FOOD FOR THOUGHT | January-February 2019

Avocado toast at the new Coalition Food and Beverage in downtown Alpharetta. Its focus is modernized 1950s diner food. (All food photos by David Danzig.)

New year brings new eats, from a Japanese invasion

and OTP migration to a pancake proliferation,

falafel infiltration and seafood termination. Whew!

NEW TASTES are promised near and far, from downtown, Midtown and all along Ponce, to Alpharetta, Fayetteville and Winder. It’s all Food for Thought.

Shrimp sando and lotus chips from Monomoki, near Georgia Tech.

Well done

At the base of a new steel-and-glass tower overlooking the Downtown Connector near Georgia Tech comes MOMONOKI, a new concept from chef JASON LIANG, one of the creative forces behind Decatur’s popular Brush Sushi Izakaya.

Order at the counter and get some of the slurpiest ramen soups in town along with tsukemen (dipping ramen), Donburi(raw or cooked rice bowls), Katsu Sando(Japanese cutlet sandwiches served on perfect milk toast), salads and other small plates.

A full bar is stocked with cocktails, sake, wine, and local and Japanese beers but be sure to save room for desserts from pastry chef CHING YAO WANG, Liang’s wife. Many are made with matcha, a Japanese green tea that refreshes the palate in a soothing, semi-sweet way. …

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The housemade pretzels at Alpharetta’s Coalition.

Brothers DAN PERNICE and RYAN PERNICE turned heads a few years back when they opened both Table and Main and Osteria Mattone.

They’re back with a third effort, COALITION FOOD AND BEVERAGE, a handsome spot off the square in downtown Alpharetta.

Chef WOLLERY BACK (formerly of Craft, Restaurant Eugene, and Holeman and Finch) hand-cranks a food fire contraption and churns out modern versions of 1950s diner fare: house-made pretzels, St. Louis-style barbecue ribs, crispy crabcakes, classic club sandwiches and blackened tuna burgers on Alon’s Bakery bread. These are cheffed-up, approachable and skillfully prepared. …

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Krog Street Market welcomes Watchman’s.

The team behind Decatur’s James Beard-nominated KIMBALL HOUSE has christened WATCHMAN’S SEAFOOD AND SPIRITS in Krog Street Market, just off the Atlanta BeltLine in what was once The Luminary.

No fishing nets or stuffed marlins on the walls here, no Jimmy Buffet on the sound system. This is a hip spot in a hip neighborhood. Sustainably farmed oysters from Alabama to North Carolina go with dishes like a shrimp roll sandwich, steamed clams, ceviche verde and a fisherman’s stew made with grouper, shrimp, crabs and oysters.

The bar program comes from legendary mixologist MILES MACQUARRIE, a compact list of masterful ocean-inspired libations with roots that run from Havana to Key West and anywhere along the Southeast coast of the United States. …

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Farm-fresh produce at Winder’s Bistro Off Broad.

In historic downtown Winder, chef ALEX FRIEDMAN (formerly of Inman Park’s Pcheen) has set up shop in a brick building that dates to the 1890s. BISTRO OFF BROAD brings a sophisticated approach to comfort food.

Everything that grows in soil or dwells on land comes from a nearby farm: baked brie with honeycomb and figs, Ossabaw Island barbecue (Friedman does all his own butchering), crispy duck with pumpkin and sage risotto, venison with roasted okra, and pork chops with sweet corn pudding.

If you need a nautical nosh, try the cold-water oysters, sea scallops, Carolina trout or a tempura-fried shrimp po’boy with tomato jam. It’s a gem that would be at home in the hippest intown neighborhood.

Simmering

Kevin Rathbun

In a matter of weeks, Super Bowl LIII (53 for non-Romans) will kick its way into Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Atlanta celebrity chef KEVIN RATHBUN will headline the TASTE OF THE NFL: PARTY WITH A PURPOSE at Cobb Galleria Centre.

