Tag: Atlas

Inside a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse near Your DeKalb Farmers Market, Webb, who started Vonnie’s Greens back in 1983, harvests about 1,000 pounds of wheat grass, buckwheat lettuce, and sprouts a week.

Dining rooms today seem louder than ever, boasting all the acoustics of a shipping container. We turned to local designers for an explanation and determined that the problem is multifaceted, rooted in design trends, dining preferences, and economic conditions.

Is that an original Picasso hanging above your booth? You bet your caviar it is. But despite the abundance of museum-quality art, Atlas is more than just a beautifully designed space. It’s also a wonderful place to dine.

That head painted in oil, hung against lacquered wood-paneled walls, doesn’t just look like a Francis Bacon or a Lucian Freud—it is a Bacon or a Freud.

The chance to dine like modern royalty—waited on by attractive servers who manage to be attentive, alert, and friendly without being fawning—is a kind of gift to the city, the first luxurious hotel dining room since the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead fell victim to a crumbling economy in 2009.

As restaurant concepts go, the one behind Atlas in Buckhead’s hyper-upscale St. Regis Hotel is a bold gamble. In addition to a $5 million design overhaul of the dining room—courtesy of the ubiquitous Johnson Studio—and an open kitchen whose consulting chef is Atlanta culinary icon Gerry Klaskala, Atlas boasts 23 museum-worthy paintings and drawings from one of the world’s foremost private art collections.

Under the keen eye of veteran restaurateur Gerry Klaskala (of Aria), who served as consulting chef to this modern beauty inside the St. Regis Atlanta Hotel, Atlas is off to an impressive start. Beautifully landscaped dishes, spectacular art from the likes of Picasso and Chagall, respectful service, and a serious wine list come together without a hint of stuffiness.

Atlas—the highly anticipated restaurant backed by consulting chef Gerry Klaskala and investor the Tavistock Group—will open January 26 in the St. Regis Hotel. Replacing Paces 88, Atlas will offer a classic American menu with European influences and a seasonal focus. Christopher Grossman, previously of the French Laundry, is the chef de cuisine.

With the opening of Buckhead Atlanta and Alpharetta’s Avalon last year, our city saw an influx of restaurants from other markets (Oak Steakhouse, Thirteen Pies, and Le Bilboquet, to name a few). This year, however, numerous local names will expand further across the city. Here are the fifteen most anticipated restaurants for 2015.

Walking through the construction site at the St. Regis Atlanta—a mess of concrete and dust that will soon be transformed into upscale American restaurant Atlas—you can tell consulting chef and restaurateur Gerry Klaskala is excited. He practically skips around the room, painting a vivid picture of the space, which he describes as having a modern country club vibe.