The Best Spot For Innovative Barbecue In Atlanta

Chef Todd Richards has a long history in Atlanta and I've got a long history of loving his work. From Richards' Southern Fried to The Pig and the Pearl to Soul, his restaurants always focus on innovating Southern classics. His new restaurant in McDonough takes this to the extreme, blending old-school barbecue with high-end tasting menus to create one of the most unforgettable meals of my life.

On the outside, Que-Riosity doesn't seem like much. It's built like many of the rectangular rooms you'd find in a strip mall or shopping plaza and devoid of any artifice. But stepping inside, you can immediately tell it's a Richards business. The minimalist but upscale decor, representative of his time as Executive Chef at White Oak, combines with the sounds of a Richard Pryor movie playing above the bar for a truly unique ambiance. The bar, while lovely, is a well-designed work station rather than a showy center piece and you can see the reflection of the local art on the walls in the well-polished surface of every table.

Like any Southern restaurant, the service is not only quick and efficient, but also outstandingly friendly. Our server was quick to explain why this red was paired with the deviled eggs or how the following white was meant to provide a dichotomy against the richness of the smoked chicken. All in all, every step of the meal blended perfectly to create an experience that was so uniquely Todd Richards'. 

Soul food is often pigeonholed to make you expect loads of butter, salt, and fried food. While Chef Richards never shies away from the down-home comforts that release all those happy chemicals in your brain, he's also one of the biggest proponents that soul food can be innovative, upscale, yet still accessible. 

The seven-course chef tasting menu at Que-Riosity is as enlightening as it is delicious and at $120 a person, we got more than our money's worth. My favorite old school barbecue dish, fried okra, was delicate but hearty, wrapped in a thoroughly spiced breading and served with a "caviar" of its own seeds. The chicken was the best I've ever had, perfectly blending spices, smoke, and tenderness, and served with a decadently rich mac and cheese and white sauce rich with seasonings and creamy textures.

If there's one longstanding myth about caviar, it's that it must be expensive to be worthwhile. But the way the smear I licked from the back of my hand blended it's homey, earthy flavors with the champagne's notes of daisy and honey made it taste like a mouthful of my grandma's garden. Que-Riosity's bacon jam was as flavorful as the best pancetta, suspended in a richly sweet sauce, served atop a delicate deviled egg, and presented with pickled red onion. Overall, an experience at Que-Riosity is learning how incredible even the simplest comfort food can be, whether it's served alongside expensive caviars or just prepared with extreme skill.