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Midtown Atlanta’s Pacci Ristorante will be lauded as a “Best New Restaurant 2009” in the November issue of Esquire, which hits newsstands on Tuesday, October 13.

The last Atlanta restaurants to take the honor were Shaun’s and Trois (now closed), which both made the list in 2007.

“In a city with a lot of dreary Italian restaurants and precious few very good ones, Pacci sets the bar higher, and not a minute too soon,” according to Esquire food correspondent John Mariani.

In the June issue of his Virtual Gourmet newsletter, Mariani called Pacci’s Chef Keira Moritz one of the best among few women chefs in Atlanta, saying “she is serving some of the finest Italian in the city while also offering first-rate steaks and chops.”

Mariani called her pastas “outstanding” and said “her Colorado rack of lamb may well be the finest example I’ve had in Atlanta in a long time.”

Pacci was one of only 20 U.S. restaurants honored by Esquire in the 25th annual survey.