RESTAURANT GUIDE FEBRUARY 2005

The Atlanta Restaurant Guide

The Atlanta Restaurant Guide
WORDS BY TONY WARE

 

MIDTOWN
MidCity Cuisine $$
1545 Peachtree St. 404-888-8700
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
At the crossroads of Midtown and Buckhead, MidCity Cuisine offers a menu that is equally suspended between American and European brasserie accents. The open kitchen may seem to move frantically, but the dining room itself remains well settled, whether diners choose to mull over family friendly fare (PB&J panini and Niman Ranch hot dogs), elegant entrees (Niman Ranch pork schnitzel, rabbit legs) or enjoying the $10 all-you-can-eat pizza and bottomless salad on Sundays. A range of classic and original cocktails are as meticulously meted out.

Eno $$
800 Peachtree St. 404-685-3191
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
Eno offers Euro-Mediterranean bistro dishes in antique lodge meets sidewalk café ambiance. You might not even get to the rich, earthy food, as the restaurant boasts one of the city's top wine-by-the-glass lists.

Nam $$
931 Monroe Dr. 404-541-9997
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
Robust Vietnamese flavor in an upscale setting. Complex sauces update classics; specialties include shaking beef cubes and claypot chicken. Tip: lunch portions are comparable to dinner; prices aren't.

MF Sushibar $$$
265 Ponce De Leon Ave NE. 404-815-8844
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
MF Sushibar features a glossy, minimalist dining space and sashimi fresh out of the Pacific daily. Don't pass up the freshly grated wasabi root (only $4).

Mary Mac's Tea Room $
224 Ponce De Leon Ave NE. 404-876-1800
ANYTHING GOES
50+ years of Southern tradition in a sprawling labyrinth of genteel rooms. For those who still cherish the meat-and-three, this is the place for fried catfish, shrimp grits and a cornucopia of sides and pies.

Mitra $$$
818 Juniper St. 404-875-5515
SMART CASUAL
Plump, sensual figures dot the spicily colored walls of this contemporary take on a hacienda. The succulent Latin American-influenced menu is equally colorful and fleshed out, and pairs so well with the house sangria.

VIRGINIA-HIGHLANDS/ INMAN PARK

Pura Vida $
656 N Highland Ave NE 404-870-9797
ANYTHING GOES
A Peruvian tapas bar, Pura Vida can be equally romantic or rambunctious depending on the diners and what they're imbibing. Offering potent specialty cocktails and a deeply satisfying array of small bites (no matter the gourmet touch, tapas are $6), this restaurant bursts with rich colors and flavors.

Lush $$
913 Bernina Ave. 404-223-9292
ANYTHING GOES
Tucked behind some warehouse loft conversions in a residential area, Lush is a strictly vegan restaurant that attracts more foodies than hippies. Interpretations may sometimes be loose on how a dish resembles its meat-contained inspiration (lasagna, pad thai, etc.), but time and time again the bold concoctions prove equally luscious.

Sala (Sabor de Mexico) $$
1186 North Highland Avenue 404-872-7203
ANYTHING GOES
A neighborhood cantina known for its salt-dusted gourmet margarita"?made with fresh fruit purees and strained at your table-Sala plays happy home to the upwardly mobile looking for earthy, immaculately executed Mexican. Underneath diffused light and within a gauzy white room Mexican street staples become gourmet.

La Fonda Latina $
923 Ponce De Leon Ave NE. 404-607-0665
ANYTHING GOES
A chain of Cuban restaurants native to Atlanta, La Fonda Latino bustles with servers refilling chips and addictive cilantro-spiked salsa. A wash of bright colors and bouncy music, La Fonda's food is also mildly kaleidoscopic, spiked subtly with Mexican and Caribbean flavors. But if the salsa doesn't fill you, stick with the pressed sandwiches and paella.

