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 Annual Restaurant Issue PublishedWe want to congratulate Bacchanalia for its inclusion on our Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. list published in our 2007 Restaurant Issue. We would also like to congratulate Kevin Rathbun Steak for its place on our Top 10 Steakhouses in the U.S. list. These Atlanta chefs took top honors as well: Drew Belline of Floataway Café was named one of our Rising Chefs and Jonathan St. Hilaire of TROIS was named one of our Top Pastry Chefs.
The Mansion on Peachtree, a Rosewood Hotel & Residence, has opened NEO, a fine dining contemporary Italian restaurant. Executive chef Eric Chopin will direct the intimate 95-seat eatery, which overlooks the English Gardens. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily as well as a five-course Sunday brunch with a weekly menu that showcases the chef's selections. The adjacent 30-seat Mansion Bar adds another dimension to the restaurant's offerings, including such signature drinks as a NEOpolitan, featuring cranberry, lime and Hangar One Mandarin vodka and a distinctive appetizer menu. NEO, 3376 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta, Georgia 30326, 404-995-7545.
Replacing Pangaea on the West Side, Milk & Honey opened with a breakfast operation, but likely will veer away from that meal service to focus on lunch and dinner. Still waiting for its liquor license, the restaurant deals in such treats as lobster-filled crêpes and crab cake Benedict. Patrons will find free WiFi, and downstairs is a dining room while upstairs sports a living room-style loft with dim lighting. Milk & Honey, 10182 Huff Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318, 404-492-8527.
Jay Swift's 4th & Swift has opened in the Old Fourth Ward and features traditional comfort food that's made with many locally grown ingredients, such as the Vidalia onion rings. Swift, who has cooked at South City Kitchen Midtown, the now-closed Rainwater, and Smokejack, enjoys a varied culinary background. The space occupies what formerly was the engine room for Southern Dairies, and retains many of the industrial elements originally found there, among them exposed brick, concrete and beams. 4th & Swift, 621 North Ave., Atlanta, GA 30354, 678-904-0160.
Replacing Sweet Lowdown in Midtown, Artistry, Food, Music, Art installed a new décor upstairs and down, with artwork on the walls upstairs replacing the sports bar scene it held previously. A new VIP area also is located upstairs. The second floor has its own separate kitchen. New furniture, lots of re-upholstering, and the ability to host performances are hallmarks of the transformation. The facility, measuring some 11,000 square feet, retains the open kitchen, and the ten feet of outdoor private banquet space overlooking Peachtree Street, as well as its ample audio-visual capability. The establishment serves dinner nightly and brunch on Sunday. Artistry, Food, Music, Art, 942 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, 404-888-0101.
Steamhouse Lounge, which lost its hold on a small piece of Buckhead due to the redevelopment of Buckhead Ave., has reopened in the former Cherry and Element location in Midtown. With a kitchen that stays open to 1 a.m. (except on Sunday, when it closes at 11:30 p.m.), the venue promises to be the same rocking spot it was in Buckhead for many years. Expect oysters, mussels and similar crustaceans. Lunch and dinner daily. Steamhouse Lounge, 1051 W. Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309, 404-233-7980.
Summits Wayside Tavern has opened a third location in Woodstock, a northern Atlanta suburb. The other locations are in Snellville and Cumming. Management claims that this location has more than 400 bottled beers and some 150 draught beers, and that it's the largest selection in the nation. A game room makes it easy for families to enjoy the place as parents can keep an eye on their kids without interrupting their own enjoyment. Some 20 TVs are spotted throughout the place. Summits Wayside Tavern, Shops at Eagle Pointe, 2990 Eagle Dr., Woodstock, GA 30189, 770-924-5315.
Time for Transition
On Saturday, July 12, Fifth Group's The Food Studio served its last meal as a restaurant, and has closed to take on a new life as a special events facility. The large space adjoining the restaurant has seen many wine tastings and special events, and the change gives Fifth Group a needed extension of that part of its business. The Food Studio, King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318, 404-815-6677.
News in the Wine World
Georgia's new direct shipping law went into effect July 1, allowing Georgians to order wine over the Internet for the first time. In addition, when dining in restaurants in Georgia, patrons ordering a bottle of wine may take any unfinished wine home with them. Known as the "Merlot to Go" act, the bills were previously vetoed by Governor "Sonny" Perdue, but this session, confronted with bipartisan support for the measures, he signed them into law.
After departing Au Pied de Cochon for Eno to be its executive chef, Jerome Grilhot has left, leaving the kitchen in the apparently very capable hands of Eli Kirshstein. Atlanta born and bred, Kirschstein is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has been back in Atlanta four years after working in Miami and assisting Richard Blais here in Atlanta at a variety of spots. Eno, Cornerstone Village, 800 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, 404-685-3191.
Genki Noodles & Sushi in Buckhead (3188 Roswell Rd. NE) is closing temporarily for renovation. The restaurant's outgoing message promises a quick remodel and reopening.
Maureen Kalmanson and Pamela Furr have temporarily closed the two restaurants they bought out of the Peasant Corporation: The Pleasant Peasant, which was the foundation of the corporation, and the last unit standing of Mick's. Structural issues need to be dealt with in a massive renovation of both spots, so there's no timetable for a re-launch. Meanwhile, the pair has launched a third operation, Peasant Bistro. Peasant Bistro, Centennial Park West Condominium, 250 Park Ave. West NW, Atlanta, GA 30313, 404-230-1724.
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Top 40 Restaurants
Our annual restaurant issue features our top 40 US selections, including L'Espalier in Boston, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago and more!
