Best Restaurant

When California-trained chef duo Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison opened BACCHANALIA inside a repurposed Piedmont Road cottage back in 1993, they became one of the very first restaurants in Atlanta to embody the concept of farm-to-table. By 1999, they’d expanded to a former meatpacking plant on the Westside, where they solidified their reputation as Atlanta’s fine dining standard-bearer. Quatrano won a Best Chef: Southeast award from the James Beard Foundation in 2003 for her dedicated use of hyperlocally sourced ingredients, masterful techniques and gorgeous plating. Then, last year, the couple announced they’d be moving once again — this time to a purpose-built monolith of glass and wood designed in collaboration between the proprietors and design firm Perkins+Will. The new space opened this spring, complete with an attached gourmet market, Star Provisions and onsite herb garden. Today, newly appointed executive chef Jonathan Kallini keeps Bacchanalia’s prix fixe menu as strong as ever, and still just as dedicated to local sourcing: Much of the produce comes directly from Quatrano’s own Summerland Farm in Cartersville. Nearly two decades after it opened, amid an entirely new and entirely more crowded culinary landscape, Bacchanalia remains both relevant and fresh. 1460 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd. N.W. 404-365-0410. www.starprovisions.com/bacchanalia.

photo by: Joeff Davis/ CL File

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If we had to guess which Atlanta restaurants might add a second location, YET TUH would have been near the bottom of the list. The original eatery, hidden a block off Buford Highway, is just so homey and unassuming that the very idea that it could multiply seemed implausible. But here they are, with a shiny new location in Duluth off Pleasant Hill Road, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Yet Tuh continues to offer some of the most soulful Korean fare around, from heartwarming stews to the delightful omurice (fried rice tucked inside an omelet blanket). We’ll still frequent the original location, but we now have a new favorite among the bevy of Korean restaurants buffering I-85 in Duluth. 2605 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth. 470-488-5000. 3042 Oakcliff Road, Doraville. 770-454-9292. less...

Get your tickets to the GUNSHOW because there is no place quite like it. Kevin Gillespie’s Glenwood Park hot spot is the rare collision of cool concept meets exceptional food. There are no menus with set courses; rather, dishes audition for your choosing as chefs come to the table and present items both homey and exotic. A mashup of dim sum and Brazilian churrascaria, where a wide-open kitchen sets the stage for maximum chef-diner interaction, Gunshow is never the same place twice. Executive chef Joey Ward carefully curates a scene of clever, heartfelt and playful food. Cocktails come by way of a rolling cart, where your conductor, Mercedes O’Brien, mixes and stirs right in front of you. 924 Garrett St., Suite C. 404-380-1886. www.gunshowatl.com. less...

Why have one when you can have four? That’s the theory in play at Midtown newbie THE CANTEEN, which pushes the boundaries of the term “food hall” by splitting up a space that formerly housed one restaurant (the Spence) into three food stalls (Yalla, Fred’s Meat & Bread, TGM Bagel) and a full bar (Square Bar). It’s a bold and, dare we say, revolutionary repurposing of the real estate overlooking the Centergy One plaza in Tech Square — and clearly one built off lessons learned by partners Todd Ginsberg, Jennifer and Ben Johnson and Shelley Sweet at their Krog Street Market locations of Yalla and Fred’s. From coffee and a bagel in the a.m. to decadent sandwiches at lunch to a burger and a beer as the sun sets, the Canteen packs plenty of punch to keep both residents and office-goers well fed all day. 75 Fifth St. N.W., Suite 170. www.thecanteenatl.com. less...

For years, Atlanta’s deli-starved craved something like THE GENERAL MUIR. At breakfast there’s a strong cup of coffee with a nosh from the bakery or a bagel platter. At lunch, sandwiches stacked with homemade cured meats and burgers reign. At dinner, chef Todd Ginsberg’s French training makes an appearance. The Emory Point deli/brasserie has become an Atlanta institution because who doesn’t love a bagel? less...

Empire State South is the Leonardo da Vinci of Atlanta restaurants, a true master of everything from breakfast to cocktails to house-made charcuterie. The thought of making a day out of dining here, starting with slowly sipping a perfectly pulled espresso on the patio, lounging between meals by the outdoor bocce court, enjoying adventurous cocktails late into the night, has all the makings of a micro luxury vacation. The menu is constantly changing, but you can always count on Southern-tinged dishes made with super-fresh local produce and other regional ingredients. Aside from the mains, lovingly baked biscuits in the morning and an array of jarred wonders such as puckery house-made pickles, earthy boiled peanut hummus, and rich and peppery pimento cheese at night, are excellent. The wine list is impeccable, including gems such as a bottle of La Chablisienne's unusual sauvignon blanc from Burgundy (menu description: "deliciously nerdy"). No matter the occasion, the meal, the drink, Empire State South does it all while capturing the very best of modern cooking in the South. less...