Return to KR SteakBar; First Look at Southbound

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's John Kessler returns to KR SteakBar for the first time since executive chef Chris McDade's departure. While he finds the pasta a bit disappointing, Kessler says everything else is quite good:

In fact, not that KR Steakbar is no longer the jamming hotspot and more like a normally busy restaurant, the experience feels so much better. The lighting is so perfect on a summer evening, and the sheer, translucent drapes hanging in the center of the room reinforce the easy, breezy vibe of this appealing spot. Maybe the pasta isn't what it once was but, hey, who needs the carbs?

In Creative Loafing, Brad Kaplan takes a first look at Southbound in Chamblee, and he likes the direction the restaurant is taking:

The dish that impressed the most though assembled an eclectic cast of ingredients: mushroom toast with soy, rosemary, fromage blanc, and preserved lemon. The pretty plate arrived with a single long slice of lightly toasted, still-soft baguette, loaded up with a tangle of mixed mushrooms and accented by bright, sliced radish and dots of yellow lemon zest. The warm soft bread, the smooth spread of fromage blanc, and the meaty umami-bomb mushrooms all melted together wonderfully. And though I would have liked a bit more from the preserved lemon, any complaints were minor quibbles. If this is where Southbound is headed, I'm fully on board and eager for the destination ahead.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Creative Loafing's Cliff Bostock isn't too impressed with The Painted Pin, but hopes for better things in the future. Weekend Eats ATL thinks Floataway Cafe is mediocre at best. Hot Dish Review has a proper Southern lunch at Horseradish Grill. Fried Chicken Lips likes the ribs -- and nothing else — at K&J Rib Shack. Marie, Let's Eat! thinks Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q is second best in Atlanta. Friday Date Night finds "an excellent example of old-style Italian dining" at La Strada in Marietta.

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