First Looks at The Southern Gentleman, Grain

Over at Creative Loafing, Brad Kaplan takes a first look at Buckhead Atlanta's The Southern Gentleman. Kaplan says there are highlights, but some things need work:

In a town already brimming with contemporary Southern restaurants, it's hard for a newcomer to stand out. The Southern Gentleman, in the ritzy new Buckhead Atlanta development, attempts to do so by hopping around in the footsteps of its older peers. Like Atlanta's original Southern gastropub, Holeman and Finch, the 8-week-old Southern Gentleman is heavy on cocktails and pig parts. There are traces of Watershed — Buckhead's reigning ritzy Southern restaurant — in its Louisiana-accented casual elegance, and a sprinkling of Local Three in its cheeky playfulness. The thing is, those traits seem to work better on their own rather than smushed into one new creation.

Creative Loafing's Angela Hansberger stops by the recently opened Grain. Hansberger things the recently opened restaurant from the Cypress Street and Seven Lamps folks is worth a visit:

If you live within walking distance to Grain, consider yourself lucky. Finding street parking in Midtown these days is tricky, but that shouldn't keep you from a visit. And those bar tables really are the coolest. Call me crazy, but I'm a fan of anywhere three friends can sit at the bar and have an actual, audible conversation.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Fried Chicken Lips likes the idea of The Cockentrice, but thinks the Krog Street Market from The Spotted Trotter's Kevin Ouzts restaurant needs time to develop. Hot Dish Review enjoys a rotisserie chicken lunch at Bantam + Biddy. Eat It, Atlanta says Qing Mu isn't a destination for ramen. Friday Date Night says Roswell's Amalfi is an excellent neighborhood Italian restaurant. Bella Vivere likes the falafel, but is wary of other dishes at Mediterranean Bakery in Chamblee.