Fresh on the Scene: The Cockentrice, Made Kitchen and Cocktails, and more

Made Kitchen and Cocktails
The latest from North Fulton’s Chris Sedgwick (Bistro VG, Pure Taqueria) has chef Tim Agee flinging an array of tapas and plates inspired by Spain. Look for lentil stew with housemade chorizo, grilled oysters spiced with pimenton, and refined short rib croquetas. Come summer, the outdoor patio will make an ideal perch for sipping sangria while the kitchen takes half an hour preparing a worth-the-wait paella. 45 Roswell Street, Alpharetta, 770-452-6233

The Cockentrice
Meat, meat, and more meat—that’s the promise at chef Kevin Ouzts’s daring new restaurant in Krog Street Market. (The name comes from a bizarre ancient dish composed of a pig and a capon sewn together.) Ouzts, a first-time restaurateur who also owns the Spotted Trotter butcher shop, firmly plants the full-service eatery as a unique alternative to the steakhouse scene. The best dishes deftly blend refinement and dazzle, like suckling pig grattons (think giant cracklings) served with sunchoke whip and warm pork belly mustard; a rich bread pudding made with beef cheeks and Gruyère; and a slate-roasted, blue cheese–cured ribeye. 99 Krog Street, 470-428-2509

Dish Dive
In a restaurant era that favors the big, splashy, and boozy, this BYOB hideaway from Top Flr cofounder Jeff Myers and chef Travis Carroll is a rare sight. Dished out of a postage-stamp-sized cottage, the low-key offerings are cheaper than expected and big on comfort. Shakshuka topped with fried egg and crumbled feta and the charred Brussels sprouts with sweet yucca root stand as some of the more high-minded plates. Just as easily, the kitchen will let loose with hot dogs with beer mustard and french fries with mushroom gravy and duck confit. 2233 College Avenue, 404-790-0418

Asante
In this refined downtown restaurant overlooking Centennial Olympic Park, chef Marvin Woods—the popular host of Turner South’s Home Plate and lead chef for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative—serves inventive soul food tinged with Caribbean and African influences, all while staying true to his health-minded principles. Not sure what that looks like? Order the vegan cheese made from finely chopped cashews atop sliced heirloom tomatoes dusted with pimenta malagueta (fiery Brazilian peppers). Simpler creations like his creamy mac and cheese or the Lowcountry shrimp with blue corn grits show just as much verve. 250 Park Avenue West, 404-893-0022
— Christiane Lauterbach

Coming soon

• The new stalls continue at Krog Street Market; Ford Fry’s Superica is now open, while Gu’s should be open by the end of the month.
• Adrian Villarreal, the former chef de cuisine at the Spence, hopes to open a taqueria called Rreal Tacos in Midtown this spring.
• Jay Swift of 4th & Swift is aiming to launch Noble Fin, a seafood spot in Norcross, by the end of May.
  — Evan Mah