably flavorful cuisine, not just in restaurants, but in everyday homes,” Chef Pfefferkorn said. “We wanted Sway to be a tribute to those flavors, and based its menu on the treasured recipes of home kitchens, community barbecues and Sunday dinners.’”
Chef Pfefferkorn has connected with some of the most recognized farms in the South to bring the highest quality cheese, fish, poultry and meat to his kitchen. Sway’s purveyors include, among others, Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Ga., Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Ham in Madisonville, Tenn., Sparksman Cream Valley in Moultrie, Ga. and Patak Meat Products in Austell, Ga.
“We have dedicated ourselves to finding the finest local farms to provide our guests the best available ingredients,” Chef Pfefferkorn said. “It’s our passion to create a regionally sourced menu in a memorable setting that people will enjoy for years to come – like the traditional family suppers they cherish.”
Sway is one of the final touches of Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s $65 million transformation in 2011. Like the hotel’s new entrance, guest check-in and Atrium Lobby, Sway was designed to be more open, welcoming and convenient, and to allow guests places to socialize, network or conduct business.
“The vision of the restaurant design at Hyatt Regency Atlanta was to enhance the strengths of the existing space, while improving its overall functionality and efficiency. We looked to create fresh, open, airy designs that inspire social gatherings,” said Cass Calder Smith, CCS Architecture, designer of the Sway space. “Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s new food and beverage designs allow the staff to serve a higher volume of customers, with faster service, regardless if its weekday corporate meetings or weekend tourist functions.”
In addition to Sway, Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s new food and beverage offerings include Twenty-Two Storys, a beer forward lobby bar and restaurant that opened in May, as well as a grab-and-go Market for guests looking for an alternative to sit-down dining or in-room dining. Sway seats 150 guests and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“We designed Sway to be a centerpiece of the new Hyatt Regency Atlanta, a new dining experience for our guests and our neighbors here in the Atlanta community,” said Joe Hindsley, Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s General Manager. “Sway’s menu is a tribute to our city and to the hotel’s 40 year tradition of being a landmark Southern destination. We can’t wait for you to see and – more importantly – taste our new Southern Way.”
For more information about Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Sway and the hotel’s transformation, please visit www.HyattRegencyAtlanta.com.
About Hyatt Regency Atlanta
An Atlanta landmark since its inception in 1967, Hyatt Regency Atlanta is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta on Peachtree Street. The 1,260-room hotel is the first contemporary atrium hotel in the world and is one of the nation's premier convention and tradeshow facilities with 180,000 square feet of ballroom, exhibit, and meeting and hospitality space. For reservations or more information on Hyatt Regency Atlanta, call the hotel at 404-577-1234 or visit www.hyattregencyatlanta.com. Connect with Sway on Facebook to receive more information about specials and promotions.
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