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Nestled in the ground floor of Morningside’s Belvedere building, Amuse has taken shape as a pseudo French bistro.  Now the tenants of the shuttered Allegro space, Amuse comes backed by Andy Alibaksh (via  Diem Restaurant Group) and Arnaud Michel (of Anis restaurant).  The duo brought in a fresh staff, hired a known chef (Lenny Robinson), and let him come up with a playful menu.  But like so many before them, this “accomplished” set of restaurateurs seems to imagine dreams that just don’t become reality.

I’m lucky in that I have yet to get a serious case of writers block.  Instead, I’m usually smothered by writers apathy … or whatever you may call it.  Recently, this has been complicated by experiences that have left me a shell of my former self.  Something about me was off … had I become soft?  Had I succumbed to the whims of beautiful women? Was all not well in the life of Foodie Buddha?  Maybe … maybe not.  Regardless, thanks to a recent pep talk courtesy of Spark Plug … I’m back.  Well, actually internal motivators aside, the true culprit here was the meal at Amuse.  After several weeks of quasi uneventful dining, this little bomb blew me strait to heck … and it took a couple of my friends with me.

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Something tells me that Cyrille Holota had no idea what was in store for him some years ago.  In the mid-90s, Holota was racking up quit the resume.  After cooking at several different Michelin winning restaurants (including 3-star powerhouse L’Arpege), Holota came to our beloved city to join Joël Antunes over at The Dining Room.  In 2001, JA left to open his namesake restaurant with Holota in tow.

From there, Holota began his methodical climb to the top.  He started as sous chef de cuisine, then moved to chef de cuisine, and finally, in 2008, landed on top as the executive chef.  Soon after, things got hairy, mostly for reasons well beyond his control.

In the past year and change, perhaps no Atlanta restaurant has been more maligned than JOËL Brasserie.  First, the restaurant’s namesake split for the bright lights of New York City.  Antunes’ tenure at the helm of the famed Oak Room was short to say the least.  Within a few months, he found himself out of a job.  Initial questions as to whether the Frenchman would shutdown his Atlanta restaurant were soon replaced with rumors of his return.  Then, the restaurant closed up for a bit (to remodel), leading to even more questions.  Just when things were getting back on track for the rebranded JOËL, they ran into that whole debacle with their liquor license.  Why do I bring this up?  Because so little of the bad press actually had anything to do with the restaurant and the experience within.

All this while, back in the kitchen, standing tall and proud, was none other than chef Holota.  The French national from Montlucon stood his ground and did so with a smile on his face.  Things around him blew up, and yet there he was, bringing his personality to the forefront of JOËL Brasserie’s food experience.

Now, the enduring character behind JB’s is here for a little relaxing, some quick wit, and a little bit of mystery (anyone know French?).  And with that, welcome to ITCK!

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JOËL Brasserie, that much maligned Buckhead restaurant, got some big news about an hour ago.  Roughly three weeks after the restaurant lost it’s liquor license, the government gods have smiled fortuitously on chef Cyrille Holota and his team.  Word from Holota is that the restaurant has gotten a shiny new liquor license and will celebrate this week with some deep discounts on wine.  Say what you will about the restaurant, I think we can all agree that this is a good thing.  Nothing is worse than a restaurant failing due to some government regulation.

Cheers to Holota!

Yesterday, pops and I took a trip over to Atmosphere Bistro on the outskirts of the Morningside neighborhood in Atlanta.  Open roughly 7-years, they have long served one of my favorite brunches here in the city.  Given the price point, the atmosphere (no pun intended), and the service – I find little to complain about when visiting on any given lazy Sunday.  As this is a quick hits posts, keep in mind I am speaking specifically about the brunch menu at Atmosphere and not their standard fare.

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This morning, as I was digging through my twitter feed, I came across this video.  It’s a nice little interview with Cyrille Holota, the executive chef at JOËL.  The Buckhead restaurant is still alive and kicking, long after the departure of namesake Joël Antunes.

JOËL Restaurant Address & Information:
3290 Northside Pkwy NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 // P: 404.233.3500 // JOEL Website // JOEL Menu

Though they actually opened this past February, I took the liberty of adding Café Lapin to the March Dirty List due to this post over on the Omnivore.  The “French country menu” looks simple and appealing; I will definitely hit them up for breakfast sooner than later.

In addition to breakfast and lunch, they offer a dinner service six nights a week (guess which night they close?).  The BYOB policy and no corkage fee are appealing.

Café Lapin Restaurant Address & Information:
2341 Peachtree Road Unit C, Atlanta, GA 30305 // P: 404.812.9170 // Café Lapin website // Café Lapin menu

Until last night, I was shamefully ignorant to the tragic history of Violette restaurant.  The short of the long is that proprietor Guy Long, a native of Alsace-Lorraine, came to the United States after his mother passed.  In 1989, he met Stephanie Belcher and from that that meeting, a relationship flourished. Eventually, the two became both business partners and engaged to be married.

In 1995, the couple opened Violette on Clairmont Rd. Eight years later, a series of crimes left Luck dead, Belcher alone, and the restaurant in an awkward place [More reading on CL]. Five-years later, Belcher runs the show and the restaurant is alive and kicking. From what I understand, Belcher employs a head chef; and while the food was a disappointment, my hat is off to Ms. Belcher. More after the jump!

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