The game is Feb. 3; Taste is Feb. 2. Each NFL team city will fly in its own celebrity chef to cook a signature dish at one of 35-plus food stations.

This is your chance to eat, drink and mingle with NFL greats and other celebrities. 

Tickets are $700 each, but that’s cheaper than a seat to the game. …

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Anne Quatrano

Big brunch news comes from James Beard Award-winning chef ANNE QUATRANO (Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, Floataway Café, W.H. Stiles Fish Camp) plans two locations of her latest concept, PANCAKE SOCIAL. Expect eight kinds of pancakes, from savory to sweet, along with other all-day breakfast noshes. A Ponce City Market location will open in the first part of the year. Look for the second late next fall in Fayetteville’s forthcoming Pinewood Forest development. …

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Ponce de Leon Avenue continues its gentrification with two new offerings — SOUTHERN BELLE and GEORGIA BOY — from former Gunshow executive chef JOEY WARD. The two will co-exist at the same address. Belle will offer small plates; Boy will be a 16-seat communal counter with a multicourse tasting menu. Expect a spring bloom. …

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MAMOUN’S FALAFEL dates to 1970s Greenwich Village and calls itself the “oldest falafel restaurant in New York City.” It plans six Atlanta locations, with the first opening in the West Midtown Center development on Northside Drive. Expect house-baked pitas, shawarma, hummus and, of course, falafel.

Toast

The restaurant graveyard has been busy the past few months. Virginia-Highland’s GOIN’ COASTAL closed after eight years, and downtown’s LEGAL SEAFOOD pulled up anchor after more than a decade, citing expiration of its Hilton Garden Inn lease. … THUMBS UP DINER, the breakfast-all-day icon, has closed its Decatur location, citing untenable rent increases. Thumbs Up’s popular “Skillet Heap” and multigrain biscuits are still available at locations in Douglasville, East Point, Edgewood Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward, Marietta Street in West Midtown and Roswell. … After 30 years of meat-and-three, OUR WAY CAFÉ closed its Avondale Estates location. Owner EVA-MARIE ROSWALL decided to retire. …

The most notable closing is ACHIE’S, The Battery Atlanta spot from decorated chef HUGH ACHESON, which lasted less than 10 months. Acheson, who reached celebrity status on the TV reality show “Top Chef Masters,” still runs EMPIRE STATE SOUTH and two SPILLER PARK COFFEE locations, plus a pair of eateries in Athens.

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Food for Thought, Encore Atlanta’s bimonthly dining column, keeps you up to date on openings, closings and what chefs are up to in one of three categories — well done (reasons for praise), simmering (what’s in the works) and toast (what’s closed, etc.). Suggestions: Email kathy@encoreatlanta.com.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT | November-December 2018

Barbecue and Southern comfort food in Alpharetta, Del Frisco’s

steaks in Dunwoody and fresh lobster in Buckhead are among

the new tastes to savor and anticipate.

SMOKED MEATS come to Alpharetta and lobster bellies to Lenox Square, while new life reaches Colony Square and the Atlanta BeltLine. It’s all Food for Thought.

Go to Alpharetta for King Barbecue’s pulled pork, brisket, ribs, brisket-baked beans, mac-n-cheese and more. All photos by David Danzig.

Well done

Alpharetta’s mini-metropolis of Avalon, KING BARBECUE is winning hearts and taste buds with its regionally influenced ’cue — pulled pork, brisket, sausage, turkey, chicken and pork ribs. Dip into the distinctive homemade pickled bar, where free accouterments include pickled tomatoes, beets, several varieties of pickles and even ghost peppers for the daredevil diner. Sides include a dense and slightly sweet jalapeno cornbread, slaw, Brunswick stew, collards and brisket-baked beans that almost steal the show. …

Naming your restaurant “Secreto,” the Spanish word for “secret,” might not sound like savvy marketing, but word is traveling about SECRETO SOUTHERN KITCHEN & BAR’s two locations (Alpharetta and Brookhaven). Chef Boyd Rose has taken out the Southern-comfort-food playbook and cheffed-up some classics — warm pimento cheese, truffle deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes. The result: bold flavors and hearty plates. Also expect Southern fried chicken, shrimp and grits, andouille-crusted redfish and grilled apple-brined pork chops. …

You’re going for the steak, right? This is Del Frisco’s bone-in filet mignon.

