So you didn’t step up your game this year to train for the AJC Peachtree Road Race.
That doesn’t mean you can’t watch the race on July Fourth — with beer or bloody mary in hand — from the comfort of an air-conditioned restaurant.
Here are some spots along the race route that will be open for your viewing — and eating — pleasure. And, if you can’t make it off the couch, you can also stream the race at !
More details at the link in our bio! 🏃♂️➡️🍽️
✒️: Olivia Wakim | AJC
#peachtreeroadrace#ajc#atlantafood#fourthofjuly
Casa Balam is loud, and there’s no getting around it.
The restaurant’s beautiful design is both an asset and a problem. The walls and central columns of the dining room are coated in an earth-toned traditional Mexican form of stucco. The bar’s backsplash uses colorful tiles. Casual but modern wood tables are grouped closely together.
Nearly every design choice involves hard, sound-reflecting materials, and when the restaurant fills up, the din is loud enough to create communication problems.
And Casa Balam, the newest restaurant from chef Luis Damian’s Mi Casa Tu Casa Hospitality Group, does fill up, because it’s vibrant, fun and has good food.
Read the full review at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 🇲🇽❤️🎉
📸: @casabalamatl
✏️: @henrihollis#casabalam#mexicanfood#decatur#decaturga#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Nearly a year after announcing plans to turn his popular Atlanta pop-up Gene’s into a brick-and-mortar, Avery Cottrell is almost ready to open his first restaurant.
Gene’s is set to open in mid-July at 2371 Hosea L. Williams Drive in the Hosea + 2nd development in Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood.
The menu at Gene’s, which is named for Cottrell’s 35-pound pet cat who he calls “my muse,” is built around meats smoked on-site in a bubble-gum pink, 1,000-gallon offset smoker made by Cumming company Primitive Pit.
In addition to barbecue plates, keep an eye out for dishes like crab claws marinated in chili vinegar, herbs and shallots; egg rolls stuffed with boudin; and Philly cheesesteaks with jalapeño cheese and pickled chilis on TGM bread. And don’t forget the frozen drinks and Jell-O shots, plus Christmas lights and a 20-foot alligator.
“We achieved a weirdo vibe in here for sure,” Cottrell said. “We wanted to offer a space that was pretty unique for Atlanta, and I think we achieved that goal.”
Read more at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 🎉❤️💯
📸: @_genesgenesgenes_
✏️: @yvonnez#genes#genesatl#genesatlanta#barbecue#bbq#atlbbq#atlbarbecue#eastlake#eastlakeatlanta#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Chef residency program Brick and Mortar will take over the Dailies & Sides space at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood this summer.
Brick and Mortar was developed following the success of Pullman Yard’s Chefs Market and Bazaar, Pullman Yards co-owner Adam Rosenfelt said. The markets feature burgeoning food vendors and have been the breeding ground for successful eateries like Zarate at Dailies, which will remain open on the Dailies & Sides patio at Pullman Yards.
“We realized the impact (the market) was having on the independent vendor or the aspirational restaurant,” Rosenfelt told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Read more at AJC.com (🔗 in bio)
📸: @prattpullmandistrict
✏️: @wakim.writes#pullmanyards#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Chalk it up to twin sixth sense, or a lifetime of experiences in the kitchen. But when twin sisters Chelsea and Kelsea Caldwell appear around metro Atlanta with their Twin Tacos pop-up, the pair are so in sync, they barely have to talk to know what the other is doing.
“Sometimes Chelsea will start on the grill and I’ll switch in, or she’ll be on one side and I’ll be on the other, putting toppings on,” Kelsea said. “It’s like an assembly line.”
The Lithonia natives have come a long way since their first event in 2022 in front of their cousin’s smoke shop on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta’s Edgewood neighborhood. The sisters opened a ghost kitchen late last year on Pleasantdale Road that operates Tuesdays-Fridays, and pop up on the weekends with Twin Tacos at venues and events around town, including Pullman Yards in Kirkwood.
Read more at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 🌮🇲🇽❤️
📸: @twintacos_atl
✏️: @yvonnez#twintacos#tacos#birria#birriatacos#mexicanfood#popups#atlpopupshop#atlpopupshops#atlpopup#atlpopups#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Nino’s Italian Restaurant opened in 1968 and has been owned by Antonio Noviello’s family since 1982.
Nowadays, Noviello’s daughter, Alessandra Noviello Hayes, and her chef husband, Micah Hayes, operate the restaurant and recently have added a new window-lined bar space.
