THE ATLANTA RESTAURANT GUIDE NOVEMBER 2005

Table 1280
$$$ 1280 Peachtree Rd, Midtown. 404-897-1280 Funky Casual / Dressy Culinary director Shaun Doty—formerly of Mumbo Jumbo and MidCity Cuisine—continues to expand the scope of his globally informed cuisine, contributing culinary arts to the Woodruff Arts Center hospitality expansion. Featuring two wings, each with 16-foot floor-to-ceiling glass and commissioned art installations, Table 1280 plates earthy, accessible fare. A lipstick-red and slate-upholstered tapas lounge features perfectly poised edible figurines, and the contemporary pavilion’s gleaming cascades of clean lines complement the clarity of the food.

Nava
$$$ 3060 Peachtree Rd. 404-240-1984 Dressy Casual This airy, adobe-styled, upscale Southwestern restaurant is rustic in appearance without ever being rusty in presentation. The intrepid cuisine is more nouveau than New Mexico, and the standout seafood dishes, desserts and margaritas remain first-rate.

Bones
$$$$ 70 W Paces Ferry Rd NW. 404-262-2675 Dressy Casual Bones is the perfect place for a business lunch, particularly for those with man-size appetites— and man-size expense accounts to match. Hosting Atlanta power lunches for three decades, it presents reverently prepared steakhouse classics—a range of succulent cuts, impeccably aged. Bones is like an old friend who brings together new alliances.

Taverna Plaka
$$ 2196 Cheshire Bridge Rd. 404-636-2284 Anything Goes Among Atlanta’s Greek restaurants, Taverna Plaka stands out. Not only does it serve heaping portions, it also overflows with communal energy throughout the two patios, a dining room and lounge. Garlicky fresh hummus awaits each table, which is soon filled with crisp and gooey mezedes (appetizers) and ouzo. Enjoy the dancing.

Brasserie le Coze
$$$ 3393 Peachtree Rd. 404-266-1440 Dressy Casual Quaint and casual, Brasserie le Coze presents understated yet disciplined, bold French cuisine in a cosmopolitan café that is surprisingly placid considering the shopping mall location. Cheer on the seasonal flavors, the unadulterated delicacy of le Coze’s signature skate wing, its sumptuous bistro desserts or the arrival of the Beaujolais (or any other French wines).

Kyma
$$$$ 3085 Piedmont Rd. 404-262-0702 Dressy Casual Built like a culinary temple—with marble columns and chrome fixtures, muslin curtains and cobalt ceilings, Kyma is indeed a place to worship Greek cuisine, especially the wealth of seafood. This project of Buckhead Life’s Pano Karatassos offers a wealth of dishes, but certainly stands out for its wood-grilled fish. Good fresh fish that comes at deep-pocket market prices.

LITTLE FIVE POINTS/ THE HIGHLANDS

Asada
$$ 1238 DeKalb Ave NE. 404-522-8666 Anything Goes The second Southwestern restaurant occupying this former filling station, Asada showcases bracing flavors in a terracotta-cast compound. Mixing in touches of Southern cooking—crawfish, sweet potatoes, greens—with blue cornmeal and chipotles, Asada offers a genteel patio and meaty, mosaic cuisine. Tuesdays feature standout tamale and tequila specials.

Pura Vida
$$ 656 N Highland Ave NE. Poncey-Highlands. 404-870-9797 Funky Casual A Peruvian tapas bar, Pura Vida can be equally romantic or rambunctious depending on the diners and what they’re imbibing. With its potent specialty cocktails and a deeply satisfying array of $6 small bites, this restaurant boasts rich colors and fare.

Noche
$$ 1000 Virginia Ave, Virginia-Highlands. 404-815-9155 Funky Casual Like all Atlanta’s seven Here to Serve Restaurants, the environment at Noche is well lubricated, and the emphasis is on sharing tapas. The crowd populating this narrow, convivial space is diverse and tasteful, as is the Spanish/Southwestern-influenced menu.

CANDLER PARK/DECATUR

La Fonda Latina
$ 1639 McLendon Ave NE, Candler Park. 404-378-5200 Anything Goes An Atlanta chain of Cuban restaurants, La Fonda Latina bustles with servers refilling chips and addictive cilantro-spiked salsa. A wash of bright colors and bouncy music, La Fonda’s food is also mildly kaleidoscopic, dashed subtly with Mexican and Caribbean flavors. If salsa doesn’t ll you, stick with the pressed sandwiches and paella.

The Supper Club
$$$$ 308 W Ponce de Leon Ave, Ste H, Decatur. 404-370-1207 Dressy Tucked on a quiet side street, and with only 30 seats, the Supper Club is a romantic hideaway. The mood is one of an intimate dinner party: charming, conversational and attentive. Within a series of plush alcoves, contemporary, compelling American and Continental bistro cuisine is sensually presented.

