News You Can Eat

New Nosh

JCT Kitchen (the JCT is short for junction) is now open in the space formerly occupied by Sampan and Commune on Howell Mill Road, in the same location as Taqueria del Sol and Bacchanalia. The restaurant serves “Southern farmstead” cooking, which is basically the comfort food we all know and love, like fried chicken and fresh veggies, in a luxe upscale setting. Visit www.jctkitchen.com for more details... Thrive is now open Downtown in the Centennial Tower building at 101 Marietta St. serving an eclectic menu featuring everything from burgers to sushi. www.thriveatl.com... Here to Serve restaurant group (Prime, Twist, Shout, Noche) will open Lola Bellini Bar & Resturant in the still-under-construction Terminus building in Buckhead later this year. The concept is American-Italian cuisine... Utopia, a tapas and martini bar, is now open for lunch, dinner and the wee hours (until 4 a.m. on weekends) at 840 Marietta St. at the corner of Northside Drive. The former Cajun Kitchen is unrecognizable after a makeover from the owner of the Blue Grotto Tapas Bistros in Sandy Springs and John’s Creek... Blue Magnolia Grill – a meat and three – is now open at 2743 Lavista Road... Seasons 52 at Two Buckhead Plaza in Buckhead is now open for lunch starting at 11:30 a.m... Ted’s Montana Grill has opened a new location in Decatur at 201 West Ponce de Leon Ave. on the ground floor of the Artisan condos... Repast on Glen Iris Drive now has a new nightly prix fixe theater menu with dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. for those who don’t want to miss their show... Sweet Lodown in Midtown has a new $6 lunch menu featuring pork tacos, fried chicken and salmon...Rumor has it that another location of Trader Joe’s will open on Peachtree Road in Buckhead in the former Office Depot site. The notoriously tight-lipped company will not confirm. The locations in Sandy Springs and East Cobb are booming and renovation of the future site in Midtown Plaza continues with no opening date announced.

If you’re craving seafood from Ray’s on the River, you’ll have to put that hankering on hold until spring. The restaurant is closed for extensive remodeling, its first since opening on Powers Ferry Road more than 20 years ago... Posh is now open in the space formerly occupied by Seeger’s at 111 W. Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead. Chef Ian Winslade is top torque... Just Loaf’n, serving sandwiches and wings, has moved into the space formerly occupied by The Automatic on Boulevard near the Memorial Drive intersection.

The first Dine Around Vinings Week begins Sunday, March 4. All participating restaurants will offer a prix fixe, three-course menu, consisting of an appetizer, a main course and a dessert for $25 per person excluding alcohol, tax and gratuity. Participating restaurants include SoHo, River Room, Padriac’s, Marlow’s Tavern, Blackstone and Canoe... The nonprofit Families First, which supports local families in need, will host its annual Dining for a Difference on Thursday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. The organization will honor community members who have provided support, and actor/author Victor Rivas Rivers will be the guest speaker. Tickets are $150 per person, with proceeds benefiting the organization. www.familiesfirst.com.  

Buckhead’s NAVA has a new executive chef, Jesse Peres, replacing Tom Harvey who is now at ONE.midtown kitchen... Jeff Sedstad is the new executive chef at Sala in Virginia-Highland... Paul Wooten is the new chef at Vinocity in Midtown.

The much-ballyhooed BED restaurant in the Glenn Hotel Downtown... Jock’s and Jill’s in Brookhaven... Doc Chey’s Asian Kitchen in Vinings... Capitol Coffee on the Southside.