One Star for Paces & Vine; Two Stars for Antico Avalon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's John Kessler reviews Paces & Vine and gives it a "good" rating of one star. Kessler says the food at the second restaurant from Tom Murphy is generally good, but it doesn't match the atmosphere:

I like being there, sitting on the deep brick patio at Paces & Vine, surrounded by cypress, begonias and Dodge Grand Caravans. Dinner is over, and I'm sharing the last splashes from a nice bottle of wine with friends as the night air reclaims its unseasonable chill. ... But maybe you'll wish, as I did, that the flash-fried calamari came with a lemon wedge and a better dip than its wan marinara and mustard sauces. Or that the overly processed peekytoe crabcake sparkled with the flavor of fresh, sweet crabmeat.

Also at the AJC, Wyatt Williams reviews Antico Pizza Napoletana's Avalon outpost and awards two out of four stars. Williams says the Neapolitan-style pies are just as good as the original in Westside:

I've had some [pies] that come out a little too thick, others that were not quite charred enough. Those are minor quibbles, to be sure, but the extreme simplicity of Neapolitan pie means that you notice more when one element goes awry. When Antico hits every note, it can be as good as any pizza I've tasted in the world, Italy and New York included. When it doesn't, the place still serves great pizza. Any shopping mall would be lucky to serve it.

Creative Loafing's Brad Kaplan takes a first look at Le Fat. Kaplan says the Vietnamese classics are done well at Guy Wong's Westside restaurant:

Le Fat's Vietnamese-basics-done-well are not overwhelmingly better than a Nam Phuong or a Pho Dai Loi, but they are clearly more chef-y. The biggest differences between Le Fat and other Vietnamese spots can be boiled down to its intown location, the presence of a very nice craft cocktail and wine list, and the ambitiously elegant ambience, Robin Williams poster notwithstanding.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: ATL Food Snob thinks American Food and Beverage is one of the better restaurants in the Buckhead Atlanta development. Marie, Let's Eat! finds really good burgers at Big Al's Gourmet Butter Burgers. Atlanta Restaurant Blog says meat is the star of the show at The Cockentrice. Bella Vivere is a huge fan of Kabob-ish. Hot Dish Review says West Egg Cafe's breakfast is good, but not great. Fried Chicken Lips is excited about 99 Cafe Sushi & Hot Pot. Burgers, Barbecue and Everything Else says if Smokebelly succeeds, it's because of the bar and not the barbecue.