4th & Swift

It's no surprise that I love fried chicken... but I also love all things foul or food for that matter. Whether it's fried, steamed, poached, baked, braised, roasted, grilled or sauteed... I will eat chicken which ever way it's put in front of me.


4th & Swift just opened recently and the reviews have been pretty positive for chef Jay Swift's beautiful minimally designed restaurant. After a couple of weeks, I couldn't resist it anymore. I grabbed my foxy foodie gal pal and had to see what the fuss was all about. First obstacle to our meal was finding the entrance! We walked around the entire building and came back to step one. The front door was so unassuming that we thought it was a side exit. Duh?! We did comment later on that they should place a podium with a menu out front as a clear sign of the entrance. Jay even chuckled though the kitchen window when he saw us walk around outside. Ok, obstacle cleared... let's get to those chicken lips!!!

After sampling a few appetizers, the main dish of the night came. Oven roasted Amish Chicken with warm bread salad and maple vinegar jus. I got to admit, those Amish chickens are way tastier than those city chickens. Maybe it's because they don't drive... they walk everywhere, I guess it builds nice muscles and meaty flavor. The skin had a nice crisp to it but the meat remained tender and juicy. It was a beautiful piece of chicken that was cooked perfectly. The warm bread salad was more of a side note than a compliment to the dish. The big cubes of croutons got soggy pretty quickly from the jus. The maple vinegar flavor gave the chicken a nice note of sweetness but the chicken could stand on it's own. When I think of chicken dishes, they should always be simple and classic with a side of haricot vert and a starch such as buttery mashed potatoes or creamy mac & cheese. It's comfort food... it doesn't need to be introduced to too many complex flavors.

Other dishes of the night were the sweet corn soup with fried oysters, heirloom tomatoes, lasagna of braised lamb shoulder, three little pigs of loin, belly and handmade sausage with mac & cheese. For being opened only a couple weeks on my first visit, the kitchen was humming along pretty well. The dishes were well prepared, good execution and flavors were well balanced. There were more hits than misses here. I can only imagine how good it will be in a couple months.

621 North Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
(678) 904-0160

www.4thandswift.com