Restaurants

Earlier this month, WaHo started bringing plates of joy to disaster stricken areas with a new food truck specialized for disaster relief. The company contracted David Ford of Food Trucks South to create a truck that would not only hold the ambience and productivity of a brick and mortar location but also could be used to assist areas affected by natural disasters. Recently, we got in touch with Ford for more details about the truck and how it will be utilized.

Buckhead will add a new barbecue joint, gastropub, and Spanish-fusion spot to its restaurant repertoire next year with the opening of Smokebelly, the Southern Gentleman, and Gypsy Kitchen, respectively. Created by Chris Hadermann and JP Piemonte—the team behind Tin Lizzy’s, the Big Ketch, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails, and the new Osteria Cibo Rustico—these new concepts will focus on the dining experience as a whole, complete with live music, craft cocktails, and more. Each will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Atlanta’s restaurant industry is grieving the passing of Ria Pell, owner of Ria’s Blue Bird in Grant Park. She reportedly died of a heart attack yesterday. Pell worked in several local restaurants around town before opening Ria’s in 2000. Her place immediately became neighborhood favorite, and it helped pave the way for the area’s now-booming dining scene. Below, some social-media remembrances from the community:

In less than a week—January 13 to be precise—Ford Fry's newest venture, St. Cecilia, will open in Buckhead's Pinnacle Building, in the space formerly home to Bluepointe. With a menu that covers the southern European coast, inspired by Genoa, Italy, and the Ligurian coast, St. Cecilia focuses on fresh pastas, roasted fish, and crudo.

By now, you may have heard reports that a worldwide pork shortage "is now unavoidable" in 2013. The UK's National Pig Association sounded the alarm last week, pointing to corn crop failures that have caused feed costs to skyrocket. There may be a rational, calm solution to all of this, but I'd assume that instead of calm planning, every chef in Atlanta is totally freaking out right now.

Atlanta is getting a new wine bar—one that’s been a long time coming. Spearheaded by Ian Mendelsohn, a former beverage director at the St. Regis, Vine & Tap will open in Buckhead's Lenox Village at 2770 Lenox Road on February 7. It was originally projected to open last summer, but a fire broke out in the space in August, causing delays all around.

Kevin Gillespie discusses fried chicken, hunting, and the weirdest thing about being on Top Chef.

Ian Jones, proprietor of Victory Sandwich Bar and Paper Plane, is frustrated. Originally, he had a May opening in mind for Victory Sandwich Bar’s new Inman Park location (913 Bernina Avenue, the space formerly home to Park’s Edge). Then he figured July. Now, due to a seemingly endless series of meetings and reviews with the city permitting department, it’s looking more like August or September, he says.