Poor Hendrix Lands Three Stars From ‘Atlanta Magazine’

Atlanta Magazine restaurant critic Jennifer Zyman reviews Poor Hendrix, which opened last November at East Lake’s Hosea + 2nd development. Zyman has high praise for former Restaurant Eugene pastry chef Aaron Russel’s jump into savory cuisine, awarding the restaurant an “excellent” rating of three out of four stars.

Russell and his wife, Jamie, had their own vision, though, for a low-key yet ambitious restaurant like those they encountered during their travels in France and Spain. ... Walk in the front door and turn right to grab a seat at the bar, where you’ll find a menu of eccentric dishes that taste better than they might sound. ... On Poor Hendrix’s left side, 28 seats fill the L-shaped dining room. The chalkboard menu lists just 10 dishes—in part because the kitchen has no walk-in refrigerator, meaning Russell receives food orders daily—and changes frequently, but overall the food on this side of the restaurant is more straightforward. ... While a bar patron might be scooping up salmon tartare with Zapp’s potato chips, over here, diners cut into roast chicken with mashed lentils and bacon vinaigrette or trout sautéed in brown butter and plated atop butternut squash puree. This is the kind of food that Russell cooks for himself and his friends at home.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Creative Loafing’s Adjoa Danso says Old Lady Gang, from Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss, is better than the typical celebrity restaurant. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Bob Townsend takes a first look at Public School 404. Friday Date Night says the gastropub fare at Two Birds Taphouse is just what Marietta needs.

• All Week in Reviews [EATL]