The Best New Cheap Eats in Atlanta

Late Night

Photograph by Josh Meister

Roasted Cauliflower
Edgar’s Proof & Provision
If you’ve ever woken up hung over, your lips still rimmed with Dorito dust, then think of Proof & Provision’s roasted rainbow cauliflower as a less regrettable bar nosh. Served until midnight on weekends with a dipping sauce made from melted pepper jack cheese, heavy cream, paprika, and roasted jalapeños, it’s a healthy(ish) take on chips and queso. $4, 659 Peachtree Street, 404-897-5045

The “Stack”
Marcel
Ford Fry’s steakhouse has come to be known for its inflated prices (up to $165 for a Porterhouse!), but the downhome “Stack” is a downright steal. For 10 bucks, you get three ounces of shaved, crisped mortadella, each slice layered with a square of American cheese, all sandwiched in a griddled pain de mie bun with horseradish mayonnaise. The downside: It’s served only on the weekends, from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. $10, 1170 Howell Mill Road, 404-665-4555

Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore

Hot Dog with Collard Greens
Midnight Marauder
Ian Nathanson wears sunglasses at night—or technically in the morning, since Midnight Marauder is open on Fridays and Saturdays from midnight to 4:00 a.m.—as he slings the favorite street food of his native Long Island: hot dogs. The topper that turns this snack into a meal is Bone Lick BBQ’s collard greens, stewed with bits of pork. $8, 477 Flat Shoals Avenue, 678-765-9797

Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore

Freebies!
Hungry? Buy a Drink
Venice, Italy, has its cicchetti and Spain has its tapas, which means Italians and Spaniards enjoy chef’s choice snacks—for free—as long as they’re drinking. While gratis bites aren’t de rigueur at Atlanta bars just yet, a few savvy spots are onto this ultra-hospitable trend.

Grab a seat at one of Bar Margot’s club tables and you’ll be presented with not one but two free morsels: pretzel crackers with melted Havarti beer cheese for dipping and redskin peanuts dusted with sugar, cayenne, lime zest, and paprika. 75 Fourteenth Street, 404-881-5913

A flute of rosé Champagne at Atlas may cost $18, but when executive chef Christopher Grossman sends out bowls of everything bagel–style crispy flatbread—flecked with white and black sesame seeds, garlic, poppy seeds, and fleur de sel—ponying up won’t sting quite so much. 88 West Paces Ferry Road, 404-600-6471

Camp out among the wingback chairs at Bones steakhouse’s bar and nosh on the addictive, warm cheese coins. Made with cheddar and cayenne pepper and rolled out paper thin, they’re a sharp, two-bite counterpoint to a crisp glass of white wine. 3130 Piedmont Road, 404-237-2663 —Jennifer Bradley Franklin

This article originally appeared in our April 2017 issue.