Favorite dishes

Order the deluxe dinner option and feast on the most spectacular display of fish topping a lacquered box of rice. Gold leaf gilds this grand lily. (5920 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 404-252-7998, bishokusushi.com)

Cacio e pepe at KR SteakBar

This Roman comfort fare features toothsome homemade noodles in a creamy sheep’s milk sauce fire-charged with fruity black pepper. A masterful exercise in simplicity. (349 Peachtree Hills Ave., Atlanta. 404-841-8820, krsteakbar.com)

Joe’s Jambalaya at Watershed on Peachtree

This deconstructed version features plump fried oysters, poached shrimp, crawfish etouffee and rice fritters. Think of it as the ultimate seafood buffet in a bowl. (1820 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 404-809-3561, watershedrestaurant.com)

Octopus at St. Cecilia

A textural marvel, these octopus legs have just the right firm-tender flesh and brilliant grill-crisped tentacles. Their bed of mixed Italian beans and cured tomato slivers plays respectful background music. (3455 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 404-554-9995, stceciliaatl.com)

Lamb belly at King + Duke

Take a sliver of sticky, slippery candied belly, and add a marinated cucumber and a chunk of sheep’s-milk feta. Roll it in a warm flatbread, and you’ve just eaten a game-changing gourmet gyro. (3060 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 404-477-3500, kinganddukeatl.com)

Happy hour oysters at Kimball House

Arrive at this stunningly renovated train depot before 7 p.m. on weekdays, and you can choose from more than a dozen varieties of boutique oysters. Nowhere are they better shucked, better iced or better presented. (303 E. Howard Ave., Decatur. 404-378-3502, kimball-house.com)

Reuben sandwich at the General Muir

Chef Todd Ginsberg understands better than anyone the art of the impossibly rich two-fisted sandwich. It squishes, it crunches — meat, tang, cheese, glory. (1540 Avenue Place, Atlanta. 678-927-9131, thegeneralmuir.com)

Summertime Clothes cocktail at Paper Plane

This rich, round bourbon cocktail says sunny patio rather than smoky bar. Two aperitif wines and three kinds of bitters give it equal measures of finesse and seriousness — just the ticket for the first drink of the evening. (340 Church St., Decatur. 404-377-9308, the-paper-plane.com)

Bingsu at Sobban

The kitchen has taken the traditional Korean shaved ice dessert and gone to town with Southern-inflected add-ons. Different versions come with peach ice cream, pear compote, salty snack crackers, homemade rice taffy and fizzy “shock rocks” — all are captivating. (1788 Clairmont Road, Decatur. 678-705-4233, sobban.com)

Corn bhel at Chai Pani

This whacked-out version of a Bombay street snack contains fresh roasted corn, corn flakes, cucumbers and tomatoes in a cumin-lime sauce. It’s that rare healthy dish that hits the salty snack spot with perfect aim. (406 W. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-378-4030, chaipanidecatur.com)

Corn dog at Pallookaville Fine Foods

Do you want to know what a gourmet corn dog tastes like? This: a great Italian sausage or kielbasa in a robe of the corniest cornbread fried to a greasy crackle. Pass the Gulden’s. (17N Avondale Plaza, Avondale Estates. 404-500-1785, pallookaville.com)

Chicken parmesan sandwich at Caffé Gio

This promising sandwich shop in Antico-land has finally jettisoned its bready bakery rolls in favor of crisp flatbread from its own pizza oven. The difference is like night and day, and this sloppy sandwich rules the roost. (1099 Hemphill Ave., Atlanta. 404-347-3874, gioschicken.com)

Pear Riesling sorbet at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

We know it’s a small out-of-town franchise, but Jeni’s has done wonders for the ice cream paradigm in the ATL. The various shades of chocolate get all the attention, but we keep coming back this brilliant sorbet. (1198 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 404-355-6050, jenis.com)

Whole Georgia White Shrimp a la Plancha With Sopping Toast at the Optimist

The menu rightly calls this saucy heap “messy but worth it.” Fingers and forks work in tandem to deliver each meaty, buttery, spicy bite. (914 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 404-477-6260, theoptimistrestaurant.com)

Shrimp po’boy at Star Provisions

From the hot-from-the-fryer shrimp to the dill pickle slices, always-worth-eating tomato and soft nap of bread, this sandwich offers nothing but perfect bites. If you get it to go, you will have finished it before leaving the parking lot. (1198 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 404-365-0410, starprovisions.com)

Railroad Beef Curry at Cardamom Hill

The banana leaf packet made this layering of hot beef curry and cool yogurt rice a popular choice of train travelers in India. This version offers an incredible layering of flavors, textures and temperatures. (1700 Northside Drive, Atlanta. 404-549-7012, cardamomhill.net)

Ice cream sandwiches at Miller Union

Is there a better reason anywhere to eat dessert after lunch? Seasonal ice cream comes in tender chocolate wafers that duplicate but also improve on the version we all know. (99 Brady Ave., Atlanta. 678-733-8550, millerunion.com)

Southern ramen at BoccaLupo

With its black noodles, collard greens, boiled peanuts and potlikker, this is not a ramen any Japanese person would recognize. But they’d be too busy slurping to notice. (753 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta. 404-577-2332, boccalupoatl.com)

Fruit galette at Little Tart

Spring brings fresh local berries and then peaches to this terrific bakery. The fruit’s natural sugars are intensified in the oven, and the flaky unsweetened crust knows just how to play along. (437 Memorial Drive, Atlanta. 404-348-4797, littletartatl.com)

Chicken wings at Nam Phuong

Do better chicken wings exist? Short answer: no. Long answer: None is crackly, sweet, spicy, meaty and entwined in shallot threads and pickled greens like these. (4051 Buford Highway, Atlanta. 404-633-2400. 5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross. 770-409-8686, namphuongatlanta.com)

Chongqing chicken at Gu’s Bistro

The copious chilies telegraph the intense heat in this fantastic heap of fried chicken nuggets. It’ll burn but hurt so good you won’t be able to stop. (5750 Buford Highway, Doraville. 770-451-8118, gusbistro.com)

Falafel at Jerusalem Bakery

You may have to wait, but you’ll thrill when the counter guy calls your name and constructs your bespoke falafel with fresh and pickled vegetables and a selection of sauces in an oven-fresh pita. (4150 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharetta. 770-777-0193, jerusalembakeryandgrill.com)

Patatas Bravas at Stem Wine Bar

This clever take on the classic Spanish tapa is a delight. Hollowed-out fried potatoes come filled with paprika cream and garlic aïoli. A fine first bite with your flight of sparkling wines. (1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta. 678-214-6888, stemwinebar.com)

Dinner rolls at the Butcher the Baker

When you get a fresh batch of these rolls, you’ll wonder why you don’t get this kind of bread more often. The perfect mix of yeast, sweetness, puff and steam. (23 N. Park Square, Marietta. 678-224-1599, eatlocaleatbetter.com)

Tlayuda at Taqueria la Oaxaquena

Some call this Oaxacan specialty a Mexican pizza; others say it’s like a giant tostada. Whatever it is, this crisp-chewy crust smeared with beans and topped with every ingredient of the Mexican kitchen always hits the supreme snarf spot. (605 Mount Zion Road, Jonesboro. 770-960-3010, taquerialaoaxaquena.com)