7 Atlanta food pop-ups this week, featuring a growing Vietnamese and Laotian pop-up
Each week, Punk Foodie highlights Atlanta pop-ups worth catching before they disappear, helping readers find the city’s most interesting chef-driven dining concepts, food trucks, supper clubs and limited-time food events.
Three new Indian-influenced barbecue items from Dhaba BBQ
Who: Dhaba BBQ (@thedhababbq) from Jay Patel.
When/Where: Saturday, Sept. 19, noon until sold out. The Stout Brothers Smyrna (@smyrnastoutbrothers). 1265 W. Spring St., Smyrna.
Why you should check them out: Raised in a Gujarati vegetarian household in Chicago, self-taught pitmaster Patel applies Texas craft barbecue techniques and 24-hour marinades to the South Asian flavors of his youth. Named after India’s roadside food stalls, Dhaba BBQ reimagines traditional curries and street foods into handhelds and barbecue plates. Patel frequently rotates his menu to debut new items at each event, and for this Smyrna pop-up, he is rolling out three new dishes. The lineup features pork belly burnt ends seasoned with a Texas-style rub and glazed in a sweet jalebi-inspired sauce, slow-smoked brisket coated in a rich tikka masala sauce and tandoori pulled pork seasoned with black pepper and tandoori spices for a smoky, savory heat.
Bagel drop and sandwiches at Ollie’s Market & Deli from Gabriel’s Bagels
Who: Gabriel’s Bagels (@gabrielsbagels) from Gabriel Solomon.
When/Where: Sunday, Sept. 27, 9 a.m. until sold out. Ollie’s Market & Deli (@olliesmarketatl). 891 Cherokee Ave. SE, Grant Park.
Bagel sandwiches available 9 a.m. until sold out.
Presale for bagel pickup on Sept. 27 opens 6 p.m. on Sept. 23 and ends on Sept. 24 at 11:59 p.m.
Why you should check them out: Self-taught baker Solomon started making bagels during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as a way to share his Jewish culture, eventually launching his cottage bakery concept in April 2026. Solomon prepares his bagels with a 36-hour cold-fermentation process before hand-rolling, boiling and baking each batch fresh. For the bagel drop at Ollie’s Market & Deli, the flavors are plain, blueberry, everything, sesame, jalapeño cheddar, cinnamon spice crunch and rosemary sea salt. On the day of the drop, Ollie’s is offering a couple of in-shop sandwich specials with Gabriel’s bagels, including The BELTline with bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese and smoky mayo on a plain bagel, as well as Gabriel’s garden sammie with scallion cream cheese, tomato, avocado, arugula, pickled red onion on a plain or rosemary sea salt bagel.
Punk Foodie tip: preorder your bagels since they sell out quickly.
Preorder bagels.
Gourmet street dogs in Avondale Estates from Daddy’s Dogs
Who: Daddy’s Dogs (@daddysdogs_) from DeAngela Peterson.
When/Where: Sunday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Avondale Estates Farmers Market (@aefarmersmarket). 64 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates.
Thursday, Sept. 24, 5–9 p.m. Little Cottage Brewery (@littlecottagebrewery). 120 Olive St., Avondale Estates.
Why you should check them out: Peterson, currently a sous chef at Superica in Krog Street Market, brings more than a decade of professional kitchen experience, including stints at Ray’s on the River and Ecco, to her hot dog cart. She launched Daddy’s Dogs as a tribute to her late father, who passed away in 2022, combining her classical culinary background with the nostalgia of simple street food. Peterson builds her creations on steamed Sara Lee buns with natural-casing Sabrett all-beef franks for a good snap, applying toppings across a variety of styles. Highlights include a bacon-wrapped Korean dog topped with cheesy corn, pickled radish, scallions and gochujang sweet heat sauce, as well as the smoked-out dog wrapped in bacon and topped with grilled onions, barbecue sauce, grilled jalapeño and crispy onion. The menu also features the Mexicano perro dressed with pico slaw, serranos and chipotle mayochup, as well as no-bean turkey chili dogs, grilled sausages and her mother’s potato salad.
Korean-Italian supper club from Smoking Tiger Club
Who: Smoking Tiger Club (@smokingtiger.club) from Steph Watson.
When/Where: Sunday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m. Private residence (exact location revealed with ticket purchase), Midtown.
Why you should check them out: Watson, who previously ran the pandemic-era Korean street food pop-up Seoul Chikin, created Smoking Tiger Club to explore playful “Korean-ish” comfort food through intimate, home-hosted supper clubs. For this private Midtown gathering, Watson merges Korean and Italian comfort elements across a multi-course meal. The dinner opens with house-made bread paired with a roasted garlic, basil and parsley Banner Butter, followed by a pickled golden chanterelle salad with fresh chevre and Sooki sesame dressing. The centerpiece is a kimchi lasagna layered with house vegan kimchi, duck, seaweed bechamel and milk bread pangrattato, finished with a Postern Coffee tiramisu. The event also features a guided sesame oil tasting with profile cards for each guest.
Reserve a spot.
Autumn-inspired arancini at Barrel Proof from Fool’s Errand
Who: Fool’s Errand (@foolserrandatl) from Hannah Chandler.
When/Where: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 7–9 p.m. Barrel Proof (@barrelproofatl). 1170 Howell Mill Road NW, West Midtown.
