Tag: pop-ups

When fine dining spot Redbird closed on the Westside last year, it also meant the end of owner/chef Zeb Stevenson’s famed Birdy Biscuits. The weekend-only offering was known for lines around the corner, as eager Atlantans downed fried chicken biscuits, guava biscuits, and cinnamon rolls served from a walk-up window. Now, the pop-up returns for one night only.

Whether kid-friendly, pet-friendly, or strictly for adults, Atlanta’s holiday season has something for everyone. To help to make the most of this year’s festive fun, we’ve rounded up just a few of the metro's great events, from live entertainment to Santa meet-and-greets to festive markets to pop-up holiday bars.

If all goes well, Siciliano’s will be held monthly and eventually open as a brick and mortar elsewhere in the city. “We are definitely looking to do a sandwich shop in the future. We’re always looking at spaces,” Pascarella says. “We feel the Italian deli scene doesn’t exist yet in ATL, so we're just always trying to do our part.”

Joshua Fryer is passionate about food and wine. Although most Atlantans know him as a front-of-house guy—he served as general manager and beverage director at 8Arm—Fryer graduated from culinary school and worked in kitchens prior to finding a home behind the bar. By founding Long Snake wine bar, Fryer is revisiting his original passion, serving a tight menu (primarily small plates) and Lo-Fi wines, with vinyl playing in the background.

Some of the most exciting food in Atlanta today is served out of borrowed kitchens, at farmers markets, and from food trucks. Here’s some of our recent faves, and where to find them. 

These days, it’s not uncommon to see waves of interest in food from historically underappreciated communities—but it’s also not uncommon to see those waves come and go quickly, the cuisine treated as a temporary fad rather than a durable part of the culinary landscape. Atlanta’s not just having a moment with Filipino food, though; it’s undergoing an awakening.

In November 2019, I attended my first Stolen Goods pop-up dinner, led by chef Maximilian Hines at the Old Fourth Ward restaurant A Mano. The meal—called Traptoria, Vol. 2—was advertised as a tribute to the carryout foods Hines grew up eating at mom-and-pop Italian restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area, but with a “Dirty South twist.” From a menu sprinkled with references to legendary musical acts, I ordered the Prince Scampi (Royal Red head-on shrimp in garlic and chili sauce, served with white bread), the fancied-up Cup-o-Ramone chicken noodles, and a rapturous Little Debbie tiramisu. It all lived up to the description Hines wrote to promote the event: “Basically if an Italian immigrant moved here and opened an Olive Garden in Bankhead.”

Though the menu changes weekly, Molli Voraotsady maintains a fidelity to the foods of her childhood; outside of sourcing produce from the Grant Park Farmers Market when she can, she hasn’t felt the need to mess around with tradition.

During the pandemic, Fu-Mao Sun launched a pop-up called Mighty Hans that specializes in Taiwanese American fare; his brunches, featuring some of the dishes you see here, gained him scores of fans.

Secret Santa ATL (also known as “Loose Lips”), a speakeasy hidden in a warehouse deep within Pullman Yards in Kirkwood. The brainchild of beverage director Marian Chism, the concept started as an off-handed comment she made to property owner Adam Rosenfelt. “I jokingly said, ‘You know, I could throw a speakeasy up in the tunnels and people would come.’”