Restaurant Review - Trois’ the Charm

Bob Amick reveals the executive chef for his much-anticipated hotspot, plus other noteworthy openings in 2006 By Bill Addison

Trois may finally be the Bob Amick venue big enough to accommodate the crushing crowds that materialize nightly at his culinary carnivals.

Amick, along with partner Todd Rushing, began 2005 with the gonzo success of Two Urban Licks; then, mid-year, resuscitated the former Trust Company Bank building on Monroe Drive as mod pizza palace Piebar; and, finally, capped off the holiday season with Lobby in the Twelve Hotel at Atlantic Station.

His 2006 looks to be no less prolific.

Trois, scheduled to open June 5, will occupy 14,000 square feet of the 1180 Peachtree skyscraper currently under construction. According to Amick, the restaurant will be a “big space with three floors that will never feel like a big space.” The ground floor component, described by Amick as a “sophisticated, artisan bar,” will serve urbane cocktails to be “given the same crafted care that chefs give sushi.” Speaking of sushi, the bar will serve crudo as well as other appetizers to whet the palate for dinner or stave off late-night hunger.

The main restaurant, a “modern French brasserie,” will face the future front door of the proposed Symphony Hall. Connected to the bar by a sweeping staircase and elevator, customers can gaze out on Midtown from the restaurant’s glass-walled, 150-seat dining room at lunch or dinner (this will be the first among Amick’s current crop of Atlanta restaurants to serve lunch on weekdays).

A 175-seat private events facility, which can be broken up into smaller spaces and whose design mirrors the restaurant, will occupy the top floor of the space.

In a recent interview, Amick disclosed his choice for executive chef of the year’s most juicily anticipated restaurant. Is it Richard Blais, the current chef at One Midtown Kitchen, long rumored to be the leading candidate? Actually, it isn’t. Is it Scott Serpas, who helms the kitchen at Two Urban Licks? Or another high-profile chef who’s been swiped from a competing high-gloss eatery? Nope and nope.

It’s a guy named Brandon McGlamery. Never heard of him? You’re not alone — but introducing new talent to the city is part of the excitement of this project for Amick.

McGlamery’s most notable position thus far in Atlanta was chef de cuisine at Bacchanalia. A native of Naples, Fla., and a graduate of the California Culinary Institute, the chef has worked at several Bay Area luminaries including Chez Panisse and the defunct Stars. Amick has arranged a stage (an industry term for a concentrated internship) for McGlamery at two New York restaurants: Thomas Keller’s Per Se and Cru, a Mediterranean-tinged hotspot awarded three (out of four) stars by Frank Bruni of the New York Times.

McGlamery will begin conceptualizing Trois’ vision of traditional-meets-avant-garde Gallic cuisine in the spring, as will corporate pastry chef Jonathan St. Hilaire, who came to work for Amick after severing ties last year with Michael Tuohy at Woodfire Grill.

Will mastermind Amick outdo himself with this three-ringed, French-themed spectacle? We’ll see in six months.

Meanwhile, Trois is far from the only opening worth anticipating for 2006. After a year in which few notable restaurants closed (Iris in East Atlanta and Oscar’s in College Park merit the two losses most worth mourning), the roster of forthcoming eateries is long and intriguing. Here are highlights among the newcomers:

• On Jan. 10, 101 Concepts will unveil a second location of Food 101 in the old Indigo location in Morningside. The space has spurred a series of doomed restaurants since Alix Kenagy departed from the original Indigo, but Food 101’s kid-friendly, Americana comfort food slant might prove to be the elusive formula this locale needs. It can’t hurt that the company completely gutted the space, peeling away at least four layers of previous restaurants to expose the room’s long-covered brick walls.

• The Fifth Group, whose restaurants include La Tavola Trattoria and Sala in Virginia-Highland, has ambitious plans for the new year. The company will duplicate its Midtown mainstay South City Kitchen in Ivy Walk, the Smyrna/Vinings mixed-use development that houses the frisky Muss & Turner’s. Back in Midtown, the company also looks to open a new concept called Ecco in April. According to company spokesperson Amy Crowell, the restaurant will offer “seasonal, old-world European-inspired food with an emphasis on Italian, French and Spanish” cuisines. For vinophiles, the restaurant will feature an adventuresome wine list including boutique finds offered by the carafe.

• Across the bridge at Atlantic Station, Rosa Mexicano should bring some needed spice to the initially bland mishmash of restaurants in the live-work-play sprawl. The small national chain, which started in New York in 1984 and opened a Washington, D.C., branch in 2003, is known for its splashy, colorful interiors and guacamole prepared tableside. The city has needed an infusion of upscale Mexican since Oh Maria! closed its doors in 2003. It opens mid-January.

• An L.A. invasion is also due to arrive at Atlantic Station in May. The Dolce Group, which operates Italian restaurant Dolce Enoteca and Geisha House (an ultra-groovy Japanese eatery) in Los Angeles, will open both those concepts here, as well as a restaurant/lounge with a bowling alley attached. Can an official Atlantic Station bowling league be far behind?

• “Sex and the City” fans: Remember when Samantha invited Carrie to BED after Carrie’s breakup with Berger? Well, Atlanta’s getting the country’s third BED (Beverage Entertainment Dining) in the new Glenn Hotel downtown. Yes, there will be actual mattresses upon which to sip Cosmos and sup on French-American cuisine. Opportune arrival: Dull downtown could use a good roll in the hay.

• On the independent front, chefs Joseph Truex and Mihoko Obunai will open Repast (or “re·past’,” as the press release spells it) in the Ponce Springs condo development off North Avenue in January. The New American cuisine will be a culmination of their far-flung restaurant experiences. Also in January, Jack Sobel, owner of Cabbagetown’s Agave, will open Redfish — A Creole Bistro with partner and executive chef Gregg Herdon. Herdon, formerly of Tiburon Grille, knows a thing or two about N’awlins cuisine: He was part of Midtown’s Taste of New Orleans in the ’80s.

• Lastly, lest you think that Bob Amick could stick to just one restaurant opening in 2006, he’ll also christen a British-style gastro-pub called Tap to be located in the 1180 Peachtree building. Tap is slated to open in November, allowing plenty of time for Amick to work out his kinks at Trois first.