Restaurants

RESTAURANT GUIDE// ATLANTA

BY TONY WARE

Element Restaurant & Lounge

$$-$$$ • New American/Molecular Gastronomy 1051 West Peachtree St Midtown • 404-745-3001 In terms of bringing edible alchemy to Atlanta, one name has always, well, blazed brighter. That name: Richard Blais. Over the last five years, he has perked up the cuisine of numerous restaurants with creative emulsions, and he briefly ran his own establishment. Now, Blais returns with both his most technologically enhanced and time-honored treatments. He uses specialized accoutrements and techniques including sous vide, liquid nitrogen and other methods to make futuristic drinks and toothsome dishes. Within the alluvial café, locally sourced foundations are offered among giddy gelées and racy reductions. Additionally, each night a cushy, streamlined “Staff Meal” bolsters the constantly unfurling menu. www.elementmidtown.com

Six Feet Under

$-$$ • Seafood/Pub Grub 685 11th St Westside • 404-810-0040 Located across from historic Oakland Cemetery, the original Six Feet Under has always been a lively joint. And this new Westside outpost, though memorial-garden-free, is equally so. The Southern-fried shack vibe is perfectly replicated, this time with a skyline view. The food is still a crunchy, cornmeal-dusted celebration of simplicity, and seafood paired with craft brews will make you feel eight miles high. www.sixfeetunderatlanta.com

The Epicurean Restaurant

$$ • Continental 1361 Clairmont Rd Decatur • 404-321-0530 Though a sliver of strip mall, this offshoot of a long-successful catering company transports you to a French bistro from the moment you set foot on its black-and-white checkerboard floor. Both the elegant menu and expansive wine list are French-influenced and Italian-flecked, while stylishly folding in seasonal local flourishes. The result is a poised, pleasing harmony of casual and sophisticated. www.theepicureanrestaurant.com

The Farmhouse at Serenbe

$$ • Farmstead American 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Rd Palmetto, GA • 770-463-2622 Quaint but never kitsch, this restaurant— part of The Inn at Serenbe south of Atlanta—offers a meal as rustic, straightforward and rewarding as its utopian surroundings. Within pine plank walls and serene linen drapes, three-course meals are served. Honoring the “farm-to-table” approach, ingredients come from Serenbe’s 900-acre organic farm. Airy and earthy, the cheery experience is familiar yet fresh. www.serenbefarmhouse.com

Meals include appetizer, entrée and dessert per person. Under $20 ($), $20-$30 ($$), $30-$45 ($$$), more than $45 ($$$$)

MINNEAPOLIS

Chambers Kitchen

$$$-$$$$ • Fusion 901 Hennepin Ave • Downtown • 612-767-6979 Housed in the Chambers Minneapolis—a scintillating, contemporary art-decked hotel—this venture by Jean-Georges Vongerichten (of New York’s Jean Georges and Spice Market) is sleek and crisp from the interior to the edibles. Artistic platings flourish beneath striking illumination, offering balanced medleys. Asian-injected, French-informed dishes alternate between posh and piquant, filling the basement nooks to the rooftop bar with elemental invigoration. www.chambersminneapolis.com

DALLAS

Lola

$$$ • New American 2917 Fairmount St • Uptown • 214-855-0700
This nuanced niche is located in an unlikely setting: a charming cottage offset from its frenzied surroundings by rejuvenating foliage. Within this intimate, trend-free oasis, diners discover European stylishness without stuffiness. Three levels of prix fixe dining offer bracing, earthy equilibrium. In the adjoining Tasting Room, dine on compelling globally influenced counterpoints within a more formal multicourse aesthetic that’s haute, but not haughty. www.lola4dinner.com

SAN FRANCISCO

Foreign Cinema

$$$ • Mediterranean 2534 Mission St • Mission District • 415-648-7600 This alluring alcove projects an image of romance from the moment you stroll down its candle-lined entrance hall. Foreign films are shown on a huge concrete wall, and diners can choose to view the movies from the partially covered courtyard or the hearth-warmed interior. Of course, some people hardly notice the movies; they are too busy admiring the chic composition of the savory cuisine. www.foreigncinema.com

KANSAS CITY

The American Restaurant

$$$-$$$$ • American 200 E 25th St, Suite 400 • Midtown • 816-545-8001 This grand establishment celebrates impeccable service and hearty tradition, as befits a Kansas City institution. Opened more than 30 years ago as a paean to fine dining, this penthouse features soaring ceilings, a magnificent skyline view and a James Beard-celebrated chef whose menu is as panoramic and polished as the surroundings’ deco decadence. Sumptuous, homey fare is accented with, but not overshadowed by, international flourish. www.theamericankc.com

Meals include appetizer, entrée and dessert per person. Under $20 ($), $20-$30 ($$), $30-$45 ($$$), more than $45 ($$$$)