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Fry Talks

In the last two years, restaurateur Ford Fry—who opened JCT Kitchen & Bar in 2007—has tripled his footprint, opening No. 246 in Decatur and the Optimist on the Westside. This year he’s at it again, with King and Duke set to open in Buckhead in March and a yet-to-be-named restaurant opening in the former Bluepointe space in the fall. (For more on the chef, check out Candice Dyer's profile, "Have You Dined At Ford's Lately?") Rumor has it Fry has his heart set on an Austin-style Tex-Mex restaurant, too, and has been eying both Alpharetta and Krog Street for the location. Says Fry, “Nothing’s signed yet.” Yet being the operative word.

Have You Dined at Ford’s Lately?

Several architects, interior designers, and restaurant conceptualists swivel their heads to look around the room, and a couple of them thoughtfully clear their throats.

Taria Camerino talks new pastries, Sweet Genius, and the future of Sugar-Coated Radical

Taria Camerino, creative director for the pastry programs of Ford Fry’s restaurants and founder of the now-shuttered Sugar-Coated Radical, doesn’t believe in desserts simply tasting good: Instead, she says dining is about the experience. She feels she has “an obligation” to move people, and has been studying diners at No. 246, JCT Kitchen and the Optimist to figure out how to best “engage” them, then rework the dessert menus to better reflect her discoveries. Below, she divulges the sweet details and shares her plans to re-open Sugar-Coated Radical in 2014.

Atlanta’s 13 most anticipated restaurants for 2013

We reviewed 2012 a couple weeks back. What will 2013 bring? Here are the thirteen restaurants we're most anticipating:

Chef Ford Fry talks about King + Duke and other new restaurants

Chef Ford Fry has his hands full with JCT Kitchen, No. 246, and the Optimist, which was just recognized as this year’s best new restaurant by Esquire. But Fry's ambitions don't stop there. Atlanta Magazine caught up with the busy chef at the annual Lunch Break for Kids, a fundraiser for adolescent nutrition education and awareness.

The Optimist

Ford Fry has a knack for creating likable, trend-driven restaurants that I've found capable but overly safe. His first, JCT Kitchen & Bar in the Westside Urban Market development, opened in 2007. Its tame versions of shrimp and grits, chicken and dumplings, and deviled eggs draped with ham helped usher in the era of that now-cliched genre, Southern farm-to-table, but they lack gutsy soul.

No. 246—Fry’s snazzy Decatur venture with executive chef Drew Belline—launched mid-2011 when fresh hot spots were a rarity amid the draggy economy. It satisfies its nightly crowds with busy pastas, Neapolitan-style pizzas charred in a wood-burning oven, and other Italian comforts. There, too, I hanker for more gusto, for more reach and spark to the cooking.

No. 246

I thought I'd stumbled onto a private party for the local food glitterati the first time I visited Decatur's No. 246 in July. It was the restaurant's inaugural Monday, six days after opening for business. The full house generated such a clamor that the noise bouncing off the white brick walls vibrated in my hands and feet as well as my ears. High-profile chefs like Kevin Rathbun and Empire State South’s Ryan Smith shouted happily, twirling pastas and sharing pizzas among wine distributors and off-duty managers and servers from other restaurants. What drew them—and the unremitting crowds that have shown up night after night since then—so immediately?

Ford Fry’s Jalapeño-Cheddar Fry Bread

Buttery rich yet feathery light, these buns are made from brioche dough that’s remarkably easy with a stand mixer. (It does, however, require advance planning to allow for several risings.)

Ford Fry’s Brisket Sandwich

Dinners at the suburban home of Ford Fry, chef-owner of JCT Kitchen and No. 246, typically revolve around the Big Green Egg perched on the spacious deck in back. What emerges from the ceramic smoker takes him back to gatherings he attended as a youth at his grandfather’s ranch outside of Houston.

Ford Fry on Killer Tomato Festival and No. 246

ATL Food Chatter: July 5, 2011 (To receive the Chatter and other culinary tidbits directly in your inbox, sign up for our weekly dining newsletter)What do you get when you combine some of the South’s top chefs, mixologists, and farmers; the peak of growing season; and good music, all in one location for a good cause? The third annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, which will be held July 17 from 1–5 p.m. at Westside Urban Market. The annual fundraiser for Georgia Organics has morphed into an experience unlike any of the ATL’s growing number of food events. The combination of the creative uses of tomatoes, boisterous crowds spurred on by some rocking bands like the Plasmatics and high-profile judges—including Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit, Food & Wine restaurant editor Kate Krader, and ATL’s dynamic dietician, Carolyn O’Neil—produce a unique alchemy that made the Killer Tomato Festival a must-attend.

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