The Atlanta 50: Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano to One Eared Stag

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Here are the Atlanta 50 — the restaurants that we feel define the best of dining in the greater metropolitan area today. All of these capsule reviews are based on recent visits by members of the AJC dining team. Initials indicate they were written by John Kessler (JK), Jenny Turknett (JT) or Jon Watson (JW).

Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano

(3 stars)

Giovanni Di Palma, of Antico Pizza fame, opened Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano last December. Using a handful of ingredients, many imported from Italy, Di Palma has created a menu of seven chicken and four pasta dishes. Large pieces of bone-in chicken come in brothy bowls with roasted potato wedges and squares of focaccia much like Antico’s pizza dough. The chicken itself is moist and tender, but the magic is in the pools of liquid swirling with ribbons of oil that have been uniquely flavored by the dish.

Try the Scarpiello chicken, which inspired the popular San Gennaro pizza at Antico. Thick pieces of Chicago-sourced sausage mix with charred sweet and spicy peppers and slices of cipolline onions to top the chicken. A splash of aceto rosso (red wine vinegar) mixes with the heavenly broth, adding another dimension.

While the chicken at Gio’s has a simple preparation, the flavors are anything but. These rustic Italian dishes translate into some of the most brilliant comfort foods. (JT)

1099 Hemphill Ave. N.W., Atlanta [map]. 404-347-3874, gioschicken.com

Greenwood’s on Green Street

(3 stars)

Using mostly local and organic produce, dairy and meats, Bill Greenwood serves up his take on classic Southern fare at this Roswell restaurant. Dishes hark back to those on Southern grandmas’ tables but have evolved to a more refined state. The restaurant’s casual atmosphere belies the sophistication in the kitchen.

Thick-crusted fried chicken boasts a heavy dose of black pepper and honey. Chopped sage flavors the flour-dredged pork chops. The perfectly moist rotisserie duck plays off a musty, sweet plum sauce. Most vegetables are prepared without meat and dairy. Create your own plate of two to four veggies, like the vinegary collards, sweet creamed corn, spiced apple sauce and mashed sweet potatoes.

No visit to Greenwood’s would be complete without a hefty wedge of one of the fat pies lining the counters. Flavors range from blackberry and lemon meringue to coconut cream and pecan. (JT)

1087 Green St., Roswell [map]. 770-992-5383, greenwoodsongreenstreet.com

Gu’s Bistro

(3 stars)

Gu’s isn’t the Chinese restaurant where you have to walk around to see what other diners are eating, assure the waiters that you can handle spice and offal, and plead to get a translation for the specials that are listed only in Mandarin. Chef Gu and his daughter Yvonne, who runs the front of the house, know full well that their Buford Highway destination attracts all manner of diners eager to explore the contours of his Sichuan kitchen. Popular dishes get special real estate and photos on the menu, while the beverage list has expanded to include a thoughtful list of craft beers.

Start with the Chongqing spicy chicken — nuggets of flavor-packed bird nestled with whole chile pods in a foil-lined serving dish that collects the hot oil runoff. Then move on to the succulent tea-smoked duck. But don’t ignore the fat Zhong-style dumplings, the sauteed peppers with black vinegar and the Luo Jiang dried tofu, a kind of bean jerky that glistens with chile oil and prickles with the buzz of Sichuan peppercorns. With each visit you’ll find a new favorite. (JK)

5750 Buford Highway, Doraville [map]. 770-451-8118, gusbistro.com

Hal’s on Old Ivy

(3 stars)

While I’m often at my happiest with a hunk of medium rare, bone-in ribeye between my teeth, only one steakhouse cracks my Top 10 favorite restaurants. Even among the best-in-class in Atlanta, there is something homogeneous about them — add two parts fantastic beef, one part expensive wine list, the same five sides, and the occasional cigar. Grill, rinse, repeat. But Hal’s on Old Ivy isn’t one of those steakhouses, and that is precisely why it is my top recommendation for a cut of beef in this town.

