Need Atlanta Recommendations

[Jeff C.]

Will be in Atlanta next weekend on a shopping excursion concentrated around Midtown, Buckhead, and Perimeter. Am looking for nonchain casual-elegant restaurants emphasizing fresh ingredients with vegetarian options a plus. Any price range except ultra-deluxe is fine. Thanks in advance for your help!

[AMFM]

grandma luke's is my brother & SIL's favorite place. they have great breakfast options.
http://www.grandmalukes.com/

[polyhymnia]

I used to live literally down the street from Horseradish grill, ate there frequently, and as a kid, got to tour their garden out back. It is a phenomenal place, good food, and was really on the grow-your-own wagon pretty early (for Atlanta). Plus you can get great shrimp and grits, which are really a quintessential upscale southern specialty! I also recommend Buckhead Diner, it's not strictly vegetarian, not at all in fact, but I'm sure they'd have some great options for veggies. It's a neat place.

[Jeff C.]

I now have enough recommendations for SEVERAL visits! Thanks to all.

[jeffbatl]

i really like the Flying Biscuit and usually go to the one in Midtown when i am in the area, their lunch and dinner are fine but breakfast is the real winner here. i usually get the "Egg-ceptional Eggs... two fried eggs on black bean cakes topped with tomatillo salsa and sour cream" or whatever the special scramble of the day is.
Also place worth checking out is Radial (http://www.radial.us/).
South City Kitchen is very good. Their sunday breakfast/brunch is also worth a look.

[Jeff C.]

Thanks, Jeff. That breakfast DOES sound "egg-ceptional."

[mark]

hi jeff,

atl is a little off my stomping grounds, but i do have 1 rec to pass on. restaurant eugene is excellent per my wife and another friend.

my wife hosted a small business dinner there. they ordered from the regular menu, and were very satisified.

my friend who went there got the chef's tasting menu (18 courses or something like that) and said it was incredible.

all the above are meat eaters, so i don't know how vegs would fare.

don't know how it stacks up price-wise, except that it is higher-end.

enjoy your excursion.

ps. ok, i decided not to be lazy, here's a link...

http://www.restauranteugene.com/index...

looks like they might push the price boundary, but ovo-lacto-(other-less-restrictive)-type vegs should be ok. again, i'm told the food is excellent (even my wife, who tends to share my value judgements, said she felt it was worth it).

[Jeff C.]

Thanks for the rec. AND the link, Mark. It certainly looks like a possibility should we decide to "treat" my daughter and her beau.

[offtheeatenpath]

I'd recommend C'om on Buford HWY which is only a few miles north of Lenox Mall. They serve very fresh vietnamese food with lots of non-red meat choices. There's also Panahar up that way which serves Indian (really bangladeshi). Also Taqueria Del Sol on Cheshire Bridge. It's a take on a traditional mexican taqueria serving cheap and good tacos, enchiladas, etc. In midtown, Tamarind just reopened (as Tamarind Seed). It's a thai restaurant and I have never been, but it is universally praised. I can't find a website for it, but it is on open table.
http://www.comgrill.com/
http://www.panahar.com/home.aspx
http://www.taqueriadelsol.com/

[Jeff C.]

Thanks for tips AND the links.

I like your screen name, too.

[cien]

Ate at Restaurant Eugene a few days ago. Yes, the price is a high, but worth it. Excellent quality and atmosphere. THey have an excellent Summer Veggies entree that I had. Loved it!

[laurendlewis]

Cafe Sunflower is on Peachtree in the Midtown-Buckhead-Peachtree Hills area - all veg.
Restaurants in the Highlands might be a good choice too. Maybe Sala or Murphy's?

[Jeff C.]

Thanks so much, Lauren. Am off to Google those now. Any thoughts on such stalwarts as Flying Biscuit (for breakfast), Bridgetown Grill (for lunch), and Horseradish Grill (for dinner)? South Side Kitchen also looks interesting.

We're not strict vegetarians, BTW. We just tend to avoid red meat.

[laurendlewis]

Flying Biscuit is good - they have some veg choices. (Some aren't keen on it, but it's good.)

I happen to love Horseradish Grill, but like Flying B, it gets mixed reviews on this board. If you go there, get the oatmeal cake for dessert.... it is to die for!

I've heard that South City Kitchen is great but haven't been myself.

[Jeff C.]

You know, I sometimes find some Chowhounds (not unlike some alt. rock fans) suffer from next-big-thing-ism. My own feeling about places like F.B. is if small noncorporate places can not only survive in a highly competitive restaurant market like ATL but thrive enough to open another branch or two, then they must be doing SOMETHING right, even if the what-have-they-done-for-me-lately crowd doesn't agree.

Oh, I also wanted to ask you about Einstein's--the restaurant, not the bagel joint. (I'm currently compiling a not-so-shortlist of possibilities according to where we end up at meal times.)

[laurendlewis]

Never been to Einstein's but I have friends who love it.