Beth’s Picks
Manty and guyurou laghman from Laghman Express (May 6 Family Meal newsletter)
3070 Windward Plaza, Alpharetta
New York City-based Uzbek-Uyghur restaurant chain Laghman Express just opened off Windward Parkway in Alpharetta. The restaurant is already drawing crowds, evidenced by the line out the door, full patio, and packed dining room on a recent Friday night.
The halal restaurant features dishes from the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan, including guyurou laghman, a traditional hand-pulled noodle dish with beef and a medley of stir-fried vegetables spiced with cumin, red pepper flakes, and coriander brought over by the Uyghur people from the Xinjiang region of China. Laghman Express – a restaurant former New York Times food critic Pete Wells deemed one of the top 100 restaurants in NYC – brings Metro Atlanta a tight menu of dishes from the diaspora of communities that call Uzbekistan and Central Asia home.
We ordered the guyurou laghman, which I highly recommend, and steamed Central Asian manti (big-as-my-palm dumplings stuffed with savory lamb meatballs). The manti comes with a garlicky yogurt dipping sauce. And be sure to order a pot of fruit-infused Moroccan tea.
I’m eager to return to Laghman Express to try more dishes, including the naan, Tashkent-style plov (pilaf with lamb and beef), and stir-fried lamb with spicy peppers. Word to the wise: bring friends.
MARTA dining guide: Chamblee
Wine and pop-ups at Sidetracked Wine Co. (May 13 Family Meal)
3411 Pierce Dr., Chamblee
The owners behind Elemental Spirits Co. and The Zero Co. in Poncey-Highland opened Sidetracked Wine Co. last year in downtown Chamblee. Located across from Asian brewpub Hopstix on Pierce Drive, the shop sells vintages from small and family-owned wineries producing natural and low-intervention wines. The shop also offers daily wine flights (three wines for $20) and wines by the glass ($12) with seating inside and outside on a shady patio.
For me, Sidetracked Wine Co. makes a nice beginning or end to a day of restaurant hopping and antiquing around Chamblee’s burgeoning entertainment district. On Fridays and Saturdays, there’s often live music on the patio and food from pop-ups like Thai-American pop-up Orange Lion. But Sidetracked doesn’t discourage people from bringing in outside food, especially from neighboring Chamblee restaurants like Hopstix and Himalaya’s, BlueTop, and Antiguo Lobo around the corner.
While parking is mostly free around the area, Sidetracked and the restaurants along this stretch of Peachtree Road are just up the street from the Chamblee MARTA station. Wine, beer, cocktails, coffee and tea, restaurants, ice cream, and antiques within easy walking distance from the train? Not bad for a $2.50 ticket.
Chargrilled oysters at Shuckboyz (May 20 Family Meal)
Pop-up at various Atlanta locations
Chargrilled oysters might be one of the most underrated backyard barbecue dishes. Throwing a few naked or garnished oysters on the half-shell over hot charcoal allows the bivalves to soak up that smoke while slow roasting, creating a no-fuss, no-muss compact snack you can quickly eat with a fork. Chargrilling over hot coals intensifies the sweet, salty, and savory flavors of oyster meat, which I enjoy dressed with hot sauce and fresh herbs like chives, dill, or tarragon.
But for a fully loaded, distinctly Atlanta take on chargrilled oysters, check out roving oyster pop-up ATL Shuck Boyz, operated by Jeremy Smith and Cameron Lukkar.
Garnished with melted chipotle gouda cheese, collards, and lemon pepper-soaked Spam bits, Smith and Lukkar dubbed their charcoal-grilled mollusks Oysters Magic City (three for $12; six for $20). These devilishly delightful oysters are especially good paired with a light lager or a glass of crisp pét nat, chilled red, or juicy rosé whilst seated on a patio.
You can catch ATL Shuck Boyz slinging raw and chargrilled oysters along with smash burgers on patios all over Atlanta, including on the weekends with wine pop-up Stanky Wine at Pure Quill Superette in Edgewood and at Oakhurst brewery Sceptre Brewing Arts.
More Best Dishes from 2025:
• April 2025
• March 2025
• February 2025
• January 2025
Sarra’s Picks
Red joojeh kebabs from Koochini Persian Kitchen
3781 Presidential Pkwy, Northeast Atlanta
While gathering information for my Molino Torterillia story, I spied Koochini Persian Kitchen nearby at the Prep Kitchen complex. Since then, I’ve enjoyed Koochini a handful of times. (If you don’t want to drive or need to feed a crowd, the restaurant offers catering and delivery, and is now on Uber Eats.)
I’ve tried much of the menu by this point, and my favorite dish is the beet-marinated red kebab. It’s notably juicy, even for a jujeh kebab, and flexes a little bit of heat that I haven’t experienced much in Persian cuisine. I also recommend the olivieh wrap with chicken salad, boiled eggs, pickles, and potatoes.
Frozen custard from NFA Burger
3180 Avalon Blvd, Alpharetta
Frozen custard came to NFA Burger’s menu at Avalon in Alpharetta by happy accident. I happened to be there right when the custard machine, which Team NFA ordered for milkshakes, came in, which means I stuck around the necessary 30 minutes for the machine to warm up.
This was the right decision, and the staff pretty much immediately realized they’d have to add custard to the menu. They’ve since installed a second custard machine, and are offering vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and banana (my personal favorite).
Related story: NFA Burger opens May 15 at Avalon in Alpharetta
Shrimp and grits from Peckish
225 Rogers St., Kirkwood
My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary with brunch at Peckish, which recently started a residency at Pullman Yards in the former Fishmonger space. My husband ordered the shrimp and grits and then let me eat a third of it because this is what happens when you’re married to a food writer — and I’m grateful that he did, because he unearthed the menu’s sleeper hit.
Tamara Hewitt is best known for her desserts, and she told me herself she only recently returned to savory cooking. Succulent, almost crunchy shrimp adorn a Gouda grit cake with a delightfully crispy surface. The creamy Cajun sauce, sauteed vegetables, and saffron threads on top bring everything together.
