I learned two important lessons in the many years I waitressed. There are two things people care a great deal about: their money and their dinner. When they feel one — or both — just wasn’t worth the effort, they’ll let you know loud and clear.
If you’re a parent, you’ve got to add to an evening the cost of a baby sitter and mileage, plus the knowledge that you may not be getting out again for another few months. So there’s a lot riding on that 7:30 reservation — you’ve either got the makings of something really spectacular, or a really spectacular let-down. I’ve teamed up with the AJC’s Momania blogger , Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, to give parents a list of restaurants that are worth it.
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Dressy, but casually so
You’ve worked all week, finished the dishes and hired the baby sitter. You and your significant other may not have a chance to get out again until New Year’s Eve, which means you won’t be able to wear those new Stuart Weitzman pumps again until they’re already out of style. So dinner better be worth it, right? These spots are classic date-night material, with menus worth exploring and enough atmosphere to make it worth dressing up a little.
Rumi’s Kitchen
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6152 Roswell Road, Atlanta, 404-477-2100, www.rumiskitchen.com
This Persian palace takes Atlantans beyond the typical buffet and into something that smacks of tradition and romance. This food is full of history and enchantment, from mast khiyar (diced cucumbers with yogurt, raisins, walnuts and herbs) with fresh-from-the-oven flatbread to mirza ghasemi (roasted eggplant with tomatoes and garlic) and dolmeh (ground beef, rice and herbs rolled into grape leaves), as well as kabobs and Iranian stews like badenjoon. Make your reservations in advance — Rumi’s is always busy, especially on the weekend.
Bistro VG
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70 W. Crossville Road, Roswell, 770-993-1156, www.knowwheretogogh.com
Consider flirty, fascinating Bistro VG, with its fresh take on modern French food (and the date-night essentials of wood-fired pizzas and pasta, of course) the flagship of restaurateurs Chris and Michele Sedgwick’s OTP (and now with Pure Taqueria in Inman Park, ITP) dynasty. The menu is approachably French with lots of loose interpretation, from charcuterie plates of salami and prosciutto to offerings of pate with brown mustard and cornichons to tarte tatin. Don’t fret if you can’t get a table; it’s just as romantic to sit at the bar, share a glass of something bubbly and order from a menu that makes lots of friends.
Antico Pizza Napoletana
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1093 Hemphill Ave., Atlanta, 404-724-2333
The communal table at this intown pizza emporium makes for a fun date night, and the pizza is the city’s best (if you want to sit at the table in the kitchen, Italian style, it’s best to call first). There’s a lot going on here: First and foremost, the pizza. When the perfect dough hits 1,000-degree heat from one of three Italian Acunto wood-burning ovens in owner Giovanni Di Palma’s kitchen, a miracle happens. Crusts form and sear, charring just a little on the surface. The dough puffs out toward the edges, and at around 140 degrees settles there to form a soft pillow. Mushrooms swell with moisture before giving way to scorching heat. The fat in spicy sopressata melts almost immediately, eventually curling the edges of the salami to blistered perfection. All of which is to say that within about 60 to 120 seconds, you’ll have before you one of the best pizzas you will ever eat. Second, you can’t help but have fun sitting at a table noshing on pizza from a sheet pan (bring your own wine) and listening to Frank Sinatra or Andrea Bocelli bolt out a ballad in Italian. Is it cozy and cute? Not on your life. Is it sexy and romantic? Fuggedaboutit.
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Fun Dive Dates
Are you and your sweetie pie sticking to a tight budget? Who isn’t? You won’t mind being on a fiscal diet at these three spots — they’re a great nosh, with fun, first-date flirtiness (even though you’ve been married for 12 years. Make that 20).
Grindhouse Killer Burgers (not rated)
209 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta, 404-522-3444, www.grindhouseburgers.com
Inside the historic Sweet Auburn Curb Market, this make-your-own-lunch joint (make this a mid-day getaway for you and your sweetheart) adds yet another burger palace to the crazy mix of ground meat mayhem encompassing Atlanta as fast as pizzerias. Walk through the ever-changing market, grab a seat and pick a patty: beef, turkey or veggie, then start loading on the toppings, such as smoky meat chili or avocado slices, house-roasted green chiles, grilled onions and pepper jack cheese. The chili won last year’s Chomp & Stomp competition. Maalox not included, but the two of you are sure to have a good time.
