The July Hit List: One Flew South, Slabtown, Ticonderoga Club, and More

After years of being considered the best airport restaurant in America — or at least the first to be nominated for a James Beard Award — One Flew South is finally literally in Atlanta (you know ATL Airport is actually in College Park, right?). Under the leadership of culinary director and recent Beard nominee Todd Richards, OFW will continue to showcase the talent of longtime chef Cedric McCroery (now as exec chef), with the addition of former Gato and 8ARM chef Allen Suh overseeing the sushi program. Trip out on the Southern roll (Georgia pecan-smoked trout with shiso leaf, roe, and Cajun cocktail sauce) and other favorites like coffee-rubbed lamb ribs, but also give new items like bourbon miso cod over stone-ground grits with collard green kimchi a try. Then head for cruising altitude via new signature cocktails such as “You Only Live Twice,” made with Roku gin, Haku vodka, lemongrass, and Italicus bergamot liqueur. Isn’t it nice to be able to stay on the BeltLine, and connect from the Southeastern U.S. to the Asian continent without a TSA pat-down?

Swimming in high esteem from seafood lovers around Atlanta, the word on Atlanta turf is Fishmonger’s instant success story of combining three separate entities — a restaurant, a seafood market, and a raw bar — to create one of Atlanta’s newest and buzziest spots. While chefs Nhan Le and Skip Englebrecht ended service at 8ARM on July 2, the late-April opening of Fishmonger has not only softened the blow; it’s added hype to Poncey Highland’s already lively dining scene, through menu highlights that include chef’s choice oysters, chowder, fruit de mer, and peel-and-eat shrimp. There’s also super-fresh, sometimes-huge fish coming in daily, such as wahoo, snapper, swordfish, and more, sometimes pre-seasoned in their house marinades, which staff regularly post on Instagram as oceanic thirst traps. And of course there’s packaged deliciousness in the form of caviar and premium canned fish, which they’ve continued from the short-lived Ink Cocktail Bar inside 8ARM. 

It’s BYOB for now; stay updated through Fishmonger’s IG.

A year ago, Little Bear chef and owner Jarrett Stieber told the Atlanta Business Chronicle his hit restaurant was taking on significant headwinds, and staying open on a takeout-only basis had become almost too challenging to continue. It’s our great luck that this spirited little restaurant, with its lovably nonchalant vibe, came roaring back, mostly suspending takeout service since regulars and Resy users from Summerhill and beyond have supported well enough to keep Stieber’s kitchen crew showing off an incredibly impressive dining experience. Don’t stare at the menu too long; it’s subject to regular change (besides, staring at great food is literally what Instagram is for). And right now they’re doing the absolute most with seasonal goodness, including blueberries, mulberries, mayhaws, and of course, fresh peaches, which they’re using in a tomato and stone fruit dish with pecan tahini milk. But the best way to dig the talent level is to get the four-course Dealer’s Choice prix fixe, and the Booze Pack, which is four bartender-picked drinks (a cocktail, two off-menu wines, and a nightcap). At $90, pre-tax and gratuity, it’s one of the city’s best — and we do mean best — exceptional dining deals.

From Sweet Auburn Barbecue to Lazy Betty, Juniper Cafe, and more, it’s becoming clear that the Hsu family never stops cooking. Brother Howard is part owner of this very new Peruvian restaurant, which is led by Arnaldo Castillo, the chef behind the amazing Peruvian pop-up La Chingana, whose local and Peruvian seasonal ingredients, and cooking inspiration (derived from his chef father, whose nickname the restaurant shares), make up the soul of his cuisine. In addition to ceviches tossed in leche de tigre, there are traditional Northern Peruvian dishes like arroz con pato: duck confit and seared duck breast with Carolina gold rice cooked in puree with cilantro, ajis, and squash. Order a pisco sour or other Latin-inspired cocktails to further bolster the family atmosphere.

Get more info about Tio Lucho at the website here.

Located at the top of the Pharr Road location of Atlanta health-centric corner grocery Savi Provisions, Hábitat Kitchen & Bar wants to meet you on the 21-and-up rooftop for modern Mexican gastronomy. It begins, as it should, with chips and fire-roasted tomato salsa, but can go into veggie flautas, street elote, or cucumber-watermelon salad with lemon vinaigrette territory, before getting into shrimp ceviche, ahi tuna aguachile, adobo steak sopes, or cheese-crusted corn tortillas. And that’s just dinner; they’ve also got brunch, including pan de bono baskets of Colombian cheese breads, and chorizo-sauced Georgia shrimp with stone-ground grits. With a solid list of palomas, margaritas, mojitos, and many other great cocktails to go along with the rainforest-reminiscent design aesthetic, it’s very much a place to be seen as well as fed and refreshed, meaning reservations made sooner are a good idea.