Steak lovers, the Eagle has landed — the Double Eagle. Texas-based DEL FRISCO’S DOUBLE EAGLE STEAK HOUSE has joined the crowded steakhouse arena in Dunwoody’s new Perimeter Park Center, home to State Farm’s headquarters.

The Del Frisco’s space is Lone Star State-sized, an 11,000-sq. ft. stunner by the Johnson Studio that begins with a dramatic ascending entrance and uplighting that illuminates a tunnel of 2,200 bottles of wine. Another 2,500 bottles of wine “float” around the space in a sprawling exposed cellar.

The chain eatery’s menu features USDA Prime wet- and dry-aged cuts, including the namesake “Double Eagle Steak,” a 32-ounce, 45-day dry-aged, double bone-in prime ribeye. Carnivores can also choose a rare marbleized Wagyu steak — Japanese A5, Australian Wagyu or a cut from Rosewood, Texas. Double Eagle also flies in seafood daily, has an ocean of fancy wine and cocktails, and a butter cake that’s one of the best non-chocolate desserts around. …

The Maine-style lobster roll at Buckhead’s Cousins comes chilled with mayo.

If you can’t get your claws on enough fresh lobster, head to Lenox Square mall and COUSINS MAINE LOBSTER. Two cousins from the Northeast started the lobster-centric food truck four years ago in Los Angeles. They soon found themselves on national TV, pitching the idea on “Shark Tank,” the ABC competition show for budding entrepreneurs, where they landed enough funding to go nationwide.

Strap on your bib and order lobster rolls — Maine style (chilled with a touch of mayo) or Connecticut style (served warm with butter and lemon), plus lobster tacos, a lobster B.L.T., lobster grilled cheese, lobster tots and lobster bisque. Clams, crab and shrimp also appear on the menu but clearly, the lines out the door are for the lobster rolls, heaping piles of lobster belly meat stacked in perfect hotdog-style buns, steamed just the way they should be.

Simmering 

The redeveloping COLONY SQUARE in Midtown Atlanta has landed its showcase restaurant. Developers of the $160 million renovation say ISELLE KITCHEN + BAR, an Italian spot, will open in fall 2019. The menu will feature ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms, speck-and-blueberry bruschetta, seared Ora king salmon and burrata gnocchi. Iselle will join a 28,000-sq. ft. food hall and several other new restaurants as Colony Square tries to reassert its relevance in a sea of new intown mixed-use properties. …

LE COLONIAL, an upscale French-Vietnamese spot, comes to the SHOPS AT BUCKHEAD in spring 2019 from the owner groups behind Le Bilboquet (also in the Shops) and Umi (on Peachtree Road). Le Colonial is already open in Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco, and features what are described as “romantic, turn-of-the-century, tropical environments.” Atlanta’s version will reportedly be the most modern interpretation of that concept. Look for such specialties as Bo Luc Lac Shaking Beef, crispy wild-caught red snapper and spicy yellowfin tuna tartare with soy caviar and taro chips. …

RYAN GRAVEL, the godfather of the Atlanta BeltLine, will open a restaurant called AFTERCAR on the Eastside trail. Look for it in the still-to-come Telephone Factory Lofts. Details on Aftercar’s theme and menu aren’t clear, but it’s described as a “retro-future BeltLine social house. A late-spring, early-summer 2019 opening is projected. Aftercar will sit adjacent to, and share profits with, Gravel’s Generator, a nonprofit urban development think tank.

