JCT Kitchen & Bar
My mom, sister and I had a girls night out last night and JCT Kitchen was the chosen place. I haven’t been in a while and was curious to see if the food has gotten “better”. I had gone a few times before when it first opened and thought the food was just okay. If anything else, I loved the decor and ambiance — floor-to-ceiling curtains that double as privacy screens, white farm tables, towels for napkins.
We started off with the Sweet Corn soup. It was smooth and velvety and had the taste of sweet corn. This is one good soup, although, I would have loved to see some kernels of corn in it. The toasted peanuts were a unique and nice touches. The Pork Belly Sliders were good but the slices of pork belly were way too small for the plump bread. They got completely overpowered by the bread after a while. Add another slice of pork belly and these would have been a winner.
JCT is famous for their fried chicken and I’ve ordered this a couple of times in the past. While my previous experiences with the fried chicken haven’t been favorable (too bland), I really wanted to find out if anything has changed. This time, it was spot on (at least, my order; my mom’s, on the other hand, was on the bland side so she didn’t like it as she likes her fried chicken to be more flavorful). The skin was crispy yet still chewy enough. The meat was moist and tender and very flavorful — all the way to the bone! The accompanying garlicky green beans were garlicky and crunchy. The huge bowl of macaroni and cheese was a lot better this time around. The cream sauce is a lot cheesier. I honestly like Chef Ford Fry’s version of fried chicken better than at Home.
My sister’s All-night-Braised Short Ribs was amazing! The short ribs were fork-tender and so flavorful. I particularly loved the assortment of vegetables that came with the dish — sweet turnips, crunchy green beans, some creamy starch that I can’t remember if it was potatoes or something else. I love this dish and would definitely order it next time.
My sister ,who has a sweet tooth, wasn’t in the mood for dessert last night (a surprise in and of itself) and I’m not really a dessert person so we both decided to forego dessert. My mom isn’t also big on dessert but she has a weakness for pistachio ice cream so she decided to taste the Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches: house-made creamy, not-too-sweet pistachio ice cream sandwiched between a pair of homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were outstanding (and that’s coming from somebody like me who doesn’t really eat dessert). It came with a demitasse of hot cocoa topped with a toasted marshmallow. This was a great dessert.
The verdict
I love Southern food and Chef Ford’s creative take on it is refreshing. I know it’s not how your momma used to make it but his take is healthier and more exciting. I really love how he uses fresh ingredients in season. I also like that the prices are friendly — they fall comfortably between inexpensive and upscale. Best of all, the casual yet modern feel make this place a great place to take friends from out-of-town for some uniquely good Southern food.
Insider tip:
Check out their cool, rooftop bar.
The scoop:
JCT Kitchen & Bar
1198 Howell Mill Rd NW
Suite 18
Atlanta, GA 30318
404-355-2252
Technorati Tags: JCT Kitchen & Bar, southern cuisine, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, Howell Mill, West Midtown, Chef Ford Fry
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3 responses so far ↓
1 JCT Kitchen Restaurant Review: Slipping Into Oblivion – Westside In Midtown, Atlanta, GA | Atlanta Restaurant Reviews | Atlanta Food Blogs | Dining in Atlanta // Jun 18, 2009 at 3:09 pm
[...] Chow Down Atlanta On JCT Kitchen (10.21.08) [...]
2 pointedview // Jan 3, 2010 at 12:59 pm
We visited JCT Kitchen about two weeks ago, and really enjoyed our meal (I had the fried chicken with macaroni and cheese; friend ordered the angry mussels). The only downside was the pacing of the service — at times too fast, and at times, too slow. They brought out the entrees while we were still enjoying our appetizers; we had told them before the meal that we wanted to order wine with dinner and we had to call their attention to that after dinner had arrived; etc. Everyone was very pleasant, and I’d still go back for the food, but the place could use a little work on timing.
3 The Quick + Dirty Dirty · What? A Weekend. // Nov 17, 2010 at 5:01 pm
[...] Ormsby’s we crossed the footbridge to JCT’s roofdeck where Scott and [...]
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