Inman Park Patio $$
1029 Edgewood Ave NE. 404-659-5757
ANYTHING GOES
Nestled at the tail end of a residential area, the Inman Park Patio is an upscale neighborhood restaurant completely removed from its surroundings. Items like Build Your Own Bruschetta, pomegranate basil mojitos and green tea martinis, plus wine specials, help make for an interactive evening of revelry.

Fritti $$
309 North Highland Avenue. 404-880-9559
SMART CASUAL
A renovated garage attached to parental trattoria Sotto Sotto, Fritti (above) is a neighborhood pizza joint unlike any other, unless you live in Italy. Featuring Neopolitan wood-fired pizzas pairing flavors pungent and piquant, Fritti offers food as robustly textured as the space. And gosh, are the Funghi Fritti (rice flour and rosemary-battered fried mushrooms) good.

BUCKHEAD

Antica Posta $$$
519 E Paces Ferry Rd. 404-262-7112
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
Within this cozy converted bungalow's buttery walls lays an authentic taste of Tuscany. From the antipasti to the secondi piatti, the consistent seasoning is one of gracious, pastoral charm. The ossobuco (braised veal shank) is a perennial, celebrated specialty.

The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton $$$$
3434 Peachtree Rd NE. 404-237-2700
DRESSED-UP
Launching pad for some of Atlanta's most lauded chefs, The Dining Room celebrates demure indulgence. From the plush upholstery to the impeccable service to the sublime amalgam of French and Asian nuances, The Dining Room experience is as impeccable as it is innovative.

iChe! $
268 E. Paces Ferry Rd. 404-231-2224
ANYTHING GOES
iChe!-named for the Argentinean slang for "buddy" -is indeed a welcoming place to congregate with friends before a night navigating the clubbing cavalcade that is the Buckhead strip. This tapas and rum bar is a sleek, ruby and yellow-saturated launch pad for Cuban and Spanish flavors. Toasty, tangy tapas go well with the spice and fruit-kissed specialty cocktails, so fuel that mojo with mojitos!

BluePointe $$$
3455 Peachtree Rd. 404-237-9070
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
If architecture could be described as fashionista, the dramatic, steely-yet-sensual space housing BluePointe might earn the designation. Alongside the striking curves and a 26-foot façade of effervescently curtained windows is an equally mosaic menu of Pacific Rim-flecked American fusion, with nut and spice-crusted seafood standing out. The airy, radiant space is equally popular among those looking for flavored martinis and mingling.

Au Pied de Cochon $$$
3315 Peachtree Rd. 404-946-9070
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
Located in the recently opened InterContinental Hotel, Au Pied de Cochon is a branch of a famed Parisian brasserie. Open 24 hours, the eatery offers smoky, roasted meats (pork being the centerpiece), as well as a seafood raw bar-all within a whimsical rococo interior. For dessert, a wide range of Parisian signatures are offered, or, across the hotel foyer, the XO Bar offers the wound up a wind down, highlighting the breadth of cognacs, and their costs (up to $325 a shot).

Brasserie Le Coze $$$
3393 Peachtree Rd NE. 404-266-1440
SMART CASUAL
Quaint but not obtusely quirky, Brasserie Le Coze pairs French cuisine with pan-Asian influences in a thematically eccentric café setting, surprisingly placid considering the shopping mall location. Cheer on the dashes of international flair, the unadulterated delicacy of skate wing and white bean soup or arrival of Beaujolais (or any other French varietals). An excellent dining experience all aroound.

Joël $$$$
3290 Northside Pkwy NW. 404-233-3500
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
The namesake of Joël Antunes, Joël the restaurant is modernist-organic in both its sleek yet soft-focus ambiance and razor sharp yet never biting approach to French cuisine. Antunes is a naturalist who seeks the bright flavors of the freshest seasonal ingredients, then crossbreads them with multiple layers of keen, contemporary Asian zest. A real treat for foodies.

