Ones to Watch: The new guard shaping Atlanta’s food scene in 2018

The Chef: Parnass Savang

Photograph by Ben Rollins

Parnass Savang opened his pop-up, Talat Market, inside Candler Park restaurant Gato because he was weary of subpar Thai food. “Coconut milk from a can. Curry paste from a can. Even if it’s doctored up, it’s still missing that . . . love,” he says. Savang, who grew up around his family’s Lawrenceville restaurant, Danthai, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York and then moved back to Atlanta, where he worked at Empire State South, Staplehouse, and Kimball House. Since April, he’s been serving his “Georgian Thai” food (local ingredients, Thai technique) at Talat every weekend—and yes, he makes his own coconut milk and curry paste. Dishes have included a whole fried flounder doused in sweet chili sauce and heaped with cilantro; a salad of pomelo, betel leaves, pecans, and fried garlic; and grilled baby bananas with pawpaw fruit and coconut cream. Next up: a permanent home for Talat, where Savang hopes he can expand his menu.