Description
Perhaps more than any restaurant in recent memory, the setting of Fearing's-locked in the Ritz Carlton, honed by the Johnson studio of Atlanta into a set of distinct design chapters in the Fearing's drama-is as critical to the experience as the mopped rib eye on the plate. Question: Does the apricot barbecue-glazed bobwhite quail taste the same in the Rattlesnake Bar as it does in the Sendero? Or do the Rattlesnake's leathers, inky caramel mahogany, ranch-regal couches and chairs, and wild Cadillac ambiance add a raciness to the bird while the glassed glow and wicker of the terrarium-ish Sondero animate it with Gaian reverence? And would a honey/chili-lacquered duck breast (sunny side-up quail egg) smell as sweet in the outdoor Live Oak bar (shade trees included) as it would in the Oscaso with its water features purring bubbles to its putting-green manicured landscape? Or in the frosted-glass coddled Wine Cellar with its vaulted stone ceiling and dining table carved from a single, huggable oak? Say this for Fearing: his highly modular restaurant couples with his menu to make for a ravenous feast for the senses unlike any other.