Toast

Say so long to CHEEKY, the Mexican taqueria and sports bar that shuttered on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs after about two years of cervezas and soccer. But worry not, a Greek eatery named SANTORINI will take its place. Santorini is a full-service Greek taverna from GEORGE TSELIOS, who owns Gyro City Grill and is a founder/former partner in the Landmark and Marietta diners. …

Midtown’s wild and wacky party bar, FLIP FLOPS, purveyor of frozen daiquiris named Jet Fuel, the Gator Hater and Horne Hurricane, has had its last call. The 1920s Crescent Avenue bungalow was, to some, a shrine to tacky, beachy fun. To others, it was a cheesy eyesore. …

And finally, the 80-year staple S&S CAFETERIA has closed its last Atlanta outpost. The family-owned dining institution known for Southern cooking served its last bit of chicken and dumplings at the end of September. Six other S&S locations still operate outside metro Atlanta, including one in Augusta, two in Macon, and single locations in Greenville, S.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Knoxville, Tenn.

Food for Thought, Encore Atlanta’s bimonthly dining column, keeps you up to date on openings, closings and what chefs are up to in one of three categories — well done (reasons for praise), simmering (what’s in the works) and toast (what’s closed, etc.). Email kathy@encoreatlanta.com.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT | May-June 2018

TOP: Some of the scenery at New Realm Brewing Co., where you’ll find elevated eats and craft beer near the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine. Photos: David Danzig.

Restored landmarks, brews on the BeltLine, Lao street

food and Houston’s, we have a problem.

THIS EDITION of our bimonthly dining column catches you up on projects coming to Midtown, Spaghetti Junction, Buckhead and the Atlanta BeltLine, and leaving East Cobb and, again, Buckhead.

Well done

Despite a dearth of historic structures in Atlanta, a few 20th-century icons still hide in plain sight. Midtown’s “Castle,” a six-level, 1910-era mansion, is one such survivor that is now home to the all-new ROSE + RYE. After an interior architectural makeover, the space feels modern and elegant.

Rose + Rye’s one-sheet menu stays in the epicurean fairway with American cuisine that has a slight Southern flair. Steak tartare, chilled yellowfin tuna, pork tenderloin and a buttery-soft filet mignon are among the confidently executed dishes. And with a name that includes the word “rye,” you can imagine which way the excellent cocktails lean. Think of Rose + Rye as a good jumping-off point for a show or concert at the Fox Theatre, the Woodruff Arts Center or the High Museum of Art.

SNACK BOXE BISTRO, new to the Spaghetti Junction area, puts a modern spin on Lao street food — the sort of dishes you’d buy on city streets from a stall or food cart. Try the sticky rice, an extremely dense and rich rice that comes in a bag. You eat it with your fingers and dip it in sauces like a sweet roasted pepper or chili lime fish. Other standouts include the chicken larb (pronounced LOB), the Nam Kha and the lemongrass ribs. We Westerners will love Snack Boxe Bistro for its English menu, simplicity, cleanliness and prices. Not a single dish tops $10, an absolute steal for food of this quality.

NEW REALM BREWING CO. has to be one of the most exciting openings on the Atlanta BeltLine. The 20,000-sq. ft. colossus of a brewery and full-service restaurant is on the Eastside Trail and shares a building with Two Urban Licks, which was cool before we’d even heard the term “beltline.” New Realm’s second-story, indoor/outdoor terrace commands an impressive perch with views of the BeltLine’s concrete ribbon, Ponce City Market and the Midtown skyline.

The Spanish-style tomato-braised pork meatballs at New Realm. Photo: David Danzig

Inside, the experience is genuine brewpub, where the smell of hops is in the air. The beer lineup includes pilsners, IPAs, pale ales and even a triple IPA, which boasts an alcohol content of 11.5 percent. Quaff your beverage of choice with elevated comfort food — Springer Mountain Farms beer-can chicken, Spanish-style tomato-braised pork meatballs, Korean pork buns, she-crab soup and wood-fired pizzas.

