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More than anything, Ormsby’s is an entertaining place. The new Westside tavern has the sub-rosa aura of a speakeasy and the easygoing conviviality of a neighborhood hangout. Longtime Atlanta bar man Warren Bruno, of Atkins Park, and former Sweetwater Brewing Co.

Little excites the mind and palate as much as a plate of really good pulled pork. And contrary to the tastes of some, there is such a thing as bad barbecue. Or maybe, as writer Bruce Haney put it, some barbecue joints are just more equal than others.

Noon Midtown takes a page from Tom Colicchio’s ’wichcraft chain of New York City-spawned gourmet sandwich shops, offering creative takes on simple breakfast and lunch classics made with high quality, local and seasonal ingredients. Chef/owner Katie Birmingham has an intriguing back story.

Set far back from what was once Old Roswell Road, Moksha’s quaint little house is not that easy to find (and takes up space in the comfortable confines that was Lickskillet), but it’s worth the effort.

The new So Ba Vietnamese Restaurant in East Atlanta Village has already caused something of a stir among dining bloggers, who tend to argue a lot about things such as authenticity and Buford Highway versus intown neighborhoods. So Ba is owned by Nhan Le, who also owns Wasabi Sushi, Wine and Saki Lounge in Castleberry Hill, and once owned the now defunct White Elephant Thai Restaurant in East Point.

As cuisines go, I have a difficult confession to make: I’ve never been a huge fan of Korean food. The delicate nature of Vietnamese cuisine, the heat of Thai, the stark stoicism of Japanese food — all have enticed me far more than this cuisine’s sturdy realm of flavor, often enhanced with fermented and preserved vegetables.

These days it seems, hotel dining runs the gamut from the simple to the sublime. Sure, there's still barbecue night at the extended-stay place. But there's also the really expensive dinner at one of the new boutique hotels that feature celebrity chefs, such as Jean Georges or Tom Colicchio.

There are few dining experiences that equal that of a true French bistro — the lace curtains, the tables that place diners often elbow-to-elbow, the escargot and coquille St. Jacques, the brusque service and chalkboard menus. Brasseries offer the same, except they are often larger, with decidedly more to offer by way of the menu and service.

Finely tuned taquerias are hardly new to Atlanta’s restaurant landscape, in spite of recent openings that make that statement seem questionable. Along with big-ticket burger spots, they are the new meat-and-threes in a city that has eschewed fine dining for the rewards of concepts far more casual and certainly less expensive.

Like barbecue and pizza, bagels inspire fervent debates among aficionados. And while Atlanta can lay claim to some really good cue joints, and recently has become home to a couple of winning za spots, stellar bagels are harder to find. But BB’s Bagels & Diner in Alpharetta has gained a loyal following among folks who stop in for the New York-style bagels, along with hearty breakfasts and deli sandwiches and burgers.

Venturing into Amalfi Ristorante in Roswell feels something like listening to the music of Frank Sinatra. There’s a nostalgic sense of going back in time to a world that’s steady and straightforward, with a touch of romantic schmaltz. Though it’s named for the Italian coastal town south of Naples, Amalfi could just as easily be in Sinatra’s hometown of Hoboken, N.

Back in October, I crafted a list of six of what I consider the best restaurants in Atlanta. I chose them because they exemplify a wholesome, sensible approach to restaurant dining, providing foods grown locally whenever possible, with a focus on sustainability and regional Southern flair.

The recently opened Hankook Taqueria takes after the current foodie craze spawned by Kogi BBQ — the roving Los Angeles vending trucks serving the flavors of Korean barbecue in Mexican-style tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Hankook is the creation of Tomas Lee, who previously worked for Buckhead Life Restaurant Group and was the chef-owner of Tomas restaurant in Norcross.

If restaurants are like families, then Amuse must have some interesting conversations around the dinner table. Charismatic family members would include restaurant veterans Arnaud Michel of Anis and Andy Alibaksh of the Cafe Diem family of casual restaurants — Après Diem, Carpe Diem, Carroll St.

Painted Table Cafe in Grant Park has been a rather puzzling place to get a bead on. The concept isn’t all that different from several other popular breakfast and lunch restaurants located in the same area, including Ria’s Bluebird, Stone Soup Kitchen, and Thumb’s Up Diner.

It crossed my mind — okay, more than crossed, absorbed — while perched on one of the plush, high banquettes at Lupe Taqueria sipping one of this new Midtown eatery’s super slurpable margaritas, that Lupe is a rather odd name for a restaurant, taqueria or no.

The old saying that the three most important things about a piece of property are location, location, location is sometimes skewed when it comes to restaurant real estate. One example is the corner space at 654 Peachtree St. Essentially situated in the same building as the Fabulous Fox, at the cusp of downtown and Midtown, it would seem to be a no-brainer spot to put a place offering decent food and drink to hungry lunch and theater crowds.

Brussels sprouts have the unworthy reputation as one of the vegetable garden’s most apprehensive occupants. As children, most of us have memories of cringing at the thought of this cruciferous vegetable’s arrival on our plates. As an adult I enjoy seeking out brussels sprouts; whenever I see them on a menu, I order them.

The name conjures an adult toy store. And on a recent evening, most of the people who entered the peculiar realm of Loving Hut in Peachtree Corners seemed to be giggling. But the strangest thing about this chain vegan restaurant is that it's the spawn of a New Age guru, who has bestowed upon herself the title of the Supreme Master Ching Hai.

The woman sitting next to me at the bar asked the bartender, “What does Iberian mean?” It’s a question many people may ask of The Iberian Pig, a new restaurant that took Sage’s spot off the square in Decatur. The bartender answered, “It refers to the Iberian Peninsula.

Dramatically located next to the busy runways of the DeKalb Peachtree Airport, the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant opened in 1985 and quickly became one of Atlanta’s quirkiest fine dining destinations. After closing for a few years, it recently underwent a round of renovations and reopened in October.

In the kitchen of Antico Pizza Napoletana, above a communal table, there is a squarely framed print of Vince Lombardi’s famous “Number One” speech. Bedside it, owner Giovanni Di Palma has placed two newer interpretations — in Italian and Spanish — for everyone who works at the Westside pizzeria to read before work each morning.

Economic hard times, blogger-fueled foodie fixations and the unstoppable burger boom — Wonderful World Burgers & More gets at all those things with its bargain-priced, Asian-influenced fast-food menu. Better yet, the Emory Village spot does it in a simple but stylish atmosphere that's friendly and efficient.

Mother had many maxims. Wash your face every night. Always wear clean underwear. Don’t scrunch your face up in a weird expression because it might get stuck that way. Always leave something on your plate. And of course, beware of men with French accents.

Thorn Tree Restaurant in Norcross is something of a crazy creative anachronism. How else to explain a place with an African safari theme that borrows the name of the legendary open-air cafe at the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, and is filled with the owner's extensive collection of hunting trophies? Big gameTexas native Lowell Douglas spent time as a hunter, guide and wildlife manager in the United States, Europe and Africa, including eight years in "the bush.