History-making UK chef visits Atlanta and more from the metro area’s dining scene
A trailblazing female chef collaborates with two of the city’s top restaurants, pumpkin invades everything, a classic restaurant’s final goodbye and more metro Atlanta restaurant happenings this week.
Decorated British chef pops up at two Atlanta restaurants
Kate Austen, the history-making British chef, will cook in two of Atlanta’s most celebrated kitchens later this month, according to a news release.
Last year, Austen became the first woman to win the BBC2 competition cooking show “Great British Menu,” a program that’s been on the air nearly 20 years. Prior to that, she was known as the youngest woman to become head chef of a restaurant with two Michelin stars, AOC in Copenhagen. She was 25 years old.
Now 30, Austen is venturing across the pond for collaborative dinners at two of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Atlanta 50 restaurants, Atlas and Lazy Betty. The dinners are part of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Celebrating Atlanta dinner series, meant to highlight Michelin-recognized chefs from around the world. The ACVB partnered with Michelin to bring the tire maker’s famed dining guide to Atlanta in 2023.
Austen’s first dinner is at Atlas on Oct. 27, with seatings available from 5 p.m-7:30 p.m. She and Atlas executive chef Freddy Money will present a multi-course tasting menu for $275 with optional wine pairings, though no further details have been released. Reservations are available on OpenTable.
The second dinner is at Lazy Betty on Halloween night, with reservations available from 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. The six-course tasting menu will feature four courses prepared by Austen, including dishes such as poached cod with squid ragu and Oscietra caviar, and a dessert made with chocolate and beetroot. Lazy Betty’s dishes carry over from the restaurant’s current tasting menu, including a corn agnolotti course and a dish with Icelandic snow crab. The dinner is priced at $275, a discount of $10 from the main Lazy Betty tasting menu. Reservations for the Oct. 31 dinner are also available on OpenTable.
Atlas. 88 W. Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta. 404-600-6471, atlasrestaurant.com
Lazy Betty. 999 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 470-851-1199, lazybettyatl.com
Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere
It’s that time of year; pumpkin fever has hit metro Atlanta. Many restaurants and shops have introduced limited-time pumpkin-flavored specials.
Reverence at Midtown’s Epicurean Atlanta hotel has a couple of special pumpkin dishes available during its Halloween Epicurean Igloo Experience, a prix fixe dinner that can include a pumpkin blondie bar for dessert. There’s also the jack-o’-lantern cocktail made with Hennessy VS, mandarin liqueur, pumpkin shrub and ginger beer.
At its Ponce City Market location, Five Daughters Bakery is selling a pumpkin spice latte flavor of the shop’s 100-layer, mini and yeast-raised doughnut styles.
Rina, the casual Mediterranean restaurant on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail, has introduced a pumpkin milkshake made with vanilla gelato, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice and baklava crumbles.
And if the original pumpkin spice latte isn’t decadent enough, head to Spiller Park’s Ponce City Market location. The coffee shop has brought back its spicy pumpkin caramel latte for the season.
There’s also the option to stay home and make your own nutritious autumn treat with the AJC’s “PSL” blondie bars from chef and author Virginia Willis.
Five Daughters Bakery - Ponce City Market. 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-963-1922, fivedaughtersbakery.com
Reverence. 1117 W. Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 470-283-2590, reverenceatlanta.com
Rina. 699 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-343-0362, rinakitchen.com
Spiller Park - Ponce City Market. 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 470-347-6446, spillerpark.com
Atlanta restaurant brings home international design award
Boqueria Atlanta, an outpost of the New York-based tapas restaurant that opened in Colony Square earlier this year, was recently named a winner of the prestigious INT Interior Design Award for hospitality, according to a news release.
When I reviewed the restaurant in March, the design stood out. I noted at the time that “the New York-based restaurant group went whole-hog on the expensive buildout, giving the enormous space an intimate mood, with dark ceilings and walls offset by warm, golden fittings and light fixtures.”
San Francisco-based Adean Studios, the design firm behind the Boqueria interior, described the design for the winning award entry.
“Boqueria nods to the European modernism of the 1940s revealing an innately Old World charm,” the firm said. “Clean lines and geometries are softened by subtle curves and lush foliage while warm lighting emits an amber glow throughout the space. Decorative metalwork and architectural arcade elements reminiscent of Spain’s landmark Mercado de San Miguel anchor Boqueria.”
1221 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 770-764-8364, boqueriarestaurant.com
Openings & Announcements
Bb.q Chicken, a Korean fried chicken chain, opened a location in Midtown on Oct. 8, according to a news release. The chicken franchise has more than 200 locations across the U.S., including eight in the metro Atlanta area.
903 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 470-536-1025, bbqchicken.com
Eddie V’s, an upscale seafood and steak restaurant with a separate bar called the V Lounge, will open in Alpharetta on Oct. 26, the restaurant chain announced in a news release. The company has 30 locations of Eddie V’s across the country. InIts new restaurant on Haynes Bridge Road will occupy more than 10,000 square feet and include three private dining rooms.
11405 Haynes Bridge Road, Alpharetta. 770-870-1129, eddiev.com
Glide Pizza will open a location in South Downtown, the development announced on social media this week. The forthcoming New York-style pizzeria will be Glide’s third location, with plans to open next spring.
Ignite by Blaze Pizza opened Oct. 15 at Akers Mill Square in the Cumberland area, restaurant representatives said. Ignite will function as a typical Blaze Pizza location, according to the company’s announcement, but it will also serve as a testing ground for new products and flavors.
2955 Cobb Pkwy. SE, Atlanta. 770-288-5580, blazepizza.com
Closings
Eats on Ponce De Leon Avenue will close its doors a final time Saturday after a weekslong farewell period that saw mournful crowds swarm the old-school restaurant.
About the Author
Henri Hollis is a reporter and restaurant critic for the Food & Dining team. Formerly a freelance writer and photographer with a focus on food and restaurants, he joined the AJC full-time in January 2021, first covering breaking news. He is a lifelong Atlantan and a graduate of Georgia Tech.
