Food & Reviews

The restaurants below are recommended, some for the specific reasons named below. Remember that restaurants sometimes close without warning – always call before going. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please contact us. Check back often for updates.

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Atlanta

Atlanta Suburbs/Athens

5 Seasons Brewing

Atlanta Suburbs/Athens

October 2006

All grown up and nowhere to have a beer? 5 Seasons offers house-made brews and a champagne-taste menu (from grilled pizzas and pork chop with cheddar grits to filet au poivre). Economical as it is ecological, 5 Seasons offers seasonal, fresh and often organic local ingredients in a low-key, casual environment where you can actually hear your dining companions when they speak in normal tones. 5600 Roswell Road (in the Prado), Sandy Springs. 404-255-5911.

Full review on Georgia Trend website

Blue Bicycle, The

Atlanta Suburbs/Athens

July 2008

This family enterprise behind the North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall, by chef/owner Guy Owens and wife Kati, may skimp a bit on atmosphere and creature comforts, but puts the petal to the mettle with the food. Fresh, local ingredients in French/Continental fare (duck breast with brandied cherries, penne in porcini-sage cream sauce) with Southern accents (sautéed Gulf shrimp on a scallion grits cake), at good values (most entrees range from $12-$17). Even better is the long list of Georgia wines, many offered by the bottle, glass and half-glass. 671 Lumpkin Campground Road, Dawsonville. 706-265-2153.

Full review on Georgia Trend website

Canoe

Atlanta Suburbs/Athens

December 2006

Chef Carvel Grant Gould charts a new course in familiar waters at this Vinings staple. Despite the exotic ingredients (quail, pheasant, diver scallops, African squash), the deeply earthy, familiar flavors will thrill even the most hidebound meat-and-potato eater. From the bartenders to the table runners, Canoe sports some of the most professional staff in town. Perfect for a special dinner that won’t sink you. 4199 Paces Ferry Road NW, 770-432-2663.

Full review on Georgia Trend website

D. Morgan's

Atlanta Suburbs/Athens

October 2005

Confit comes to Cartersville. This sophisticated restaurant, carved from a former furniture store downtown, seems out of place only until you go there. Midway between the burbs and the northwest Georgia mountains, sharply dressed patrons revel in chef Derek Morgan’s original, uncomplicated pairings and triplings of fresh, familiar flavors: lobster bisque with porcini; seared ahi tuna with scallion hummus; cardomom doughnuts with coffee ice cream. Wines are moderately priced, and the list is full of discoveries. 28 West Main St., Cartersville. 770-383-3535.

Full review on Georgia Trend website

Farm 255

Atlanta Suburbs/Athens

June 2007

There’s a lot of revisionist history going down in this western corner of downtown Athens, with a new/old diner (Clocked), a new/old film arthouse (Ciné), and new/old Farm 255, in the rescued Quality Food Machinery building. Its newfangled organic cuisine is really nothing more than great meats and vegetables, like your farming Southern ancestors once enjoyed – even if this is not your grandmother’s Calabash shrimp, and the Toad in a Hole is a farm-fresh egg on duck confit in buttered whole-wheat toast. Cheery service; short, interesting wine list. 255 West Washington St. (between Hull and Pulaski), Athens. 706-549-4660.

Full review on Georgia Trend website