Simmering

Ponce City Market’s iconic — and long-vacant — tower will become home to RFD SOCIAL, a new concept from Slater Hospitality, owners and operators of PCM’s rooftop Skyline Park and Nine Mile Station. The name comes from the 1920s radio show “Dinner Bell R.F.D.,” which was broadcast from the tower’s 11th floor. RFD Social will include the Parlour, a “re-energized” extension of the indoor lobby with a public bar area, and Roebuck Room, a special-events space that will hold up to 175 people.

Kevin Gillespie

Kevin Gillespie, former “Top Chef” combatant and owner of Gunshow and Revival, will open COLD BEER, a 7,000-sq. ft. cocktail bar/beer garden near the BeltLine’s Old Fourth Ward section. Expect three patios, all facing the BeltLine and one on a rooftop. The beer garden spot plans a sizable dining room and bar.

Cold Beer will join a new Shake Shack and Hazel Jane’s Wine & Coffee in the Edge mixed-use development at Edgewood and DeKalb avenues. Construction should begin midyear, with an opening anticipated for mid-2019. Recent news of a renal cancer diagnosis for Gillespie, reportedly, will not slow the project. We wish him well — and the privacy he and his family have requested.

Say hello to happy news for Buckhead. Roswell’s popular LITTLE ALLEY STEAK is opening a second spot there, likely in early May. The new Little Alley moves into the space that once belonged to Emeril’s and AJA. Look for an oversized dining room; a 2,500-sq. ft. outdoor terrace with a full bar, lounge and dining patio; and more than 356 bourbons.

Toast

Much to the chagrin of its fans (and it had many), the HOUSTON’S on Lenox Road closed after 30 years and a high-profile boycott organized by rapper T.I. The two sides mended fences in early February (“We may now enjoy the spinach dip again!” T.I. tweeted), but allegations of racial profiling hurt the restaurant’s reputation. The spinach dip is still available at the Peachtree Road and Northside Parkway locations.

MUSS & TURNER’S in East Cobb closed less than a year after opening. In a press release, namesake Ryan Turner said the closure was due to location and a dining market less fertile than the eatery’s original location. The original Muss & Turner’s — and its secret alter ego, Eleanor’s — (check out the speakeasy’s walk-in refrigerator), continues to be a popular spot.

Bob Amick

Finally, wave and say bye-bye to  ONE MIDTOWN KITCHEN.

The restaurant was a millennium pioneer in the modern Atlanta dining scene but, after 16 years, founder Bob Amick decided to focus on his consulting business instead.

One Midtown’s slightly younger sibling, Two Urban Licks, and six other Concentrics-brand Atlanta restaurants, continue on.

fashionado

FOOD FOR THOUGHT | March-April 2018

TOP PHOTO: The mushroom pizza at Genuine Pizza, new to Phipps Plaza. It comes with porcini and cremini mushrooms and Taleggio and fontina cheeses. Photo by David Danzig. 

We bring word of biscuits in the ’burbs, a taste of Spain in Inman Park, a new South City Kitchen in Alpharetta and much more.

THIS EDITION of our bimonthly Food for Thought catches you up on projects linked (or unlinked) to chefs Linton Hopkins, Bill Greenwood, Richard Blais and Floridian Michael Schwartz, along with hot chicken news and a Garden & Gun club.

Well done

One choice of many at Maple Street Biscuit Co., open now in Woodstock and coming soon to Alpharetta. Photo: David Danzig

Brunch-crazed suburbanites will rejoice at the arrival of Maple Street Biscuit Co. in Woodstock (now open) and Alpharetta (coming soon).

The fast-casual recipe is simple: Make fresh, cathead-size biscuits and fill them with pecan-smoked bacon, fried chicken, sausage gravy, goat cheese (any or all); serve with sides; brew strong, delicious Red Leaf coffee; and serve from early morning through mid-afternoon.

