Margit's Southeast Restaurant Highlights
By Margit Bisztray, Food Critic

Happy summer to all our readers and viewers! I am writing this from Norway, where my mother is from and where I go every summer. So far, early July has been rainy. Hope it’s better where you are!

If you are in Atlanta these days, let me tell you about two restaurants I recently discovered that are definitely worth a visit. One is JCT (it’s behind Bacchanalia in an old railway “junction” but it’s pronounced like the three letters: J, C, T). This place does fresh updates of Southern cuisine. Yes, this subject was a recent top 5 pick of mine, and I only wish this place had been open then! Amazing pulled pork sandwich, fantastic soups (like a corn that is outstanding), best fries anywhere. Basically, anything on the menu there is superlative. They even have freshly squeezed lemonade: a personal standard of mine. You’ll find a light, inviting dining room (I hate to say it but “very Martha Stewart”).

Another one in Atlanta is Repast. This is in Midtown (sorry, I can’t tell you exactly where, but you can Google it) kind of halfway underground. It’s owned by a husband and wife team, she’s half Japanese, and it’s a truly original place with a menu full of surprises and freshness that is very seasonal. I had a trout dish there that was unbelievable, and their ice cream is a wonder. Get this: kalamata olive and white chocolate ice cream. I couldn’t stop eating it because every bite seemed impossible.

In Myrtle Beach, I found a little place south of Pawley’s Island called Chive Blossom. It’s very homey and casual, with little tables indoors and out and a partition separating the dining room from a shop that’s only open in the daytime. This is what I would call a Foodie Find: shrimp stuffed dumplings with Asian dipping sauce, pan seared scallops with grilled fennel mandarin oranges, mango and pistachio encrusted grouper and, my favorite, a scallop cake in a toasty golden crust.

If you’re heading to Key West, Banana Café has started dinner, and French-born chef Dominick Falkner (formerly of Sunset Key) has a salmon appetizer that is outstanding, with juniper berry oil…yum. Try it. The scallop entrée is fantastic, and for dessert try his cheese plates. He offers the best cheeses in town, with a side of sweet tomato jam and date bread.

Up there on the Emerald Coast, there is LOTS going on. You’ve probably tried Stinky’s Fish Camp already, right? That’s where chef/owner Jim Richard (of the Lake Place and Zampieri’s) is offering quite simply the best fish selection in the area––not only the best quality but the greatest variety (rivaled only by Captain Anderson’s). He gives his dishes a Louisiana twist, serving a mean catfish, New Orleans style BBQ shrimp and crawfish hush puppies. Yeow! I had a dreamy pumpkin swordfish with a side of brabon potatoes, and never mind the rustic environment, that was first class dining. Another very fun place to try if you haven’t gotten there yet is Trader Vic’s. Watch out for those cocktails: they are powerful. I could do cocktails and appetizers there several times a week.

It was GREAT to get back to New Orleans this summer. John Besh had just opened , reviving the working class brasseries of old New Orleans. A fresh seafood tower, a “croque monsieur” (grilled ham and cheese sandwich) and a house-brewed beer…you get the picture. John Besh is full of love and enthusiasm for his city and for food, and it shows in every detail of his restaurants. While we were there, his cookbook was being shot, so look for that soon!

I wish you many great meals, and feel free to send me YOUR dining tips: Margit.Bisztray@TripSmarter.Com.