There are rooftop establishments in Atlanta and there is Rooftop LOA, the expansive, 38,000-square-foot, Miami-themed restaurant and bar setup at the top of The Interlock at 14th and Howell Mill. You’re surrounded by skyline views from Midtown in all three areas: the restaurant, the pool, and the grove, and your dinner options include a caviar bling box starting at $190, squid ink chitarra with lobster, and a wagyu tomahawk rib eye in foie gras jus. The cocktails are also upper-eschelon, with standouts like the celeried French 75, immaculate in its elegant green color and delicately balanced flavors. The pool bar leans into smaller plates like the churrasco steak frites, lobster rolls, and a house-ground burger with truffle garlic aioli, with various spritzes made with gin, mezcal, or Montenegro amaro.

Reservations are required for the restaurant, pool loungers, and cabanas. Get details here.

Only an outstanding restaurateur like Kevin Gillespie can turn Cold Beer into “an even more fun and welcoming” neighborhood pub, as he calls Slabtown, named for a mid-19th-century neighborhood of cabin houses built from sawmill wood donated by early ATL mayor Jonathan Norcross (it later became a red-light district, but that’s a whole ‘nother story…). Slabtown’s menu aims to be more accessible than its predecessor, so while octopus and some of Gillespie’s Gunshow flair won’t show up frequently, there will be lots of “Top-Chef”-level comfort foods. Examples include the “Closed on Sunday” chicken sandwich, jerk-roasted Mississippi catfish, and burgers and nachos, except Gillespie says it’s all made with high-quality, whole food ingredients. Along with plenty of craft draft and bottled beers, there’s a gang of cocktails split into categories from sparkling to boozy, sour, and zero-proof. And in yet another showing of good governance, Gillespie and Red Beard Restaurants president Marco Shaw have baked in a charitable benefit to dining at Slabtown: It’s also the headquarters and kitchen for their Defend Southern Food nonprofit program, whose goal is to deliver at least 500 nutritious weekly meals to schools in the Maynard Jackson High School cluster.

The amazing squad that made Ticonderoga Club one of Atlanta’s mightiest places for merry dining and festive beverage appreciation also scored a finalist nod for the 2022 James Beard awards. After all, you’ll have a difficult time finding a more hospitable, welcoming, and genuinely concerned group of hosts than whoever’s working behind the campy wooden bar, on the floor of the intimate dining room space, or upstairs at The Captain’s Table. Head on in and find your fill of fried claims from Ipswich, Mass., or do the sesame, miso, and chile crush summer wok veggies. At your drinking service are some of Atlanta’s absolute best cocktails, flights of sherry, a fantastic selection of wine, gorgeous summer cups like the Cavallino Rosa, made with Comoz blanc vermouth, Gran Classico, lime, and sparkling wine. Don’t be ashamed to bring three to five friends and go crazy on the $150 Chuck Wagon dinner, Ticon’s splittable 48-ounce Black Angus chuck roast. It’s worth every bite (try to get more bites than others if you can).

Consistently applying pressure to restaurants both inside and outside the 285 perimeter, Spring continues to occupy the highest class of Atlanta restaurants from Marietta Square, and still maintains a buzz years after opening. As seasonal dining is core to the dinner and drink menus crafted by chef Brian So and sommelier Daniel Crawford, Spring continues to shine in the summertime through offerings like the chilled melon soup with duck prosciutto, as well as pan-seared snowy grouper with summer squash, wax beans, tomato, and beurre blanc. And whether you’re going for a sprightly rosé or a buttery chard, the extensive wine list has plenty to pour by the glass or in whole or half-bottles.

Just grandly opened, this northeast ATL distillery wants to use its 2,800 square feet to support the creative community as part of its DNA. You don’t have to be a curator to want to collect and share their own liquid creations, which include a bourbon, rye, and corn whiskey, plus their pot-distilled Atlanta Vodka brand, which also comes in peach flavor; there’s a peach amaro, too. See interpretations of cocktail art made with those housemade spirits; on the sweeter side there’s the vodka-spiked chai latte with oat milk, while on the sturdier side they’ve got a New York sour, rye and bourbon versions of their house old fashioned, and a “beer” cocktail made with rye, hops, and club soda. As you hang around considering art ranging from sophisticated bohemian to mixed media abstract, don’t skip the bresaola and other charcuterie — it’s from ATL’s much-loved butcher shop The Spotted Trotter. 

Get more information from DMA’s website here.