Table Talk: Don’t call it a comeback, Dunwoody
Jan. 27 — Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold your horses, Dunwoody. Ever since news broke that Steak & Grace closed and Funwoody’s David Abes would open a Southern restaurant there, some people have been saying he’s bringing back Old Hickory House vibes to the Village. But despite that comparison, Abes thinks of his new Southern restaurant, {S}table, as more Horseradish Grill than Old Hickory House.
I spoke with Abes on Monday and got the scoop on {S}table, which you can read all about in today’s “Family Meal.” I also asked him about the { } he uses in restaurant names.
For “The Move” this week, I shout out Shoya Izakaya and why I continue to love this Doraville Japanese tavern, now part of metro Atlanta’s legacy restaurant scene. (Let’s keep it that way.)
It’s cold out! So, Auburn Angel executive chef Robert Butts shared his recipe for Southern potato vegetable stew. It’s a winter dish his mother whipped up during a snow storm and became a tradition. He now serves the snow-day stew to guests at his Sweet Auburn restaurant.
Plus, I’ll tell you what’s currently on my radar, including Dame Prue Leith’s replacement on “The Great British Bake Off”, an update on the upcoming location of Muchacho in Home Park, and a trio of pop-ups I hope to check soon.
Cheers!
Beth
Not So Fast. {S}table Isn’t the New
Hickory House of Dunwoody Village
A new Southern restaurant from DASH Hospitality Group will replace Steak & Grace in Dunwoody this spring.
The Dunwoody Village steakhouse, owned by Barry Mills (Big B’s Fish Joint), closed earlier this month after less than a year in business. DASH Hospitality Group founder David Abes scooped up the space to open {S}table Comfort Food {n} Cocktails in April, adding to his collection of restaurants at “Funwoody” Village. Abes also owns Bar{n} Booze and Bites, Morty’s Meat Supply, Message In a Bottle, and Good Vibes Ice Cream.
“I sold Steak & Grace to David, who owns multiple successful restaurants in Dunwoody Village,” Mills told Rough Draft when asked what prompted the decision to sell. “[I’m] proud of what the team built this past year [at Steak & Grace] and am excited to see what David does with the space.”
But the decision to sell Steak & Grace wasn’t a sudden one. Mills reached out to Abes right after Thanksgiving to present the idea. Abes said taking over the Dunwoody Village steakhouse and rebranding it just made sense.
“It’s the same landlord [Regency Centers] as my other restaurants, so it made things a lot easier and streamlined the process. [Barry] is focused on B’s Fish Joint right now,” Abes said. “We threw out a couple of different concepts and really loved the idea of Southern food.”
Once Abes and his team settled on a Southern restaurant, they spent December testing dishes and finalizing design plans for {S}table.
{S}table (pronounced “stable”) plays on the words stable and “table,” with braces separating the ‘s’ to highlight table in the name. It’s similar to how Abes played on the words “bar” and “barn” for his Dunwoody Village restaurant Bar{n} Booze and Bites. The names {S}table and Bar{n} (pronounced barn) also pay homage to Dunwoody’s agrarian roots and Abes’ childhood riding horses at nearby Banister Farm.
The menu for {S}table, under the direction of Chef Camron Woods, will feature starters like the Southern Lazy Susan, a cheese and charcuterie board with Georgia gouda, pimento cheese, smoked duck, and country ham. Barbecue pulled pork dumplings will come served with chow chow and garlic chili crisp, while apricot-pepper jelly and sorghum butter will accompany the buttermilk biscuit and cornbread basket.
For entrees, expect buttermilk fried chicken, Georgia mountain trout “pecandine,” and whole-roasted quail served with cornbread dressing. Woods will also offer a daily meat-and-two option, with seasonal vegetables and protein choices like fried catfish, meatloaf, and pot roast.
At the bar, look for wines from American producers, domestic beers, and Southern-leaning cocktails, including a sorghum Old Fashioned, a riff on the Mint Julep, and the Atlanta Sazerac made with peach bitters.
While flattered that some longtime residents consider {S}table an ode to the Old Hickory House in Dunwoody, Abes said people should think of {S}table as a tribute to former Chastain Park restaurant Horseradish Grill (currently The Chastain).
“I was the general manager of Horseradish Grill in the 1990s, right after the Olympics. This restaurant will be similar, in that it’s casual but refined,” said Abes. “We have Morty’s, our barbecue and Americana restaurant. I would say, that’s my ode to Hickory House.”
With Mills having undertaken the major renovation work needed for Steak & Grace, Abes said the build out for {S}table should move fairly quickly. Abes will warm up the dining room and bar with fresh paint, new light fixtures, and homey design elements like seat cushions. The biggest transformation will take place on the patio, which Abes will redo into an all-weather space meant to resemble a horse barn, complete with chandeliers and an outdoor bar.