Everything about Hal’s screams “old school.” The drinks are stiff, the smoke over the bar is dense, the waiters cleanly pressed, and the steaks are thick. But the bar is rowdy, the crowds jovial, and the injection of Hal Novak’s creole flavors sets this 20-year-plus institution apart. Whether it is the best steakhouse in town is tough to say, but it is absolutely my favorite. (JW)

30 Old Ivy Road, Atlanta [map]. 404-261-0025, hals.net

Heirloom Market BBQ

(3 stars)

Few American cuisines are as unchanged and rooted in tradition as barbecue. Therein lies much of its appeal — something about smoked meat strikes a primal chord in many of us — and leaves little room for innovation. Heirloom Market BBQ breaks that mold, and Atlanta is better off for it.

Cody Taylor, a Tennessee native, and Jiyeon Lee, a former Korean pop star-turned-chef, fuse their cultural influences with dishes like slow-smoked pork topped with kimchi coleslaw and create a unique breed of nouveau ‘cue. Their resumes include stints at Repast, the Ritz-Carlton and Restaurant Eugene, so they bring an inventiveness to the art of barbecue that’s rarely seen.

The seating is limited and the barbecue popular, so be prepared for a line, but know that it will be worth it. (JW)

2243 Akers Mill Road, Atlanta [map]. 770-612-2502, http://heirloommarketbbq.com, @heirloombbq

Holeman & Finch Public House

(4 stars)

If all you know of Holeman and Finch involves the word “burger,” you are missing out on the best parts of one of the most influential Atlanta restaurants of the past decade. If Linton Hopkins’ Restaurant Eugene is the perfectionist older sibling, Holeman & Finch is the scrappy, devil-may-care kid brother who somehow always comes out on top.

Never mind that co-owner Greg Best runs what is consistently the best cocktail program in the city, and never mind that nearly everything, from the cured meats to the ketchup, is made in house.

The unapologetically bold menu continues to challenge even the most adventurous eaters. Reluctant first bites of pan-fried veal brains decadently soaked in black butter or tastes of heady roasted bone marrow on fresh baked country bread shatter preconceptions of Southern cuisine. This is a food lover’s restaurant, and the first and best place to bring any visiting foodie friend. (JW)

2277 Peachtree Road, Atlanta [map]. 404-948-1175, holeman-finch.com, @HolemanandFinch

Honey Pig

(3 stars)

Move over fondue, the current cook-your-own-food hotspot is this Korean barbecue restaurant. Great for groups and out-of-towners, Honey Pig serves up a tasty meal with a side of entertainment. Giant cast-iron pot lids anchor each table and serve as the cooking vessel for seafood and meats, like the restaurant’s signature Sam-Gyup-Sal (Kurobuta pork belly) and the Bulgogi (marinated sliced beef).

On your first visit, ask your server to give you the lowdown as he prepares the kimchee and bean sprouts on your table cooker. As the cooking aromas bloom, you’ll eagerly await the moment you can slide that pork belly into the sweet marinated radish slices or sticky sheets of rice paper. Just save room for the best-in-show fried rice, made with all the drippings and stuck-on bits from your dinner. (JT)

3473 Old Norcross Road, Duluth [map]. 770-476-9292, honeypigatl.com

JCT Kitchen

(3 stars)

Chef Ford Fry opened this popular Southern-themed restaurant on Atlanta’s westside in 2007. Fry’s new executive chef, E.J. Hodgkinson, is breathing new life into the menu, using his California-style reliance on local produce and connections with farmers to express the Southern terroir.

Hodgkinson has revamped some of JCT’s signature dishes, like the pimento cheese and mussels. Watch for additional menu updates as he settles into his role here. Order the daily special or any of the dishes benefitting from his golden touch, such as the bluenose tartare with tangy kumquats and tiny Hakurei turnips or the pork-belly-topped Johnny cake, sure to become a new JCT classic.

Don’t miss the restaurant’s Sunday Supper, a $24 family-style Southern feast. And don’t hesitate to work with the eager and helpful staff to pair the perfect wine with your meal. (JT)

1198 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta [map]. 404-355-2252, jctkitchen.com, @jctkitchen

KR Steakbar

(not yet rated)

For their first venture outside Inman Park, Kevin Rathbun and company have chosen this seemingly off-the-beaten-path space at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center in Peachtree Hills. Right. The crowds have packed the place from its first days, which can make for a loud, hectic experience in the open space the dining room shares with both the kitchen and the ever-lively bar.

But the first bites have us hooked and eager for more. Rathbun made a smart choice of chef in Chris McDade, whose handmade pastas and beguiling small plates speak with an appealing Italian accent. Tonnarelli pasta with pig trotters, mushrooms with a charred lettuce sauce and soft, briny artichoke hearts paired with fried lemon keep us so happy that we almost forget to order steak. (JK)

349 Peachtree Hills Ave., Atlanta [map]. 404-841-8820, krsteakbar.com, @KRSteakBar

Kyma

(3 stars)

Year in and year out, we keep a fond spot in our hearts for this now-classic Atlanta destination — a restaurant that has always known how to marry old-school Buckhead glitz to the honest flavors of a well-researched Greek menu. We love the opening volley of meze, from the crisp, bite-size spanakopita pastries to the Santorini-style scallops with yellow split pea puree, to the airily soft zucchini and feta fritters. Though there are a variety of Mediterranean entrees, we invariably go for the whole grilled fish, which a waiter debones and anoints with either lemon-olive oil or lemon-brown butter sauce, depending on the variety.

But as much affection as we have for Kyma, we have to admit the kitchen doesn’t always prepare its lengthy menu with consistency. An expensive Dover sole didn’t have the tender, yielding flake and delicate flavor we look for in this fish. The baby beet salad with warm manouri cheese and beet sorbet, once pure magic, can succumb to a sharp competition between too much vinegar and sugar.

Luckily, the loukoumades — orbs of honey-drizzled fried dough — always send you out on a sweet note. (JK)

3085 Piedmont Road N.E., Atlanta [map], (404) 262-0702, buckheadrestaurants.com, @BuckheadLife

Leon’s Full Service

(3 stars)

Chef Eric Ottensmeyer doesn’t have the easiest job. From the first days he has had to play second fiddle to this Decatur gastropub’s breakout star — cocktail maestro Miles MacQuarrie. The food menu balanced gourmet stylings with its core mission: to serve stick-to-the-ribs (if sometimes stodgy) pub fare to absorb the alcohol. Its most noticeable contribution to local dining was an ample bucket of hand-cut fries with homemade dipping sauces that nearly every table ordered.

But over the years Ottensmeyer has grown more confident as a chef, and his kitchen’s technique has improved dramatically. Factor in a larder of thoughtfully sourced local ingredients, and the gastro starts seeming nearly as interesting as the pub. A recent meal of perfectly pan-crisped redfish came over shrimp jambalaya made with beady rice middlins, while a seared flatiron steak slicked in red wine compound butter shared a plate with spicy kale and sweet potato shoestring fries. For once, you forget about Leon’s thrilling cocktails and think: Do they have a wine list? (JK)

131 E Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur [map]. 404-687-0500, leonsfullservice.com, @leonsdecatur

Miller Union

(4 stars)

Some chefs try to cram too many good ideas onto each plate, and when you try a dish you can’t help but mentally edit it. Not so Steven Satterfield, who opened this sophisticated Southern bistro four years ago with a menu that registered as an upmarket meat and two. Carefully handled chicken and pork came with good local greens and sweet potatoes, and a tacit motto of simplicity above all.

He’s still no fan of fancy sauces, but with vegetable purees and reduced cooking juices, he’s creating poetry on the plate. Duck breast arrives over celery root spun into silk with a tuft of dandelion greens and a green garlic jus that captures the flavor of late winter ceding to early spring.

Also demanding a close look is co-owner Neal McCarthy’s wine list — one of the best in town if your tastes run to Old World reds that don’t cost a fortune. Another don’t miss: the pork cheeks with sunchokes, shiitakes and Vidalia onions, as remarkable for the seasonal flavors as for the texture Satterfield coaxes from this cut, which can be gelatinous or stringy in the hands of a lesser chef. (JK)

999 Brady Ave., Atlanta [map]. 678-733-8550, millerunion.com, @millerunion

Muss &Turner’s

(3 stars)

If ever there was a place you’d like to have open just around the corner, it would be Muss & Turner’s. By day, it’s a gourmet market-deli, and by night it morphs into a lively bistro. The restaurant, which Todd Mussman and Ryan Turner opened in 2005, is widely known for its Big-Green-Egg-grilled burger. Made with grass-fed beef and a perfect medium-rare, the burger unleashes juices that soak right into the thick bun. Add a side of hand-cut fries to that order and don’t agree to share. You’ll snarf those salty pommes frites from their paper-lined cones with or without the rich truffle aioli or one of the four other sauces.

