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Chef Kevin Gillespie Takes You To The Gunshow

By Matt Domino May 8, 2013

chef kevin gillespie takes you to the gunshow — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Gunshow is one of the newest restaurants in Atlanta. How new? Well, it’s Grand Opening is this evening, so you can probably figure the rest out for yourself.

The restaurant is the latest undertaking for chef Kevin Gillespie. Kevin is known by culinary connoisseurs all over the country; but if you are not familiar with Chef Gillespie, you might recognize him from Top Chef: Las Vegas, where his unique approaches to pork (among other ingredients) helped guide him to the finals of the competition.

At Gunshow, Chef Gillespie will be creating cuisine that is equally inspired by Brazilian churrascaria-style dining as well as Chinese dim sum. Because Kevin is affiliated with such forward thinking organizations at the Southern Foodways Alliance, Slow Food Atlanta and Georgia Organics, he and his staff will be featuring nothing but “seasonal, rustic-to-refined” creations on their menu, which will change from week to week. The restaurant is open for dinner from Tuesday through Saturday and new menus for the upcoming week will post online every Sunday evening.

If the first posted menu is any indicator, Gunshow’s cuisine and aesthetic will be unique. For example, dishes for this week include Rabbit, Taken Apart and Put Back Together, House Smoked Trout aka Swedish Picnic, and Pork Skin Risotto. You can also finish dinner with a dessert such as Andreas Made Something Out of Chocolate or Strawberry Cheesecake (Re-Imagined). And you can pair your meal with a wide selection of wines that range from Red White #1 to White Wine #4. Though, maybe you’d just like a bottle of Beer #3 instead.

Chef Gillespie isn’t simply about pushing food to creative new places and adding a bit of playfulness to his menu—he is also about a sense of community and celebrating the city of Atlanta. Kevin is an Atlanta native and started his culinary education at the Art Institute of Atlanta. Gunshow is located in the Glenwood Park neighborhood of the city, which is where Chef Gillespie and his family actually reside. And Gunshow takes its name from the gun shows that Kevin’s father would take him to as a child on the rare Sundays when the elder Gillespie didn’t have to work.

So, in the end, Gunshow is a mixture of cutting edge concepts, considerate flavors and a bit of Southern home comfort—kind of like it’s creator.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Matt Domino is a writer living in Brooklyn. His fiction has appeared in Slice and The Montreal Review, while his non-fiction…

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