THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Oscar's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Oscar's Restaurant Review:

Oscar Morales and Todd Immel, two youthful alums of now-closed Mumbo Jumbo, took a brave step opening a fine dining restaurant in College Park some three years ago. Renovation of Oscar's revealed a Coca-Cola sign painted on a brick wall in this early twentieth century commercial space, so the pair left it in place. Miami-born of Cuban descent, Morales did all the interior design. Immel's menu incorporates ideas chiefly from Georgia, Italy and Spain. Summer's bounty and the flavors of Spain unite in a refreshing, authentic gazpacho, chunky and well-textured, light and uplifting. Local products may be featured in dishes, according to the season. Grilled Georgia shrimp adorn a spinach-based salad with marinated onions and lemon. Game, especially venison and pheasant, appears often. Recently, a venison tenderloin, rubbed with juniper, was paired with endive and fat bacon-wrapped asparagus. Immel seeks out unusual ingredients, too. Pickled fiddlehead ferns topped thin, sweet prosciutto, perfect with Alfred Gratien Champagne. Offered with appropriate wine pairings, the stellar desserts are all made in-house and, like the rest of the menu, change seasonally. But whatever they are, they rise to the top of the Atlanta dessert charts. Pairings of desserts and wines are intriguing, if sometimes off the mark. The strawberry shortcake is a classic, but the suggested Lustau Oloroso sherry (an extra $8) doesn't do the dish a bit of good or vice versa. Banyuls, please, with this one. Wine tasting events are a frequent enhancement.