Already a phenomenon in parts of Florida, look for a Maple Street Biscuit on a street near you soon. …

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Star chef Linton Hopkins has finally opened C. Ellet’s Steak House at The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park. It’s named for his great-grandfather, Charles Ellet Jr., a Union solider during the Civil War and a bridge-building engineer. As Food for Thought reported last year, C. Ellet’s had been slotted for a May 2017 opening.

The James Beard Award-winning Hopkins and wife Gina previously teamed on Restaurant Eugene, Holeman and Finch, Longleaf and H&F Burger. Their C. Ellet’s  is a 6,500-sq. ft. room that seats up to 200. The dining room feels like it was plucked from New Orleans’ Garden District, with an elegant design that evokes a genteel but informal Southern atmosphere, a spot for an intimate bite or a rousing party. Steaks are the stars here, and Hopkins did his research, sourcing bovines from farms in eight states, and offering a premier seafood program with cold and hot options.

At C. Ellet’s: White Oak Pastures steak tartar with fried capers and bone marrow. Photo: David Danzig

Baseball season opens March 29, so you still have a few non-baseball days — and those out-of-town-game days — to get your steak on. Plus, the Battery is open 365 days a year. …

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After a misfire with the Cockentrice, Krog Street Market has welcomed Bar Mercado, a concept that that fits the Inman Park neighborhood the way a fancy hat fits a matador. The space, inspired by Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel, gets a handsome reboot with a menu of cured meats, cheeses and tapas from multiple regions of Spain. Hipster craft cocktails and Spanish wines keep the casual fiesta going beyond the comida. …

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Florida-based celebrity chef Michael Schwartz — a restaurateur, James Beard award-winner and author — expands his empire to Phipps Plaza with Genuine Pizza, a super-approachable Italian joint with gourmet Neapolitan-style pies and toppings like short ribs and gruyere, meatballs with peppers and onions, slow-roasted pork and fig, and rock shrimp with fresh manchego cheese. With the most expensive item on the menu only  $21, it’s very un-Buckhead, price-wise.

[SEE: 13 IN GEORGIA MAKE SEMIFINALS FOR 2018 JAMES BEARD AWARDS]

Simmering

Look for Hattie B’s Hot Chicken to set up shop soon near Little Five Points. Photo: David Danzig

Opening day appears imminent for the long-awaited Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, the Nashville phenom that teased Atlantans last year with brief, impact-making appearances at summer and fall festivals.

Hattie’s will take over an old laundromat near Little Five Points, serving hot chicken in six spice levels, ranging from “Southern” (no heat) to “shut the cluck up” (burn notice). …

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The legendary Woody’s CheeseSteaks adds a second location near the East Andrews Entertainment district in Buckhead. The chopped steak/onion/Cheez Whiz creations are a 40-plus-year tradition at the original intown location on Monroe Drive. The Buckhead spot will feature an expanded menu, says owner Steven Renner, who took over Woody’s in 2010. …

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Fans of Southern style magazine Garden & Gun likely will enjoy a brick-and-mortar experience due in spring. The Charleston-based operation plans to open Garden & Gun Club at The Battery Atlanta. Despite the “club” in its name, no membership will be required. Garden & Gun will pour cocktails and serve lunch and dinner. …

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Fifth Group Restaurant’s footprint grows with South City Kitchen Avalon in the Alpharetta dining/retail development. The fourth South City Kitchen serves its sophisticated, seasonal, Southern food at breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, and at weekend brunch. Fifth Group also plans to take over the former BrickTop’s space at Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue in Buckhead.

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Toast

Bill Greenwood and his wife, Rita, in an undated photo.

Roswell lost Greenwoods on Green Street and Swallow at the Hollow at year’s end, leaving a comfort-food void in the neighborhood. Greenwoods had served stick-to-the-ribs Southern classics since 1986; Swallow at the Hollow had smoked ’que since 1999. Bill Greenwood, the man behind both spots, decided to retire. …

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Flip Burger Boutique in Buckhead, originally one of three Flip gourmet burger locations in the city, has shut down its fryers. Only the Howell Mill Road restaurant remains. The buzz about the boutique eateries, the brainchild of “Top Chef” master Richard Blais, had been eroding since Blais left Atlanta to pursue projects elsewhere. …

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Finally, the last cow has left Cowtippers, the iconic Midtown spot that had served steaks near Piedmont Park for more than 20 years. News of a January closing prompted a community outcry and a stay of execution. That lasted only until mid-February.

