accessAtlanta

Inviting retro vibe blends well with a new take on bistro dining, but inventive combos sometimes jar rather than excite

I AM SOPPING WET, head to toe, drenched in a downpour. The time I spent putting a cute "That Girl" flip into my 'do was a total waste. But wait a minute — there's a cute guy at the bar and dear friends on the way. I ponder what to drink as I start a conversation with the bartender, who is a little miffed at being stiffed by a couple who transferred the tab to their table and didn't bother leaving a tip.

Joey Ivansco/Staff (ENLARGE)
Eclipse di Sol dispenses warm hospitality and refreshingly cool cucumber and yogurt soup, zinged up by mint with basil.
Joey Ivansco/Staff (ENLARGE)
The crab cake with citrus and fennel delicately balances flavors, while the grapefruit martini gives a citrus burst.
Joey Ivansco/Staff (ENLARGE)
Grapefruit martini
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NEW STAR SYSTEM STARTS AUG. 11 With the rollout of a new online database, accessAtlanta will change its star ratings Aug. 11 so that print and online versions are the same. The new system will rate restaurants based on five stars, rather than the current four stars. Restaurants already rated by AJC dining critic Meridith Ford (and those rated by former critic John Kessler) will not change their rating status, just the number of stars. The stars will convert as follows: • Restaurants formerly rated poor receive no stars • Restaurants formerly rated fair receive one star • Restaurants formerly rated one star receive two stars • Restaurants formerly rated two stars receive three stars • Restaurants formerly rated three stars receive four stars • Restaurants formerly rated four stars receive five stars (For example, Nam in Midtown had three stars under the old system; now it will have four. The Food Studio, recently reviewed with two stars, now will have three.) Restaurants that have been visited at least once by a critic but not rated are listed as NOT RATED. KEY TO RATINGS Outstanding: Sets the standard for fine dining in the region. Excellent: One of the best in the Atlanta area. Very good: Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining. Good: A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss. Fair: The food is more miss than hit. Restaurants that do not meet these criteria are rated Poor. Pricing code: $$$$ means above $35; $$$ means $20-$35; $$ means $10-$20; $ means $10 or less. ® means reservations accepted.

"I don't feel like being mad right now," he quips. "So who cares?"

This laissez-faire attitude permeates the atmosphere at Eclipse di Sol, a new neighborhood eatery in Poncey-Highland that is sister to tapas-rocker Eclipse di Luna.

I decide on one of the house drinks, a grapefruit-and-rosewater martini, the glass rimmed with sugar. It tastes like the fresh grapefruit I ate as a kid, cut in half and sprinkled with sugar and without the vodka (I think). If the restaurant's retro funk and weird art don't get you in a live-and-let-live mood, this drink will.

Those heading to Eclipse di Sol looking for the thrill-seeking mojito madness at Eclipse di Luna may be disappointed or, at the least, chagrined.

Oh, the comparison can certainly be drawn, especially since di Sol is owned by James Ehrlich, who co-owns di Luna. But the new restaurant is like Luna on 'ludes. The vibe just never seems to catch on.

OK, enough of contrasting the two. If you take Eclipse di Sol on its own terms, executive chef Patti Roth's (formerly of Luxe and briefly Alon's) menu offers some interesting twists on bistro dining. But she makes enough wrong turns to make Eclipse di Sol the kind of restaurant that is perfect for its neighborhood, but not the kind for which I would venture far from home.

A breakfast of beignets that resemble doughnut holes, as well as poached eggs with prosciutto, is served all day. But the crux of the menu lies in a mumbo jumbo mix of Mediterranean and Southern ingredients brought forth in clever disguises like a black-eyed-pea croquette and a shrimp sandwich with fried green tomatoes slathered with a tarragon remoulade.

Sometimes this star-crossed menu marriage works. The shrimp sandwich, despite being served on a despicable round of stale pita, is a crunchy blend of sweet and tart, the shrimp and tomatoes a perfect foil for the overwrought remoulade.

Often it doesn't work. Panino layered with roasted pork and prosciutto suffers from an identity crisis with Swiss cheese and pickles. Is it a panino? Is it a Cuban? It doesn't know and neither do I. Likewise with trout stuffed with prosciutto over a weird white bean ragout (seems more like hummus, but honestly doesn't come too close to being either) and a mound of acrid-tasting wilted arugula.

Setting her steamer to a hunk of greens usually turns out tasty for Roth. Braised collards under an odd but deliciously juicy, tender slab of pork shoulder are lusciously tart, not bitter. Wilted spinach under that black-eyed- pea croquette is doused with a pungent, warm bacon vinaigrette with lots of perky punch.

What happens most often is a hostile takeover from the flavor board in most of Roth's dishes: A bit of tarragon goes way too far; thyme overtakes a mushroom turnover; fennel shows up everywhere, whether it should be invited or not.

She does best when balancing flavors delicately, as in a feathery crab cake with orange and shards of fennel, or combining mint with basil in a refreshingly cold cucumber-and-yogurt soup.

Desserts possess the same asymmetrical heavy-handedness. Key Lime pie is weighed down by too much meringue and not enough filling. And too much ginger in the crust. Pineapple upside-down cake sinks under the weight of a granola-ish mix of grains and nuts as a garnish and no soul to the cake. A hot chocolate cake-y thing-y fares no better than any of the other dozens of hot chocolate cake-y thing-ies found anywhere in the city.

Yet Eclipse di Sol is crowded most of the time, especially in the evenings. The relaxed atmosphere of scattered farmhouse tables and loud art combined with acceptable, if not exceptional, food are a viable draw, filling a niche the neighborhood apparently needed. It's my hope that as Roth digs deeper into her duties, some of the kitchen's kinks will get ironed out.

KEY TO RATINGS
Outstanding. Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.
Excellent. One of the best in the Atlanta area.
Very good. Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.
Good. A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss.
• Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Fair or Poor.

Pricing code: $$$$ means above $35; $$$ means $20-$35; $$ means $10-$20; $ means $10 or less. ® means reservations accepted.