THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Asante

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Asante Restaurant Review:

Marvin Woods is an Emmy nominee for his TV show "Home Plate" and he authored two cookbooks. He worked with First Lady Michelle Obama on her "Let's Move" campaign. While he's passionate about healthy food, he also knows that cuisine is culture, and he plays into that with his menu. Look for dishes that showcase raw materials associated with the Diaspora, such as okra, conch, breadfruit and corn. His Creole baked eggplant appetizer layers thin slices of skin-on eggplant with tomato. Anson Mills grains and pencil cob grits with their strong corn flavor accompany much of the food. From the Caribbean comes a fine seafood "sancocho," replete with clams, mussels and monkfish. Woods' take on fried chicken presents a buttermilk-soaked poussin with mac 'n' cheese, while Georgia-grown Springer Mountain chicken is rubbed with tarragon and served with new potatoes, fresh peas and greens in a light morel broth. For dessert, get the carrot cake with its cream cheese filling. Like the menu, the wine list samples the globe, and includes several good choices from South Africa. The artistic sensibility of the Diaspora guides the art selections that adorn the walls, with many paintings evoking the Caribbean. We like the way tables are arranged, with lots of niches that protect private conversation.