The owner of two popular metro Atlanta Mexican restaurants has opened a third concept in downtown Decatur.
Casa Balam, named for a Mayan god, debuted this week at 201 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. in the former Ted’s Montana Grill space. The eatery comes from Luis Damian, who co-owns El Valle in Midtown and Oaxaca in Chamblee, and his partners Jay, Harry and Neil Patel.
The team “wanted to focus on the northern side of Mexico, like Sonora and Monterrey,” said Damian, who, prior to becoming a restaurateur, worked as a chef at Atlanta restaurants including Escorpion.
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
The menu has a long list of small plates and starters including guacamole and queso; empanadas with fillings including birria and chicken; ceviches and crudos; salads; and vegetables like cabbage al pastor, a cabbage wedge marinated in adobo sauce and served with parsnip puree and topped with cotija cheese.
Also among the offerings are eight tacos on tortillas made in-house with corn sourced from Mexico, including braised octopus with pickled onions and escabeche peppers; Guajillo-marinated flounder with roasted pineapple; campechanos with grilled skirt steak, chorizo and carnitas; and arabes with marinated pork.
To feed larger groups, Casa Balam offers family-style meals that include marinated duck confit, chicken or birria served with tortillas and toppings to make your own tacos; roasted branzino; and Chilean sea bass marinated in miso.
But the section of the menu Damian is most excited about offers several cuts of steak sourced from Chicago-based Meats by Linz, including 12-ounce bone-in fillet and a 10-ounce wagyu flat iron. They’re served with a choice of butter infused with Mexican ingredients such as chimichurri; salsa matcha butter with chiles, pumpkin seeds and peanuts; and herb butter with pipicha and epazote.
Each steak is served with a pastelito, a savory pastry made with cactus and queso fresco, wrapped with steamed green onions and topped with an avocado mousse.
“We didn’t just want to give you the steak,” Damian said. “We wanted to give you something extra. Some people are just as excited about the pastelito as the steak.
Though the core menu will largely stay the same throughout the year, specials will change depending on the season and availability of ingredients.
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
The dessert menu, developed by Damian’s wife and pastry chef Faye Jonah, includes options like corn tres leches and chocolate Basque cheesecake.
“We developed the menu with a little something for everyone in mind,” Damian said. “If you want to come in for a drink and a small plate, we have that, or a meal with the family, or if you want to take your date out for a beautiful steak and a bottle of wine, there’s that, too.”
The beverage program, developed by Jennifer Smith, who also oversees the programs at Damian’s other restaurants, features 10 cocktails made largely with Mexican spirits. Highlights include the Carrito de Mango, which mixes Pueblo Viejo Blanco tequila, St. George green chile vodka, mango liqueur, basil, lime, jalapeno and agave, while the Bee Word uses Arette Blanco tequila, coconut milk, bee pollen, lime and sugar.
Other drinks include several locally-brewed beers on draft, and an extensive wine list of more than 30 wines by the glass and more than 15 by the bottle. The list also includes a section highlighting “interesting” wines and several Mexican wines.
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
The restaurant’s design “mimics a modern hacienda,” Damian said, with large handmade wooden light fixtures, backlit bar, high ceilings and textured colored walls. The dining room seats about 120 guests, with an additional 30 seats on the outdoor patio.
“I’m especially proud of this one,” Damian said of Casa Balam. “I got chills when we opened. It was a big project and it took a lot of effort from all of us.”
Though Casa Balam is only open for dinner, brunch will be added within the month, and lunch will follow in the coming weeks.
Opening hours are 5 p.m.-midnight Sundays-Thursdays and 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays, with the kitchen closing at 11 p.m. every night.
Though Damian has stayed busy with Casa Balam, El Valle and Oaxaca, he has two other projects in the works as part of his Mi Casa Tu Casa Hospitality Group.
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
Credit: Courtesy of Casa Balam
Within the next month, he plans to open Dixeebe, a speakeasy in the former Tapa Tapa space in the Midtown Promenade development off of Monroe Drive.
Dixeebe, which means “cheers to the past, present and future” in the Zapotec language, will pull in a chef from Peru who studied in Japan to develop the Nikkei and Mexican menu that will highlight sushi, ceviche and tiradito, a Peruvian take on sashimi. Drinks will come from Diego Camarena, who serves as a the bar manager at Oaxaca.
The “cozy and intimate space” will be “super chill and relaxed with dim lights and dark colors,” Damian said. Dixeebe will also host private events and will offer live music on the weekends.
Damian will also open a second location of El Valle later this year in the Parkside on Dresden development in Brookhaven. The smaller space will likely feature a more abbreviated version of El Valle’s Midtown’s menu, and will join forthcoming food and beverage concepts including Confab Kitchen & Bar, Honeysuckle Gelato and Cafe Vendome.
Casa Balam. 201 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-549-8271, casabalamatl.com
Scroll down to see the full menu for Casa Balam:
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
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