Why you should check them out: Spanning the breadth of the service industry, from owning a catering company to cooking at Kimball House and bartending at Barrel Proof, chef Chandler brings technical precision and a playful comfort food ethos to her pop-up Fool’s Errand. For this takeover at Barrel Proof, she serves an autumn-inspired menu featuring dishes like autumn arancini with Italian sausage, sage and butternut dipping sauce, alongside a harvest salad with kale, goat cheese, local squash, candied pepitas, masa cornbread croutons and green apple vinaigrette. The event also features Condesa Gin cocktail specials and tarot card readings.
Seasonal tasting menu and wine pairings at Burle’s Bar from Kyle Taylor
Who: Kyle Taylor from Service @ Seven (@serviceatseven).
When/Where: Monday, Sept. 21, 7–10 p.m. Burle’s Bar (@burlesbar). 505 N. Angier Ave. NE, Suite 500, Old Fourth Ward.
Why you should check them out: Taylor is taking over the lounge at Burle’s Bar for the fourth installment of Understory, a collaborative dinner series with neighboring plant shop the Victorian. Guests start the evening browsing greenery at the Victorian over a welcome cocktail before heading down to the lounge for a five-course meal centered on preserved, cultured and fermented seasonal ingredients. Wine pairings will be provided by Whitney Blue of Prime Wine & Spirits and Nico Raia of Banville Wine Merchants. Taylor’s menu opens with a fermented tomato gazpacho topped with compressed heirloom tomatoes, followed by potato gnocchi with whipped ricotta and crisp Parmigiano-Reggiano frico. The main savory courses highlight slow-roasted savoy cabbage and a pork belly and potato pave paired with Concord grape agrodolce, finishing with a fig leaf and vanilla bean cake topped with fermented fig caramel and green fig chantilly.
Reserve a spot.
Stepping into the spotlight
How Cynthia Hoang and Nik Soukavong are experimenting, learning and growing through their Side Quest pop-up
Who: Side Quest (@sidequest.atl) from Nik Soukavong and Cynthia Hoang.
When/Where: Sundays, 5–10 p.m. Bar Avize (@bar.avize). 956 Brady Ave. NW, Westside.
Every fourth Monday, 5–10 p.m. Mushi Ni (@mushiniatl). 337 Elizabeth St. NE, Inman Park.
Reserve a spot.
Hoang, the eldest daughter in a Vietnamese immigrant household, spent years working front-of-house roles in local Vietnamese bars. Through those experiences, she fell in love with “an nhau,” the casual, high-energy culture of drinking, food, small plates and street eats, and wanted to bring those flavors to Atlanta. Hoang wanted to share the full depth and range of Vietnamese and Lao food beyond standard staples like pho or egg rolls. Partnering with Soukavong, himself the child of Lao immigrants, she began learning Lao recipes directly from his mother, setting out to highlight both homestyle family recipes and modern, creative iterations of Southeast Asian flavors. To do that, they launched Side Quest.
Without Atlanta’s pop-up scene, Hoang and Soukavong may never have had the opportunity to bring their vision to diners. The pop-up ecosystem offers emerging chefs something traditional dining rooms rarely can: room to experiment, learn on the fly and grow. Free from corporate menus and big financial risks, pop-ups allow cooks like Hoang to trust their instincts, honor family roots and establish a voice entirely on their own terms. That runway proved essential for Hoang, a self-taught cook stepping onto the kitchen line for the very first time.
“I still get really nervous when it comes to it,” Hoang told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’ve done a ton of front-of-house roles, including being a server and bottle service. But this is really my first time ever being in the kitchen, actually cooking and serving people... People will ask to meet me or ask questions about me, and I’m just so shy because I’m still coming to terms with being the one behind the food.”
Yet the response from diners tells a very different story. Since launching, Side Quest has steadily built a devoted following across two residencies, spanning Sunday “an nhau” bar bites at Bar Avize to monthly “an com” suppers at Mushi Ni. Seeing families regularly come out to dine together inspired Hoang to turn the Mushi Ni pop-up into a monthly family gathering centered on homestyle Southeast Asian comfort food. Guests regularly ask to meet the self-taught chef behind the line. More than just personal validation, that response gave Hoang the platform to bring her mother, Suong Hoang, who spent decades working in nail salons, into the kitchen with her to prepare hu tieu, a translucent noodle made from tapioca starch and rice.
Hoang’s menu at Bar Avize features plates like nam khao (a crispy red curry rice salad with fermented pork and peanuts) and red snapper crudo with muoi ot xanh (Vietnamese green chile salt sauce). Meanwhile, her monthly residency at Mushi Ni features thit kho (caramelized pork belly with coconut and hard-boiled egg), ga xao sa (spicy lemongrass chicken with turmeric), moo tod (crispy pork belly with jeow som), chicken larb with toasted rice powder and herbs, papaya salad, rau muong (garlic-stir-fried water spinach) and dau hu chien (crispy scallion tofu).
To complement Hoang’s cooking, Soukavong draws on 15 years in Atlanta hospitality, having built and directed drink programs at local spots like Lucky Star, Stereo and Little Trouble, to craft cocktails influenced by Southeast Asian flavors. For his signature drink called Back for More, a Bun Bo Hue-inspired spin on a bee’s knees, he fat-washes gin with spicy beef tallow sourced from Bun Bo Hue Kitchen, a former pop-up that recently expanded into a Duluth restaurant, before shaking it with Nonino, honey, lemon and shio koji. For the popular Devil Fruit #7, Soukavong sources whole Musang King durian, a high-end Malaysian variety, from City Farmers Market. He processes the fresh fruit into a clarified syrup and combines it with brown butter cachaça, crème de cacao and lime before milk-clarifying the cocktail.
Note: By their very nature, pop-ups are fluid and subject to the whims of weather. For the latest schedule and information, consult the pop-ups’ Instagram feed.