Check out these Atlanta restaurants for a wedge salad that hits the right notes for you. Want to make your own at home? Check out these recipes from local chefs.
5Church Atlanta. At 5Church, they swapped the iceberg for Little Gem lettuce. Chef Mark Alba says Little Gem lettuce is like a cross between iceberg and romaine. For the traditional accompaniments of blue cheese, bacon and tomatoes, he says, “We use creamy Gorgonzola Dolce imported from Italy, we cure our bacon in-house, and we use farmhouse heirloom cherry tomatoes that have such a burst of sweetness.”
1197 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-400-3669, 5church-atlanta.com
Arnette’s Chop House. As executive chef at both Haven and Arnette’s Chop House, Stephen Herman faced the challenge of creating wedge salads for each. “For Arnette’s, I wanted to do something more like a traditional steakhouse wedge while incorporating things from our restaurant, like the hearth-roasted tomatoes, which pick up some smoke, and Fourme d’Ambert, a delicious smoky French blue cheese. The pickled onions give the salad a nice balance.”
2700 Apple Valley Road, Brookhaven. 404-969-0701, arnetteschopshop.com/
Big B’s Fish Joint. 4600 Roswell Road, Atlanta. 470-355-8326, bigbsfishjoint.com
C&S Seafood & Oyster Bar. Chef Tony Manns added nuts and seeds for crunch to his Baby Gem Lettuce Wedge Salad using Sweet Grass Dairy’s Asher Blue. He says one of the things that makes the salad so delicious is that you get all these flavors — Green Goddess dressing, Asher Blue, and soft herbs — in one bite, “It’s like a bite of pie.”
6125 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 470-427-3826, candsoysterbar.com
Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar. The Avenue East Cobb, 4475 Roswell Road, Marietta. 770-635-7641, driftoysterbar.com
Emmy Squared. Emily Hyland, co-founder of Emmy Squared pizzeria in Atlanta’s Glenwood Park, serves one of the most unusual versions, the Huge Hot Chicken Wedge. “I am a huge wedge salad kind of girl,” she told us, “so we had fun amplifying the flavor profile of this dish by using two types of dressing — our tangy ‘Bama white sauce and our homemade herby buttermilk ranch — and then finishing the salad with a stack of our signature Nashville hot chicken.”
475 Bill Kennedy Way SE, Atlanta. 470-610-0100, emmysquaredpizza.com
Credit: Chris Hunt
Credit: Chris Hunt
Fia at the Burgess Hotel. This version of a wedge salad rethinks two traditional ingredients — blue cheese and tomatoes — and instead of using a blue cheese dressing, is dressed with a vinaigrette flavored with Old Bay seasoning.
3600 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta. 404-869-1100, fiaatlanta.com/
Hampton + Hudson. Co-founder Jenn Streck sees their Wood Grilled Caesar Wedge as a takeoff of the classic Caesar salad, incorporating brown butter-thyme croutons and fried capers for an unusual presentation and a salad with lots of added crunch.
299 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-948-2123, hamptonandhudson.com
The Iberian Pig Buckhead. Executive chef Josue Pena added Spanish influence to the wedge. “I put a spin on a wedge salad with some Spanish influences like adding serrano ham and our charcuterie crumble, and then taking advantage of great local products like farmer Bobby Britt’s lettuce and tomatoes and Shakerag Blue from Sequatchie Cove Creamery in Tennessee.”
3150 Roswell Road NW, Atlanta. 404-994-4990, theiberianpigatl.com/buckhead
King + Duke. Executive chef Eddie Barrett offers a hearth-roasted spring green salad on his menu that’s topped with whipped buttermilk. “When creating this dish, I wanted to make something that was eye-catching and different but also tasted like a bunch of my childhood memories. We used to whip fresh cream and eat it on just about everything. I also had an obsession with ranch dressing, so this salad is a bit of an homage to that.”
3060 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta. 404-477-3500, kinganddukeatl.com
Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails. 800 Mayfield Road, Milton. 770-817-0161, miltonscuisine.com
Southern Belle. Chef and owner Joey Ward offers an off-the-menu wedge — grilled Little Gem lettuce with pickled tomatoes, shaved red onion, Bagna Cauda and fresh feta — that he created to use traditional wedge ingredients in a different way. “Grilling the Little Gem lettuce adds a smokiness and tremendous depth of flavor to the lettuce, which is usually just used as a vessel for the dressing and toppings. Bagna Cauda takes the place for the dressing and adds a meatiness from the anchovies that replaces the traditional bacon. Pickling the tomatoes adds a bright burst of acidity while the feta (which stands in for traditional blue cheese) keeps the dish lighter for summer.”
1043 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-698-3961, southernbelleatl.com
The Woodall. 2260 Marietta Blvd. NW, Atlanta. 404-343-4424, thewoodallwestside.com
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