If you’re the way we are here at Resy, you’ve been spending the past weeks thinking every day about your favorite restaurants. What do we miss most about them? What are we most looking forward to returning to, as they begin to fully reopen for dining? Yes, there’s plenty of takeout and delivery to enjoy, groceries and wine to buy, and lots of other ways to support the restaurants we love. But nothing beats the experience of being in a restaurant, enjoying the dishes you adore.
We’ve compiled a list of favorite things about dining in Atlanta we’re hoping to get back to soon.
- A game of bocce, Negronis in hand, in the open courtyard at Empire State South.
- The fried chicken to end all fried chickens at The Colonnade.
- A seat at Kimball House’s well-staffed bar with pimento cheese and a couple of martinis.
- The most perfect, glistening bowl of matzoh ball soup at neo-deli The General Muir.
- Sipping the $2 cold beer while waiting for a table at Cold Beer, whilst anticipating the melt-in-your-mouth dry-aged beef tartare.
- The iconic farm egg baked in celery cream (thank you, chef Steven Satterfield) at Miller Union.
- The smoked mackerel dip with a glass of sherry, or a simple afternoon whiskey, at Ticonderoga Club (and don’t sleep on their excellent merch).
- The difficulty of choosing between the brisket, the ribs, the chicken, and the pulled pork at B’s Cracklin’ BBQ, before settling on them all.
- The seafood dip and soulful R&B playlist at Roc South, where every song is a banger.
- All of the velvet diner’s-club accents at Golden Eagle, and paging through their illustrated cocktail menu.
- The gnocchi at Brezza Cucina, which arrive pillowy and plump, and sauced in broccoli pesto.
- The handpainted monstera leaves on the walls of Lyla Lila (no, it’s not wallpaper).
- The custom wine passports at Hazel Jane’s, so the sommeliers know where your palate sits.
- Being part of the bustling energy in Whiskey Bird’s dining room.
- The silky and fresh handmade pasta at Sotto Sotto, from 16th-century Michelangelo tortelli to pappardelle with braised duck ragù.
- Snacking on oysters and cocktails in Watchman’s light-drenched dining room.
- Ending dinner at Novo Cucina with a scoop on their creamy housemade gelato. (Fresh local strawberry, anyone?)
- Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours’ playful Southern staples, and the woman behind it all, Deborah VanTrece.
- The tantalizing pasta tasting at BoccaLupo.
- The intimate tasting menu at Georgia Boy, whose hidden space is accessed through a bookcase. (Hint: Look for “James and the Giant Peach.”)
- The most satisfying Tex-Mex tacos at Dos Bocas.
- Knowing that a meal at Kevin Gillespie’s Gunshow isn’t complete without the blaring playlist. (Haters gonna hate. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
- The hospitality, the wine, and the seamless service at Gerry Klaskala’s beloved Aria.
- A night at Kevin Rathbun Steak, with its prime cuts.
- Feasting on cold beer and sausages on a warm day at Der Biergarten’s uncovered second-floor dining room.
- Rounds of STATS on tap with friends on game night at STATS Brewpub.
- Sitting out by Ladybird’s camper at night with cocktails and an order of the whole roasted chicken to share.
- Beginning every meal at Fritti with an order of their excellent crocchette di melanzane.
- Imbibing tiki cocktails late into the night with the bartenders at The S.O.S Tiki Bar.
- A plate of hot pretzels and a local show (read: Joe Gransden’s Jazz Jam) at Venkman’s.
