Restaurant Reviews


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Thursday October 16, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Horseradish Grill a gentle trot through New Southern staples | more...

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Thursday October 16, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Southern purebred Horseradish Grill a gentle trot through New Southern staples BY BILL ADDISON Turning from Roswell Road onto Powers Ferry offers a prototypical snapshot of Atlanta’s quick-change scenery: One moment you’re snarling at other drivers in Buckhead congestion as miles of strip malls close in around you. Then, unexpectedly, you’re engulfed in lush trees and an almost absurdly idyllic... | more...

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Thursday October 16, 2003 12:04 AM EDT

Go on and stew it up Negril Caribbean Cafe dishes out delectable cold-weather eats

The scent of, um, shall we say ... burning herbs wafts through the air outside Rebel Music next door to Negril Caribbean Cafe. Wisps of smoke and a few bars of rhythmic music slip out of the Caribbean club adjacent to the record store and into the cool night air, as dreadlocked patrons enter and exit. Vagrants...

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Thursday October 9, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
When it’s time to indulge, take a bite out of New York Prime | more...

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Thursday October 9, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
After yet another redesign, the former Hedgerose Heights is being repositioned as a Buckhead-casual hangout for young, hot entrepreneurs and similarly questing fast-trackers. Gerry Klaskala’s accomplished American cuisine — slow-cooked chicken and beef, soups, grilled meats — and Kathryn King’s dreamy desserts more than make up for the half-baked, weirdly erotic decor by Bill... | more...

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Thursday October 9, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Lunch on Main Street’s journey back to the past begins with its silhouetted, black-on-cream sign of a child at a table with a puppy underfoot. In the vein of ’30s and ’40s print advertisements, it recalls a gentler era when ladies wore gloves, gentlemen sported hats and lunch was a respected meal never hurriedly consumed at a desk. Inside, sunshine-yellow walls, green vinyl booths and gingham... | more...

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Thursday October 9, 2003 12:04 AM EDT

Don’t you hate it when your skinniest friends announce they’re going on diets? They motion to their flat, trim middles and gripe, “Just 5 percent less body fat and I’ll finally be where I want!” Harrumph. I used to glare at them hostilely and lecture them about America’s warped perception of body image. Now I just lure them to fattening restaurants.

When I’m feeling particularly mischievous, I...

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Thursday October 2, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
La Grotta’s polished elegance recalls a bygone era | more...

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Thursday October 2, 2003 12:04 AM EDT

A CL colleague is peering over my shoulder as I type, wondering which restaurant I’m reviewing this week. “Oh!” he replies, when I tell him La Grotta in Buckhead. “I went there for my junior prom.”

This does not surprise me. I showed up for my first visit to the restaurant in my usual business-casual garb and felt conspicuously underdressed. I was one of a handful of men not wearing a jacket....

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Thursday September 25, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
A midday meal at Bacchanalia is a rapturous experience | more...

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Thursday September 25, 2003 12:04 AM EDT

__Churrasquerias restaurants,
with their array of barbecued meat and side dishes, are second only to the shimmying Carneval dancers in creating a perception of Brazil as the land of sensual plenty. The Brazilian outfit Fogo de Chao boasts four thriving branches in America, including one in Atlanta. Yet at over $40 per person, a night at the Porto Alegre-based chain and similar restaurants has...

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Thursday September 18, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
An ex-Buckhead Diner chef strikes out on his own in Norcross | more...

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Thursday September 18, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
“Oooh, Figo, is sooo good,” chirps a young lady swinging a basketful of luxury kibbles when she overhears me mention the pasta spot. I’m picking up cakes at Star Provisions and at the mention of the word “Figo,” I’m suddenly surrounded by well-heeled shoppers gushing about their favorite dishes. Indeed, word about Figo and its Westside sister Osteria del Figo has spread like a virus, leading to... | more...

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Thursday September 18, 2003 12:04 AM EDT

A luridly lit adult video store comes into view as I reach for my cell phone to ascertain the exact location of Tomas. I seem to be investigating a restaurant on Peachtree Parkway, the metro area’s most rapidly developing culinary corridor, at least once a month these days.

“Are you guys near the Love Shack?” I ask into my mobile. I hope I’m not making some good Christian soul wince at the...

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Thursday September 11, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Technicolor treats at Daabha Indian Cafe in Marietta | more...

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Thursday September 4, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Roswell’s Pastis strays from its lavender-scented homeland | more...

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Thursday September 4, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Uh-oh. I have that familiar, queasy feeling the first time I walk into Caffe Midtown. It’s uncomfortably empty, with only a lone server busying himself behind the bar. The mahogany-stained tables set with cobalt blue goblets look forlorn in their neat, solitary rows. Nestled on the corner of Eleventh and Peachtree streets — with condos, businesses, clubs and theaters all in near walking... | more...

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Thursday August 28, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Striking Mexican gold at Silvia’s Pastry | more...

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Thursday August 28, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
When it comes to frugality, you gotta pick your battles. Me? I’ll happily drop $18 for a luscious glass of Cabernet, but I have an innate grouchiness when it comes to paying for parking. I’d rather walk five blocks than pay five bucks to the guy waving me into his lot with an orange flag. So I know I can depend on a nice brisk stroll whenever I want to visit one of the restaurants around... | more...

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Thursday August 21, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Vinocity lives up to its name with an astute wine program | more...

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Thursday August 14, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Demise-proof Nava still seduces with chile-spiked flair | more...

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Thursday August 14, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Just to dispel any illusions right off the bat, Au Rendez-Vous is not the intimate, romantic destination with flickering candles and warm, dark woods that its trés francais name evokes. Au Rendez-Vous is, however, one of the most quintessential neighborhood restaurants to open in recent memory. Not fancy by any means, this little spot serves deeply flavorful, wholly affordable bistro fare to... | more...

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Thursday August 14, 2003 12:04 AM EDT

Mist rolls across the surface in melancholy sighs. A lone figure fishes in a small boat while three men linger on a curving wooden bridge overhead, perhaps debating the mind-bending answer to an ancient koan. A paddle wheel spins, a mysterious orb whirls and the entire village seems to run solely from the kinetic energy of running water.

The evocative scene playing out atop the freestanding...

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Thursday August 14, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
Perhaps it was the proximity of the International Farmer’s Market or the elderly customer blowing his nose directly onto the pavement outside while an unfazed waiter chatted with him in rapid Castilian that told me that Gaucho’s Grill, an Argentinean/ Uruguayan eatery, was truly free of pretense. The restaurant is named after the archetypal Argentinean cowboy figure, paintings of whom adorn the... | more...

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Thursday August 14, 2003 12:04 AM EDT
I make my way down Buckhead’s main drag maddened by my over-stimulated senses. The rising cacophony of club bass beats collides with khaki-clad parking attendants harassing cars with their fluorescent flags. Alluring promoters in Daisy Dukes crown ogle-eyed yuppies with Mardi Gras beads. But ducking into the new Jack Rabbit Lounge, I’m startled by the contrast: The place is empty, save a... | more...