Quick Bites: Cruzado shutters, Big Sky Buckhead opens, and more
Atlanta restaurant news
- Photo courtesy of Big Sky Buckhead
- Sriracha wings at Big Sky Buckhead
Big Sky Buckhead is now open at 3201 Cains Hill Place. Custom designed from the ground up to “fill the gap between Buckhead’s legendary, high-end steakhouses and power lunch spots,” the bi-level, 6,500-square-foot restaurant features a sports bar aesthetic and adventurous, delicious cuisine care of consulting chef (and “Top Chef” alum) Hector Santiago. Santiago’s Latin-influenced dishes are well matched to the lineup of agua frescas currently on tap for the lunch crowd. A grand bar opening will follow tomorrow evening, February 22, followed by a grand brunch opening on Sunday and full dinner service kicking off on Monday, February 24.
Eater brings us news of a new Old Fourth Ward sit-down/take-out eatery called Delightful Eatz, which had its grand opening on February 8. The cozy, wood-adorned restaurant serves comfort foods such as French toast, pancakes, and roasted potatoes for breakfast, Cajun salmon burgers and lasagna for lunch, and flank steak with sweet potatoes for Sunday brunch. Appetizers such as zucchini fries and stuffed mushrooms round out the “upscale eclectic” mix.
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The second location of community fixture Jenny Levison’s beloved Souper Jenny has officially opened in Decatur at 1 West Court Square. Open every day but Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the laid-back eatery serves soups, sandwiches, salads, and the like amid a comforting, soulful atmosphere.
Cruzado, the Cuban restaurant that replaced Las Palermas at 368 5th St. in July 2012, was opened with high hopes by competitive eater, restaurant reviewer, and food personality Grace Lee. But it seems Lee’s fresh approach was not enough to keep the concept afloat, as Cruzado has now closed. Lee continues to operate her other restaurant concept, Hookah Cru, at 620 Glen Iris Drive. Meanwhile, Cruzado’s former executive chef, Carlos Collazo, is cooking up bites at Villains Wicked Heroes as part of a Puerto Rican-inspired pop-up held on Monday evenings. Details as they arise.
Atlantic Station’s European-esque coffee bar, Cafe Nineteen, has just received a face lift (H/T to Eater). According to Atlantic Station director of operations Samantha Gillis, it’s “a new store from top to bottom,” care of updated floors, ceilings, furniture, and “fine-tuned service,” as stated in the mixed-use center’s in-house blog.
San Francisco Bay Area-based Peet’s Coffee & Tea, which boasts an enormous presence out west but currently has no outposts in the Southeast, will soon enter the Georgia market with a location on the Emory campus. Tomorrow’s News Today and the The Emory Wheel both report that Peet’s will replace the shuttered Jazzman’s Cafe in the Robert W. Woodruff Library (540 Asbury Circle), the new coffee shop should debut by summer.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle has provided updates on the as-of-yet-unnamed restaurant coming soon to the St. Regis Atlanta. Set to replace Paces 88, the anchor restaurant that shuttered here in late 2012, this new concept will feature “seasonal freshness and variety” in the form of a New American menu developed by consulting chef Gerry Klaskala, of renowned avant-garde Buckhead eatery Aria. To prepare for this overhaul, the hotel’s owner, Tavistock Group, is investing $1.2 million to transform the 5,000-square-foot space, with plans to unveil the fruits of this labor around September.