Omnivore Atlanta

Shaun Doty, owner-chef of Shaun’s in Inman Park, has enjoyed loads of favorable reviews from local critics.

Creative Loafing’s Besha Rodell gave the restaurant four stars after it opened in 2007 and Cliff Bostock writes glowingly of Doty’s cooking in this week’s CL. Similar kind words came from Atlanta Magazine.

But the AJC’s Meridith Ford (now Meridith Ford Goldman) may have been the most effusive of all. She declared in her January 2007 review that “there is no other restaurant of this caliber in Atlanta.” And it seems, at least, that a week has seldom gone by since without Goldman offering the restaurant plaudits in a blog post, a “best” this-or-that listing or even in reviews for other restaurants.

That’s why a few eyebrows were raised last month when foodies started hearing that Doty would cater at the AJC critic’s wedding party. Then, on Sept. 25, I practically choked on my chicken livers when the daily ran Goldman’s article gushing about the chefs at her reception, held at South Fulton’s elegant Serenbe community. Ice cream, she said, was provided by Doty, “who was nice enough to make my favorite appetizer from his menu, Sardinian flatbread, as well.”

In the same article, titled “Feast fit for a bride,” Goldman offered kind words (read: favorable, free publicity) for three other chefs with whom the wedding couple did business.

Read the rest of this story here.

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As Cliff mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Westside’s most popular Thai restaurant is heading east.

Spoon co-owner Sujaree Hewitt just told me she and her sister, Ain Suteeluxnaporn, plan to open Spoon Eastside in the fall. The restaurant, which will be about the same size as the Marietta Street location (except it will have a patio), will be located in the Ormewood Park shopping center (749 Moreland Ave.) that already houses the more lactose-oriented Little Azio pizza and Morelli Gourmet Ice Cream.

“I think lunch will be a little bit slower than here,” said Sujaree, whom I ran into at the original restaurant. “But dinner definitely stronger — lots of neighborhood people.”

Sujaree got an MBA at Georgia State and handles the front end, while her sister learned how to become a chef at the Atlanta Art Institute. Kid brother Wind Suteeluxanaporn (yes, he spells his last name differently) helps out.

“We’ll have to rotate” between the two stores, Sujaree said.

The menu will likely be the same simple lineup — highlighted by noodles and curries, with interchangeable meats and heat.

This sounds like a pretty good move, doesn’t it? Southeast Atlanta, like the Westside before Spoon came along, is a bit underrepresented in the Asian food department. I’d be surprised if the sisters didn’t strike the same chord they managed to hit on Marietta Street.

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