Aria’s New Chef + An ATL Taco Tour
June 12 — For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for shrimp salad with chipotle dressing. We also have a story on the new executive chef of Aria, who takes over the kitchen of the lauded restaurant following the retirement of chef and owner Gerry Klaskala.
➕ One of our SCAD journalism mentees shares her three favorite taco joints in Atlanta – dining research that took her from Vinings to Edgewood to Ponce City Market. And we have details on the debut of Michelin’s dining guide to the American South and the inclusion of Metro Atlanta, but not the rest of Georgia.
🍽️ As always, get the latest Atlanta dining news, including details on Glide Pizza’s departure from Inner Voice Brewing in Decatur, Communidad Taqueria’s opening in the Old Fourth Ward, and the kitchen takeover by Asian street food pop-up Salty Smiles at Minhwa Spirits in Doraville. Plus, other Atlanta dining news to know.
In case you missed it in your inbox on Tuesday evening, here’s a link to the latest edition of “Family Meal.” It features a terrific story from Georgia Voice reporter Katie Burkholder on Atlanta’s underground DIY party scene.
Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!
🍸 Beth and 🍰 Sarra
🔥 Get ready, ATL! Render Fest brings the ultimate Caribbean concert experience tomorrow, June 13 with Dancehall, soca & reggae with Elephant Man, Alison Hinds & more! 🎶 Get tickets here – don’t miss it! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Have You Heard?
🥳 Restaurant openings
Chef Nick Melvin opened Communidad Taqueria and Market in the old Highland Bakery space yesterday. The Tex-Mex restaurant and market serves an all-day menu of tacos, burritos, and margaritas, along with Mexican pastries and desserts from Teresa Finney of At Heart Panaderia.
Longtime Avondale Estates resident Billy Elek just opened Billy’s Avondale in the city east of Decatur. The sandwich shop, located on Center Street, serves takes on Jersey- and Philly-style sandwiches. Look for six sandwiches on the menu, including a house-roasted pork sandwich called The Fairfield with braised spinach and provolone on a cornmeal-dusted kaiser roll, and dessert sliders served on brioche buns with house-made marshmallow. Elek plans to expand the menu over time.
👋 A final farewell
Chef Gerry Klaskala’s last service at Aria, the restaurant he founded 25 years ago, is this Saturday. He will then hand the reins over to a new chef (more on that below) and Aria’s new owner, Andrés Loaiza. But Klaskala won’t have time to rest after Saturday’s dinner service. He and Loaiza are off to Chicago in hopes of bringing home one more accolade to the Buckhead restaurant institution in a James Beard award for Outstanding Service. The James Beard Awards take place Monday night, and Rough Draft will let you know if Aria earns a medal!
🧑🍳 Kitchen shifts
Asian street food pop-up Salty Smiles has taken over the kitchen at Minhwa Spirits in Doraville after the departure of Korean food pop-up Ganji at the end of May. The Salty Smiles residency lasts through June.
After nearly three years inside the taproom at Inner Voice Brewing in Decatur, Glide Pizza will wind down service there on July 13. But a new pizza spot called Brainwave Pizza will replace Glide in July, serving sourdough crust pies by the slice and whole pizza. It also appears Glide may have even more news to share in the future.
“As we evolve, we’ve got some new things on deck these next 12 months, which will be the most expansive, transitional, and thrilling times in the company’s history,” Glide posted on Instagram. “We will be sharing a series of different announcements over the next few weeks.”
😞 Restaurant closure
Cubanos ATL will not renew its lease in Roswell and will close after this week. Owner Ozzy Llanes opened the location on Alpharetta Street in downtown Roswell two years ago. The restaurant included an expanded menu and full bar. Llanes also closed locations at Chattahoochee Food Works and in Cumming. The original location on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs remains open.
👉 Restaurant relocation
Gelato shop Cremalosa, owned by former AJC dining critic Meridith Ford, will relocate from East College Avenue in Decatur to the Dale in Avondale Estates. Cremalosa, which opened in 2020, will close in Decatur on June 21 and reopen at the Dale on Sept. 1.
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Top Stories From the Week
Meet Aria’s new chef, Joseph Harrison
🤩 On June 18, Chef Joseph Harrison will take over the kitchen at Aria, ushering in a new era for the Buckhead restaurant institution, founded by Chef Gerry Klaskala 25 years ago.
Klaskala’s final service at Aria takes place on June 14, the day before he and Loaiza head to Chicago to attend the James Beard Awards on June 16. Aria is a finalist for Outstanding Service.
Aria’s successful 25-year run comes down to a willingness to evolve with the times, Klaskala said. Part of that evolutionary arc included his stepping down and bringing in a new executive chef to lead the lauded kitchen.
“I’m building on a legacy started by Gerry, a legend of a chef in Atlanta,” Harrison said.
➡️ Read more from Beth’s interview with Joseph Harrison here.
From ATL with Lime: An Atlanta taco tour
🌮 Rough Draft SCAD journalism mentee, Ronesha Strickland, takes you on a tour of her top three Atlanta taco joints and tells you why these restaurants hit the mark every time.
“Atlanta might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of taco meccas like L.A. or Texas, but don’t get it twisted – this city brings serious flavor with a Southern flair,” she writes.
“What we lack in taco tradition, we make up for in soul, creativity, and vibes,” Ronesha explains. “Consider this your passport to a taco tour that’s less about purism and more about personality.”
➡️ Read more about Ronesha’s top three taco spots here.
Dropping Nov. 3, Michelin’s new American South guide includes Atlanta but not the rest of Georgia
⭐ If you recall, back in April, Michelin formally announced its intention to debut the new regional guide to the South, with the annual ceremony rotating to different cities each year. The 2025 Michelin Guide to the American South ceremony takes place on Nov. 3 in Greenville, SC. Greenville is home to the Michelin North America headquarters.
The 2025 dining guide folds in the previously released Atlanta guide, along with restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. Outside of Metro Atlanta, however, the 2025 guide will not feature any other Georgia restaurants.
Why was the rest of Georgia excluded? It likely comes down to restrictions in the tourism partnership between Travel South USA and Michelin.
➡️ Read more about the new guide from Beth here.
🔥 Get ready, ATL! Render Fest brings the ultimate Caribbean concert experience tomorrow, June 13 with Dancehall, soca & reggae with Elephant Man, Alison Hinds & more! 🎶 Get tickets here – don’t miss it! SPONSOR MESSAGE
At the Market + Two Recipes
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS
🦐 Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are partnering to bring you tasty recipes that you can make using ingredients from your local farmers market, and this week, we’ve got two zesty options. Southwest-inspired stir-fry and shrimp salad with chipotle dressing are on the menu. Check out both recipes here.
🖋️ Today’s Side Dish was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
