The tasting menu Atlanta argues about, settled

You hear two things about The Grey Hearth before you go: that it's impossible to book, and that it's not worth the effort. The first is true. The second is wrong.

Everything comes off the hearth — even dessert — and the kitchen has the discipline to let smoke be a seasoning instead of a personality. The smoked catfish with field peas is the course I'm still thinking about a month later: three bites, perfectly judged, gone too fast. Cornbread arrives as a single dark-crusted wedge with cultured butter and sorghum, and it's better than it has any right to be.

Service walks the line between polished and warm — our server talked us out of a wine we'd have regretted and into a Georgia pét-nat we brought home two bottles of. Nine courses ran just over two hours, which is the right length; nobody needs the four-hour version of this meal.

At $145 before wine it isn't a casual night, but for a tasting menu of this quality it's honest money. Book the 8:30 seating — the room gets its candlelit magic once the sun is fully down.