🔢 Top 2025 dining stories

Table Talk Top dining stories of Dec Happy Tuesday and welcome to the table I want to kick things off with a bit of housekeeping before I dive into in the present day s Family Meal After spending a year dining at dozens of new restaurants across Atlanta and weeks of debating the merits of each one Sarra and I will at last reveal our picks for the best new restaurants of the following morning morning The list features stellar metro Atlanta restaurants and a chef collective that kept capturing our attention this year Look for the Best New Restaurants of to publish on Rough Draft at a m the next morning Dec which also includes the results of our Readers Choice awards But before that big reveal drops in the morning this evening s newsletter features a look back at the top ten dining stories that really had Rough Draft readers buzzing in Plus Chef Jack Kim shares his recipe for Danbi Seasonal Kitchen s kabocha squash with miso glaze Cheers Beth The Top Dining Stories of Photo by Rumi s Kitchen-Sandy Springs As we prepare to say goodbye to another year we re looking back at ten stories that really had Rough Draft readers buzzing in Our most-read stories this year centered around big restaurant openings budget-friendly menus Your DeKalb Farmers Territory Michelin and The Colonnade Owner of Michelin Bib Gourmand Whoopsie s opening an all-day cafe in East LakeEarlier this year Chef Hudson Rouse owner of Rising Son and Pure Quill Superette and co-owner of Whoopsie s disclosed plans to open an all-day cafe in East Lake next spring Called Babygirl the restaurant will take over the former Mix d Up Burger space at Hosea nd behind Gene s and Poor Hendrix Opening at a m daily the menu will skew vegetable-heavy and health-conscious Rouse explained rather than the typical Southern breakfast fare located at Rising Son and Pure Quill But that doesn t mean there won t be a biscuit sandwich carby blue plate specials pasta or burgers here Along with a limited desserts coffee and smoothies expect cocktails beer and wine at Babygirl As people scale back dining out Atlanta restaurants roll out budget-friendly menusIn one of our most-read feature stories of Rough Draft contributor Laura Scholz spoke to a handful of Atlanta chefs and restaurateurs about how they were adjusting menus to rising food prices and cost of living Across Atlanta this year restaurants launched weekly specials swapped finer-dining dishes for nostalgia-fueled plates and offered budget-friendly tasting menus and meal deals in hopes of attracting price-conscious diners back to the dining room and boosting sluggish sales Snackboxe Bistro owners to meld Lao Thai and Cambodian dishes at new Chamblee restaurantThe owners of Lao restaurant Snackboxe Bistro in Duluth just now opened Naga Bistro in Chamblee Taking over the Wild Ginger Thai Cuisine space on Savoy Drive Naga Bistro includes a full bar and serves a combination of traditional and fusion Lao Thai and Khmer Cambodian dishes Fans of Wild Ginger were sad to read of its closure but rapidly became excited by the plans Naga Bistro chef Thip Athakhanh had for her brother s former restaurant space Where to eat and drink like a local in downtown AtlantaOne of Rough Draft s bulk popular dining guides this year explored restaurants in the heart of downtown Atlanta The neighborhood is the center of tourism conventions and sports in Atlanta home to events like MomoCon and Dragon Con and games and concerts at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena NFA Burger opening at Avalon in Alpharetta and will include a barAny time we publish a story about gas station burger joint NFA Burger the metrics needle goes off the charts This story on NFA s expansion to a full-service restaurant in Alpharetta was no different shooting up to the top spot and staying there for days while our OTP readers took in the good news With the OG still open and operating from a Dunwoody Chevron the full-service location of NFA Burger opened earlier this spring at Avalon in Alpharetta Rumi s Kitchen in Sandy Springs temporarily closing ahead of big renovationWe have it on good authority that Rumi s Kitchen will reopen in Sandy Springs in January after temporarily closing for a big interior and exterior redo All will be revealed then But the announcement of its months-long closure and renovation in March had people talking for weeks We can t wait to see this makeover and for Rumi s to return to Roswell Road Michelin Guide to the American South drops and included these Atlanta restaurantsIt should come as no surprise that the reveal of the inaugural Michelin Guide to the American South was one of our top stories of the year But what made this story even more compelling was the scheduling snafu that publicized the winners hours before the ceremony began in Greenville SC The leak was all anyone could talk about ahead of the awards Little changed for