On another visit, explore the array of small plates and heartier items like Swifty’s Dream, a smoky pork-shoulder sandwich made even more decadent with bacon.

You’ll also want to take a gander at the bar menu, which offers a thoughtful selection of craft beer options, including about eight on draught. Lucky Smyrna. (JT)

1675 Cumberland Parkway S.E., Smyrna [map]. 770-434-1114, mussandturners.com, @mussandturners

Nam Phuong

(3 stars)

There are two branches of Nam Phuong. The smaller, more casual branch on Buford Highway serves as a destination for pho, salads and summer rolls. The Norcross original is a Vietnamese restaurant with an ambition unmatched by any in town. The multi-page menu offers a virtual tour of Vietnam, with more than a little lip service given to the Chinese dishes popular in that Southeast Asian country.

It can be daunting, but you won’t go wrong ordering bun hoi — a kind of DIY summer roll factory. The Three Delights comes with shrimp mousse roasted on sugarcane, pork sausage and bundles of grape-leaf wrapped beef that you further wrap with noodles, herbs and vegetables in rice paper. (Patient servers make sure you get it right.) If that’s too much work, the pho noodle soup ranks among the best in town, with a broth redolent with the flavors of roasted cinnamon and star anise. (JK)

5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross [map]. 770-409-8686, namphuongatlanta.com, @namphuongatl

Octopus Bar

(3 stars)

Walking through the door of Soba in East Atlanta, long after the Vietnamese restaurant is closed for the night, there is a sense that you may be in the wrong place. But keep going to the revamped patio and you will find Octopus Bar, one of the best late-night dining destinations in the city.

The brainchild of chefs Nhan Le and Angus Brown, this funky, rough-around-the-edges chef’s haunt serves seafood-heavy Vietnamese fusion small plates and family-style cuisine. The menu changes daily, but thankfully dishes like the crunchy-fried, shell-on salt and pepper whole shrimp or rabbit and shrimp wonton usually make appearances. Brown soon will wrap up a four-month culinary tour of Asia, so expect some new influences and dishes here soon. (JW)

560 Gresham Ave., Atlanta [map]. 404-627-9911, octopusbaratl.com

The Optimist

(4 stars)

Brassy, boisterous and real to its core, this citified fish camp from Ford Fry and chef Adam Evans draws a broad and diverse swath of Atlantans who recognize good seafood and are willing to pay for it. Evans knows where to get creative and where to dial it down and let his well sourced seafood speak for its own piscine self.

The largest, most luscious peel-and-eat shrimp you can imagine arrive with a dusting of spice and a classic Mississippi “come back” sauce. Creamy she crab soup gets a delightful side of shrimp toast, and an otherwise classic clam roll perks up to the zip of kimchi vinegar.

But don’t eat so many small plates that you miss out on entrees. Pan-crisped fillets of pink snapper need nothing more than their broth of lime juice and fish sauce. Inspired sides include a take on kedgeree — spicy basmati rice with smoked fish and peanuts. (JK)

914 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta [map]. 404-477-6260, theoptimistrestaurant.com, @TheOptimistATL

One Eared Stag

(3 stars)

Dish A is “amazing.” Dish B is “interesting.” Thus goes the conversation on any given night at One Eared Stag, where chef Robert Phalen famously changes the menu from night to night, depending on the market and his sense of improvisation. One recent night featured cast-iron fried rabbit liver and heart, a marrow bone topped with smoked razor clams and radish top sauce, and a huge serving of delicious (if salty) quail over polenta, foraged morels, fava beans and nettles.

Phalen’s food isn’t consistent by a long shot. But it’s always beautifully plated, generously portioned and incredibly interesting for anyone willing to play the Dish A/Dish B game. We would like to challenge him to focus and maybe even develop a signature dish or two.

Service at this restaurant is so casual that one waiter introduces himself and says, “Hey, I’m going to be hanging out with you tonight.” (JK)

1029 Edgewood Ave. N.E., Atlanta [map]. 404-525-4479, oneearedstag.com, @oneearedstag