Market East will open at Ponce City Market next week featuring three new Asian restaurants, popular breakfast restaurant Bomb Biscuit opened in a new location, Hopstix launched an omakase experience and more happenings from the metro area’s dining scene last week.
Ponce City Market welcomes a new wing of Asian restaurants
The husband-and-wife team behind Vietnamese restaurant Vietvana is debuting three Asian concepts in a renovated wing of Ponce City Market dubbed Market East.
Dinh Tran and Khanh Dang will open Boom Boom Bao, Lime Tiger and Uwu Asian Dessert Co. on June 5 in Market East near the Vietvana stall. The market is on the first floor with entrances across from the Roof’s Ticket Booth and through the Central Food Hall by Collier Candy Co.
Tran said that while all three concepts will focus on street food, they wanted each stall to offer the type of food people in different regions of Asia would enjoy in their homes, dishes that “people from the area will recognize, more like comfort food,” Tran said.
Boom Boom Bao is a bao and dim sum restaurant that draws inspiration from Shanghai and Hong Kong food stalls. It will initially be open from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays so diners can try a more “Chinese, Asian breakfast,” Tran said.
The team will prepare the baos fresh daily with a steamer at the front of the stall so customers can watch the process.
Credit: Courtesy of Design Bee Agency
Credit: Courtesy of Design Bee Agency
Lime Tiger is Tran and Dang’s way of sharing cuisine from a variety of Southeast Asian countries like Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. They’ll be offering dishes that people “would eat at home. We’re not necessarily picking the most popular restaurant food,” Tran said.
A rotating menu will offer three to four types of Southeast Asian entrees at a time.
It will also offer build-your-own bento boxes with options of herbs, vegetables and sauces that guests may be unfamiliar with. Lime Tiger will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
A grand opening celebration of Market East from 5-9 p.m. June 5 is open to the public and will feature samples from the new stalls, a DJ, live art and performances by lion and dragon dancers.
Credit: Courtesy of Design Bee Agency
Credit: Courtesy of Design Bee Agency
Uwu Asian Dessert Co. is a concept inspired by Dang, who is particularly picky about her milk tea. Tran said they spent about a year developing their own milk tea machine that allows them to brew drinks fresh to order.
It will offer green, black and oolong teas and toppings like brown sugar boba, grass jelly and mango popping boba.
Uwu will also have bubble waffles and bingsu, Korean shaved ice that’s made with frozen milk instead of water to create a “lighter, fresher” alternative to ice cream, Tran said. Toppings include red beans, mochi, shredded coconut, fruit and syrups like condensed milk and chocolate syrup. It will be open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
“Our goal for all the concepts is to just make everything fresh,” Tran said. “Some of the best food you eat, in my opinion, is street food in Asia.”
675 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta.
Credit: Andrew Thomas Lee
Credit: Andrew Thomas Lee
Big week for fans of chicken and biscuits
A popular Atlanta biscuit restaurant has reopened in a new location, and a hot chicken chain is launching its third location in Sandy Springs.
Bomb Biscuit Co., Erika Council’s popular breakfast restaurant, has opened in its new location at the Larkin development in Grant Park, according to a news release.
Since launching Bomb Biscuit Co. as a pop-up in 2016, Council has secured plenty of restaurant acclaim from making the New York Times’ best restaurant list, to securing a back-to-back Bib Gourmand distinction and a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination.
After spending nearly three years at her first brick-and-mortar in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, she has reopened at the Larkin development in the former Woodward & Park space. Bomb Biscuit Co. will now be neighbors with Birdcage, Firepit Pizza and Perc Coffee.
The opening menu will be limited to Bomb Biscuit staples but will expand in the coming months. The new location’s hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays.
519 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 678-949-9439, bombbiscuitatl.com
Credit: Courtesy of Dave's Hot Chicken
Credit: Courtesy of Dave's Hot Chicken
Dave’s Hot Chicken, the Los Angeles-based chicken franchise that began as a pop-up in an East Hollywood parking lot, has opened its third Georgia location in Sandy Springs. This outpost comes from franchisee Josh Christensen of Vision Food Group.
The chain specializes in hot chicken tenders and sliders that offer a variety of spice levels ranging from no spice to Reaper, and sides like kale slaw and mac and cheese. It operates daily from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Georgia’s first Dave’s Hot Chicken landed in Conyers last year through a partnership with Atlanta R&B star Usher and two of the brand’s original franchisees, Lawrence Kourie and Andrew Feghali. A second location opened in Buford in early May, and seven more locations are planned for Georgia.
6309 Roswell Road NE, Sandy Springs. 404-201-2988, daveshotchicken.com
Other items of interest
Cuddlefish, the hand roll restaurant from chef Jason Liang, is now offering a Temaki Takeover every Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Guests can pay $79 per person to eat unlimited sushi hand rolls (temaki) and select small bites like Taiwanese chicken nuggets.
290 High St., Dunwoody. 678-994-2715, cuddlefishatl.com
Hopstix, an Asian brewpub in Chamblee, has hopped on the omakase train with the launch of its 13-course omakase experience by New York City chef Joe Wu. The omakase menu is $95 per person and lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made on Hopstix’s OpenTable.
3404 Pierce Drive NE, Chamblee. 678-888-2306, opentable.com/r/hopstix-chamblee
Check out dining critic Henri Hollis’ restaurant review of Chilispot, a Sichuan chain restaurant in Duluth.
More restaurant openings
Cafe Comma has opened its second location in Sandy Springs, according to the coffee shop’s social media. The cafe first opened in Vinings in 2020, and it offers a menu of tea, matcha, coffee and signature drinks like a churro latte and a black sugar latte. Food items include sweet and savory toasts and pastries.
6125 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. atlcafecomma.com
Chico Cantina, a Mexican restaurant from the team behind Botica, has opened in the Town Brookhaven development. It serves dishes like empanadas, halibut ceviche, tamales, oysters, tacos and enchiladas.
705 Town Blvd., Brookhaven. 404-963-1356,eatchico.com
Credit: Courtesy of Jars by Fabio Viviani
Credit: Courtesy of Jars by Fabio Viviani
JARS by Fabio Viviani, a dessert franchise from celebrity chef Fabio Viviani, has opened its first Georgia location in Smyrna, according to a news release. The fast-casual dessert shop specializes in jars filled with a dessert combination, including flavors like a red velvet cheesecake, tiramisu, banana cream pie and tres leches cake.
Billy’s Avondale, a sandwich counter, has opened in downtown Avondale Estates near the Town Green, Decaturish reported. The menu includes savory sandwiches like the Exeter with house roasted beef, caramelized onion, arugula, horseradish and cheddar cheese on cornmeal dusted kaiser, as well as sweet sliders served with a cup of vanilla ice cream.
121 Center St., Avondale Estates. 404-660-4492, billysavondale.com
New restaurant announcements
Credit: Courtesy of Toastique
Credit: Courtesy of Toastique
Toastique, a toast and juice bar chain, will open in the Brickworks development in West Midtown this fall. This is the franchise’s second Atlanta location after it opened in Midtown last year.
1000 Marietta St., Atlanta. toastique.com
The friends behind sandwich shop Sammy’s in Adair Park will open Broad Street BBQ next year in South Downtown.
What Now Atlanta reports that Pizza Dynamo will join Pour Taproom in its space on the Beltline, and in Stone Mountain a burger restaurant is set to open in June at the Stone Mountain Square Shopping Center. Smashd Burgers & Bourbon comes from the team behind Trend Urban Cafe and Guac Taco Studio.
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