Table Talk: New Wine Bar + Uzbek-Uyghur Restaurant
May 6— Happy Tuesday and welcome to the table!
In today’s edition of “Family Meal,” I’m bringing you a story about Atlanta’s newest wine bar, Side Saddle Wine Saloon, which will open very soon in Boulevard Heights. Side Saddle was slated to open on May 3, but a last-minute permitting issue led owner Kayla Bellman to postpone the debut. However, Bellman assures me the opening is right around the corner, and I have the details on what you can expect when the new wine bar does finally open.
For “The Move,” I tell you where to find Uzbek-Uyghur food at a new restaurant in Metro Atlanta. And Chef Ali Mesghali of Rumi’s Kitchen provided you with the recipe for his roasted salmon with sour cherry rice (albaloo polo), a dish perfect for your next dinner party.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
🍻 Join us on Sat., May 10 for Hope Fest 2025 at SweetWater Brewing (21+)! Live music from Wim Tapley & the Cannons and more—all to support Hope Atlanta’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Click to learn more & grab your tickets today! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Atlanta’s Newest Wine Bar:
Side Saddle Wine Saloon
☕🍷 Finca to Filter and Side Saddle Wine Saloon will open soon in Boulevard Heights. Owned by Kayla Bellman, the natural wine bar and coffee shop take over two repurposed buildings at the Penman apartment complex, sharing a patio along the Southeast corridor of the Beltline.
But after announcing the openings for May 3, a last-minute permitting snafu caused Bellman to walk back the date. The postponement means Finca to Filter is only open for to-go orders, and service at Side Saddle remains on hold while Bellman works to resolve the permitting issue.
The 411
Located on Hamilton Avenue, Finca to Filter opens early in the morning for coffee, espresso, and baked goods made in-house by Emily Davis. As Finca to Filter sunsets later in the afternoon, Side Saddle opens for wine, cocktails, and food from veteran Atlanta chef Carla Fears.
👩🏾🍳 Fears, whose resume includes working alongside chefs like Taria Camerino, Zeb Stevenson, and Todd Richards, was operating pop-up Gourmet Street Food when Bellman asked her to develop the menu for Side Saddle. Fears isn’t afraid to push boundaries, and Bellman likes that she brings fresh flavors and perspectives to the dishes at Side Saddle. The menu features everything from antipasti of olives and pickled vegetables, charcuterie, and salads to confit chicken wings, a cheeseburger, and a Monte Cristo PB&J.
Expect events at Side Saddle and Finca to Filter, including winemaker talks and tastings, pop-up markets, drag shows, outdoor jazz, and weekly trivia. Bellman plans to allow seating in both spaces during the evening, using Finca to Filter as a spill-over area for more lively events like trivia.
But that’s not all Bellman has planned at the Boulevard Heights complex. This summer, Bellman will also open a frozen dessert stand selling frozen bananas, chocolate bars, and other sweet treats.
🏳️🌈 “We want this all to be a welcoming environment for everyone to hang out throughout the day,” said Bellman, who proudly celebrates her businesses as queer- and woman-owned.
What to expect at Side Saddle Wine Saloon
Bellman first opened Finca to Filter five years ago inside the taproom of Wild Heaven Beer in West End, followed by a location at Create ATL in neighboring Adair Park. Both locations closed in 2024, but not before Bellman could open another location in the Old Fourth Ward, where business is booming.
Like Finca to Filter, Side Saddle continues Bellman’s mission to support women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community in every aspect of the business, from the staff, beverages, and food to events and other services.
Bellman named Side Saddle for the antiquated seated position women were made to endure when riding horses in heavy skirts. The saddle forced the rider to sit sideways rather than astride, deemed an appropriate position to protect a woman’s modesty.
💪 The name, Bellman said, represents the societal challenges and constraints women and other marginalized people face and work to overcome. It’s important to Bellman that supporting marginalized communities isn’t just lip service at Finca to Filter, and now at Side Saddle Wine Saloon.
