The May Hit List: Lazy Betty, Rock Steady, Boxcar, and More

“The award-winning Candler Park restaurant begins offering a new $100-per-person, four-course menu on May 3, featuring Sacramento Delta asparagus, crown-roasted dry-aged duck and more. Caviar service, wine pairings and courses like warmed diver scallops can be added, and vegetarian options are also available. You’ve also still got time to book a table for Mother’s Day for LB’s brunch tasting menu. The menu will include grilled avocado, a truffled French omelet with black truffle butter, smoked salmon with potato latke, and charcoal-grilled Westholme wagyu beef. Yes; yum. Make that Resy ASAP.

A crew led by longtime ATL chef Shaun Doty has decided to open a sandwich shop inspired by NYC and Philadelphia sando spots using Buckhead Bread, and an adjacent beer hall for good measure, simultaneously in the former space of Moe’s on Ponce. Both are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, but for the rest of the week stop in on mornings for egg sandwiches and Dancing Goats espresso, and during lunch for chicken schnitzel or hot subs like the Manna (seasoned ground beef with Swiss cheese, fried onions and comeback sauce). Starting at 5 p.m. at The Wurst, you’ll find steins of tapped German brews along with an assortment of bottled Kolsch, marzen and lagers, and appropriate bites including pretzels, fish and chips, and pork “knuckle” confit shanks simmered for 12 hours in duck fat with country bread.

No reservations; see the menu and get more details here.

Carnival happens in May, and if you haven’t recently visited Rock Steady, you may have missed word that talented chef Briana Riddock has been promoted to executive chef of this Caribbean standout. Stop in and grab a seat downstairs, and try chef’s specials like spicy, charred, tomato-marinated octopus before heading upstairs to the always-lively lounge. It’s also a good idea to make a brunch reservation, as Riddock’s new menu includes creative takes on traditional favorites such as peach-jalapeño calamari, sweet potato French toast, and a pork chop topped with a biscuit poured-over with Creole gravy. Talk about steady rockin’ all day long.

Opened April 18th, in Tin-Tin Winebar’s former space next to Nick’s Westside, Chef Nick Leahy’s new cafe continues his commitment to seasonal Georgia-grown produce and proteins, with light bites and beverages changing every season, just like the bar’s name (you guessed it — Summer Bar is next). Stop in for ropa vieja empanadas with turnip tops and spring vegetable salsa verde, roasted scallop ravioli and more, with menu items topping out at $20. As for those springy drinks, try the Bugs-Bunny-inspired “What’s Up Doc” with carrot juice, ginger, lemon and carrot-infused rye, or the Moonlight Sonata with gin, creme de violette, red wine, lime juice, local egg whites and garden mint.

Closed Sundays, no reservations. Call (770) 838-3501 for more details.

New to Resy, this super-swanky Buckhead lounge which began on the Eastside Trail has a reputation for impeccably dressed city folks, great cocktails and superb small plates. While the original location wasn’t reservation-oriented, Buckhead’s quite different, so put yourself on the list and plan for a relaxed-yet-upscale night on the town.

If you’ve never had the fantastic food served at this wife-and-husband-led Italian pop-up — or have wondered if it’s as good as the long lines suggest — you’ve got a chance to change that at the top of this month at this season’s first Truist Night Market, on Thursday, May 4, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at The Home Depot Backyard. Chef Joel Penn (who’s worked Watchman’s, Wrecking Bar and The National in Athens) and wife Amanda (formerly of The Giving Kitchen) will serve their gluten-free Georgia catfish and peanut stew, made with super-fresh tomatoes (the season’s first crop), carrots, lemongrass, preserved peppers, spring onion, and their own signature hot sauce (which you can purchase here).

The talented couple’s focus on seasonality comes through deliciously in dishes from previous pop-ups, such as spring turnips a la plancha with pork belly, and desserts like fresh strawberry and banana custard with housemade wafers, peanut and korean chile flake. It’s good stuff so don’t miss it; look for the stylish cursive logo on the banner.

Keep up with more Vinetta events through their website.

If you like wings and haven’t already tried Boxcar’s delectable little poultry pops, you should make that a priority this month. The flavors range from garlic parmesan to spicy Korean fire, lemon pepper and more, all of which go very tastily with signature cocktails like the mango sriracha margarita or the new tequila-based Berry Nutz, which looks like a raspberry smoothie thanks to Coco Lopez and housemade spring berry syrup, but drinks like something perhaps less-advisable before your morning workout. 

This classic Italian diner is not very big (there are six tables and seven counter seats), it is closed every Wednesday and Thursday, and they decidedly do not serve lasagna, but bear with those realities and you’ll find that Gigi’s deserves every bit of the high word-of-mouth praise it’s received. The bucatini alla puttanesca is bursting with bright flavor, thanks to San Marzano tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies, while the grilled chicken marsala with focaccia and mushroom medley is an exquisite visit to places your taste buds belong. They brag, with reason, about the tiramisu, and there’s a solid amari list including digestifs like Branca Menta (the sweeter, mintier version of Fernet Branca). It’s such a pleasant environment that you won’t even remember that lasagna matters. 

The Alden’s fifth anniversary is this month, and chef Jared Hucks, whose career has included time working in some of the world’s most esteemed restaurants, invites you to help celebrate. Stop in May 16-29 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and take advantage of a special deal where $25 gets you three chef pintxos and a glass of wine, or head straight for the seven-course tasting menu served around the 10-seat chef’s counter. And there’s still time (act quickly) to reserve a table for Mother’s Day, when at $89 per person (plus $45 for the optional wine pairing) you’ll get a prefix menu that includes starters like the kimchi farm egg, smoked Brasstown brisket, and sorbets or other desserts. 

This stylish, naturally lit coastal-Thai-inspired seafood restaurant opens Monday, May 1st with room for 84 diners in the main room and 40 patio guests, with classically trained chef Pattie Lawlertratana (also of Bangkok Thai) in the owner and operator seat. With featured dishes like coldwater lobster, fresh raw East and West Coast oysters, and a wide variety of sustainably caught fish delivered daily and prepared to your choosing, market-style. The design accents, like the hanging fish traps above the bar and gold flakes sparkling from inside the concrete floor, pull it all together. You’ll find 90 bottles on the wine list (sparkling wine is a significant focus), plus 12 Thai cocktails, and a curated list of high-end Japanese whisky and other spirits.

Call (404) 999-9995 for reservations.