Tastemaker

Like Father, Like Son

Following in his father’s footsteps, John Metz expands his empire with the opening of The Woodall

John C. Metz grew up working in Pennsylvania restaurants owned and operated by his father, also John Metz. But he didn’t want to rely on nepotism alone, so he studied at the Culinary Institute of America, staged in Michelinstarred restaurants in Switzerland and cooked in New York’s finest kitchens, including Daniel.

In 1996, he founded Sterling Culinary Management in Atlanta, operating corporate cafes around the city. That same year, he and Thomas DiGiorgio opened Hi Life Kitchen & Cocktails in Norcross. It instilled a fire in him that he couldn’t quench. He drew attention from around the city with the fresh sushi and seafood at Aqua Blue in 2001, and today, Metz is CEO, executive chef and cofounder of 20 Marlow’s Tavern locations in Florida and Georgia.

“I love working. I work all the time,” he says. “I’m always thinking about how we can make [the restaurants] better.”

In February, Metz launched an upscale, modern, globally inspired restaurant on the Westside called The Woodall. Serving seafood, steaks and sandwiches, The Woodall is a throwback to Metz’s Hi Life days with rich textures, plush seating and

STORY: Carly Cooper PHOTO: Joann Vitelli

a welcoming patio. The name pays homage to the location with Woodall Creek running alongside the development that houses the eatery.

But Metz hasn’t forgotten where he came from. “My dad has been a great adviser and influence in my life. We talk every other day. In his career, he’s lived through it all,” he says.

We spoke to him about his work, his hobbies and his father’s influence.

What’s your day-to-day role in The Woodall, Marlow’s and Sterling Culinary Management? I run the overall company and drive quality in the culinary and beverage

FUN FACT

A NASCAR fan, Metz has been attending the Talladega race for at least 25 years.

programs. As my better half says, I’m usually in my car in between our restaurants. I like to spend my time working with culinary and management teams, talking about what drives us. Our focus is on guests; that’s my passion. I’ve been at The Woodall almost every day since it opened, supporting the team, getting to know the guests, seeing what they’re ordering, what the problems are and finding solutions for them.

How does your “better half” fit into your busy schedule? We've been together a long time, and having managed restaurants like Canoe and Aria, Roberta [Nemo] understands my hours. She also (unofficially) helps with the wine program and assists with training— whatever is needed.

How has your dad influenced your career? He’s a very driven individual and instilled a strong work ethic in me. I watched what he did with people management. He started from scratch and built a nice business. I wanted to be able to do that myself. I like being in our restaurants and learning from all the people we work with. To me, it’s not work.

What do you do for fun? Going out to eat is my favorite thing to do. I like looking for the cool, local spots that I wouldn’t have heard about if I hadn’t asked someone about their favorite local joint, like unique, hole-inthe-wall pizza places in Pennsylvania with great pasta. I arrange trips to be part of what’s happening in the food scene wherever I go. My friends know I am probably going to order every appetizer on the menu, and we are going to share it all. We order drinks and taste them all, that way we get to experience as much as we can.

I also like to waterski and snow ski. I have a ski boat on Lake Keowee in South Carolina and get up there as much as I can. n

THE WOODALL

2260 Marietta Blvd. N.W. Atlanta 30318 404.343.4424 thewoodall.com

FEATURED RESTAURANTS

A sampling of great eats in and around Buckhead

BY: Wendell Brock, Rebecca Cha and Angela Hansberger PHOTOS: Sara Hanna, Joann Vitelli

THE ALDEN

Chamblee's popularity as a residential and dining destination seems to be on the rise, and Chef Jared Hucks is here to make sure diners eat like royalty. Winning starters include a homemade bread plate with prosciutto butter and cheddar pimento cheese, silky sweet potato bisque and sashimi quality seared scallops. For mains, go with the cold smoked salmon, Moroccan-spiced shrimp and grits or the hickory smoked Brasstown coulotte steak. Desserts are deliciously unique. If you’ve got belly room to spare, be sure to witness the chef’s gastro-theatrics with the banana bread pudding service. Our favorite was the lunar chocolate, which the chef calls his “dessert moonscape.” Smaller dishes: $11-$21 Larger dishes: $23-$45 Desserts: $9-$15 Chef’s tasting menu: seven courses/$95 thealdenrestaurant.com

