Quick Bites: Cook Out on Ponce, Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall debuts, and more

Atlanta restaurant news

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  • Photo courtesy of The Brasserie and Neighborhood Café at Parish
  • the Brasserie and Neighborhood Café at Parish has welcomed a new pastry chef, Kelly Lovett



Summer camp themed-eatery Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall opened at 684 John Wesley Dobbs Ave. last week, directly adjacent to the Atlanta Beltline. A neighbor to Highland Bakery, Jake’s Ice Cream, and Kevin Rathbun Steak, the concept from owner Michael Lennox offers nostalgic, retro-esque dishes inspired by campfire cooking. The menu was partially developed by former executive chef Robert Lupo and are currently overseen by newly promoted chef Kyle Schmidt. The patio-heavy restaurant is BYOB for now, but cocktails and beers are coming soon. Details as they arise.

Former Holeman & Finch partners Greg Best and Regan Smith are joining forces for the fifth culinary concept to sign on at Krog Street Market (99 Krog Street). As the Inman Park/Old Fourth Ward development’s final anchor restaurant tenant, the as-of-yet-unnamed hot spot will likely offer night and weekend hours, with carryout options for weekday lunch. A tiki bar and jerky shack are also possibilities.

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In case you missed it, the 60-year-old Zesto’s at 544 Ponce De Leon Ave. closed Sept. 20. North Carolina-based Cook Out is moving in to replace it after the space undergoes renovations. Details on Cook Out’s opening to come.

Joystick Gamebar has welcomed a new food vendor into the fold. Emory Village’s Bad Dog Taqueria will set up shop as Joystick’s latest in-house pop-up restaurant. The taco and burrito joint is in the process of opening a second brick-and-mortar location across the street at 476 Edgewood Ave. Until then, Bad Dog will serve late-night bites out of Joystick’s kitchen through the end of the year.

The Brasserie and Neighborhood Café at Parish (240 N. Highland Ave.) has welcomed a new pastry chef into the fold. Kelly Lovett, formerly of Seven Lamps, comes to the job with experience at Pacci, Briza, and Bacchanalia under her belt. While the menu is not yet available, Lovett is developing dessert recipes to complement chef Zeb Stevenson’s inventive savory dishes.

Twin Smokers Barbecue & Bourbon will open in Downtown’s Luckie Marietta District at 300 Marietta St. on Mon., Oct. 6. The new concept from Legacy Restaurant Partners (the same folks behind Stats, Game-X, Glenn’s Kitchen, SkyLounge at the Glenn Hotel, Max’s Coal Oven Pizzeria, Der Biergarten, Ventanas, and City View Room) will occupy a 4,000-square-foot space at 300 Marietta St. Touting two top-of-the-line Oyler 700 smokers and recipes developed by corporate executive chef Chris Blobaum, the eatery will offer “Southern-style barbecue with hickory-smoked chicken and pork and Texas style barbecue with mesquite-smoked beef brisket,” plus bourbon, beer, and milkshakes.

J. Christopher’s has shuttered its location at 774 Ponce de Leon Ave. Although rumors initially swirled that the eatery would reopen in the Virginia-Highland area, that’s yet to come to fruition. In related news, neighboring diner Java Jive has closed due to a family emergency with no word yet whether or not the retro cafe will resume operation last week, but has since resumed normal operating hours. The eatery is open for breakfast and lunch Tues.-Fri., 8 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 8:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

After getting heat from Midtown’s longstanding Café Intermezzo (1065 Peachtree Road), the newish (read: March 2013) Café Mezo (794 Juniper St.) will change its name to the Sivas on Sept. 20, What Now, Atlanta reveals. The pivotal lawsuit was first brought forth on July 18 due to the restaurants’ similar names—as well as the implication that Café Mezzo/The Sivas was capitalizing on an iconic brand by opening so close (0.5 mile) to its likeness. The Mediterranean restaurant’s new moniker comes from the name for owner Kemal Karsli’s home city in Turkey.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams plans to open a third Atlanta-area shop in Decatur late this October. The Columbus, Ohio-based creamery, which infiltrated Atlanta via its 1198 Howell Mill Road location last year, has already announced plans to set up shop in Krog Street Market by the middle of October. The Decatur Square location at 545 N. McDonough St. should follow suit within a matter of weeks. Jeni’s is known for serving frozen treats made from grass-grazed milk and cream—think ice creams, frozen yogurts, and sorbets in flavors like brown butter almond brittle, brambleberry crisp, and goat cheese with red cherries — along with the occasional ice cream sandwiches, macaroons, and cookies.

In case you missed it, President Bill Clinton was in Atlanta Sept. 15, and made a pit stop at Home Grown during his visit. Reports from Eater suggest he avidly adhered to a strict vegan diet, miraculously managing to turn down the restaurant’s famed comfy chicken biscuit. There was, however, no scrimping on excitement for all patrons in attendance.


Note: This post has been updated since publication to clarify Java Jive’s hours of operation.