Branch & Barrel opens today at Avalon in Alpharetta

Upscale Southern-inspired Branch & Barrel is now open at Avalon in Alpharetta. Photo courtesy of Branch & Barrel.

Credit: Ligaya Figueras

Credit: Ligaya Figueras

Upscale Southern-inspired Branch & Barrel is now open at Avalon in Alpharetta. Photo courtesy of Branch & Barrel.

Southern-inspired restaurant Branch & Barrel will officially open today, Dec. 22.  The restaurant is located at Avalon in Alpharetta in the space formerly occupied by Asian fusion quick-serve eatery Bantu. Branch & Barrel is the latest restaurant to debut at the  $600 million mixed-use development, which opened in the fall of 2014 .

The menu, designed by chef Todd Hogan, includes starters such as sherried lobster and sweet corn gratin as well as a trio of dips (black-eyed pea hummus, spicy crab and pimento cheese) served with bread and vegetable sticks. Cobb, Caesar, mixed greens and more are accounted for among salads, while sandwich enthusiasts can choose from eight offerings, among them a brisket burger with smoked cheddar, bacon-onion marmalade and arugula to a pressed Cuban with braised pork, cured pork tenderloin, Swiss, house pickles and bourbon mustard. Entrees include the likes of rock shrimp and corn quinoa with Parmesan, tomatoes and spinach, bacon-marinated bistro steak and fries and grilled lobster with truffled hominy. The kitchen puts an emphasis on scratch cooking, with bread and cured meats both made in-house. The entire menu is available here.

Branch & Barrel will offer lunch and dinner daily, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and until 1 a.m. on weekends.

Other restaurants coming to Avalon in 2016  include Farm to Ladle in the spring, and Café Intermezzo and a Chick-fil-A in the fall. Chick-fil-A will be located at an outparcel off Old Milton Parkway. Three to five additional restaurants, including Persian restaurant Rumi's Kitchen, are expected to fill spaces in Phase II, currently under construction and slated to debut in 2017.

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Read the AJC Fall Dining Guide, Atlanta Around the Clock, here.