Chatter

By Richard Kraus

February 6, 2006 08:32 AM | Link to this

It wasn’t that long ago that Nakato was the only place in town to get authentic Sushi. No knock on that prestigious establishment, but now it would find it difficult to crack the top 20 Sushi restaurants. Atlanta has matured nicely.

By Jeff

February 6, 2006 02:47 PM | Link to this

The best thing about the Atlanta dining scene is that nothing is too much to try anymore. Try B.E.D. for example. When only NY & Miami are the other locations, you’ve achieved some status for the avante-garde.

By Dave

February 6, 2006 03:16 PM | Link to this

Paint me as uncultured, please. I have no desire to hand over large sums of disposable income to eat in a fancy restaurant. I can see the upturned noses now, but that’s OK. I’ve yet to spend more than $25/person for my meals, and I’m quite happy with that. I also feel no need to impress or compete with other cities on how “avant-garde” our dining is.

By kend

February 6, 2006 04:01 PM | Link to this

As a person who travels quite a bit, I’m always amazed at how our hometown newspapers bemoans the lack of good restaurants. Atlanta is doing fine and has been doing fine for a long time. Shut up already with the comparisons.

By Jason

February 6, 2006 04:30 PM | Link to this

Atlanta has done a great job attracting investors to the restaurant scene. The Buford Highway corridor has brought us ahead light years in Asian and Latino cuisine. Midtown’s resurgence has led the way for trendy spots that look great and are fun to visit even if the food isn’t always so great. The only real sad thing is high saturation of chain restaurants in the burbs. It’s like no one in the burbs will try a new place.

By mc

February 6, 2006 04:36 PM | Link to this

Well Dave, Atlanta has grown up into a big city that has left you behind. I am in my forties with kids, and wife and I and we love the “fancy” restaurants as you call it.

Now Dave, going to chilli’s or Outback, while wearing your dockers, and drivin your mini van, …..price-less.

By ---

February 6, 2006 04:41 PM | Link to this

I think Atlanta’s restaurants are still way under the norm. Being from a different location the difference is greatly lower then other areas in the US. Hopefully they will keep approving.

By urban guru

February 6, 2006 04:48 PM | Link to this

The article was spot on. However the penumbra of the ATL’s influence extends,in my experience,into Texas as well.I have had guests from the Big D who have lost their mind at TWO as well as some of the other spots. In fact the ATL dining scene is driving urban development as well. The combo of Amick,et al. and Novare(TWELVE) is becoming the sine quo non for all aspiring cities in the Southeast and Southwest. Me likee!

By mc

February 6, 2006 04:57 PM | Link to this

Compared to what locations? NYC, LA, San fran, Chicago, sure….but chances are you not talkin about those cities.

So what are you sayin? That Charlotte or Nashville or some other cow town, that dining out at Billy Bobs bar be cue on Friday nite is the kind of places that Atlanta needs. Dude plezzze.

By Dave

February 6, 2006 05:10 PM | Link to this

MC, you are pretty much correct. Rather than Atlanta growing and leaving me behind, I am a fairly new resident of Atlanta, moving here in 2003. I am one of those who moved here from “the sticks”, as in the rural part of the mid-Atlantic region. It comes as a shock to many, but we somehow survived on the paltry fare in that area, and (gasp) we did certainly enjoy going places like Outback and Chili’s.

You nailed it about me, save for I don’t drive a minivan. Again, I know it’s quite the shock to Atlanta-area residents, but only a tiny percentage of the over 4 million residents actually feel that “fine dining” is worth the cost. Laugh as you may, but there is a reason such places as Chili’s and Outback have so many locations here, and that is demand. Please, enjoy your fine dining, we’ll be happy pocketing the excess cash in our bank accounts whilst we suffer through yet another chain-restaurant meal.

By Dave

February 6, 2006 05:13 PM | Link to this

I like when people use words like “penumbra” and phrases like “sine quo non” in talking about fine dining. I truly believe it proves the point about how elitist it really is.

Gotta run, they’re holding a table for me at Sonny’s. :-)

By mc

February 6, 2006 05:35 PM | Link to this

Dave, you think Chilli’s and Outback are in such big demand!!!?? You are killin me.

I bet your wife just loves that edge about yourself that you bring into her life everyday.

Dave, some of the best sushi and steak houses are in Midtown and Buckhead. Along with the asian-fusion resturants.

They are holding a table for you at the golden Corral!

By GumboLover

February 6, 2006 06:58 PM | Link to this

Mr Kessler, I think the problem and frustration I find with the Atlanta restaurant scene is based in the fact that Atlanta is a new city that had no tradition of fine dining and no traditional restaurants extending from the past to provide any continuity or foundation. When one looks at other large and some medium cities there are usually long-running institutions that anchor and influence the restaurant scene. New Orleans had Antoine’s(1840) and Galatoire’s (1890’s)still owned and operated by the original families! Atlanta’s oldest restaurants are the Varsity (1927) and the Colonnade (1928). So what we find too often here are places more concerned with being hip or cool rather than good. Meridith Ford brought up this concept in her column last week in the AJC in discussing “adult” food. We do have wonderful ethnic restaurants serving very traditional food from other countries by immigrants proud to continue ancient culinary traditions. But too often unskilled immigrant cooks are brought in to turn out modern European and American haute cuisine with predictably marginal results and too often at high prices. Yes, there are some good high-end places here and hopefully they might stay around for another half-century to provide Atlanta with some sort of local identity, but the whole concept of ANYTHING here lasting 50 years, much less a century, seems improbable.

By Marc

February 6, 2006 07:50 PM | Link to this

Why trash people for eating where they like?

Outback and Longhorn serve more people than Bone’s and Chop’s, but Burger King and McDonald’s outsell them all.

Quality is not measured by sales, popularity is.

You will find better quality meat and a better fining dining experience at Bone’s, but is the additional quality worth the additional cost?

For some it is and those people help make Bone’s a successful steakhouse.

For some it isn’t, they rather eat a good meal and have some money left over to spend on other things.

We can thank the wide variety of choices, both cuisine and price-range to the fact that people have different tastes and preferences.

By brad

February 6, 2006 10:07 PM | Link to this

what’s a “penumbra?”

By Dave

February 7, 2006 07:41 AM | Link to this

My last words on all this. You’ll notice that MC, in rebuttal, has attacked me and my clothing, my vehicle, the “edge” about myself that I bring to my spouse. My whole point is that a vast majority of Atlantans choose restaurants other than the “fine dining” mentioned here. Law of diminishing returns. If one spends 2-3 times what a Wendy’s meal costs, they’ll generally get 2-3 times the quality. If they spend 10-15 times what that Wendy’s meal costs, do they get 10-15 times the quality? My theory is that no, you do not. And I don’t have to suppose what kind of car MC drives, or what kind of pants he wears. It’s a non-sequitir and a show of arrogance.

By spell dude

February 7, 2006 10:55 AM | Link to this

it’s “sine qua non”, mr. chili’s..

wle.