BABYLON CAFÉ

When Iraqi native Saad Marwad and his wife, Kelly Rafia, opened Babylon Café in 2014, the city’s foodie community started to buzz about the couple’s fresh, flavorful repertoire of Middle Eastern classics, from falafel and hummus to kebabs and baklava. While the starters are quite good—try the fattoush salad, the lentil soup and the eggplant baden-

Lemon tart with cantaloupe sorbet is a refreshing summer dessert at The Alden. The dish is finished with local honey, bee pollen and Chantilly cream. jan—the earthy, long-simmered stews are unlike anything else in town. We like the herb-based qurma sabzi with super-tender lamb shank and the bamia (okra and tomatoes) with oxtail. Don’t leave without a sip of the anise-flavored aperitif called arak and a bite of kanafeh, a sweet made of shredded phyllo, housemade sweet cheese, rose- and orange-water syrup and pistachios. Appetizers and sides: $2-$7 Entrees: $12-$20 babyloncafeatl.com

BLUE RIDGE GRILL

For more than 20 years, Blue Ridge Grill (BRG) has been a mecca for Buckhead power lunchers and chill evening diners alike. Whether for business or romance, BRG is a paragon of hospitality, and each guest is embraced like a VIP. Standard crowd-pleasers on the Euro-American menu include grilled Georgia trout, French-boned chicken with wild mushrooms and filet mignon with Vidalia onions. Small plates and sides of iron skillet mussels, Caesar salad with crisp Beeler bacon, custardlike corn soufflé and (off-menu item) fried pickles with buttermilk dipping sauce are absolute must-tries. If cost is an issue, call ahead, as menu prices are not advertised online. Lunch: $9-$42 Dinner: $13-$62 blueridgegrill.com

Enjoy gossamer slices of paper-thin prosciutto and ethereal, oil-bathed mozzarella at Forza Storico.

DAS BBQ

In 2016, Stephen Franklin had a dream to make Georgia the most “inclusive, creative barbecue experience in the country,” and that’s just what he did at DAS BBQ. Whether it’s the rosy, smoke-ringed brisket, equally pink and juicy St. Louis-style ribs or the spicy, smoked chicken wings, every bony bite is a testament to Franklin’s focus on the art and science of smoked meats. Bring the whole family and don’t pass up house-made sides of decadent cream corn, mac ’n’ cheese and stickto-your-ribs Brunswick stew. Dig into white chocolate banana pudding after if you’re willing and able. Meats (whole, half and sandwich): $7-$28, sausages $5/link Wings: $9/$18 for half dozen/dozen Side dishes (in regular, pint or quart): $3-$23 Desserts: $3-$5 dasbbq.com

FORZA STORICO

The fact that the odds of success are notoriously bleak for new restaurants doesn’t seem to have fazed Westside newcomer Forza Storico. The baby sister of Buckhead’s popular Storico Fresco, Forza Storico focuses on Roman cuisine, proffering dishes such as fried carciofo and saltimbocca with exemplary flavor and flourish. Extra-regional fare such as a breathtaking plate of San Daniele prosciutto and milky mozzarella, charry grilled octopus with Calabrian chili pesto and herb-stuffed, pan-fried branzino are well worth the trip, but one taste of Forza’s house-made chitarra arrabbiata or tonnarelli cacio e pepe, plus one of Jose Pereiro’s specialty cocktails, and you’ll instantly be transported to your favorite Roman piazza. Antipasti: $10 - $23 Pastas: $16 - $26 Salads and veggies: $7 - $10 Specials and mains: $19 - $26 Desserts: $3 - $9 storico.com

HAVEN RESTAURANT AND BAR

Haven is exactly that—a safe, inclusive place where your every gastronomic need is met. If weather permits, enjoy the serenity of patio dining while indulging your taste buds with crisp Gulf oysters, the Southern cheese board or Timmy’s wild Georgia shrimp. Or go inside and soak up the classy atmosphere while digging into seared Georges Bank scallops or spice-roast-

ed Green Circle Farms chicken, and wrap things up with a warm chocolate brownie with artisan espresso sauce. Small plates and salads: $6-$15 Entrees: $18-$38 Steaks: starting at $51 Sides and desserts: $7 havenrestaurant.com

