The restaurant business in Atlanta is often about what's new, hot and now — when it's not about what's next. Several buzz-worthy spots opened in late '08, and more are on the way, in spite of the downward-spiraling economy. Here's a look.
CRAFT
3376 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, 404-995-7580, www.craftrestaurant.com
Tom Colicchio's haven of true food, which opened in early December, is open and rockin' with diners, upstairs at Craft and downstairs at the open-kitchen Craftbar. Are they drawn to the "Top Chef" judge's allure (you won't see him there, btw), or do they come for the unquestionably seasonal and perfectly prepared braised beef short rib with root vegetables and roasted sweetbreads with kumquats from chef de cuisine Kevin Maxey? Either way, expect long waits, even with a reservation, at this Buckhead sensation. Craft opened in early December.
MARKET
3377 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, 404-523-3600, www.starwoodhotels.com
Chef de Cuisine Ian Winslade is wearing lots of hats for his big time boss, Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He's working as head kitchen honcho at Spice Market and Market. But it's Market where Winslade has finally found a venue to complement his discriminating sense of flavor and flair; he hasn't cooked this well since his glory days at Bluepointe. The menu is totally approachable, but wonderfully refined, and shows off with steamed shrimp salad with avocado and mushrooms in a champagne vinaigrette and warm, foamy goat cheese custard.
Look for my review next week in the Go Guide.
IL MULINO
191 Peachtree St., inside Peachtree Tower, Atlanta, 404-524-5777, www.ilmulino.com
Inside the atrium at 191 Peachtree Tower is this Greenwich Village transplant, specializing in Southern Italian cuisine and other goodies from the Abruzzo region. Many are prepared tableside, such as the branzino (sea bass), as well as many of the pastas. The restaurant opened in early December.
Still to come
BLT Steak
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., inside the W Atlanta Downtown Hotel & Residences, Atlanta, hotel phone is 404-582-5800, www.starwoodhotels.com
Chef Laurent Tourondel's modern American steakhouse, with lots of French touches, is still set to open inside the W Atlanta Downtown on Jan. 27. BLT Steak also has operations in New York, Washington and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Atlantans can expect a streamlined menu that includes beefsteak tomatoes, with grilled onion vinaigrette and Stilton cheese, and Kobe strip steak, American Wagyu and prime Black Angus paired a la carte with sauces and sides such as roasted tomatoes and hen of woods mushrooms.
Drinkshop
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., inside the W Atlanta Downtown Hotel & Residences, Atlanta, hotel phone is 404-582-5800, www.starwoodhotels.com
Also inside the W Downtown comes NYC drinkman Sasha Petraske's everything-old-is-oh-so-cool-again spot. Renowned for taking the retro (a word he hates) cocktail very seriously — starting with three types of house-chipped or molded ice — Drinkshop will offer a shortlist of cocktails and a long list of bartender's "choices."
Come, sit, and say "gin." The barkeeps will create a cocktail using gin for you on the spot.
Serpas True Food
659 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, 404-688-0040, www.serpasrestaurant.com
Yes, there is a local restaurateur braving the economy: Scott Serpas, formerly of Two Urban Licks. Serpas True Food, located at the Pavilion at Studioplex in the Old Fourth Ward historic district, in a historical cotton storage factory built in the 1900s overlooking Auburn Avenue, is scheduled to open at the end of January.
The food is Louisiana meets the Southwest, and points beyond: shrimp andouille croquettes with mango sour rum and queso cotija; sage pork-stuffed mushrooms with parsley oil and lemon; and braised short ribs with cast iron potato and horseradish cottage cheese.
Lemon-rhubarb cake with coriander cream tops the list of desserts.
Abattoir
1170 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, 404-892-3335, www.starprovisions.com
Heralded chefs Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison will add to a stable of restaurants that includes Bacchanalia and Floataway Cafe with this "meat-centric" casual spot that will open this spring, Quatrano says.
Don't think steakhouse, though the menu definitely operates around four-legged things, with an emphasis on local pork and lamb, and eventually local beef. The plan is to showcase the full use of animal products, including rarities such as lamb brain fritters and corned pig tongue. Other items range from head cheese with fig mustard to steak frites and braised salt cod stew.
This will be Quatrano and Harrison's most casual restaurant (not counting provender Star Provisions), with a check average "less than that at Floataway Cafe," according to Quatrano.
Inside the White Provision complex off Howell Mill Road, the former slaughterhouse will sport pine floors from a shuttered factory in Cartersville to a Chicago Cow-like life-sized cow on a front entrance ramp.
And there's more ...
Five Season's Brewing will add another to its family when the famed local brewery's Westside location opens in late March/early April. ... Decatur watches as the owners of the Brickstore Pub build a new, more food-focused restaurant, Leon's Full Service, on the corner of West Ponce de Leon Ave. and Church Street, to open in March or April ... Muss & Turner's is planning a move to the (wild) Westside. ... Usher's Grape in Poncey-High will become one of Chris and Michele Sedgwick's restaurant group when it transforms into a Pure Taqueria. ... And Buckhead Life Restaurant Group has confirmed that a bistro-style restaurant will open as part of the St. Regis in Buckhead, no opening date as of yet.
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