Bellman and her staff will provide Plan B and Narcan upon request at the Boulevard Heights businesses. Across Atlanta, bars, restaurants, and coffee shops like Finca to Filter regularly carry Narcan, a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of an overdose.
Wine and cocktails
As with the coffee at Finca to Filter, the beverage list at Side Saddle heavily features wine and spirits produced by women, people of color, and small estates and distilleries, focusing on sustainable and low-intervention wine production.
“Our house wines are made by a B Corp-certified producer that uses recycled glass for bottles and paper for labels. We have boxed wine that is sustainably produced, helping to educate people on reducing the glass bottle carbon footprint,” said Side Saddle wine director Jett Kolarik. “I’m happy to offer wines by producers who incorporate fair labor practices, sustainable winemaking, and taking care of the environment into their business models.”
🍾 A wine consultant and educator, Kolarik worked for Sarah Pierre at 3 Parks Wine Shop and under sommelier Steven Grubbs at Commune in Avondale Estates. Bellman brought Kolarik on last summer to run the Thursday wine nights at Finca to Filter, which became a proving ground for Side Saddle.
Most wines by the glass average around $16, with nothing over $18 per glass. People can order flights of three half pours for $15. Look for half-off wines and weekly specials, including women winemakers highlighted on Wednesdays and funkier, more esoteric wines offered on Fridays.
As with Kolarik’s wine list, affordability factors into the cocktails from general manager and bar manager Flemming Love. Side Saddle features four regular house cocktails for $12 (Ranch Water, Margarita, Kentucky Mule, and Dirty Shirley), with $10 drink specials on Mondays and Tuesdays.
🍹 Bellman gave Love runway to get weird with the cocktails at Side Saddle like a cold brew riff on Long Island Iced Tea and the Horse Girl made with mezcal, amaro, sour cherry liqueur, and egg white. One drink even includes lettuce-infused olive oil with a Negroni-infused olive. With access to Finca to Filter’s coffee and syrups, Love is also able to whip up plenty of non-alcoholic mixed drinks.
“I see Side Saddle and Finca as community hubs, and we must keep these spaces welcoming and our menus, service, and events inclusive,” Bellman said. “We’re super proud of the people we’re partnering with, and we want people to know it.”
Your trusted source for orthopedic care
SPONSORED BY PEACHTREE ORTHOPEDICS
🎾 For 70 years, Peachtree Orthopedics has served Atlanta with a commitment to helping you return to the activities you love.
We have 43 leading physicians, all fellowship-trained, with specialties in every body part. This ensures expert, focused care that is designed for the best results and a quicker recovery.
Even better — our UrgentORTHO clinic offers same-day, evening, and Saturday hours, so you can come when it works for you. That means you can get seen quicker, avoid the E.R., and pay less.
➡️ Regardless of your age or orthopedic challenge, Peachtree Orthopedics is here to help you Get Better.
The Move: Laghman Express
🇺🇿 New York City-based Uzbek-Uyghur restaurant chain Laghman Express just opened off Windward Parkway in Alpharetta. The restaurant is already drawing crowds, evidenced by the line out the door, full patio, and packed dining room on a recent Friday night.
The halal restaurant features dishes from the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan, including guyurou laghman, a traditional hand-pulled noodle dish with beef and a medley of stir-fried vegetables spiced with cumin, red pepper flakes, and coriander brought over by the Uyghur people from the Xinjiang region of China. Laghman Express – a restaurant former New York Times food critic Pete Wells deemed one of the top 100 restaurants in NYC – brings Metro Atlanta a tight menu of dishes from the diaspora of communities that call Uzbekistan and Central Asia home.
🍜 We ordered the guyurou laghman, which I highly recommend, and steamed Central Asian manti (big-as-my-palm dumplings stuffed with savory lamb meatballs). The manti comes with a garlicky yogurt dipping sauce. And be sure to order a pot of fruit-infused Moroccan tea.
