Channeling Spain with tapas, wine and fun in Inman Park by Besha Rodell Step into Barcelona Wine Bar and it hits you immediately — that crackle in the air, that new restaurant excitement. I have missed that excitement during these long dark months of recession and restaurant stagnation.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Richard Blais brings cheap fun to Poncey-Highland by Besha Rodell I understand the merit of a good burger. A good burger, at its best, is a celebration of grease and meat: the mighty, juicy yawp of carnivorism and calorific glory.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Can the grande dame of Atlanta fine dining retain its reputation as the best the city has to offer? by Besha Rodell Bacchanalia, the restaurant that is widely touted as Atlanta’s best, exists in a kind of vacuum. As the restaurant landscape around it changes, Bacchanalia remains steady, a pure distillation of chef/owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison’s vision.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Inventive Italian comes to Sandy Springs by Besha Rodell Cibo E Beve has been a long time coming for chef Linda Harrell. For the past four years, Harrell has been working as the culinary director for Meehan’s Public House, but in many ways that was just a placeholder of a job for her.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

A suburban French steakhouse sexes up Johns Creek by Besha Rodell Pulling into the parking lot of Viande Rouge, in a strip mall in Johns Creek, it would be possible to mistake the restaurant for a “spa.” Yeah, that kind of spa.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

One Eared Stag’s roguish chef shows his improvisational chops by Wyatt Williams As his constantly changing menu at One Eared Stag shows, Robert Phalen is not afraid of surprising you. Rabbit livers with watermelon rind chutney, confit pork jowl with salsa verde, fried chicken necks with kimchi.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Tacos, cocktails and ghosts at Ullio’s latest Midtown Mexican by Besha Rodell Escorpion is an eatery haunted by the ghosts of restaurants past. Although the space has changed radically, Eno, the wine-centric fine dining restaurant that existed in this spot for years, still has a vaporous presence.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

New family run Jamaican joint shows Little Five Points some love by Besha Rodell “I totally underestimated this restaurant,” my dining companion says, contentedly looking down at her empty plate. “I don’t know why.” After a few minutes of consideration, she says, “Probably the name.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The downside of upscale in Buckhead by Besha Rodell There are few symbols of culinary elitism as fraught as the truffle. Truffles imply decadence above all else.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Modern Italian in downtown Decatur by Besha Rodell At midday in downtown Decatur, sun streams though the window onto my plate at No. 246, the new Italian restaurant operated by Ford Fry and Drew Belline. The plate holds one of the most glorious lunchtime indulgences I’ve encountered in years: a porchetta sandwich alongside a shallow bowl of “roasting juices.”… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]