John Kessler Awards Rathbun's Four Stars

John Kessler, lead dining critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, revisits Rathbun's this week after quite a long time and awards the Atlanta mainstay four stars. When speaking of the menu, Kessler writes:

Half of the dishes sound like plates of food I want to bury my head in. Roasted pork belly tacos with orange hoisin? Sea scallop Benedict on country ham grits? Braised beef short rib with spaghetti squash carbonara and a Bantam egg yolk to swirl into it? Yes, please. Healthy eating can wait for another night.

The critic who lives in my head says it needs to pare down the increasingly outdated menu, upgrade the drinks program and work on its execution. But my heart wins out on this one. It’s a special place that still defines one kind of greatness in Atlanta.

THE ELSEWHERE
Cliff Bostock, of Creative Loafing, takes a First Look at Takorea, the new taqueria from the folks behind Hankook Taqueria. Jon Watson, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviews Grand Champion BBQ. Tom Maicon, of Atlanta Cuisine, reviews HD1. Brad Kaplan, of Creative Loafing, reviews Maison Robert.

THE BLOGS
ATL Food Snob reviews HD. Chow Down Atlanta revisits Coisas Do Brasil. Eat It, Atlanta gets slutty with Petro’s frito pie.