10/27/09

Pimento Cheese and Tomato Soup on a cold, wet day in the ATL

by SteveintheCity

Visited JCT today and had an excellent "Southern" lunch of warm Pimento Cheese on toast and a creamy tomato soup. Great combo on a rainy, dreary day in the ATL. Service was attentive but subdued and very informed/educated about the menu.

Definitely a great business lunch location -- and parking was very easy.

• Pros: Food Quality, Ambience, Service, Choices

06/26/09

Forgotten Gem

by mmulqueen

Hidden in a location that houses two of Atlanta's finest restaurants (Bacchanalia and Quinones), JCT Kitchen adaquately holds its own among the two stalwarts.

The restaurant is a must-go for fans of New South cusine. DO NOT miss the french fries (yes, I said french fries), and also make room for the rum-soaked coconut cake.

• Pros: Outstanding take on New Southern Cuisine
• Cons: Open space makes things a little noisy

03/12/09

Amazing experience!!!

by bestb

I am not very familiar with the southern cuisine but at JCT I had the chance to try some amazing dishes. Besides the fried chicken and shrimp&grits, the short ribs dish was fantastic .Their farm-to-table concept works great: the price is accesible and the quality is high. Little crowded on the weekends but perfect for a night out during the week.

I will definitely go back .

• Pros: food,service,price

03/05/09

Simply Delicious Foods / Almost perfect dining experience

by ouija7

Nice Atmosphere-Very Pottery Barn.

Great Food!

Loved the appetizers: truffle fries, deviled eggs, and mussels.

Entrees were yummy too: Beef Short Ribs and Shrimp & Grits.

Sinfully good desserts: Ginger Bread Pudding and Banana & White Chocolate Cake.

Our 20-something year old waitress was prompt and did a good job serving us. However, she was a bit of a speed freak. She was short and curt and made us feel a little rushed...even on a slow Thursday night. Later in the night, after visiting the upstairs bar for a drink, we stumbled upon her outside in a corner making-out and grinding with one of the chefs. Possibly the reason for her rushing us. ???

The JCT bar upstairs was very cool too. What a great view of the city! Good selection of beers and liquors.

We will definitely be back.

The only advice I have to offer :

1) to get rid of the ridiculous kitchen towels used as napkins-we were all covered in lint when we left.

2). Cornbread. The french loaf they served was okay, but not really fitting as something more traditionally southern.

3) Chicken & Dumplings and more traditional southern foods.

• Pros: Great food. Nice Lighting.
• Cons: Young Waitress was too rushed and had a very curt attitude.

02/27/09

Great atmosphere, great service

by spaghettiwestern

I had a great experience at JCT, starting with cocktails at the upstairs bar. The view and ambience must be the best in the city. The new cocktail menu is inventive and inspired. We tried the Ryebarb and the Au Pear, and both were truly well-balanced and made us want to try the rest of the menu. Once downstairs, we had an excellent server who totally anticipated our needs but was not overly attentive. She even noticed that we had ordered a vegetarian item and returned to clarify that another item might not be suitable. The kitchen split items for us that we ordered to share, which was a nice touch. We ordered four courses, which was totally overkill as the portions are large, but we wanted to sample lots of the menu since it was our first time. The truffle fries are addictive and the cracker jack salad had a great mix of flavors. The flounder (a daily seafood special) was fresh and delicious. The desserts were lots of fun too, and I think the little mug of spicy hot chocolate that came with my ice cream sandwiches was my favorite part of the meal. Everything was well executed from start to finish, which is always a nice surprise at a restaurant with a slightly more casual vibe. We'll for sure be back.

• Pros: Cocktail menu, service, atmosphere
• Cons: large portions, need more veg options

02/25/09

YUMMY!

by greysmith

Great food, fun atmosphere, super service. I had a delicious appetizer, the foie gras and liver was like meat butter. The "angry mussels" were so tasty we almost drank the sauce. The combination of the serrano chilies, bacon, and mussels in the white wine sauce was perfection. The hanger steak for my entree was cooked perfect and the Myer lemon doughnuts was hot, fried, Heaven! All I can say is your in the south enjoy one of the best showcases for that.

• Pros: The yum factor!
• Cons: big portions

12/21/08

Average At Best

by mateyo

Never been here before, have heard good things about the food (fried chicken). The restaurant has a great feel and a lively atmosphere. Our waitress was very nice and attentive.

We started with the mussels, which were great but a standard with any restaurant and a simply item to make. I order the the lamb shank, which was the special of the night. My wife agreed with me in that the lamb taste like something we make called beef stew. The sides were boring and I had to add salt for flavor, not good for $28. My wife ordered the scallops, which looked great but had a sauce on them that tasted like soy sauce.

Bottom line, go to South City Kitchen for the same theme but better food.

• Pros: Atmosphere, layout
• Cons: Price, no flavor

08/07/08

Great Scene...Average Food

by TheEbonyPrince

This place has a very nice set-up and I'll leave it at that when it comes to positives about this restaurant. The food is sooooooo mediocre considering the high prices. Our server was nice but wasn't very prompt. My glass stayed empty for majority of the evening. We didn't see him too often. I ordered one of their supposedly "customer favorites," the fried chicken, and I didn't taste anything special about it. Bottom line, it has a nice layout that's date friendly but I wouldn't return to JCT Kitchen on my dollar.

• Pros: The ambience
• Cons: Average food & bad service

Southern farmstead cuisine flourishes in booming West Midtown.

by Contributor

Chef-owner Ford Fry has brought his version of New Southern cuisine to Atlanta's trendy Westside. Located in the space that once housed Commune and Sampan, the restaurant has a more casual vibe than its predecessors. The scene sure is cozy but it's the food -shrimp and grits, fried chicken, sweet corn soup and a modern version of chicken and dumplings that changes with the seasons - that has even the most jaded foodie hipster going back for seconds.

High Marks
"I've never been to a restaurant that could even TRY and compete with my daddy's cheesy grits. Don't tell dad... but these were almost just as good." (chason, Citysearch user)

"The overall experience was pure comfort food, with a new Southern twist." (jaymaygm, Citysearch user)

"Winelist: delightful. A good range of varietals and good to see the choices extend beyond the typical retail presence." (therestaurant critic, Citysearch user)

"...the coconut cake, which was more like a Tres Leche cake, was out of this world..." (stephaniefr, Citysearch user)

Low Marks
"...the waiters never come back to the table to determine whether the orders are right or cooked properly." (atllawgirl, Citysearch user)

"...wine is highly over priced and the restaurant has a HUGE problem with noise." (natp, Citysearch user)

"On my last trip, my reservation wasn't honored and I ultimately left after 30 minutes of waiting." (westside404, Citysearch user)

"Portions tend to be very small." (potterk, Citysearch user)

05/02/08

Three visits, three bad experiences.

by atllawgirl

After three visits to JCT and three horrible customer service experiences, I simply will not go back. I've visted at lunch and gotten terrible service, on a Saturday night and gotten terrible service, and Friday night with a reservation and gotten terrible service (see a pattern?). In particular, the waiters never come back to the table to determine whether the orders are right or cooked properly. On the visit for which I had a reservation, we had to wait over an hour to get our table. Neither the waitstaff or the management actually cared that we had gone to the trouble of making a reservation and had to wait so long. The food at JCT Kitchen is certainly delicious, but you can get similar food at South City Kitchen--and the service is always impeccable. Save your sanity and get your gourmet Southern food fix elsewhere.

• Pros: Delicious Food
• Cons: Rude waitstaff, overpriced, loud