Three Stars for Food Terminal, Which Meets Its Lofty Ambition

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Wyatt Williams reviews Food Terminal, the recently opened Malaysian mega-restaurant from the Sweet Hut team. Awarding an “excellent” rating of three out of four stars, Williams finds the Buford Highway destination meets its lofty ambition.

On paper, a restaurant of this size and ambition has the potential to be a disaster. The menu is so long and varied that one wonders how it all could come from the same kitchen, much less with any consistency in quality. A cavernous dining room of this size could be unpleasantly chaotic or deathly silent, depending on the crowds. And then there’s that name, Food Terminal, which oddly seems to summon all of the bland, impersonal touch of an anonymous airport restaurant.

In practice, Food Terminal has proved my skepticisms wrong meal after meal. I’m not only no longer a skeptic, I’m a believer. Given the option, there’s no new restaurant in Atlanta I’d rather drop in for a casual meal these days. ...

Whatever lands on your table will be a happy destination. Lately I think that’s the other reason Food Terminal chose that name. The menu will take you wherever you’d like to go.

Over at Atlanta Magazine, Jennifer Zyman praises Atlanta Breakfast Club as a “reliable choice” for brunch Downtown.

Visit ABC on any given day and the restaurant is packed with families, men in suits, and young couples canoodling over hotcakes and coffee. [Chef Anthony Sanders] says the best sellers are the salmon croquettes and the shrimp and grits. He calls the peach cobbler French toast “Atlanta in one bite” because it’s made with two of the city’s biggest food icons: peaches and Coca-Cola. But the most popular dish is chicken and waffles. ...

I concur—the chicken and waffles are solid. The breast meat is moist and has a good amount of seasoning inside and outside of the fried skin, which reminded me of Chick-fil-A. The waffle wedges were sweet enough to contrast the salty chicken, and both sat on a bed of house syrup. I was equally impressed with the eggs Benedict-style biscuit made with thick, crispy turkey bacon in lieu of Canadian bacon and dirty gravy in lieu of Hollandaise.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Friday Date Night says Camps is a welcome addition to East Cobb. Roamilicious thinks Brine Seafood Shack is worth the trek to Avalon for intown diners. Hot Dish Review says Mali is still a Thai standout in Virginia-Highland.

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