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Food for Thought, Encore Atlanta’s bimonthly dining column, keeps you up to date on openings, closings and what chefs are up to in one of three categories — well done (reasons for praise), simmering (what’s in the works) and toast (what’s closed, etc.). Tips? Please email kathy@encoreatlanta.com.

fashionado

FOOD FOR THOUGHT | Jan-Feb 2018

by David Danzig

The barbecue is bountiful at 4 Rivers Smokehouse near Mercedes-Benz Stadium downtown. Photo: David Danzig

ATLANTA REMAINS BULLISH ON ITALIAN; FORSYTH COUNTY’S HALCYON ADDS 4 MORE EATERIES; AND FORD FRY TRADES TATTOOS FOR TEX-MEX.

WITH THIS COLUMN, we salute brilliant brisket and new brews news, take a look at former strip-club/dive-bar the Clermont Lounge and its plans to go upscale (!!!), and report the brick-and-mortar demise of corn dogs and boozy milkshakes in Avondale Estates. Grab a snack, and read on.

Well done

The banana pudding at 4 Rivers comes with a graham-cracker crust, fresh banana slices and Heath Bar crumbles. Photo: David Danzig

That waft of smoldering hickory you smell near downtown’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium comes from 4 RIVERS SMOKEHOUSE, a Florida export from pit master JOHN RIVERS. Rivers retired as president of a multibillion-dollar health-care company to perfect his love of Texas-style brisket.

With 13 locations now running in Florida, Atlanta now gets its own version, in a refurbished 1915 firehouse on the West Side. The smoker produces brisket, chicken, St. Louis ribs, burnt ends and even brontosaurus-size beef ribs.

The sides — sweet potato casserole, fried okra, baked cheese grits and Brunswick stew — are bona-fide barbecue stuff. Sandwiches like the Texas Destroyer (made with brisket), barbecue brisket tacos and a smokehouse Cuban sandwich show that 4 Rivers can crank out the meats and put them together in amazing ways. For dessert: banana pudding made with Nilla wafers.

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Suburbanites continue to demand restaurant excellence and get it. The latest example: FROM THE EARTH BREWING CO., a smart new brewpub in Roswell. It pairs house-brewed craft beers with a menu of sophisticated yet approachable comfort food and pulls it all together in a cozy but hip environment.

You’ll probably want to start with a flight of house drafts from brewmaster JAMIE PARKER. Golden ale, hefeweizen, IPA and double IPA, imperial stout and Belgian tripel are among his creations. The brews also are available to-go.

Take a flight at From the Earth Brewing Co. on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. Photo: David Danzig

From the Earth’s one-page menu changes often but generally includes a house-made pretzel, crispy Brussels sprouts, a double-stack cheeseburger, barbecue brisket tacos, fried chicken, seared salmon and an iron-skillet pork chop. All are simple plates served beautifully with locally sourced ingredients. Owner TIM STEPHENS has an impressive intown restaurant pedigree and is now on his own on Holcomb Bridge Road.

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At Donetto, the Fritelle Donetto is made with fresh Pecorina Romana and cured prosciutto. Photo: David Danzig

A bull named DONETTO has charged into West Midtown. The gorgeous Italian restaurant is named for the heaviest Italian Chianina bull ever weighed (3,800 pounds).

Chef MICHAEL PEREZ makes fresh melt-in-your-mouth pasta like tagliatelle with clams, fusilli with smoked fish, or ripiena stuffed with quail.

