I will be in Downtown Atlanta for a business meeting, meeting a client/friend who is also a foodie. We want to eat at the best place, type of food and $ are not the issue. We are simply looking for the best of the best we cannot miss in 1 night opportunity. Does not have to be fancy, although it could be. Please, your recommendations are appreciated!
Thanks!
By CityFoodNY
on Aug 2, 2010 05:29 PM
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You will not find the "best of the best" in downtown. You'll have to venture a little ways out of downtown.
Bacchanalia is about 3 miles away.
http://www.starprovisions.com/
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2nded
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3rded
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from another foodie - Ecco in midtown is fabulous!! and surprisingly well priced!
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Ecco
40 7th Street Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30306
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Definitely Bacchanalia. Hands down the best meal in Atlanta.
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Bacchanalia is the winner. One of the most amazing dining experiences I have ever had. The 4 course tasting menu turned into a 12 course, with different tastes and everything was amazingly delicious. My compliments to the chef!
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I ate at Miller Union the other night for the first time in about 5 months. Was phenomenal. I'd recommend it (or Ecco!) if you don't go to Bacchanalia.
Or check out Dynamic Dish on Edgewood. Not traditional "best" food, but such a great place! :)
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Ecco
40 7th Street Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30306
Dynamic Dish
427 Edgewood Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Miller Union
999 Brady Ave Suite 106, Atlanta, GA 30318
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All right. Im going to piggy back on this since my question is closely related. I too will be in Atlanta in about a month for business. I need to organize the "department" dinner night and need a nice restaurant representative of Atlanta/The South but safe enough for a good dozen northern business types with not terribly adventurous palates and not too far from downtown. They generally feel safe at your standard steak house/Italian restaurant but I dont want something boring that doesnt represent the area at all. Frankly, Id love to go to Bacchanalia or Busy Bee but I dont think either of those would work out for these purposes for very different and obvious reasons (Yikes expensive and intimidatingly foodie!! Yikes soul food and no wine list!!) so Im going to try to go to those later with just the wife. I actually have reservations at both South City Kitchen and Atmosphere Bistro. And Ive heard good things about Wisteria. How are those three places and in general whats good and tasty and safe for a foodie taking out business folks in and around downtown Atlanta that Ill enjoy too?
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Atmosphere Bistro
1620 Piedmont Ave, Atlanta, GA 30324
Busy Bee Cafe
810 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
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South street is very good,but ,being a veteran of many of these dinners,it may be a bit understated for a Northerener.Id consider Priccis as another choice--Antica Pasta is also very good,but dont know if they cater to large groups.We went to Priccis a few weeks ago, we had 2 drinks each,appetizer and I had ossobucco,my wise a pasta meal and the bill was 125,incuding tip---and a very good wine list.If you go, ask for Stebo as your waiter
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Pricci
500 Pharr Road, Atlanta, GA 30305
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I like JCT Kitchen over South City for the southern thing.
Atmosphere is French so not really representative of "Atlanta/the south" as you mention.
JCT or Wisteria would be good choices and "represent the area."
In downtown area you could try Peasant Bistro or Social.
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Peasant Bistro
250 Park Avenue West, Suite 104, Atlanta, GA 30313
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I agree with JCT. I haven't been to Wisteria, but Jct works with groups and the food is great, while presenting plenty of safe choices.
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JCT is LOUD! So if you are dining with a group that might be hard of hearing, or a soft voice...forget conversation. Last time I ate there, it was just my husband and I at a 2-top and we couldn't hear each other across the table. The upstairs bar, however, is one of our favorite places in town. Cozy, urban, great view. Two thumbs up.
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Dogwood might be another option, although the atmosphere lends itself more to couples and less to business. It's small, so I'm not sure how they handle groups - maybe you can book the whole upper level?
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Thanks for all the help folks. We wound up taking the large work group to JCT as recommended and it worked out great. Everyone seemed to love it. The food was certainly excellent. The duck confit/meatballs with dumplings was a bit overkill but good. And the pork belly sliders were fantastic as was the steak tartar medley.
In addition to JCT as a group, the wife and I found our way to the following:
5 Seasons Brewing (food was eclectic and interesting although the pork loin was disappointing. And they only had four beers on tap none of which were especially exciting.)
Busy Bee (absolutely great stuff. Their sides were cant miss. At least the ones we tried. And the fried chicken and ham hocks were worth the days of convention work I had put in earlier in the week.)
K & K Soul Food (Had heard great things about this cafeteria style hole in the wall but was kind of disappointed in the food. The food was just ok but the sides were average at best. The lemon aid was cloyingly artificially sweet and the sweat tea tasted like tobacco juice...)
Dogwood (Yes definitely a couples thing. The atmosphere wouldnt have really worked with our rowdy drunken work gang. But me and the wife loved it (Opentable happened to send me a $50 for $25 coupon offer days before I went down there and I jumped on it). The beef rib was melt in your mouth great and the pork chop had this amazing maple syrup glazed spice rub thing going on. The grits bar is irresistible (although I was looking for an actual bar) but the foie gras creme brulee thing looked and tasted like lard. Great choice though overall.)
Kurt & Vrenys (out in Duluth? Not sure what we were doing way out here but after a few liters of good german beer it didnt matter. Had the fondu but before I could order a meal I was dragged across the burbs to a sushi buffet called)
Nori Noris (which as buffets go was a mind blower. The sushi was certainly not top quality but for a buffet it was very good. And the variety was scary. Rolled back to the hotel quite stuffed...)
Also hit some other places while I was in town but still had quite a few places on my list to get to. Maybe next time Im back in Atlanta (4 years I think?) I can hit those as well. Thanks!
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Busy Bee Cafe
810 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
5 Seasons Brewing
5600 Roswell Road (The Prado), Atlanta, GA 30342
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As a visitor to Atlants I ate at a lot of the "recommended" restaurants and I do not know where your from but if it's LA or NY Bacchanalia is way way over rated IMO. The best unique food I have found and restaurant I would tell friends to visit... and if I lived in Atlanta would eat my way through the entire menu, is Holeman & Finch...everything else can be found better elsewhere.
not trying to bash but ...
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Most everyone here is from somewhere else. And if you believe AMC, we're all zombies now. So maybe you'd be safer staying put in NY/LA.
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First off nice walking dead ref.:) but I will stay true to my belief that H&F is one of your best restaurants...whether you agree or not is up to you...but if you visit Atlanta and miss H&F you are a fool
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H&F is good, no argument. But Bacchanalia overrated? Couldn't disagree more. I eat out a LOT in Manhattan, and I'd put Bacchanalia up there with some of the best NYC has to offer. And really, the two restaurants are so different, you can't compare them. Both very good in their respective categories, but completely separate categories.
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