Top 5 restaurants in Atlanta?

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
41

Not sure. He did pour me a digestif with an orange rind flavor that was very tasty :slight_smile:

42

Night 4/5. I have to admit- I’m starting to get meeting and restaurant fatigue. But- fun night. I went to 4th and Swift, another new South restaurant.In a rectangular, deconstructed, industrial space with white-washed walls on 1 side with soft lighting. My waitress was a mix of Lisa Kudrow and Helen Hunt, very cute. I went with the chef’s tasting menu. A very nice mix of presentation, artistry and ingredients. A chef who likes to take risks and very well-played. I tried to go with 1 wine for the varied tasting course and the sommelier recommended a 2012 Wild Horse “Unbridled” Pinot Noir, a very fruit-forward, full-bodied, Pinot with strawberry and pomegranate notes with long finish. Very nice match. Excellent service, a theme of the restaurants I’ve been to this week. Finish up tomorrow night at BoccaLupo, the waitress’s favorite restaurant. Bread and water starting Tuesday

43

Good to know you were treated properly! Good luck detoxing after all the fun [welldone.gif]

44

Last night in Atlanta. Finished at BoccaLupo. in a small house, combination of Love Shack and Peyton Place. Fun menu. Had the Octopus & mortadella spiedino, shell beans, bacon, marsala antipasti and the spicy signature dish black spaghetti, hot calabrese sausage, red shrimp, scallions. Waiter Luke recommended 2011 Passopisciano Rosso, a Nerello Mascalese grape grown on the lower slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. Very tannic up front, strawberry and currant evolving to strawberry/cherry with the spicy black pasta. Then, back to black fruit/currant. The most fun music in a restaurant all week, including Talking Heads.

45

I love that octopus and mortadella dish at Bocca Lupo.
One of my favorite things to eat around town over the last year.
BL has really risen to one of our best restaurants since it opened 18 months ago.
Simply never misses.
You did well here, Mark!
Good eating. [cheers.gif]

46

Dennis- it was a fun 5 nights- got a nice variety of food and wine experiences. It was a lot of fun!

47

I’ll be in town next week - since it has been a whole 5 months since this threat was started, anything new? Also, I’d love to visit some nice bottle shops - recommendations? I will be staying in mid-town, but should have the ability to travel outside the city limits.

thanks in advance!

George

48

In no order -

Atlas
Umi
Bocca Lupo
Cakes & Ale
Kimball House
Miller Union
Lusca

49

New? Cooks & Soldiers - if you can get in. http://cooksandsoldiers.com/

Bottle Shops? Cellar 13 (personal favorite) and Perrine’s. http://www.cellar13.com/ http://www.perrineswine.com/

50

Also a plethora of ethnic spots all over ATL but specifically Buford Highway.

51

For wine shops, I’d also recommend ph wine merchant in peachtree hills which is just north of midtown. Just down the street from it is a restaurant called KR Steakbar, where oddly enough, the pasta is the thing to order. I had forgotten about KR but have been about five times in the past month as my kitchen is being renovated and I’ve had great meals every time. Highly recommend both.

52

Love both those places and KR Steakbar is a cool place to hang out or have dinner. Love the pastas just wish they would figure out what al dente is.

53

Any list without Canoe should just be ignored has been and always will be a top 5 in the city. Great corkage policy, killer wine shop next door and a solid wine list.

54

Absolutes are almost always wrong. You, of course, are entitled to your opinion about Canoe - but opinion is not fact.

55

Only lived here for 3 months but have yet to meet a person who doesn’t agree on Canoe being a staple restaurant in atlanta. Open table and trip advisor would agree as well… Have I eaten everything in the city? No, but again between ratings, awards and overal longevity I’m pretty sure my “opinion” lines up with vast majority of diners in the greater atlanta area.

56

Please let me introduce myself.

There’s probably a reason Canoe wasn’t mentioned in the posts by long-time Atlanta residents Chad Richardson, Don Cornutt, Michael Bowden, Dennis Attick, and Thomas Puricelli. And I don’t think crowd-sourced opinions do much to support your position.

Give it three more months and I expect you’ll discover at least five restaurants that eclipse Canoe.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Canoe, and would include it in my personal top 25. But I would never suggest that any list that didn’t include one of my personal top 5 “should be ignored.”

57

I’m sorry you missed the humor in the “should be ignored” part of the post.

Next time I have drinks with Chad I’ll make sure to reconfirm his stance on Canoe :wink:

58

Hi Mark;

Great reporting!

I’ll also be at the Omni in a few months. If I weighted distance from the Omni with food and wine, which would be your #1 and #2? Or are they all roughly the same distance.

Thanks!

59

It’s early and I know that Mr. Fleming has mentioned it but Cooks & Soldiers is worth checking out.

60

Barry, the Omni Hotel is on Marietta, which is an easy conduit to Miller Union and Cooks & Soldiers (though I must admit to not visiting there yet). You are a bit farther away from the Edgewood Corridor, where you’ll find places like Bocca Lupo and One Eared Stag, as well as the Krog Street Market. Were you to want to head to Buckhead, your drive would be worse. Visiting Aria, Atlas or Umi would be worth it, but it would be the longest drive.