Chef Ford Fry Previews New Atlanta Restaurant In New York City

This week, chef Ford Fry, the force behind powerhouse Atlanta restaurants The Optimist, JCT Kitchen, and No. 246, took over the kitchen at "culinary salon" City Grit to preview the menu for his next Atlanta endeavor, King + Duke, which will be opening soon in the city's Buckhead neighborhood.

The seafood-forward The Optimist was named "Best New Restaurant" by Esquire Magazine last year, and Fry has been making waves with his unique brand of Southern farmstead cooking. Here was the menu:

1st Course: Amuse
Timmy Stubbs Brunswick shrimp "pan roast," sunchokes, pickled Ellijay apples
2nd Course: Roasted Beets
Local coal-roasted beets and oak grilled carrots, smoked Robiola cheese, Meyer lemon meringue
3rd Course: North Georgia Trout
North Georgia trout, Joe's bacon, crispy potato salad, smoked roe, brown butter vinaigrette
4th Course: Slow-Roasted Shortrib
Rib-eye wood-roast, slow-smoked short rib, mushroom of the moment, black cabbage
5th Course: Meyer Lemon Parfait
Meyer lemon parfait, confit zest, buttered ice box cookies

The restaurant's emphasis will be on a large wood-burning oven, and most of the dishes served at the dinner spent time over an open fire (or, in the case of the beets, buried under hot coal). Fry has brought on Joe Schafer (at left in the photo) to serve as executive chef, and the restaurant is scheduled to open in April.