Lusca Brings EAV to Buckhead; Gunshow the 'Most Interesting Place to Eat in Atlanta'

Creative Loafing's Brad Kaplan takes a first look at Lusca and comes away impressed with the more sophisticated venture from Octopus Bar's Angus Brown and Nhan Le:

Lusca takes the essence of Octopus Bar and distills it through Buckhead's fancy filter. The ingredients are still impeccably sourced, and there's still plenty of good booze, but the prices are a touch higher and the compositions more elegant. There's a valet instead of East Atlanta Village's unpredictable street parking. Stark white walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and magnificent sea creature murals offer an upscale twist on Octopus Bar's dark interior and graffitied walls. Instead of an unmarked entrance, a maître d' in a dapper suit greets you at Lusca's door.

Grazing at Varuni Napoli, Cliff Bostock finds that the new Virginia-Highland pizzeria still needs some work. While the decor and Stefano Fererra ovens are dazzling, Bostock says the pizza itself disappoints. However, because of chef/owner Luca Varuni's impressive resume, he hopes that will change.

Behind a paywall, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's John Kessler revisits Gunshow, which he calls "the most interesting place to eat in Atlanta right now."

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: After nibbling through the sushi bar menu, Eat It, Atlanta plans on returning to Lusca. Marie, Let's Eat enjoys the tacos at Taqueria Real de la Villa in Marietta. Zinburger's opening night is well received by Marie, Let's Eat, Bella Vivere, and Hot Dish Review. Burgers, Barbecue and Everything Else dines on delicious 'Q at Greater Good in Tucker and tasty chicken parmiasan at Cibo e Beve in Sandy Springs. Roots in Alpharetta says the pizza at Crust is good, even if the restaurant's name isn't. Crush Crave is a fan of the pizza and pasta at Baraonda.

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