Atlanta restaurants in the guide save several notable additions to the recommended restaurants Banshee s shift from Bib Gourmand to a recommended restaurant and Tiny Lou s dropping off the list Staplehouse also lost its star and was bumped to the recommended list after the owners relocated its tasting menu to their new restaurant in Gay GA These regulars are the lifeblood of The Colonnade in Atlanta Long live The Colonnade and long live its a great number of loyal regulars As The Colonnade approaches its th birthday next year Atlanta s second-oldest restaurant is more popular than ever thanks to new owners and a group of regulars who are part of its enduring legacy on Cheshire Bridge For this installment of The Regulars Laura Scholz spoke to two Colonnade loyalists about what the beloved restaurant and its family of patrons mean to them James Beard award-winning chef John Currence opens Big Bad Breakfast Nov in Atlanta Southern food enthusiasts needed no introduction to Chef John Currence or to his popular breakfast and brunch restaurant Big Bad Breakfast The Oxford MS chef opened a location of Big Bad Breakfast last month in Buckhead taking over the former Cultivate Food Coffee space on Howell Mill Road Currence who also owns City Grocery Boure and Snackbar in Oxford first opened Big Bad Breakfast in styling it after s lunch counters and iconic New Orleans restaurants Currence now has locations of Big Bad Breakfast around the South including the newest restaurant in Atlanta Your DeKalb Farmers Sector a metro Atlanta go-to for ingredients since We kicked off with what would become our most-read dining story of the year on metro Atlanta institution Your DeKalb Farmers Domain It s known as the home of Atlanta s best ingredients and where local chefs like to shop It s also affectionately referred to as the real United Nations Nearly half a century old the arena is a hallmark of metro Atlanta s diversity and essence and a sanctuary for shoppers who truly care about the food they consume Your DeKalb Farmers Field feels both otherworldly and anachronistic in the best workable way and it s unlike anywhere else in metro Atlanta Rough Draft Dining Reporter Sarra Sedghi wrote in January Celebrate the Holidays in Buckhead this weekend SPONSORED BY LIVABLE BUCKHEAD This Sat Dec Livable Buckhead hosts a day of free festive fun around Buckhead Village District Decorate wreaths that will add holiday cheer to all Atlanta fire stations and police precincts Noon to p m Join the hot chocolate crawl in Buckhead Village District to p m Sip hot chocolate or a cocktail and enjoy live music Listen to holiday classics during the lighting of Buckhead s tree in Charlie Loudermilk Park at p m Join the festivities Roasted Kabocha Squash Recipe FromDanbi Seasonal Kitchen Photo by Sarra Sedghi This week we re sharing a recipe for roasted kabocha squash with a miso glaze from Brookhaven restaurant Danbi Seasonal Kitchen Also known as danhobak or Japanese pumpkin kabocha squash is a winter squash with a dark green skin and a sweet golden interior Like other squashes kabocha squash is native to Latin America Portuguese traders introduced Japan to nihon kabocha in the th century American traders brought seiyo kabocha which has a sweeter taste and smoother rind to Japan in This vegetable is best enjoyed as a soup stuffed fried or absolutely sliced and roasted Danbi s salty fermented miso glaze adds contrast that accentuates the kabocha s natural sweetness Danbi chef and owner Jack Kim recommends sourcing kabocha squash at H-Mart Although the seasonings can be sourced elsewhere Kim commented he hasn t encountered fresh kabocha squash in other stores H-Mart has three metro Atlanta locations in Doraville Duluth and Riverdale Serves Ingredients whole kabocha squash Avocado oil teaspoons kosher salt cups white miso cup soy sauce cup water cup rice wine vinegar ounces mirin cup finely grated fresh ginger cup maple syrup Directions Preheat oven to Fahrenheit or Fahrenheit if using a convection oven or air fryer Prepare the glaze Combine miso soy sauce water rice wine vinegar mirin ginger and maple syrup in a saucepan Whisk over low-medium heat for to minutes until smooth glossy and slightly thickened Do not boil Remove from heat and keep warm Prepare the squash Halve the kabocha squash remove the seeds and cut flesh with skin on into to centimeter-thick wedges Toss with avocado oil and salt until evenly coated Arrange cut sides down on a parchment-lined sheet pan Roast for to minutes flipping halfway through until tender and lightly caramelized The surface should be golden brown and fork-tender Serve directly either as a side dish or in a rice bowl If you know somebody who would like to receive our dining newsletters Family Meal Tuesdays and Side Dish Thursdays please have them subscribe at this page The post Top dining stories appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta