The best meal I ate in Atlanta

was at Gunshow, as I mentioned in an earlier post from DragonCon.  Chef Kevin Gillespie and his team have created a superb restaurant based on an unusual concept:  The chefs who cook your dishes bring them to you and explain them. 

After you sit down, a server hands you a menu.

Click an image to see a larger version.

You choose something, and the person who brought it to you adds hash marks to the menu.  As you can see on the one above, at this point we had ordered four beverages and one dish, the incredibly delicious tuna tartare with egg.

No, I'm not going to show you our menu at the end, because the number of dishes we tried was downright embarrassing. 

You don't actually order anything other than beverages off the menu.  A chef wanders by with a few dishes he or she has just cooked.  If you like it, you take it--and the chef puts another hash mark on your menu.  It's a delightful way to eat, because you get to talk to the creator of each dish and learn about that dish. 

I have to mention the "Steak frites made by a French guy," which was as good a version of this venerable dish as I have ever tasted.

The chef leaned over, presented the dish, and said, "Would you like to try the steak frites? I'm the French guy."  Everything about this dish was perfect.

The restaurant was hopping when we were there, loud and happy and full of life.

Every single person who worked there seemed glad to be there and invested in what she or he was doing.

The atmosphere was contagious; I found myself smiling all the time and just happy to be there. 

Every single dish was delicious. 

Great food, great people, and a wonderful vibe; Gunshow has it all.  I recommend it highly and without reservation.