GUNSHOW
Overall rating: 3 of 5 stars
Food: eclectic small/medium-size plates
Service: casual, laid-back
Best dishes: burger, sticky toffee fig newton, mushroom gratin, tandoori chicken
Vegetarian selections: varies by the night, no alternate menu
Price range:$$$-$$$$, a table of four splitting most menu items runs about $50 per person.
Credit cards: all major credit cards
Hours: 6-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays
Children: not a good idea
Parking: shared valet across the street or street parking
Reservations: highly suggested
Wheelchair access: yes
Smoking: no
Noise level: high
Patio: no
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 924 Garrett St. S.E., Atlanta. 404-380-1886.
Website: www.gunshowatl.com
Fact or fiction: Most chefs prefer to remain in the kitchen, firmly cloistered and insulated from the guests in the dining room.
Fiction.
So says Kevin Gillespie, chef-owner of Gunshow in Glenwood Park. He believes “chefs are taught to stay in the back” but in reality “the emotion of witnessing someone experiencing your food” overshadows any potential negativity guests may dish out.
Gillespie, a previous “Top Chef” finalist and former chef of Woodfire Grill, tackles this misconception at Gunshow, where the chefs themselves approach each table to offer the dishes they have prepared. Here, guests must reconsider their definitions of fine dining.
The lack of chef-guest interaction is one of the tenets of the fine dining model challenged at Gunshow.
Another is what Gillespie calls “the perceived pretension,” the stifling vibe you may equate with white-linened tables and suited waiters rushing to anticipate your every whim. Gunshow yanks the cloth out from under that format with its no-frills construction and bare tables joined by slabs of wood secured with metal C-clamps. Fine dining, indeed.
At Gunshow you’ll dine under bright lights that never fade with the sun. You’ll raise your voice to match the din ricocheting off the concrete walls and floors. Gillespie makes no apologies for these aspects of the restaurant despite complaints. Instead, he patiently explains that he didn’t create a formal dining room for you, nor did he intend to. He’s invited you into his kitchen. Consequently, the space is governed by kitchen design standards.
The name Gunshow is also a no-apology zone, referring to shows Gillespie attended with his dad during his childhood. To Gillespie, the name symbolizes being proud of where you came from. It stands for being a little “rough around the edges, yet incredibly gracious.”
Gunshow’s format, inspired by dim sum and Brazilian churrascarias, not only combats the pretense of fine dining, it also makes it accessible to more cost-conscious diners. Granted, some plates seem a bit light for a $12-$18 price tag, but the model makes it easy to track and manage costs.
Boil down the essence of fine dining and you’re left with consistently superior execution in the kitchen, a notable beverage program, and a high level of service. Arguably, the most important of these is the quality and consistency of food, and Gunshow nails this essential feature.The rest is still under construction.
Until very recently, Gunshow permitted guests to bring their own wine without a corkage fee. Recently passed city ordinances now prohibit the restaurant from offering this service, so it is working to increase its wine, beer and whiskey selections.
And while the food may ring true for fine dining, logistics can be a bit of a bugger. Dishes will begin flying in for you to refuse or accept at a rapid pace once you sit. You might feel a little rankled when you’ve had three courses before ordering a beverage because servers won’t give your group more than one menu despite requests for another.
Maybe you’ll feel put out by the constant tally marking of your menu to track the dishes you’ve accepted from the chefs. Or, you might object to the lunchroom monitor type hovering nearby with a clipboard to ensure each table receives a steady supply of offerings.
Chefs are still discovering their own presentation styles and how to interact with guests. Could we see a little more storytelling and enthusiasm, maybe a little more “show”? I’d like to know chefs’ names and backgrounds, but I’d settle for anything more than a stop and drop.
On one visit, a chef arrived at our table with a tray loaded with deep dishes of Rappahannock clams ($14) in a swirl of green curry heavily scented with garlic and lemongrass. He presented them by telling a lovely story about the natural habitat of the clams and efforts to revitalize the area where they are grown. Sadly, two days later he offered the same clams sans story.
Tell us the inspiration for each dish as we bounce around the globe from the curry to the tandoori chicken ($13). Tender chicken (sometimes white meat, sometimes dark) marinates in yogurt for a couple of days, making it deceptively tender and moist. The flame-colored bird comes with a beguiling mixture of coconutty collards, crunchy fried chickpeas and sticks of sour-pickled squash.
Gillespie believes that any type of cuisine has a place on Gunshow’s menu as long as it’s made with the same level of execution and a commitment to excellence. It might be an aggressively seasoned flounder Vera Cruz ($13) with chunks of steamy tomato adding tang to the caramelized flavors of browned, crispy rice. Or, you might see the crispy arancini ($5), an appetizing play in textures with the rice balls served in a silky saffron sauce.
The ever-changing menu comes together organically, with the best ideas of the day winning a spot among the 12-15 items offered. This means that some nights may be meat heavy and others may feature seafood. On one of my visits, breading seemed to reign supreme. We ate salty, slimeless okra with thick cornmeal breading ($5), spongy breaded oyster mushrooms ($13) enlivened with pecorino and bacon, and a dry pork schnitzel ($15).
I particularly enjoyed the (unofficial) comfort food night with items like the lightly battered fish and chips ($13), delicate and dripping with beer vinegar. We also snarfed a smoky mushroom gratin ($12) with layers of potato, hen of the woods mushrooms and comté cheese, nice and greasy with truffle oil. My excited friend exclaimed that it tasted like barbecue potato chips. It kind of did.
The hit of the night was the elusive off-menu West Coast burger ($12). On one visit, we saw the double-double, animal-style paper-wrapped burger on a shiny housemade bun circulating, but it sold out before the chef made his way to our table. On my next visit, we practically begged servers to score us a burger. Bingo and bingo. In-N-Out, eat your heart out.
Even if you plan to wait it out, you aren’t likely to see everything on the night’s menu. I never did.
We didn’t have that trouble with dessert. We always saw (and ordered) all three dessert options, the warm and smudgy sticky toffee fig newton ($6) with Morelli’s salted caramel and bits of bacon topping the list by far.
According to Gillespie, you directly impact your own experience at Gunshow. Subtext: Go with the flow. Gunshow will push you out of your comfort zone and challenge all notions of dining, fine or otherwise. You just might find it liberating.
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