Pop
$$ 410B Ponce de Leon Place, Decatur. 404-378-8787 Anything Goes Located in an airy storefront, Pop is a retro-modern marketplace. With citrus-toned walls, blond wood and plastic furnishings, Pop is a peppy environment for pasta, pizza, salads and sandwiches with a bistro punch, served cafeteria-style.

MIDTOWN

Taurus
$$$ 1745 Peachtree Rd. 404-214-0641 Funky Casual / Dressy Casual After nearly a decade helming Canoe’s Northern California New American cuisine, Chef Gary Mennie opens his “chop-house,” where flavors and décor are meaty and velvety. Daily wood roast specials showcase Mennie’s most baseline, bullish strengths in no-bull presentations. Taurus is a bold arena where prime cuts require little accentuation.

The Vortex Bar and Grill
$ 878 Peachtree St. 404-875-1667 Anything Goes With a laughing skull trademark and roadhouse vibe the Vortex is still cordial whether you’re in for a pint or a pound—that’s a pint of beer or what seems like a pound of ground beef. The Vortex is known as much for burgers as extensive draft beer and liquor selections. Note: the establishment is 18+.

Zocalo
$$ 187 10th St NE. 404-249-7576 Anything Goes Offering up top shelf south-ofthe-border food, Zocalo (it means “town square” in Spanish) is eccentrically roughly hewn in its décor, but not its cooking. Walls and plates are in primary colors, and peppers pepper the gamut of dishes you’d expect—from TexMex to the more authentic, and better tasting, Mexican fare.

Landmark’s Broadway Diner
$ 620 Peachtree St. 404-477-9601 Anything Goes Clubbers, students and convention-goers alike appreciate this clean, 24-hour diner sitting like a beacon near the bustling intersection of Ponce and Peachtree. Greasy and Greek favorites, tried-and-true since the ’50s, are available along with a cup o’ joe and a broad cast of local characters.

Eno
$$$ 800 Peachtree St. 404-685-3191 Dressy Casual Eno, located along Peachtree’s most metropolitan mile, offers Euro-Mediterranean bistro dishes in an ambiance that is antique lodge meets NYC Upper West Side café. You might not even get to the rich provisions, however, as Eno also has one of the city’s top wine-by-the-glass lists. Formal or flirty, depending on your mood.

Veni Vidi Vici
$$$ 41 14th St. 404-875-8424 Dressy Casual Mostly populated by business lunchers and pre-theater crowds, Veni Vidi Vici is an airy, creamy room offering a vivacious take on formal Italian dining. Formal doesn’t mean heavy-handed, however, as a deft approach delivers an array of artisan antipasti and such swoon-worthy specialties as spit-roasted suckling pig, veal, risottos, lasagna and gnocchi.

WEST MIDTOWN

Provisions To Go
$$ 1198 Howell Mill Rd. 404-365-0410 Funky Casual West Side lynchpins Clifford Harrison and Anne Quatrano— chef/owners of renowned Bacchanalia, Quinones and Floataway Café—have expanded their organic and artisan take-away market/bakery, Star Provisions, with daily dine-in options. Pizza and po’ boys, soups, house-made sausages and stacked hoagies are all simple, yet made with attention to detail.

IKEA Café
$ 441 16th St. 404-745-4532 Anything Goes IKEA is huge, with its maze of cheap, simple furniture. All that browsing can work up an appetite—luckily there’s a cafeteria. Meatballs with lingonberry jam, gravlax, potato pancakes and fruity Kristale sodas are just some of the Swedish treats alone worth the trek.

COLLEGE PARK

Oscar’s
$$$ 3725 Main St, College Park. 404-766-9688 Dressy Casual It may be located south of Atlanta near the airport, but Oscar’s is no drab industrial park diner. Rather, it’s destination dining for lovers of New American whimsy. Within, exposed brick and lacquered wood combine like the meats and seasonal vegetables—suave, focused and balanced.

OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER

The Swallow at the Hollow
$ 1072 Green St, Roswell. 678-352-1975 Anything Goes Take a cue from those who know BBQ and check out Swallow at the Hollow, a shack offering plentiful reasons to shimmy and shake. Chipped pork, racks o’ ribs, and Brunswick stew are served with mustard-, tomato- and vinegar-based sauces, plus there’s regular live music straight from Nashville.

Doc Chey’s
$ 1675 Cumberland Parkway, Ste 417, Smyrna, Vinings. 770-333-9657 Anything Goes With several locations, local chain Doc Chey’s Asian Kitchens beckons lovers of Pan-Asian cuisine to wok this way. Make that, wok your way, as the restaurant serves bountiful bowls of customized Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korea cuisine.

Sam & Dave’s BBQ
$ 4944 Lower Roswell Rd, Marietta. 770-977-3005 Anything Goes Little bigger than a smokehouse, Sam & Dave’s BBQ contains what seems like 30 times the trophies it does tables. It’s no wonder, with slow-cooked beef brisket and pulled pork so smoky and succulent. Sauce isn’t necessary but try the vinegar-based one, spiked with chili.