Be still my beating heart. The restaurant that taught me what fresh New England seafood is all about is coming to Atlanta – just around the corner from my office. Yes, Legal Sea Foods, that 50+ year-old institution begun by a nice Jewish family in Boston, is expanding to the A-T-L. Joining franchise locations in Florida and the D.C. area, the 9,000 square-foot restaurant will anchor the still-under-construction Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium – and no, whale shark nor beluga whale is expected to be in the menu. If I were one of the Alaskan King Crabs, I might be nervous however. I have such fond memories of going to the Chestnut Hill Legals when I was at Brandeis, from the ‘men only’ dinner my dad and I shared when he drove me to Waltham from Savannah for my freshman orientation week to the ‘impress the girlfriend’ dinner where my meager credit card limit had already been exceeded, resulting in a hasty sprint down to the mall to retrieve some cash from an ATM. I can already taste the steamers, chowder and yes, the belly-included fried clams. The only negative – opening is not expected until NEXT winter. I’ll be biding my time until then.
