One Star for Ford Fry's 'Mex-Tex,' Two Stars for Watershed

Atlanta Magazine's Corby Kummer reviews two of Ford Fry's newest restaurants, The El Felix and Superica, in tandem, awarding the "Mex-Tex" restaurants a "good" rating of one star. Kummer says The El Felix is the better of the two, but the cuisine at both, which does include a few memorable dishes, might not be worth the outrageous lines:

Was the food worth the wait? Well, no. But then what food would be? That factory floor lighting is apt for a place that turns out upwards of 800 meals a night. Your best bet to avoid a wait: Late lunch on a Monday. If you want to try dinner, opt for The El Felix, where the managers seem far less flummoxed by throngs, possibly thanks to their three-month jump on Superica. A long dinner at The El Felix, including duplicates of dishes I tried at Superica, convinced me that it isn't only crowd flow the Alpharetta location manages better; the whole meal was on a far more even keel than either lunch or dinner at Superica, with a firmer hand on seasoning, sauce amounts, and presentation.

Wyatt Williams reviews Watershed on Peachtree for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and he gives the restaurant two out of four stars. Williams says new chef Zeb Stevenson is ushering in a pleasing new era:

Stevenson's tenure at Watershed promises to be a very good one. For the neighbors who frequent the bar, he has written a short menu of crowd-pleaser snacks: a simple burger, a roll of pimiento cheese, deviled eggs and ham, pork rinds and hot sauce. Tucked among those is Stevenson's pickle plate, an unusual and delicate collection of curiosities like garlic flowers and coriander seeds, bamboo sections, ramps, and so on. I leaned over the plate, oohing and aahing over each fun, bright little taste. Pickles rarely get this kind of attention to detail.

Over at Creative Loafing, Hillary Holley takes a look at Proof Bakeshop, the Inman Park bakery from the Cakes & Ale team. Holley likes the food and the prices:

On the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Hurt Street in Inman Park sits Proof Bakeshop, the new sister operation to Decatur's Cakes and Ale led by co-pastry chefs David Garcia and Abigail Quinn. Open since early March, locals have adopted Proof as a place to grab a quick breakfast before running errands, take a quick lunch break, or pick up a loaf of freshly baked bread on the way home. Others camp out for hours chatting, reading, or working on laptops as they nibble scones and sip coffee. Even more refreshing than the quality of Proof's baked goods, however, are their affordable price tags, which range from $1.25 to $4.50.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Fried Chicken Lips finds good northern Chinese fare at Good Luck Gourmet, in the former Gu's Bistro space. Fresh ATL plans on returning to Chai Pani. Bella Vivere highly recommends Mac Lab in Duluth. Hot Dish Review finds hits and misses at Barcelona. Weekend Eats ATL loves the food and vibe at Superica. Eat It, Atlanta thinks the Detroit style from Jet's Pizza is a "glorious gut bomb." Burgers, Barbecue & Everything Else finds fabulous Sichuan food at Duluth's Masterpiece.