Atlanta’s Staplehouse Is One of America’s 38 Essential Restaurants

Eater’s national restaurant critic (and Atlantan) Bill Addison has named Staplehouse in the Old Fourth Ward and The Grey in Savannah two of America’s 38 essential restaurants again. For the fifth year in a row, Addison spent 34 weeks traveling and eating nearly 600 meals in 36 cities across the country in order to compile the final list of the best restaurants in America. This is the third year on the list for Staplehouse and the second year for The Grey, which Addison named 2017’s restaurant of the year.

Here’s what Addison has to say about Eater Atlanta 38 restaurant Staplehouse and The Grey in this year’s guide:

Staplehouse

Ryan Smith crafts the right-now model of the mid-priced tasting menu, serving a dozen or so constantly evolving courses; dishes might involve modernist mousses and powders but never spiral too far from an end goal of accessible pleasure. Co-owners Jen Hidinger and Kara Hidinger (Smith’s wife) lead the front of house with Southern graciousness.

The Grey

Eater’s 2017 Restaurant of the Year resides in a former Greyhound bus station, restored to its original 1938 Art Deco grandeur in a multimillion-dollar renovation. Mashama Bailey culls Southern port city flavors into a jubilantly personal expression, with triumphs like salt-preserved grouper on toast and quail scented with Madeira.