In addition to the beauty of remnants of the old South, there is the excitement of the newer, cosmopolitan Atlanta. The Hyatt Regency Hotel, home of the APsaA meeting June 18-22, is characterized by its lighted blue dome. Designed and built in 1967 by John Portman as the world's first contemporary atrium hotel, it heralded the beginning of an architectural movement in hotel design.
Downtown Atlanta is experiencing a resurgence, evident by the number of office/condo towers under construction and new cultural, artistic, entertainment, and dining venues. The Ambassador Force of Downtown, created in 1996 for the Olympics, is a full-time hospitality and public safety force that patrols and offers information and assistance downtown. You can find printed information at a kiosk located at the corner of International and Peachtree. You will recognize the ambassadors by their uniforms and white helmets. If you are walking and would feel more comfortable with an escort, call and an ambassador will meet you and escort you to where you want to go.
The integration of the old and new South is most evident in its restaurant scene. Dining in Atlanta will be a treat, especially if you are expecting only overcooked vegetables seasoned with bacon fat and carbohydrates of every kind. (Of course, you can find plenty of this if you wish.) If more traditional southern cooking interests you, fried chicken is served on Sunday nights at Restaurant Eugene and Tuesday nights at Watershed.
Articles in the January 2008 issue of Gourmet and March issue of Bon Appetit feature some of our best restaurants. Others featured here include those your concierge might not be aware of or might not recommend in favor of restaurants with greater mass appeal. It is always a good idea to make advance reservations, either with the restaurants or through opentable.com
Consistent with national trends, over the past decade many of our wonderful restaurants have been influenced by the California cuisine movement and feature locally grown, fresh and often organic ingredients. Although none of the restaurants mentioned are specifically vegetarian, all of them offer delicious vegetarian options. Gastronomes in Atlanta are more loyal to their chefs than they are to their local or favorite restaurants and will follow them to any part of the city.
A number of fine downtown restaurants are within walking distance of your hotel. At French American Brasserie (FAB) you can expect well-prepared traditional French favorites in a beautiful contemporary setting at lunch and dinner. A selection of steaks and sushi is available at the Room at Twelve Centennial Park in the new Twelve Hotel. City Grill is located in the historic Hurt Building, which was originally the Federal Reserve Bank for the Southeast and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The building itself is interesting with its triangular shape and beautiful rotunda entrance. The restaurant serves a traditional fare, has a good wine selection and good service.
There are two excellent Buckhead restaurants, each named for its chef. The first and foremost is Restaurant Eugene, recently featured in Gourmet magazine and a current Atlanta favorite. The menu consists of contemporary upscale American cuisine with seasonal ingredients. In 2006 chef Eugene Linton was the Iron Chef America Atlanta Challenge winner and from 2005 to 2008 the restaurant has received Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence. Joel Antunes of Joel is another of Atlanta's award-winning chefs, as the winner of the 2005 James Beard Foundation Best Chef of the Southeast. His French bistro cuisine creations are simple and delicious.
Two of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in the city are Bacchanalia and Quinones at Bacchanalia, located to the west of downtown. Chefs/owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison present contemporary American cuisine in a prix fixe seasonal menu (a la carte at the bar). They feature the freshest of ingredients, some of which come from the chefs' own Summerland Farm. Creative and masterful, the four-course menu guarantees a unique dining experience. The James Beard Foundation named Quatrano and Harrison the Best Chef of the Southeast in 2003. Other honors include having been selected one of the top 50 restaurants in America in 2006 by Gourmet magazine and maintaining a Zagat #1 rating for the last 11 years. Even more up-scale is Quinones, a sister restaurant of Bacchanalia, located at the same site. An exquisite tasting menu changes nightly and focuses on the use of southern ingredients, served in elegant and intimate surroundings. Across town, the same chef duo create seasonal cuisine with a French, Italian, and Mediterranean influence at their more casual Floataway Café near Emory.
In Midtown near Woodruff Arts Center you will find Ecco and Trois. At Ecco, chef Micah Willix presents “seasonally inspired cuisine with European influences.” The menu includes options to be shared, freshly prepared pastas and creative main courses such as fig glazed lamb loin. A special wine selection exclusive to Ecco is also a treat. Ecco and Trois have each been named one of the “best new restaurants in America” by Esquire. At Trois, which opened in 2007, chef Jeremy Lieb creates a cuisine that combines modern French with a touch of classical brasserie style.
Chef Michael Touhy, a representative of the “natural” revolution, was among the first to feature seasonal, locally grown, organic food and had created his reputation in a number of restaurants before opening Woodfire Grill in 2002. At the center of the restaurant is a huge wood-fire grill, hence the name. This casual restaurant has received acclaim by Food and Wine Magazine, Gourmet, Wine Spectator, and Bon Appetit magazines.
In Inman Park, the menu at Rathbun's includes a wide variety of small plates for sharing and features premium seafood and prime meats.
M. Jane Yates, Ph.D., is president of the Atlanta Psychoanalytic Society and chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for APsaA's June meeting.
Rathbun's was voted the City's Best in 2006 and also was named “one of the best new restaurants in America” by Esquire in 2004. Newly opened in 2007, Kevin Rathbun Steak, named one of the best steakhouses in the United States, offers steaks from Allen Brothers of Chicago. You will find excellent wine selections with many available by the glass.
Sotto Sotto serves fine authentic Italian cuisine, freshly prepared pastas, risottos, meats, and seafood, in a cozy setting. Sotto Sotto has been a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner for the past few years. More casual Fritti, next door, features authentic Italian wood-fire pizzas, great appetizers, salads, and small plates.
Redfish, A Creole Bistro, is the place to go for true, New Orleans Cajun-Creole cuisine. Agave, named Atlanta's best southwestern restaurant hosts a tequila bar with an enormous selection. Both are excellent and located in Cabbagetown. An interesting side story pertains to the name of this old area. According to lore, a train loaded with cabbages derailed in this neighborhood of cotton mill workers and for the following week the odor of cabbages cooking permeated the air. Another small restaurant that is presently receiving a lot of well-deserved attention recently is Shaun's. The chef, Shaun Doty, well known to Atlanta restaurant lovers, creatively gives southern favorites a contemporary twist.
Buckhead has been called the shopping mecca of the southeast. From your hotel you can take MARTA at Peachtree Center station to Lenox Station. From there walk one block to Lenox Square or three blocks to Phipps Plaza. The buc, a free Buckhead shuttle service, connects MARTA's Lenox and Buckhead stations to Phipps Plaza, Lenox Square, and many more shops and restaurants. The shuttle runs every 8-30 minutes on a five-mile loop during commute and lunch times.
Located at the intersection of Lenox and Peachtree Roads, Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza are Atlanta's highest-end shopping malls. Lenox hosts Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Louis Vuitton, Swarovski Crystal, Cartier, Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, and Sephora, to name a few. Phipps Plaza has Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Belk's, and Tiffany & Co. Both have an array of smaller specialty shops such as Teavana.
Although you won't be cooking, a trip to Your DeKalb Farmer's Market will be an adventure as well as a multicultural experience. It is the world's largest indoor farmer's market, offering food and produce from all over the world. Employees also come from around the globe and speak at least two languages, many four or five. All languages and dialects spoken are listed on their name tags. They are familiar with items common in their native lands and are happy to talk to you. If you are a gourmet cook and need to find just the right exotic spice or want to try a unique coffee, you will probably find it here.
We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta and want to help make your stay an enjoyable one.
My thanks to professional colleague and fellow “foodies,” Judy Kisla and Miles Crowder, for their assistance in preparing this article.