Around the World with Four New Atlanta Restaurants

Bocado, just opened on the Westside.

My stove may be suffering from abandonment issues.

Once used on a close-to-Julia-Child basis, now it sits cold and forsaken, while I’ve been taking full advantage of my empty-nester status to enjoy flitting from restaurant to restaurant. Here are a few that I’ve visited in the past few weeks.

Bocado just opened on Howell Mill Road. This Westside area, where Bacchanalia first ventured and was considered a pioneer for locating there, is now burgeoning with new restaurants. And I couldn’t be happier. I live five minutes away. Todd Ginsberg, previously with the Concentrics folks, is the executive chef. Brian Lewis, who previously owned TABLE in Birmingham, is the owner.

The menu, like the décor, is simple, with 11 shared selections and 7 entrees for dinner. I loved my choice of Chesapeake flounder, and my husband became somewhat delirious with his choice of the burger stack. Made with three cuts of beef and served on buns from H&F, it was a mile-high stack of yummy. (www.bocadoatlanta.com, 887 Howell Mill Road.)

I was dreading my latest dental visit to replace several fillings that have finally worn out and whose

The Swirl from Uncle Julio's, a mixture of frozen margarita and sangria, might just make my next dental appointment more enjoyable.

deterioration could apparently lead to a tooth explosion in my mouth, an event I’d rather avoid. But a lunch at the new Uncle Julio’s in Sandy Springs right before helped dispel the dread.

This restaurants is 10,000-square-feet of gorgeousness, with another 4,000 feet of patio dining. The goal was to give it the feel of an 1800’s hacienda, which translated to a grand staircase, plenty of colorful Mexican tile, huge custom chandeliers and the use of cantera stone throughout. Oh and on the main level are plenty of portraits of Mexican people, depicted in various states of happiness and evidence of massive guacamole intake.

Everything is made fresh here daily, and you can tell. You can find just about anything you’d like here, from the usual quesadilla and fajitas to pork ribs, frog legs and quail. Heart heathy selections include mesquite grilled salmon and a grilled vegetable platter.

One of my favorites was camarones brochette, which is jumbo shrimp, stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and jalapeños and wrapped in bacon.

We live really close to the Uncle Julio’s in Buckhead, but I kinda forget about it. The one in Sandy Springs shares a parking lot with my dentist, where it seems I’ll be spending a lot of time under the drill. So a regular lunch at Uncle Julio’s might be in the future. (www.unclejulios.com, 1140 Hammond Drive.)

I was lucky enough to join some fellow writers on a media tour of Atlanta. It was a blast to play tourist in my hometown. Lunch was at Pacci, a newish restaurant in Midtown next to Hotel Palomar. It’s not just the fact that Chef Keira Moritz is a woman and Georgia native that makes me like this place – the seasonal Italian cuisine is outstanding. I can still taste the rich and creamy mushroom risotto that filled our table with its intoxicating smell before I even took a bite, or the delicate gnocchi that melted in my mouth. (www.pacciatlanta.com, 866 West Peachtree Street.)

Now onto France, and a dinner I had this week at Amuse in Midtown, in the space vacated by Allegro. A joint venture from Arnaud Michel of Anis and Andy Alibaksh of the Café Diem family, the restaurant offers a French-inspired menu.
The night we were there, the joint was lively, with a large group of men whooping it up over by the bar. The evening was too chilly to be outside, but the patio area is intimate and tree-lined, with a view of the Atlanta skyline.

Starters include charred octopus, duck liver mousse and the trendy charcuterie. A few bites of the piglet was enough for me, I couldn’t help but think of Winnie-the-Pooh’s best friend, but I loved the Carolina bass served over crispy potato. (www.amuseatlanta.com, 560 Dutch Valley Road.)

Where once I ate left-over peanut-and-jelly sandwiches or remains of the previous night’s dinner for lunch, I now enjoy the handiwork of some of the best chefs in Atlanta. And where I was reluctant to forgo the family dinner in years past, now I’ll happily take my place at some of Atlanta’s finest restaurants, and let someone else do the work. But I’ll stop every now and then to take a moment to say hi to my stove.