“I grew up in the business,” Noviello Hayes said. “I started working the hostess stand when I was 14. When I was about 18, I started managing. Essentially, I’ve been in the building my whole life, so our regular customers have seen me grow up, and they’ve seen my children grow up.”
The original part of Nino’s mostly has stayed the same. It includes a wine cellar, a space for private dinners and a patio. The core menu hasn’t changed much over the years, either.
Read more about Nino’s at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 🇮🇹🍝❤️🎉
📸: @ninosatlanta / @drewfurr.co
✏️: @bobtajc#ninos#ninositalianrestaurant#ninosatl#italianfood#italian#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Are you hankering for a unique and elevated dining experience? Look no further than Savannah’s The Grey.
Diners shouldn’t come to the Grey because of its many accolades. They should come for Bailey’s menu, which both honors and extends Southern food traditions.
In addition to dinner six nights a week, the Grey also has a Sunday brunch featuring live music. Warning: Reservations should be booked well in advance.
Learn more and dig in at the link in our bio.🍴
A marker in front of 302 Auburn Ave. in Atlanta explains that this block of the historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood once was called Soul Food Row and was home to such restaurants as Elise Walkers, Muckle’s Grill, Hawk’s Dinette and Ma Sutton’s. Auburn Avenue Rib Shack had a 30-year run at the 302 address before shutting down in 1994, followed by Thelma’s Kitchen and Rib Shack, which closed in 2014.
Four years later, the building was purchased by local restaurateur Asa Fain. A yearslong restoration doubled the size to 4,000 square feet and added a covered patio, while also preserving reminders of the past: exposed original walls and an old grill pit near the entrance, now surrounded by foliage.
After sitting dormant for a decade, the corner space on Soul Food Row has been reborn as Auburn Angel.
The soul behind the food is veteran chef and restaurant consultant Robbie Pacheco, whose resume includes Cardamom Hill, Restaurant 365, Wildleaf, Country Club of the South and White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails, as well as Fain’s Apache Cafe on Marietta Street.
Read our full review at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 😇🎉❤️
📸: @ligayafigueras and @auburnangelatl
✏️: @ligayafigueras#auburnangel#auburnangelatl#sweetauburn#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Stalls serving tacos, shawarma, loaded fries, burgers, coffee and seafood have been announced for Roswell Junction, a food hall and entertainment center opening in Roswell at the end of the summer.
The 12,000-square-foot development, located at 340 S. Atlanta St. on the former Atlanta Street Baptist Church site, will house eight food stalls and three bars. It is set to open in time for Labor Day weekend.
In addition to the food stalls and bars, the development will feature an outdoor bar with live music, a fenced dog park and a 2,400-square-foot patio with a retractable awning and outdoor games. There will also be TVs and a stage for musical performances.
Read more at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 🎉
📸: Polara Capital
✏️: @wakim.writes#roswelljunction#roswell#roswellga#foodhalls#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
Anne Onyeneho adopted a plant-based diet in 2018 after her sister developed fibroids and she started focusing on her own health. She started documenting the changes in her diet, including vegan recipes she developed, and realized she had the makings of a book that could serve as both a cookbook and an educational resource.
In 2021, she self-published “Plantbaed,” and sold out within 72 hours. From there, Onyeneho, who previously worked as an executive for the Piedmont Healthcare system, started a meal prep and private chef service, then launched a weekly pop-up in 2022 at Zeke’s Kitchen & Bar in Smyrna (she still pops up at the Vinings Farmers Market).
All the while, Onyeneho was looking for a brick-and-mortar space to launch her own restaurant. Last week, she opened PlantBaed Cafe at 4338 Paces Ferry Road SE in Vinings.
Though she doesn’t have formal culinary training, Onyeneho said her passion for the plant-based diet coupled with growing up with her mother, who loved to cook, made her second career an ideal fit.
Read more at AJC.com (🔗 in bio) 🌱🍽️❤️
📸: @plantbaed
✏️: @yvonnez#plantbaed#plantbased#alkaline#alkalinevegan#alkalinediet#plantbaseddiet#plantbasedfood#vegan#veganfood#veganrestaurant#veganrestaurants#vinings#viningsga#viningsjubilee#atlanta#atl#weloveatl#atlantarestaurants#atlrestaurants#atlantafood#atlfood#atlantafoodie#atlfoodie#ajcdining