Chops $$$$
70 W. Paces Ferry Rd. NW. 404-262-2675
SMART CASUAL
Within a boys club atmosphere, Chops serves man-sized portions of flawlessly prepared expense-account classics. Sit amid the steakhouse's dark world and revel in a steak tartare or a piece of broiled beef. Or visit the art deco lobster bar for buttered, fried lobster tail. A power lunch, indeed.

DOWNTOWN/WEST MIDTOWN/ COLLEGE

Luxe $$$
89 Park Place. 404-389-0800
SMART CASUAL
Taking over a space that has formerly been both an infamous nightclub and an influential restaurant, Luxe has since played almost both parts for downtown with its almost elephantine granite bar, culinary cocktails and seasonal New American fare with womanly warmth. Indulge in the demure deco elegance of the bar and menu.

Ted's Montana Grill $
133 Luckie St NW. 404-521-9796
ANYTHING GOES
A chain of Craftsman-style saloons started by Atlanta's own mogul, Ted Turner, Ted's Montana Grill offers beef and bison burgers in some 20 permutations of toppings on corn meal-dusted buns. Nestle in a deep booth under the pressed tin ceiling, savor a strawberry malted and some onion rings and smile like you're in Big Sky country.

Bacchanalia $$$$
1198 Howell Mill Rd NW Ste 100. 404-365-0410
DRESSED-UP
Bacchanalia emphasizes Northern California-style organic food. A cornerstone of West Midtown, this James Beard Foundation recognized restaurant deftly celebrates richly textured, seasonal small-farm produce within its airy dining room. Book well in advance.

Nan Thai Fine Dining $$$
1350 Spring St. 404-870-9933
DRESSED-UP / SMART CASUAL
Marked by a statue of a golden tamarind, Nan offers a soaring dining room at the crossroads of traditional Midtown and the new West Midtown. But Nan isn't all elegance and presentation. The flavors of Thailand are pristinely balanced then made transcendent by creative updates.

Oscar's $$$
3725 Main St. College Park. 404-766-9688
SMART CASUAL
Located south of Atlanta, near the airport, Oscar's (pictured above) is no drab industrial park diner. Rather, it's destination dining for lovers of New American whimsy. Within, exposed brick and lacquered wood combine like the meats and seasonal vegetables -suave, focused and balanced. Not to be missed.

DECATUR

Iris $$
1314 Glenwood Ave SE 404-221-1300
SMART CASUAL
Located just to the side of East Atlanta's bohemian crossroads, Iris offers personable New American for urban pioneers. A former filling station, this dimly lit, chic glass-and-concrete block of a bistro is a stickler for the details when it comes to nouveau interpretations of lively, comforting dishes, with free-form ravioli a standout.

Café Lily $$
308 W Ponce De Leon Ave Ste B 404-371-9119
SMART CASUAL
A cozy, candlelit bistro that merges all the flavors of the Mediterranean on one menu, Café Lily foregoes flash for sizzle. All the food radiates warmth and rustic charm of the widely cast regions (Spain, Italy, Greece, etc.) the menu draws from.

Watershed $$
406 W Ponce De Leon Ave 404-378-4900
SMART CASUAL
New Southern cuisine shines from the kitchen of Chef Scott Peacock. A building of cinder block, post-industrial chic, this converted garage remains welcoming, if noisy. Alongside the menu of roasted pork sandwiches and shrimp grits is a superb wine list. Tuesday is buttermilk fried chicken night, which calls for an early reservation as the chicken sells out by 8pm.

Taqueria del Sol $
359 W. Ponce De Leon Ave 404-377-7668
ANYTHING GOES
With a menu as streamlined as its long stainless steel counter, Taqueria del Sol uses simplicity to its advantage. From the turnip greens to tres salsas to chicken, catfish, pork or brisket tacos (with tangy toppings), flavors are vigorous in the breezy, patio setting.

Zocalo $$
123 East Court Square 404-270-9450
ANYTHING GOES
Offering up top shelf south-of-the-border, Zocalo is roughly hewn in its décor, but not its food. Expect dishes from Tex-Mex to the more authentic, and better tasting, Mexican fare.