JALISCO

After nearly three decades, Jalisco remains a giddy, guilty pleasure trip through a tunnel of cheese. This TexMex institution at Peachtree Battle is better than an El Paso taco kit, but not exactly a showcase of the sophisticated techniques and ingredients of the Mexican larder. Without apology, Jalisco is what it is, a place with consistently good, standard-issue burritos, enchiladas, fajitas and even a Hamburguesa Mexicana. (It’s topped with nacho cheese.) This is not a place where the kitchen thrives on change and creativity. For the most part, the menu is the same as it has been since Jalisco opened in 1978. Lunch specials: $5-$9 Entrees: $9-$13 404.233.9244

LA GROTTA

This four-decades-old institution is as popular today as it ever was. And that has as much to do with the generations of devotees—many of them old school Atlanta royalty—as it does with its reliable, often superlative food. Whether you begin with earthy bresaola Valtellinese, milky burrata di mozzarella fresca or verdant insalata di carciofi freschi, it’s imperative you save room for the mains, for this is where the kitchen truly shines. Silky creamsauced pastas such as penne con verdure and pappardelle con astice will become your new gastro obsession, and delectable meat dishes such as scaloppine di vitello Antonio and filetto di manzo al Barolo are best enjoyed with a bottle of fine Italian red. Appetizers and salads: $9.95-$15.95 Pastas and risottos: $10.95-$35.95 Mains: $21.95-$39.95 Desserts: $7.95-$9.95 lagrottaatlanta.com

PIG-N-CHIK

Co-owner Jim Graddy tells us he learned the art of the pit on his granddaddy’s pig farm in Manchester, Georgia. Graddy remembers cooking whole hogs all night long over hot coals, and when we tear into his pulled-pork sandwich—a delicious pile of pink, smoke-tinged meat between two thick slabs of white bread—we believe him. Graddy has proudly transported his family’s traditions to his casual Southern ’cue counter. Man, is the food good. The fresh-tasting coleslaw (with just a little mayo) and excellent new potato salad are just the things to cut the richness of the succulent pork. Some other tasty go-withs are fried okra, longcooked collards, mac and cheese and Brunswick stew. We’re sated. We’re sauce-splashed. We need a moist towelette and a nap. Entrees: $8-$24 pignchik.net

STARFISH

Starfish—which can look just a little lost on the block that houses Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch—is exactly the kind of sushi joint we have been trolling for. In a city where Japanese cuisine can be hit-or-miss and sometimes not the freshest, chef-owner Seung K. “Sam” Park’s reticent little pearl is a superior catch—cute and compact as a bento box but with just a hint of luxury. At dinner, we were delighted to see how the kitchen plays around with untraditional ingredients such as truffle oil and balsamic vinegar, slicing fish as thin as carpaccio and arranging it in dazzling presentations. When our flounder sashimi arrived, the server told us to place a dab of the ponzu jelly spiked with cilantro, jalapeño and lime on a strip of the fish and roll it up. Exquisite. Starfish isn’t the kind of place that announces itself with screaming klieg lights or red carpets. But in this culture of excess, sometimes being a little bit under-theradar can be very seductive. Lunch Entrees: $7-$16 Dinner Entrees: $12-$30 starfishatlanta.com

TRUE FOOD KITCHEN

Don’t be put off by the mobs of hipsters waiting for a table or the funky menu items with unfamiliar ingredients such as hemp, flax and chia. Though it could easily be mistaken for an ephemeral, crunchy beardo hangout, True Food Kitchen is here to stay—not just because of its good intentions and exemplary karma, but because of its tasty eats. Favorites include the shiitake lettuce cups, spring asparagus toast and the T.L.T. (tempeh, lettuce and tomato) sandwich. Good for the uninitiated are the margherita pizza, steak tacos and Mediterranean chicken pita. Recommended drinks include the non-alcoholic Cucumber Cooler and Medicine Man tea or the buzz-inducing lemongrass margarita, citrus skinny margarita and Strawberry Smash. Starters and vegetable plates: $7-$13 Salads and bowls: $10-$14 (added protein $3-$9) Pizzas and sandwiches: $12-$16 Entrees: $14-$26 truefoodkitchen.com

True Food Kitchen's Mediterranean chicken pita, egg and sausage sandwich, Moroccan chicken and shiitake lettuce cup prove that healthy doesn't need to mean boring.

La Grotta’s filetto di manzo al Barolo tenderloin, served in a Barolo-Pommery mustard sauce and topped with Gorgonzola, is a triumph of complementary flavors.

Note: Prices and menu items may have changed since original publication.

Hungry for more?

Visit the Simply Buckhead website to read all of our Restaurant Reviews!