Tag: Brian So

Brian So built a loyal following at his Marietta Square restaurant Spring. When he announced the restaurant would close for renovations, he didn’t deprive Marietta of his cooking for long. He opened his first Korean restaurant, Spring 2nd Branch, blocks away from his first location. Spring 2nd Branch is an entirely different restaurant from Spring—open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week, and takes no reservations.

Chef Brian So, whose Spring restaurant in Marietta was awarded one Michelin star in 2024, is ready for his next adventure. In addition to remodeling Spring, which will reopen next year, So has been working on an authentic Korean restaurant called Spring 2nd Branch, also in the Marietta Square, with business partner and sommelier Daniel Crawford. Slated to launch in early September, Spring 2nd Branch is inspired by restaurants So ate at as a child.

For Sarah Hawkins, the act of foraging—touching the soil, smelling the moss, connecting with nature—is satisfying in its own right. But the goal  is to return home with a haul of tasty forest treasures. And anyone can do it: You just have to learn how to find the right fungi, and how to cook with them.

Brian So needed a change. After leading the kitchen at Spring, a seasonally driven fine dining restaurant in Marietta, for seven years, he felt like he was stuck in the same mindset creatively and wanted to explore something else. So, he looked to his Korean heritage. This summer, he plans to open BŌM, a casual and lively Korean restaurant steps away from Spring.

In 2016, a clever little restaurant sprang onto the scene and broke all the rules.

Looking beyond such fanfare as the opening of Tiny Lou’s and the rise of fast-casual everything, what else happened in the food world this year—and what does it say about Atlanta? We received a few snubs on the national stage, which might suggest that our dining scene is faltering. It could also be that we’re currently stewing on our most promising culinary ideas and talent.

The James Beard Foundation's 2018 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists include seven Atlanta-based chefs and three elsewhere in Georgia received nominations. If you look closer at the list, you'll notice a trend: Seven of these ten chefs are people of color.

Brian So took one of eight spots on Atlanta’s best new restaurants list this year for his French technique-driven cooking at Spring in Marietta.

Brian So, the chef and owner of Spring in Marietta, does not like clutter. Good thing, too, because his restaurant—a converted train depot—doesn’t have room for much more than tables and chairs. So’s minimalism extends to his menu, which rarely boasts more than five entrees.

Restaurant critic Jennifer Zyman looks back at her favorite dishes of 2016, including brisket from B's Cracklin', Carolina gold rice and vegetables at Spring, and more.