The top five spring restaurant openings from around Atlanta

Rough Draft Editor in Chief and Dining Editor Beth McKibben offers her picks for the top five spring restaurant openings of It s the second batch of new restaurants she s watching closely this year and will continue to monitor each restaurant s progress over the coming months These restaurants join her previous picks for the top five winter restaurant openings of including Arepa Grill and Kitchen in Roswell Yuji on the Eastside Beltline Heaps in Decatur Madeira Park in Poncey-Highland and Fawn in Decatur Sammy s Northside Dr Adair Park Samuel sandwich with pastrami with coleslaw and mustard on toasted rye Courtesy of Kelly Irwin Located at Abrams Fixtures on Northside Drive Sammy s opens early in the morning for breakfast sandwiches and coffee before shifting to lunchtime sandwich options in the afternoon And while the sandwich shop is only open until p m on weekdays Furst and Pinner plan to expand those hours into the evening this summer and add weekend brunch Cocktails are also in the works as is providing space for chefs to pop up during off days at the sandwich shop Side Saddle Wine Saloon - Hamilton Ave Boulevard Heights Courtesy of Rebecca Carmen Backed by Finca to Filter coffee shop s Kayla Bellman Side Saddle brings the Southeast Beltline trail a natural wine bar with food from veteran Atlanta chef Carla Fears Fears isn t afraid to push boundaries when it comes to flavors and techniques so the menu features everything from antipasti of olives and vegetables brined and pickled in-house local charcuterie and hearty seasonal salads to confit chicken wings a cheeseburger and a Monte Cristo PB J Side Saddle heavily features wine and spirits produced by women people of color and small estates and distilleries focusing on sustainable and low-intervention production Bulk wines by the glass average around Communidad Taqueria and Industry Highland Ave Old Fourth Ward Provided by Communidad ATL Chef Nick Melvin opened Communidad Taqueria and Sector in June in the old Highland Bakery space The Tex-Mex restaurant and sector serves an all-day menu of tacos burritos and margaritas along with Mexican pastries and breads such as conchas and generous slices of cake from Teresa Finney of At Heart Panaderia There s plenty of seating here including at tables the bar and outside on the sidewalk and small front patio which includes a garden where Melvin and his association grow fresh herbs to use at the restaurant While tacos and burritos are reliably the move at Communidad Beth also highly recommends the chilaquiles Laghman Express - Windward Plaza Alpharetta Photo by Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow South New York City-based Uzbek-Uyghur restaurant Laghman Express opened off of Windward Parkway in Alpharetta earlier this spring and is already drawing crowds The halal restaurant features dishes from the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan including hand-pulled noodles wontons lamb-stuffed manti dumplings savory naan and grilled meat and rice entrees Try the Moroccan tea utility Check out the story on Laghman Express published in South a news publication dedicated to Metro Atlanta s immigrant and refugee communities Phew s Pies The Municipal Sphere Edgewood Ave Sweet Auburn Provided by Phew s Pies Credit Phew's Pies The wildly popular pizza delivery operation owned by Matthew Phew Foster opened as a food stall at Sweet Auburn Curb Territory in May Here Foster leans into Atlanta with the flavors for his pizzas like a lemon pepper wet pie topped with lemon pepper wet wings and an oxtail and ricotta cheese pizza topped with stewed carrots butter beans green and yellow onions and Scotch Bonnet Foster definitively landed a more permanent spot for his roving pizza operation which he tirelessly ran as a pop-up delivery facility on Atlanta s west side for years The post The top five spring restaurant openings from around Atlanta appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta