Is The Optimist America's Best New Restaurant?

Earlier this month, John Mariani of Esquire named The Optimist the year's best new restaurant. It opened in May in West Midtown, and since then the fish camp and oyster bar by chef Ford Fry has been the recipient of mostly rave reviews. Creative Loafing's Cliff Bostock dined there after the honor was bestowed and posed the question that we're now going to ask you, dear readers: Does The Optimist deserve its recognition as best new restaurant in the country? How does it fare against other spots that opened this year in Atlanta, like Lure, The Spence, Cardamom Hill, and The Lawrence? Leave your opinions in the comments or drop us a line at atlanta@eater.com.

· Dining at Atlanta's Best New Restaurant [CL]
· Good News/Bad News: The Early Word on The Optimist [-EATL-]
· All Coverage of The Optimist [-EATL-]