Best Chef

Honestly, Maricela Vega of Chicomecoatl has been continuously blowing us away with her cuisines of late. Her food is always incredibly fresh, inspiring, delicious, and beautiful to the eye. She’s very conscious of her food from start to finish. She sources her produce, daily, from local farms like Grow Where You Are, off Cascade Road. Food that makes you happy. (Courtesy of Maricela Vega). less...

At only 27 years old, Lawrenceville-raised chef PARNASS SAVANG boasts an impressive resume: early years spent in his father’s Thai-American restaurant, Danthai; a diploma from the Culinary Institute of America; stages at some of the world’s best Thai restaurants; and cooking experience at Empire State South, Staplehouse and Kimball House. But now, with pop-up restaurant Talat Market, Savang has created something entirely his own: the first-ever “Georgian Thai” dining concept. Every weekend night since May, inside the tiny open kitchen of Candler Park’s Gato Bizco Café, Savang and sous chef Rod Lassiter have been churning out intricate dishes that blend traditional Thai techniques with Georgia-grown, seasonally driven ingredients. Here, you might find a classic spicy Thai salad packed with local peaches or a yellow crab curry with sweet potato greens. Savang has brought a whole new level to Thai food in our city, and Talat Market manages to stand out in a culinary landscape crowded with fantastic pop-ups. Rumor has it a brick-and-mortar version is coming soon, and we’re more than a little excited. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 6-10 p.m. Gato Bizco Café, 1660 McLendon Ave. N.E. www.instagram.com/talat_marketatl.

photo by: Eric Cash

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Decatur’s Kimball House has a dedicated oyster room with a viewing window. In this lovely nook, about 5,000 oysters from around the world are shucked each week, and more than half of those (like, 3,500) get shucked by a hero. No really: His given name is HE RO, and for obvious reasons, he goes by Hero. Part of the Karen ethnic group, Hero was born in war-torn Burma but spent most of his childhood in a Thai refugee camp near the border before arriving in the U.S. at age 15. Watching him swiftly and deftly open bivalves today, it’s hard to imagine Kimball House without him, and one would never guess he’d never even touched an oyster before joining Kimball House in September of 2013. So, next time you are slurping during oyster happy hour (5-7 p.m. every weekday) clink a glass for our culinary hero, Hero. 303 E. Howard Ave., Decatur. 404-378-3502. www.kimball-house.com.

photo by: Joeff Davis

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Chef and home cooks alike used to arrive early to Peachtree Road Farmers Market to get first dibs on forager MICHAEL HENDRICKS’ found edibles. This year, however, after nine years of working closely with Staplehouse’s Ryan Smith, Hendricks took a forager’s dream job, searching through the woods full-time for chef Smith’s award-winning restaurant. Besides mushrooms, he brings in ramps, daylily shoots and buds, wood sorrel, Japanese knotweed and violet leaves. That dreamy chicken liver tart recently came tweezered with Hendricks’ golden chanterelles, and marrying their skills together is the basis Staplehouse was born upon: “health, happiness, and longevity through what we eat,” as Hendricks puts it. He can take a little credit for that edible flower in your cocktail, too, as he also cares for the herb garden out back. Staplehouse, 541 Edgewood Ave. S.E. 404-524-5005. www.staplehouse.com. less...

Root to leaf to medal: After five consecutive years of nominations for one of the restaurant industry’s highest honors, Miller Union’s STEVEN SATTERFIELD was finally named Best Chef: Southeast of 2017 by the James Beard Foundation. In a ceremony last spring in Chicago, fellow titleholder Anne Quatrano placed the coveted and well-deserved medal around Satterfield’s neck. And collectively, we in Atlanta cheered because Satterfield has long been a dedicated champion of both our local farmers and our bellies, churning out seasonal, veggie-focused food (not to mention an impeccably curated wine list, which was also nominated this year) at eight-year-old Atlanta gem Miller Union. You earned it, chef. Miller Union, 999 Brady Ave. N.W. 678-733-8550. www.millerunion.com.

photo by: Joeff Davis

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No chef’s return to Atlanta has been as welcome as DAVID BIES’, formerly of Restaurant Eugene and currently of Krog Street Market’s Ticonderoga Club. Bies went on a sabbatical to travel across Asia, Central America, and beyond, and returned with a broadened encyclopedia of flavors and techniques to pull from. Bies has always had a knack for refined cuisine, but since returning, his food is more nuanced, intriguing, and creative. His sweetbreads, for instance, showcase his newfound flair for global influences blended with technical expertise. Doused in spicy Indian curry powder, the lightly breaded and fried sweetbreads are finished with a soothing yogurt sauce that neutralizes the curry’s heat while leaving the exotic spice intact. Curry powder is also the key to Bies’ addictive vegan noodle bowl, a riff on Singapore noodles loaded with fresh herbs and vegetables tangled with thin rice noodles. With a modest, one-page menu, the intrepid new American haunt doesn’t overextend itself. Instead of trying to be the best at everything and falling short, Bies focuses on executing just a handful of things really, really well as he shares snapshots from his culinary travels through food. less...

ARNAUD BERTHELIER is deeply symbolic of the Ritz-Carlton’s tradition of bringing Atlanta its best chefs (Guenter Seeger and Joel Antunes also once held the head chef position there). Berthelier is cooking some of the best food this city has ever seen, and his technique is both bold and delicate. Dishes such as chilled Parmesan and bean cream with pesto ice cream show his boundless creativity at creating luxury with unexpected components. Put your palate in his hands for a special occasion and prepare to be delighted. less...