Celebrity Chef Richard Blais' Restaurant

With Bravo's Top Chef All-Stars winner Richard Blais at the helm, The Spence — one of Atlanta's top eateries— recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

Since day one, food (as one might expect) has never been the issue at the home of the best Juicy Lucy (stuffed with cheese) burger in town. That's because when it comes to food, Blais has mastered the type of creativity only possible from an innate food lover. And while all chefs are good to a degree, only those on the upper echelon have the je ne sais quoi for food that Blais has.

In the South, pork reigns. So, if you love flavorful, well-seasoned pork ribs of any cut, you'll find them a dime a dozen throughout the South. As for beef ribs, there's a different story to be told. Oftentimes the meat shows up devoid of flavor, in a puddle of some sort of sauce. Enter The Spence...

Request a table outdoors in the courtyard area and pray that it's not too humid. Begin the evening with a craft drink such as Knife at a Fistfight. With rye, crème de violette, chocolate bitters, and Amaro Abano, it's rich and crisp, yet light and smooth on the palate with a sweet exotic finish. While perusing the menu, salted and buttered warm rolls by Holeman & Finch are served with a coconut cream spread that is simply insatiable and obviously not the restaurant norm. Here's what to get when you go:

Starters
On this season's ever-changing menu, you could discover such starters as smoked beets with fresh and compressed pineapple, fresh ricotta, hazelnuts, and radish slices. When everything is tasted together, it feels like a party inside the mouth, where everyone is dancing to the same beat.

Who in the world would envision the combination of bone marrow with tuna tartare and fried quail eggs? But when placed atop grilled, buttered sourdough bread, there is just one word to describe it: INCREDIBLE! Blais even threw in some capers to cut any greasiness from the richness of marrow. It was simply brilliant!

Sashimi of snapper, with nori, sushi rice, and ginger beans, is a totally deconstructed dish that will blow your mind. Balls of sushi rice are fried to create a slightly crispy coating. The rolled snapper is so fresh on its own, but then with the bits of ginger on top is simply heavenly to the taste buds.

Foie gras terrine with Texas toast and candied pecans includes a purée of mamey fruit — a rare-to-the-U.S. tropical fruit that grows on trees resembling the Southern magnolia and tastes similar to apricot or red raspberry. The richness of the foie and the hearty density of the challah bread that has been lightly toasted make for yet another, "wow" moment.

Entrée
Try the short rib with onion rings and salsa verde that can be cut with a fork with yet has the redness of corned beef. Served in a puddle of a rich reduction and with a few haricot verts on the side, it was a blast of flavor in every bite.

Sides
Buttered turnips that are lightly browned and lightly salted with a sprinkle of chives have a very French ring. Fried Brussels sprouts with shallots are caramelized and offset with a Thai vinaigrette that will take your taste buds on an Asian escapade.

Dessert
Simply divine is a good descriptor of the gluten-free warm chocolate cake served with honey ice cream and almond brittle. Best of all, the portion size of this not-too-dense cake was perfect enough to eat alone, without any feelings of guilt due to decadence.

As restaurants come and go, if Blais is on top of the menu, it's here to stay.