99 Krog St., Atlanta. 404-600-6199, theluminaryatl.com. $$$
Dark, hideaway speakeasies are so last year. Wouldn’t you rather visit a cozy cocktail bar set in the midst of a construction zone?
Then I have just the place for you, but you’ve got to hurry.
As the build-out chugs slowly along at Krog Street Market — a collection of dining options and boutiques centered by a gourmet food court — drinkers gather nightly at the Craft Izakaya bar.
The restaurant at Craft Izakaya, as well as its next-door neighbor, the Luminary, face out to the street and are fully furnished and gently lit. But the distinct Craft Izakaya bar faces scaffolding and plywood partitions inside the neon-bright complex. It is, perversely, the hippest corner of Atlanta right now.
But, first, let’s visit the restaurants.
The Luminary comes to us from Eli Kirshtein, an Atlanta native and “Top Chef” alum who was last seen several years ago heading the kitchen at Eno by Zaza on Peachtree Street.
For his first post-celebrity venture he has rather smartly thumbed his nose at the prevailing dining tropes (small plates, Southern farm-to-table, neo-pub) and gone with a decidedly different concept. The Luminary calls itself an “American brasserie,” by which Kirshtein can rethink old-school French recipes with local ingredients and reflect a more up-to-date sensibility.
He makes brandade — the southern French whip of salt cod and potato — but uses catfish. He rolls a veal breast (when was the last time you saw that?) and serves it with a by-the-book sauce gribiche, but then scatters the top with roasted hakurei turnips that have “organic farm” written all over them. Let other upscale-casual restaurants serve a burger; Kirshtein offers a croque monsieur.
The Luminary references the look of a classic Parisian brasserie, with its expanse of glossy tile, brass wall sconces and bentwood chairs. The centerpiece is an ice-filled raw bar set under the restaurant’s name in glowing neon letters. The walls facing inside the market are partitions that don’t reach the high ceilings crisscrossed with ductwork. It all feels a bit like a movie set. It may take a while for the Luminary to earn the mood it tries to evoke.
You might want to start with the $50 Krog Street Platter — a double-decker raw bar platter that features succulent chunks of pulled lobster, plump peel-and-eat shrimp that are worth the effort, cherrystone clams and two kinds of ceviche. I only wish the dozen raw cold-water oysters on the half shell didn’t taste so washed-out and watery. There are too many good oyster bars in town now to let this part of the menu fall short.
But where else will you find a chef willing to undertake veal breast, many a French food connoisseur’s favorite off cut? Kirshtein stuffs, rolls, braises, slices, breads and deep fries each portion. Got that? Great, now add that sauce gribiche (a green emulsion with bits of caper, pickle and hard-cooked egg) and those juicy little turnips.
You’ll also need a side dish of leeks, braised to melting softness and dressed in vinaigrette. Herewith I present my Best Leeks in Town award.
Kirshtein’s food is thoughtful, though I imagine he’ll need to tweak a few dishes as he settles in. I liked a crisp-skinned duck confit leg, and I liked its bed of cold, mustardy French green lentils. But the temperature difference between them wasn’t enough to keep the two components from dulling each other rather than contrasting.
A fun “shrimp toast” appetizer featured croutons piled with hot, springy shrimp mousse. But if Kirshtein were to break out the deep fryer and breadcrumbs here (and play with the texture of the mousse) he’d have a drinks nibble the city would be talking about. It also would draw attention to bartender Ian Cox’s excellent cocktail program. Look for some smart classics on the list, such as a Vieux Carré made with rye, cognac, vermouth and Benedictine.
Craft Izakaya breaks with genre clichés and expectations as readily as the Luminary. Chef Jey Oh, the young sushi chef who has brought new life to old-timey Sushi Huku, tries his hand at a different kind of Japanese dining.
An izakaya is, essentially, a watering hole with a boisterous menu of tasty bites to stopper up the booze. The best Atlanta example is Doraville’s Shoya Izakaya, where the 400-plus-item menu and proliferation of private dining rooms set behind sliding doors remind many a Japanese ex-pat of home. But there’s also the popular Miso Izakaya (just up the street from Craft), where the vibe is more intown sushi bar and the far briefer menu feels more in line with the tastes of a crossover crowd.
Oh tries to cut the baby in half. The food is legit, with a few far-out challenges, but there are enough easy-to-like dishes for folks new to the charms of an izakaya.
The glossy, multipage, photo-filled menu shows diners just what they’re getting themselves into. Like such menus in Japan, it is divided by cooking method, including steamed, grilled, fried and sushi-bar raw.
So, explore. Try a dish of takoyaki — crisp batter balls filled with bits of chewy octopus, painted with pungent sauces and showered with tremulous flakes of dried fish. Think of them as Far East hushpuppies.
A grilled hamachi kama, or yellowtail collar, is as good as any in town, with its crunchy skin and deep pockets of flaky, delicious fish set in the undulations of cartilage. Those with the best chopstick skills get the most fish.
Add some assorted Japanese pickles and skewers of charcoal-grilled chicken, pork belly, beef tongue or duck, all served with a trio of spicy dipping sauces.
If you know yakitori (a variety of grilled chicken skewers served in specialty restaurants in Japan) then you might find the version here lacks the savory smack of char and that wonderful flavor of not-yet-burnt glaze. Ditto the too-sweet ika sugata, a plus-sized squid grilled whole and cut into thick rings. It lacked the snap and sizzle that makes this dish the perfect food to wash down with beer.
But if you know Jey Oh, you know to expect excellent sushi and sushi bar appetizers. Give him a budget and let him go to town for you.
I’m happy to order an Asahi draft or two with the food in the restaurant. But when cocktails call my name I head out into the unfinished maw of Krog Street Market and find a spot at Nate Shuman’s bar.
He tweaks classic recipes to felicitous effect. Try his Boulevardier (my new favorite cocktail), made with James E. Pepper rye, Dolin sweet vermouth and a canny mixture of potable bitters. It slices like a knife.
You also should try his variations on chu hai, a Japanese cocktail traditionally made with shochu and citrus soda. His herbal ginger version manages to be simultaneously complex and refreshing.
Soon enough, the building will stop, the shops will open, the lights will go down and the crowds will come. But, for now, the coolest bar stool in the city awaits.
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