Making sweet, sweet fusion

He’s a little bit country, and she’s a little bit … K-pop?

However unlikely that combination may seem, the duo of Cody Taylor and Jiyeon Lee, the team behind the popular Heirloom Market BBQ, hooked diners in Atlanta and beyond with their innovative fusion of old-school Southern barbecue with bursts of Korean flavor.The pair opened their second restaurant, Sobban, last fall in Decatur and flipped their formula upside-down.

Every table, whether for one or a group, should kick things off with a round of the smoked pork belly bossam. You’ll relish the lettuce-wrapped crispy tiles of smoked belly topped with crispy rice, and don’t forget to add a few hearty dollops of the thick, spicy bibimbap sauce. Also, I never eat here without a round of the deviled eggs, which bring a nice punch of spicy kimchee funk to the back of the sinuses.

Taylor and Lee take pride in making nearly everything in-house, and their homemade fresh tofu is perhaps the kitchen at its most refined. Slices of delicate tofu arrive on a bed of miso mousse, with a soy ginger reduction, Granny Smith apples, kimchee and roasted nori flakes. This isn’t to be missed.