Fine Dining for My Birthday

If you know me, then you know I love trying new local restaurants anytime of any day!  My birthday is also April Fool’s Day (not a joke, it really is), which was on a Friday this year, so I planned something special that weekend. I told my best friends to clear their calendars on April 3 because we were gonna celebrate my birth at the recently opened restaurant called Loom.   It’s located inside the new Hotel 45 in the heart of downtown Macon, Ga, and this has to be my top favorite restaurant in my hometown right now.  Let me tell you why…

The restaurant itself is a tribute to one of Macon’s most important businesses, the textile industry.  I personally love this idea of a local restaurant honoring and cultivating its city’s history while also bringing new dining experiences to locals.  Which is what many restaurants in downtown Macon strive to do.  

Reserving a table is incredibly easy as it can be done online which I loved.  My two best friends and I met each other at Loom that Sunday evening and excitedly walked into the airy dining room.  I’d reserved a table on the outside patio because I thought it would make for great pictures, and it would have if the wind was not intent on blowing everything (including us) off our table.  We kindly asked if we could move to a table inside and our waitress did not hesitate to move us inside.  

After getting away from the elements, we were able to take in everything going on in the restaurant which wasn’t much because we were basically the only ones there.  Kind of felt like a private dinner just for my birthday.  We were asked what drinks we’d like and with any new restaurant we visit, me and the bestie like to ask what is their best/sweetest drink on the menu.  We were recommended the Berry & Mills which was a really good choice and I’d definitely get it again.  

Pimento Cheese & Mac

For our appetizer and starter, we all agreed the Pimento Cheese & Mac sounded like the best starter so all three of us shared that.  When it arrived at the table I was not expecting to see the most amazing-looking Mac n’ Cheese ever.  It came in a sizzling hot skillet filled to the brim with cavatappi noodles covered in the creamy pimento cheese sauce and topped with perfectly cooked pieces of bacon.  What amazed us was how flavorful it was, but the pimento cheese was not overpowering like we were expecting.  I honestly forgot we were eating Pimento Cheese & Mac.  We knew it’d be a good meal after the first bite of the mac.  

Weeks in advance, I’d looked up the menu so I’d be prepared to order when we got there.   Let me tell you what I’d originally planned to go for - the Grilled New York Strip because a good steak is always my go to when dining out.  However, if you have the chance to dine in you’ll notice the actual menu is a little different from what they show on their website.  So instead of the New York strip, they had a (drumroll please) Waygu steak! I’d always wanted to try the notorious Waygu beef.  For those that don’t know, Waygu beef is some of the best beef you’ll ever eat and is usually only found in upscale restaurants.  This was my first time seeing it on a menu in Macon.  The cows that produce Waygu are worth 40x more than regular cows, so it will likely be the most expensive item on the menu at any restaurant, like it is at Loom.  

I can not explain how excited I was as our waitress brought out our plates, mine especially.  I was in absolute awe when she sat the very generous piece of steak in front of me.  It rested perfectly atop a bed of very-well seasoned and crispy potatoes.  Of course, my best friend had to record my first bite, and I will be honest and say that it was seared a little more than I liked.  However, it does have a very rich flavor that I can remember perfectly while writing this.  I was so close to finishing it, which is how you know I like something, but I gave up and regrettably left the last few pieces on my plate.  It may have cost me a few extra dollars, but I wholeheartedly believe it was worth it to go all out for my b-day.

My friends enjoyed the Smash Burger and the Pork Belly Carbonara.  I tried a bite of the Carbonara which was good especially with the southern flare of the pork belly, and I wish I’d stolen a bite of the Smash Burger because it looked so freaking good.  

To top off our dinner I’d saved just enough room for dessert.  As a chocolate lover the obvious choice was the mini chocolate cake with fruit.  Although the chocolate cake was delish, my favorite part was the fresh raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries next to it.  I’d swear it was like eating fruit for the first time, they were so sweet!

I asked to open my birthday gifts after eating and to my surprise I was gifted two mini bottles of Sutter Home Sangria Wine, money, and a nice card.  After not being able to celebrate my birthday for nearly 5 years because of life, school, and Covid, this was my favorite celebration of life in a long time.  And I appreciate Loom for making it an unforgettable experience that I will cherish always.  So go check out Loom for yourself, if you haven’t already, I highly recommend it.  We also went back for brunch the next week which there will be a post about coming soon!

If you wanna check out Loom yourself or make reservations, click the button below to take you to their website