A 45-day dry-aged bone-in ribeye, a half-smoked chicken and octopus plated with white beans pair nicely with inventive cocktails. The “Netspritz and Chill” is made with house limonata, rosemary, aperol, prosecco and lemon; the “Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder” is made with 229 gin, honey and absinthe.

Donetto, on Brady Avenue, holds its own nicely in a neighborhood chock-full of heavy-hitters, award winners and a city brimming with standout Italian cuisine.

Simmering

Nobu Matsuhisa

Big names keep bubbling onto Atlanta’s culinary stage.

Now comes international Japanese superstar NOBU MATSUSHISA, who’s building on the rubble of what was the Belk store at Phipps Plaza.

The project includes a Nobu Hotel and a restaurant called NOBU ATLANTA RESTAURANT.

Look also for MICHAEL’S GENUINE FOOD & DRINK by well-known Miami-based chef MICHAEL SCHWARTZ.

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A new steakhouse named ARNETTE’S CHOP SHOP joins Apple Valley Brookhaven, a 70,000-sq. ft. mixed-use complex a bit farther north on Peachtree Road. Arnette’s comes from MICHEL ARNETTE, who runs HAVEN RESTAURANT AND BAR (New American), VALENZA (Southern Italian) and VERO PIZZERIA, all on Dresden Drive.  Look for an opening by Valentine’s Day.

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Four more eateries have signed on to HALCYON, the 135-acre mixed-use development in Forsyth County: MidiCi NEAPOLITAN PIZZA, COCINA & TAQUERIA, PITA MEDITERRANEAN STREET FOOD and poke restaurant SWEET TUNA, as reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. They join GU’S DUMPLINGS, TACAYO, BUTCHER & BREW and CO-OP COMMUNITY KITCHEN & TABLE. Expect openings throughout 2018.

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Restaurant mogul FORD FRY has commandeered an old tattoo parlor at Piedmont and Cheshire Bridge roads, and is working on a new Tex-Mex concept (not an El Felix or Superica). Fry says it will be a “super-casual joint with wood-roasted ‘chicken al carbon’ at its core.” Plan on breakfast tacos, a Texas staple, to be prominent as well. The 3,500-sq. ft. space should open in the summer.

***

The Hotel Clermont and Tiny Lou’s team (from left): Alan Rae, chef Jeb Aldrich and Nick Hassiotis. Photo: Heidi Geldhauser

And finally, if only the walls could talk.

The CLERMONT LOUNGE, one of Atlanta’s more infamous landmarks, is being reborn. The 1920s building, longtime home of a strip club/dive bar, will re-emerge in the spring as HOTEL CLERMONT, a boutique hotel with an all-new restaurant called TINY LOU’S.

It’s named for a 1950s stripper who pranced in the Gypsy Room, as it was called then. Legend has it that  Lou was notorious as “the girl who refused to dance with Hitler.”

The in-house restaurant will be an American-French brasserie led by executive chef JEB ALDRICH, who plans a French-American menu with Southern accents.

 

Toast

It survived the Great Recession, but Buckhead’s BrickTop’sdid not survive 2017. The steak-seafood-sandwich spot planned to shutter on New Year’s Eve. It opened in late 2007 in the Terminus 100 development on Peachtree Road, along with several other high-profile pre-recession openings, and outlasted most of them. It’s moving to Birmingham. Other BrickTop’s remain in North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Missouri. … Midtown’s GORDEN BIERSCH said danke shoen and auf Wiedersehen and closed in mid-November. The 18-year-old restaurant opened before development in the neighborhood spiked. The Buckhead location is still serving. … The deep-fried and delightfully kitschy PALOOKAVILLE FINE FOODS has battered its last corn dog and poured its last boozy milkshake in Avondale Estates. Happily, the food truck edition of the carnival food emporium lives on.

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Food for Thought, Encore Atlanta’s bimonthly dining column, keeps you up to date on openings, closings and what chefs are up to in one of three categories — well done (reasons for praise), simmering (what’s in the works) and toast (what’s closed, etc.). Email kathy@encoreatlanta.com.

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