Wesley True, a chef who made his name in Mobile, may be just the chef to bring Atlantans back to the Spence, once the playground of celebrity chef Richard Blais.
True’s best hits come early on the menu, among the snacks and small plates. Whether he’s making catfish sticks with the fine, crenelated crunch of Popeye’s chicken fingers, or octopus ceviche in a bell-clear tomato-citrus marinade, he shows off a Gulf Coast feel for seafood. I best like the toasts, spread first with a layer of mushy peas, then topped with West Indies salad — a Mobilian concoction of crabmeat sparkled with the lightest of vinaigrettes.
Some dishes drift a bit into edgy Blais territory, though without the former’s use of chef’s tricks and props. There will be no glass cloches filled with smoke or soup poured from cans. But an ice-cold tartare of lamb with swirls of thick harissa sauce, olives and mint hints at Blais’ global pantry.
The space remains kinetic and odd; some tables seem almost like kitchen workstations.
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