Tag: Small Fry

One thing I noticed on my return to Atlanta after a couple of years: major shifts in the local pizza scene. This new Neo-Neapolitan movement in Atlanta—“a pizza renaissance,” ventures chef Jake Pollitz at Staplehouse in Old Fourth Ward—is essentially an aftereffect of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here's how Staplehouse, Pendolino, Bocado, Indaco, Mister 01, and Lloyd’s are approaching this new movement.

The vestiges of Anthony Spina’s Italian American childhood, spent largely in New Jersey, are all over the 25-year-old chef’s first restaurant. That would be Small Fry, a tiny slip of a room at Atlanta Dairies on Memorial Drive, where Spina makes magic by embellishing deep-fried foods with Italian touches. The takeaway on Spina: Baby, he was born to fry.

In 2022, a group of local chefs and restaurateurs—including Fishmonger’s Nhan Le and Skip Engelbrecht—announced a forthcoming fried food spot called Small Fry. Two years later, the project is finally coming to fruition, though Le and Engelbrecht are no longer associated with it. Instead, El Malo’s Omar Ferrer, Spina Pizza’s Anthony Spina Jr., and Pollo Primo’s Duane Kulers are collaborating to bring fried handhelds to the Atlanta Dairies in Reynoldstown. Opening tomorrow at 4 p.m., Small Fry will offer baskets, sandwiches, and drinks via counter service.

This year, the BeltLine takes center stage once again, with restaurants and bars popping up along the Eastside Trail, as well as in the West End. We’ll see a balance of quick comfort food spots and fine dining. Popular chefs and restaurateurs like Ford Fry, Linton Hopkins, Tal Baum, and Ron Hsu are back, bringing their creative fare to new locations, while newcomers such as Anthony Spina, Jr., hit the scene.

Skip Engelbrecht and chef Nhan Le, the team behind 8Arm in Poncey-Highland, have turned their focus to casual eateries. They recently launched Fishmonger seafood market and raw bar in Virginia-Highland and will open Small Fry—an elevated, fried comfort food takeout—in Atlanta Dairies in late fall.