La Oaxaquena Taqueria
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605 Mount Zion Road, Jonesboro, 770-960-3010, www.taquerialaoaxaquena.com
This happy little taqueria in Jonesboro serves up soul food, Mexican-style, and the best in the area. The tamales, corn husk-wrapped or encased in banana leaves Oaxacan-style, are perhaps the best on the planet, stuffed with masa and shredded chicken and served with spicy red sauce or piquant green sauce. But it’s the flavor of masa, formed into the various constructions the different regions Mexico offers, from tortillas, sopes, huaraches, gorditas to giant tlayudas, that are irresistible, a musky, corn-flavored mass that seems to hold within it an entire culture’s history. My fave: tlayudas, a Oaxacan specialty street food, are things of great, messy beauty — a thin, griddled, oversized tortilla smothered in shredded lettuce, gobs of beans and spicy Mexican chorizo, fresh, ripe tomatoes, avocado and string cheese from Oaxaca called quesillo. They’ll take you on a romantic vacation to the heart of Mexico, without ever leaving the state.
BookHouse Pub (not rated)
736 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, 404-254-1176, www.thebookhousepub.com
The fare at this faux book nook on Ponce teeters toward that of a gastro pub, with inventive oddities such as collard green egg rolls rounding out a menu of burgers and beef cheek pot pie. And the beer list is just as eclectic and satisfying, with nearly 20 taps, plus more than 50 well-chosen offerings in the bottle. The space out back offers a romantic nook for the two of you to cozy up and order from a solid, gastro-pubbish menu. And since the pub takes its name from the meeting place of a fictional secret society, the Bookhouse Boys, featured in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” television series, you’ll have lots to talk about.
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These spots are worth breaking the piggy bank
OK, you’ve got some cash stashed from your tax return and now it’s time to blow it. May as well let the green stuff go out in style. These are three of Atlanta’s finest restaurants for fine dining.
Bacchanalia
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1198 Howell Mill Road N.W., Atlanta, 404-365-0410, www.starprovisions.com
If there is one fine dining establishment that has truly set the bar for all others in Atlanta, it’s this award-winning beauty on the West Side. Chef-owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison have built in Bacchanalia a place for repast with some of the classiest, freshest and sustainable food available not just in Atlanta, but the country. The menu changes with the seasons, and many of the ingredients come fresh from the couple’s farm, Summerland, in Cartersville. Go, relax and enjoy. This is why you paid the baby sitter.
Aria
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490 E. Paces Ferry Road N.E., Atlanta, 404-233-7673, www.aria-atl.com
If you’re among the few of us left who actually lament the fall of fine dining in Atlanta, take heart: Aria just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The milestone is a testament to chef-owner Gerry Klaskala’s innate ability to direct a kitchen that, night after night, throws finesse into even the simplest of dishes, always striking a synchronistic chord between stylish and comfortable. Klaskala’s seemingly effortless way with cooking is reminiscent of the French-inspired techniques so prevalent a decade ago, and has become Aria’s characteristic gastronomic lexicon that is, in truth, timeless. Like any good chef, he knows that good sourcing and solid technique make for good food — no gimmicks, no media catchphrases, no apologies. From the orchid-from-outer-space chandelier to the bejeweled dog sculptures looming between Greek columns, well-schooled waiters dress in shirts that range, depending on the time of year, from Tommy Bahama to Texas Pete and make for an enduring experience. If you’re looking for that perfect spot to celebrate your anniversary, you just found it.
Restaurant Eugene
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2277 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-355-0321, www.restauranteugene.com
The AJC’s Restaurant of the Year in 2009, Restaurant Eugene embodies the thoughtfulness of a chef-owned restaurant that puts food first, but one that has grown from neighborhood enclave to the stature that Restaurant Eugene celebrates today: one of the finest restaurants not only in Atlanta, but in the Southeast. Chef-owner Linton Hopkins, again nominated this year for a James Beard Award, furthers his ideals — preserving Southern foodways and forwarding sustainable agriculture — by doing. He was one of the first chefs in the city to list his local purveyors on the back of his menu, and it’s always reflected in what comes from the kitchen, whether it’s okra spears cut and seared over high heat in a cast-iron skillet, served with slightly pickled slices that were tempura battered and fried, joined by some of the kitchen’s house-made chow-chow and hot pepper jelly over a smear of creamy grits or Berkshire pork belly, crisped and at once fatty and meaty, served with tiny hakurei turnips, preserved apple and a sweet-yet-acidic sorghum glaze. Every season offers something new, and the surroundings are anything but Elmo-esque (though I’m sure our furry red friend would approve, too).
Key to AJC ratings
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Outstanding
Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.
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Excellent
One of the best in the Atlanta area.
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Very good
Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.
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Good
A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit and miss.
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Fair
Food is more miss than hit.
Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Poor.
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