For now, Abes said he has no other new restaurants in the works, beyond expanding Morty’s into the old dentist office next door. Set to open in March, the Morty’s expansion will include a stage for weekly karaoke and dueling piano shows.
“[Steak & Grace] just fell in my lap. I think {S}table is going to be a great addition to my other restaurants,” said Abes. “I’ve been offered spaces in Buckhead and Midtown, but Dunwoody’s my home. I just want all of my restaurants to be gathering spots for the community.”
Roswell Restaurant Weeks
SPONSORED BY VISIT ROSWELL AND ROSWELL INC.
Roswell Restaurant Weeks returns for its 11th year, now until Feb. 7. This year, 59 participating locations are creating delicious prix fixe menus for you to enjoy. Roswell Restaurant Weeks celebrates the vibrant dining scene and culinary diversity found in Roswell.
Check out the new interactive event guide with ways for you to explore the restaurants, check in, earn badges, and win prizes.
Enjoy the most delicious time of the year in Roswell.
The Move: Shoya Izakaya + Duck Soba
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the state of metro Atlanta’s legacy restaurants. Can these establishments survive an economy fraught with pricing pitfalls, picky eaters, and steep rents? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: yes. But we have to do our part as diners. That means eating at your favorite spots as frequently as your budget will allow. For me, that meant a trip to Doraville on a recent Friday night to eat at one of my favorite restaurants: Shoya Izakaya.
Shoya opened in 2009 at the H Mart Plaza in Doraville. Lines were almost always out the door during its first few years in business, snaking out along the sidewalk where the wait could inch up to an hour. People, including myself, didn’t mind because the food, the vibe, and Asahis by the mugful were plentiful at Shoya.
I’m happy to report that Shoya still features a line, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, which means this restaurant must be doing something right. (For two people at 8:30 p.m., we waited around 20 minutes.) Once seated, we were surrounded by tables filled with people gobbling up sushi, kushiyaki, ramen, and katsu curry. Multiple mugs of Asahi (Japanese rice lager) were on nearly every table, often accompanied by pots of hot tea to stave off the chill in the air.
Pro tip: check the specials board located across from the sushi bar near the entrance. That night included duck soba – a warm, unctuous soup laden with slippery buckwheat noodles marinating in a savory broth. A perfect soup for a cold winter’s night in Atlanta paired with Asahi to help cut the fat.
We enjoyed a small feast at Shoya, adding kinpira renkon (stir-fried lotus root chips – a fave of mine), karaage (Japanese fried chicken), and the mentaiko omelet (eggy squares layered with spicy marinated cod roe).
Southern Potato Vegetable Stew
Y’all, it’s cold outside! So, this week, Auburn Angel executive chef and co-owner Robert Butts shared his recipe for Southern potato vegetable stew. It’s a winter dish his mother threw together during a snow storm when he was a child. Sharing the stew with neighbors, a new snow day tradition was born.
“We were snowed in at the house for a few days and we didn’t have many groceries. The power went out, so candlelight and the gas stove were the only options to see and cook,” Butts said. “When she first made this for me, you could smell the love that was coming together in that pot. From the herbs to the garlic, the aromatics were amazing. On the first bite, the richness from the potato was so satisfying.”
Butts carries on his mother’s tradition at Auburn Angel, serving people a ramekin of this stew to welcome them to his restaurant.
On My Radar
1⃣ It appears the Home Park location of taco joint and cocktail bar Muchacho is finally close to opening. (It only took four years.) Signage is up, lights are on, and decor installation is underway at the corner of Hemphill and 14th, near Georgia Tech. I’m keeping my eye on this restaurant opening. Peek at the renderings for Muchacho-Westside from Blur Workshop.
2⃣ A trio of pop-ups I hope to check out soon: Phantom Pizza at Burle’s Bar on the Beltline; Da Cocinita (aka Magic Taco ATL) food truck on Clifton St.; and Breakfast Car, a pop-up and biscuit delivery service that donates proceeds to local nonprofits.
3⃣ It’s the end of an era for “The Great British Bake Off,” as longtime judge and queen of colorful statement necklaces, Prue Leith, announced her retirement from the show. After nine seasons of judging more than 400 baking challenges, Leith will pass the torch to TV chef Nigella Lawson.
While no one was quite sure she could replace beloved GBBO judge Mary Berry after joining the show in 2017, Leith proved everyone wrong, endearing viewers with her quick wit, encyclopedic knowledge of baked goods, and super bold neckwear. To me, Prue, Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding, and Alison Hammond is the winningest GBBO foursome yet. But like I did when Leith joined the show, I’ll keep an open mind with Lawson. Look for the new season (with Lawson) to hit Netflix in September.
Get double the Atlanta food and dining coverage with “Family Meal,” edited by Beth McKibben, on Tuesdays at 5 p.m., and “Side Dish,” edited by Sarra Sedghi, on Thursdays at noon. Subscribe to both here.
The post 🍗 Dunwoody: Southern > steak appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
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