John Kessler Gives Le Bilboquet One Star

The Atlanta Journal Constitution's John Kessler reviews Le Bilboquet, awarding the Buckhead Atlanta restaurant a "good" rating of one star. Kessler says that while the prices are high and the service can be confused, the food is a fine rendition of classic French brasserie cuisine:

But even the merely OK food here would go down better if the energy inside felt more true to brasserie form. Where are those deft, efficient French waiters who bustle about and know how to squeeze every inch from a too-small bistro table? Le Bilboquet does such a good job with all the other details, I wish they would figure this part out. I love the little rounds of butter topped with a sheet of vellum imprinted with the restaurant's name. I love the chocolate pastilles that come with espresso service.

I love being back in this kind of French restaurant. It's been too long, Atlanta.

Over at Creative Loafing, Brad Kaplan takes a first look at Cooks & Soldiers, the new Westside Basque-inspired restaurant from Castellucci Hospitality Group. Kaplan is inspired to travel abroad:

For a quick and fun tour of Basque cuisine, try Cooks & Soldiers. Plough through the pintxos, have a few glasses of sidre and txakoli. It's a tasty and suitably authentic adventure, enough to inspire you into researching your own trip to San Sebastián, where the full experience awaits.

Atlanta INtown's Art Huckabee digs the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare at Cafe Sababa in Dunwoody:

The Chicken Shawarma Wrap was a pita filled with tender, well-seasoned chicken, lettuce, cucumber, tomato and tehina sauce. "Shawarma" typically refers to the method of cooking on a vertical rotating spit. While this version had avoided a spit, its preparation still resulted in a juicy and flavorful bird. Shawarma devotees might miss the lack of garlic sauce in this version but it was still very good. A small Greek salad with lots of Feta cheese accompanied the wrap.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Eat It, Atlanta is a fan of the porchetta sandwiche at Fred's Meat & Bread and the laffa wraps at Yalla in Krog Street Market. Burgers, Barbecue and Everything Else thinks Yalla is only fine, and prefers to eat at Fred's. ATL Food Snob says Seven Hens is worth a second visit for its chicken schnitzel. Marie, Let's Eat! likes the "fairly standard" American Thai fare at Simply Thai in Dunwoody. Atlanta Restaurant Blog recommends Castleberry Hill's Drink Art as vegetarian option for couples. Friday Date Night thinks Vin 25 is too expensive. Fried Chicken Lips finds Colbeh Kitchen & Bar to be perfectly acceptable.