The Optimist Named One of the World's Best New Restaurants

  

Photo Credit: Andrew Thomas Lee

Chef Ford Fry's award-winning restaurant, The Optimist, has reeled in yet another accolade. It has landed onto Condé Nast Traveler's list of Hot Tables of 2013: The 70 Best New Restaurants in the World representing the American South region. Up against some tough competition, The Optimist has come out on top. Conde Nast's editors turned to their most-trusted food critics, bloggers and writers for recommendations of their favorite new restaurants in foodie destinations worldwide. In his nomination, John Kessler, The Atlanta Journal Constitution's dining columnist described The Optimist as a "nouveau seafood restaurant" with "sustainable fish smartly and simply prepared." If you haven’t dined at The Optimist, you’ll want to add it to the top of your summer to-do list! The Optimist is an authentic coastal seafood experience with sustainable ingredients and a well-stocked oyster bar, so it’s no surprise that it’s a foodie favorite!

Lure Opens Tomorrow...And You'll Be Hooked

Trust me, it's a shore thing. Lure, Fifth Group Restaurant's newest eatery, opens to the public tomorrow, and I can assure you it's quite the catch. The restaurant is located in a 1920s bungalow at 1106 Crescent Avenue in Midtown and serves a menu of amazingly fresh seafood and seasonal produce from Chef David Bradley. The restaurant achieves a perfect balance between sophisticated and casual, making guests feel as though they are in both a fine-dining restaurant and a seaside fish house all at once with eye catching accents like reclaimed nautical spotlights and an old anchor from the Boston Harbor. Lure's three-part menu is broken down into “Raw, Marinated, Chilled” ($2-$20),“For You Or For Sharing”($4-$14), and “Sizeable Servings” ($19-28). My personal favorite is the grilled whole Georgia rainbow trout served with pickled ramp butter and new potatoes. And if you're nervous about getting a whole fish, don't be, you can order it at Lure without feeling like a novice because the restaurant is smart enough to bring out these handy dandy "de-boning with confidence" diagrams to help you out. The spicy Veracruz-style seafood cocktail is a fun appetizer to share, and the grilled North Carolina mahi mahi with summer salad and fresh goat cheese is another outstanding entree choice. Check out the menu for yourself and go fishing for favorites. Lure is also sure to become a favorite watering hole among Atlantans with a variety of punch bowls, bottled cocktails and shochu blends. Try the Blue-Eyed Boy (pictured above) with gin, mint, elderflower and peach bitters - nice and refreshing for summer! Lure will serve dinner nightly to start out, with lunch and weekend brunch service beginning in September. Call 404.817.3650 to make your reservation.