I’m eager to return to Laghman Express to try more dishes, including the naan, Tashkent-style plov (pilaf with lamb and beef), and stir-fried lamb with spicy peppers. Word to the wise: bring friends.
Roasted Salmon
with Sour Cherry Rice (Albaloo Polo)
from Rumi’s Kitchen
🐟 Seafood season never really goes away, but with summer on the horizon, many people’s minds look to the water. Chef Ali Mesghali of Rumi’s Kitchen shared his recipe for roasted salmon and sour cherry rice (albaloo polo), including a grill-friendly variant.
People who aren’t familiar with Persian cuisine often call it “aromatic.” Persian kitchens are stocked with ingredients like dried limes, sour cherries (albaloo), and a multitude of fragrant spices such as saffron.
🌹 Mesghali’s recipe incorporates Persian staples, including saffron bloomed in hot water, rosewater, and lime juice, but also makes use of widespread ingredients and at-home tricks for adapting the dish. For example, rather than calling for July-harvest sour cherries, the rice recipe calls for frozen cherries and includes a step for imparting that trademark tart flavor.
This roasted salmon recipe feeds six and is a great option for your next indoor or outdoor dinner party, especially if you’re firing up the grill for a night with friends on the patio.
Roasted salmon ingredients
- Six 8-ounce skin-on salmon filets
- 3 cups yellow onions, chopped
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Zest of 2 limes
- Interior pulp of 2 lemons
- Interior pulp of 2 limes
- 1/2 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp. saffron, ground (steeped in 1/4 cup hot water)
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup lime juice
- 3 tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 tbsp. black pepper, ground
To make the marinade
- In a blender, combine onions, vegetable oil, lemon and lime zest and fruit, starting on low intensity and increasing blender intensity until a smooth consistency is achieved.
- Combine white and red vinegar, soy sauce, saffron water, hot sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, kosher salt, and black pepper into a large container and mix.
- Pour blender mixture into liquid mixture and whisk until fully blended. Refrigerate.
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees or light grill.
Cooking instructions
- Place salmon filets skin-side down in a foil-lined lipped sheet pan.
- Once oven or grill is hot, ladle enough of marinade to fully coat each piece of salmon (if a lot of marinade pools in the pan and you are cooking in the oven, transfer filets with marinade to fresh sheet pan).
- Place filets on hot grill, skin side down, or insert sheet pan with filets into oven.
- Cook until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees, or less if you desire the center of the salmon not to be fully cooked.
Sour cherry rice ingredients
- Basmati rice
- 1 lb. cherries, frozen
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar, granulated
- 1/2 tsp. rosewater
- 1 tsp. saffron, ground (steeped in 2 tbsp. hot water)
- 1/8 cup plus 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Note: Rumi’s Kitchen uses lemon juice to make the cherries sour. You can also purchase dried sour cherries from an international market or an online marketplace like Persian Basket, based in Johns Creek.
Cooking instructions
- Cook basmati rice per package instructions. Reserve 1 cup.
- In a large pot, heat the frozen cherries and granulated sugar on low flame until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture without breaking the cherries.
- Add the rosewater and lemon juice. Slowly fold to incorporate.
- Remove from heat.
- Gently fold cherry mixture into rice to desired ratio. Serve on large platter.
- Mix reserved 1 cup of basmati rice with saffron water. Place in center of plattered rice.
- Serve with salmon.
Serves 6 people.
🍻 Join us on Sat., May 10 for Hope Fest 2025 at SweetWater Brewing (21+)! Live music from Wim Tapley & the Cannons and more—all to support Hope Atlanta’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Click to learn more & grab your tickets today! SPONSOR MESSAGE
➡️ If you know somebody who would like to receive our dining newsletters, “Family Meal” (Tuesdays) and “Side Dish” (Thursdays), please have them subscribe at this page. ⬅️
