Put that on a bumper sticker.

The New York Times’ Kim Severson recently wrote a glowing piece about the growing strength of Atlanta’s food scene titled “Atlanta Pulls a Chair to the Table for Culinary Greats“.

Revival gets a mention and Decatur is summarized as in the post title.

Take a read and let us know what you think.

Has the Atlanta food scene recently climbed into the ranks of the greatest U.S. food cities?  Or as Severson observes, is there is too much fad-chasing and steak-ordering to really be a top tier culinary city?

Eater is reporting that Ammazza, the “hopping Edgewood Avenue pizzeria that turns out some of Atlanta’s favorite Neapolitan-style pie” is opening a second location in the old Twisted Soul space on East Howard Avenue, across from Kimball House.

Eater got a bit more info from co-owner Hugh Connerty…

“For the most part the menu is same,” Connerty said in an email to Eater Atlanta. “The space is a bit smaller and a different layout, so we don’t have room for our big dough room or the real long walk-in that we use as part of our dough-aging process. All that means is we’re going to have to make all of it on Edgewood and cold truck it over there It has big enough walk-ins to store plenty of on-hand inventory, though.”

Eater reports the new location should be open this summer.

Photo of Edgewood location courtesy of Ammazza’s Facebook page

I’m not entirely sure what to call these types of restaurants.  “Fine Dining” isn’t really employed anymore, is it?

But I’m talking about the types of restaurants where you may need a reservation, take a date, and leave the sandals at home.

So…What are your favorite upscale restaurants in the Atlanta metro?  (Psst…The Eater 38 list is never a bad place to start if you need a bit of a jump-start.)

Photo of Cakes & Ale courtesy of Eater

Last Friday, word spread around Atlanta that the locally famous Gu’s Bistro on Buford Highway was closing.

Many fans of the popular Atlanta Szechuan restaurant took some solace that owners Yvonne and Zahed Gu would soon be opening Gu’s Dumplings at Krog Street Market in the coming weeks.  But many are still waiting (praying?) for word on where and when Gu’s Bistro would reopen.

Well, Atlanta Magazine caught up with the owners at their new Krog Street Market location and reported some info that Gu’s Bistro lovers who reside in and around Decatur, may be interested in hearing…

Yvonne says they’re still looking for a new location, which will be bigger and most likely in town (Decatur, perhaps). Moving out of a forlorn strip mall on Buford Highway is important to them. They hope to change the perception that all Chinese food is cheap food found in hole-in-the-walls where decor and service are subpar.

When will the new Gu’s open? Depending on lease negotiations and build outs, as early as the end of summer and as late as the end of the year. Yvonne thinks the menu at the new location will be smaller. “It’s too big, and my dad was cooking everything. It was too much for him,” she says. Zahed adds, “It’s easier to teach someone 30 to 50 items rather than 150 items. Inventory was a nightmare.”

Yup, they might reopen in Decatur.  So if you love Gu’s, it’s probably worth your while to show them some love in the comment section here, on other platforms, send them Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne’s phone # to help with potentially finding a location, etc.  You know, all the things to help make your prayers come true.  🙂

Photos courtesy of Gu’s Bistro

UPDATE: ALSO, Julian Goglia of Pinewood Tippling Room was voted bartender of the year!

Eater Atlanta just announced its restaurant champions of 2013.

Among the chosen few, General Muir won the coveted “Restaurant of the Year” award, while Kimball House took home the “So Hot Right Now” award.

Paper Plane, Sobban and Ink & Elm were all finalists in the “So Hot Right Now” category, speaking to the bumper crop of new restaurants among the eastern, inner-burbs of Atlanta.

Related: Check out the Ink & Elm website for so cool historic photos of Emory Village!

Photo courtesy of General Muir website

As was mentioned by a couple of commenters over the weekend, Slice & Pint, which took over the old Everybody’s and Steady Hand spaces in Emory Village, has opened for business.

As those same commenters have also noted, the brewpub doesn’t have its liquor license yet so it’s BYOB for the time being.

Anyone tried it yet?

It’s a bit west of Decatur, but I know many folks frequented the old Arizona Pub. Mike points to this post on the Atlanta Magazine website…

Andy Minchow, founding partner of Holeman & Finch and an acclaimed mixologist, will open Ration & Dram, located at 130 Arizona Avenue, in late August or early September. The dual-level restaurant and bar is named after the military term for a portion—usually of food—(ration) and the nautical term for a unit—often mentioned with whiskey—(dram).

Lots more info about the menu, etc in the post!

Photo courtesy of Google Maps