Restaurant Guide

Eat > Restaurant Guide

Words by Tony Ware

Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Orlando and New York offer some of the country’s best dining.

Top Eat > Atlanta

Ecco $$

40 7th St NE, Midtown | 404-347-9555
Funky Casual/Smart Casual
Ecco, which means “here” in Italian, is an intimate midtown eatery offering New World substance and a survey of Mediterranean culture through its food. Carved out from what was formerly a fencing academy and then a minimalist lounge, it is the latest venture of the Fifth Group (South City Kitchen, Sala, Food Studio) and continues the company’s commitment to personable dining.

A bistro-meets-bodega, Ecco offers seasonal, rustic European fare with flair, as the energy of the open kitchen and bar stacked with artisan infusions spill into the dining room. Have a charcuterie and cheese plate, or share short rib-stuffed piquillo peppers and a bruschetta of the day. Roasted lobster with bucatini, and fig-glazed lamb loin are great indulgences—and the wine list and signature cocktails guarantee that premium spirits are enjoyed throughout the building.

Shane’s Rib Shack $

2136 Hwy 155 N, McDonough 770-898-7878
Casual
For those meat aficionados who like it hot, there are few better destinations than Shane’s Rib Shack, where a Tabasco-cayenne base zests up fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs, chicken fingers and good old pork and beans, all enjoyed inside what is essentially a screened-in porch. Atlanta-based Raving Brands has aggressively franchised Shane’s formula from this original location, so you may well see this hot concept in your ’hood soon.

Atkins Park Tavern $$

2840 Atlanta Rd, Smyrna | 770-435-1887
Casual/Smart Casual
The original Virginia-Highlands Atkins Park, founded in 1922, is Atlanta’s oldest continually licensed tavern. And this Smyrna shopping village expansion, which opened in 2003, carries on the tradition of marrying classic character with local color. Neighbors gather amid dark wood and deep booths for lively drinks and chatter. But those who crave more than a liquid diet can also enjoy the bayou-tinged dishes of Baton Rouge-born executive chef Richard Hamlin, served into the small hours

L’Thai Restaurant & Wine Bar $$

880 Lawrenceville Hwy Ste 14-15, Tucker 770-491-9948
Casual/Smart Casual
L’Thai is not self-righteous nor new age like so many healthy eateries—but healthy and alternative it is nonetheless. The restaurant’s off-the-beaten-path location in Tucker is well worth the drive for the locally grown vegetables and organic meat. A choice of free-range chicken, grass-fed beef and wild caught fish helps deepen the zip of L’Thai’s housemade curries. And the organic coffee helps heighten the complexity of your lovingly prepared meal.

Top Eats > USA

Chicago

Le Colonial $$$

937 N Rush St, Chicago | 312-255-0088
Smart Casual/Dressy Casual
Located in a two-story Gold Coast rowhouse, Le Colonial offers French-Vietnamese cuisine as elegant as the surroundings. Ensconced in rattan chairs—behind bamboo shutters and beneath palms—diners encounter a sultry slice of vintage 1920s Indochine. And the lush Southeast Asian fare is equally vivid, balancing flavors subtle and sprightly. Exotic cocktails in the upper lounge are a must-try, and the full menu is also available upstairs.

New York

Morimoto $$$$

88 10th Ave, New York | 212-989-8883
Funky Casual/Smart Casual
At 12,000 square feet, this West Chelsea “kitchen stadium” for Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto might leave customers wishing there were cameras and screens installed, so as not to miss one inch of gleaming sensory overload. If nothing else, all diners would love the opportunity to watch Morimoto himself helming a sleek Douglas Fir omakase (chef’s tasting) bar. With sushi freshly sourced from Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, along with formal kaiseki Japanese cuisine and global fusion fare, Morimoto offers a dining experience as deftly delineated as the walls that surround it.

San Francisco

COI Restaurant $$$$

373 Broadway, San Francisco | 415-393-9000
Smart Casual/Dressy
Tucked away in an impossibly intimate sliver on the North Beach fringe, COI fuses the alchemy of micro cuisine with the purity of locally sourced Northern California gastronomy. Under the watchful eye of chef Daniel Patterson, the 30-seat COI (pronounced “kwa,” meaning “tranquil”) offers four- and ten-course tastings in a setting cast in muted earth tones and diffused light, unobtrusively showcasing the 21st-century artisan.

Winter Park

Luma on Park $$$

290 S Park Ave, Winter Park, Florida | 407-599-4111
Funky Casual/Smart Casual
Situated on the main artery running through trendy, historic Winter Park (just outside of Orlando), this Central Florida venture by Atlanta-based Concentrics Hospitality offers Todd Immel’s bold New American cuisine in a glam, gauzy bistro setting. Underneath amber lighting and amid flirtatious flourishes are chic entrées to match the buzzing, buttery ambience. Energy floods through the room and the four-tier wine list offers plentiful and affordable pairings.