This brewery and Argentine grill is one more reason to head to the Beacon in Grant Park, an already superfun development that’s mostly about eating and drinking. The bird comes in three sizes-quarter, half, or whole, conveniently cut into pieces-and while there may not be as many sides here as the more typical suburban spot, you can choose between thin waffles stuffed with a paste of scallions, garlic, and jalapeños Korean loaded fries mac and cheese with kimchi, smoked bacon, and smoked Gouda and something typically Korean called the Standard (green cabbage, white onion, sweet corn, gochujang) that’s the best of the lot. But the house sauces (Korean sweet heat, garlic and soy, and honey butter) are fun for dipping. The chicken pieces, heavily crusted and a little too hard-fried for my taste, are satisfactory rather than stellar the wings are mostly batter. It doesn’t face Peachtree but is easy to find across from Sweet Hut. The restaurant, opened by two friends who hatched this dream in college, is modern and clamorous, like a typical Korean beer hall. Mukja (“enjoy food,” in Korean) in the heart of Midtown makes it easy to grab a favorite brew (Hite or Cass, in my case) and such treats as said chicken. In the past, I regularly traipsed to Duluth, Suwanee, and Doraville in search of the ideal pairing of Korean beer and beer-friendly Korean food-but I used to worry about the trip back. Korean fried chicken, extra crispy and usually served with sweet and spicy sauces, used to be confined to the suburbs. And though Nick’s doesn’t feel like a simple neighborhood restaurant and bar, it does just fine as a more glamorous one. The wine list is still brilliantly curated and the lineup of cocktails equally trustworthy. I’d recommend this pastry kitchen to anyone. Dessert will change with the seasons, but it always will be worth ordering here I got a shapely and insanely rich persimmon upside-down cake soaked in caramel and topped with thin slices of fresh persimmon. A local kale “Caesar” with biscuit crumbs, Parmesan, and capers hardly qualifies as a Caesar, but the (inexpensive!) addition of house-cured salmon upgrades the dish to a tasty, light meal. His rouille (I am particularly fond of the aioli variation), meant to be slathered on the bread served with the bouillabaisse, is appropriately garlicky but could use stronger, hotter spices. Try it while you can-summer officially starts June 21.Leahy still offers his bouillabaisse (Saturday only, I am afraid), brimming with fish, shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a saffron-scented broth. Diners who want to enjoy the fresh air can also sit on Nick’s 50-seat patio and order from Spring Bar. Beer and wine lists will be shared with Nick’s Westside. The cocktails utilize a similar ethos, from the What’s Up Doc, with carrot-infused Rye, carrot juice, ginger, and lemon to the Travelin’ Light with orange peel-infused tequila blanco, garden rosemary-infused vermouth blanc, Triple Sec, and lime. “Last year, we didn’t buy a tomato from June to October,” he says. Much of the produce will come from the onsite garden, which features figs, persimmons, peaches, herbs, microgreens, tomatoes, peppers, rhubarb, and asparagus. The gardens coming back to life,” Leahy says, noting that he’ll likely update the menu weekly. “Spring is one of the more exciting seasons as a chef because it’s nice to see the green vegetables spring up after cooking root vegetables for so long. The menu follows suit, with options like ropa vieja empanadas with turnip tops and spring vegetable salsa verde, whipped goat cheese crostini with English peas, mint and radish, roasted scallop ravioli with shrimp brodo and spring-herb butter, and artichoke barigoule with Georgia Grown pork and spring herbs. But instead of Christmas trees and gifts, the space is adorned with greenery and springlike art. Nick’s Holiday House of Cheer ,” he says. “That was the rhythm we saw when we for St. He envisions guests starting at Spring Bar for a drink and appetizer before moseying over to Nick’s for dinner. “It takes our ethos of local farms and global flavors and gives it another layer.” “It’s a natural extension of Nick’s Westside,” Leahy explains. Located in the space most recently used for overflow from Nick’s Westside, Spring Bar will evolve with the weather, becoming Summer Bar, Autumn Bar, and eventually, Winter Bar. Formerly Tin Tin, Spring Bar is chef Nick Leahy’s latest creation, serving small plates and specialty cocktails inspired by the seasons. A new, seasonally changing bar has risen on the Westside.
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