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The Westside neighborhoods of Blandtown, Berkeley Park, Underwood Hills, Knight Park/Howell Station, and Home Park (west of Northside Drive) are steeped in the city’s stockyards and railroad history. Charming enclaves feature bungalows and shotgun-style houses dating as far back as 1910 and were once home to the area’s workforce. Fast forward to present day, and what some now dub “West Midtown” includes brand new apartment and condo complexes, housing communities squeezed into parcels of previously vacant land, and an emerging commercial Main Street in a growing collection of mixed-used developments popping up along Howell Mill Road near Westside Provisions District.
These neighborhoods have become popular places to live, favored by families, young professionals, fashionable creatives, and college students and professors from nearby Georgia Tech. The last portion of the Beltline is slated to snake its way through the heart of the area by 2030, anchored by Westside Reservoir Park. Restaurants abound here, with new establishments opening every year, and include spots from renowned chefs like Anne Quatrano, Deborah VanTrece, Zeb Stevenson, Steven Satterfield, and Ford Fry. Breweries are plentiful here, too, with Monday Night Brewing, Fire Maker Brewing, Steady Hand Beer Co., Second Self Beer Co., and Round Trip Brewing Company all calling the area home.
For this installment of Ask a Local, Eater checked in with two residents and an award-winning restaurant owner on why they love these neighborhoods and their favorite spots to dine on the Westside.
Anne Quatrano, chef and owner of Star Provisions and Bacchanalia
Award-winning chef and cookbook author Anne Quatrano was one of the first restaurateurs to open a restaurant at Westside Provisions District when she moved her fine dining establishment Bacchanalia from Buckhead to the Howell Mill Road complex in 1999. The restaurant was fronted by market and cafe Star Provisions. Other restaurateurs soon followed, including chef Eddie Hernandez with Taqueria Del Sol a year later, the team behind West Egg Cafe in 2004, and Ford Fry with JCT Kitchen and Bar in 2007. In 2017, Quatrano relocated Bacchanalia and Star Provisions to Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard in Blandtown, where she continues showcasing local ingredients and small food producers on the menus at both restaurants and remains committed to the Westside.
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The responses below were lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Why she loves owning restaurants on the Westside
It’s really all about community, and the Westside has supported us for so many years. I love seeing and truly rely on our regulars from over the years, and we have lots of great friends and neighbors as far as retailers, chefs and restaurants go.
Her neighborhood dining favorites
In no particular order: Miller Union; Hattie B’s Hot Chicken; The Daily; Taqueria Del Sol; and Aziza.
Chip Gross, managing director of product design company Work & Co
Chip Gross moved to Atlanta in 1995 to pursue his MBA at Emory’s Goizueta Business School. He’s called Underwood Hills home for 22 years, a neighborhood where he raised a family and was the former president of the neighborhood association — a position once held by current Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens (Gross was vice president at the time.) These days, Gross is helping to launch and grow the Atlanta office for product design firm Work & Co based at the Interlock on Howell Mill Road. “It seems like every day we have a new spot opening on our side of town and the Westside Provisions development has been a major catalyst!”
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The responses below were lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Why he loves living on the Westside
Underwood Hills has been a hidden gem for so long and most people don’t know where it is. With the explosion of growth on the Westside, it’s really coming into its own. It’s an easy walk to the Chattahoochee Food Works or Star Provisions, and a little longer to the Daily or Westside Provisions District. Now that the Beltline plans are firmed up, and the Upper Westside CID is working its magic, it’s an exciting time.
His Westside dining favorites
West Egg Cafe (Westside Provisions District)
West Egg is an institution. It used to be in the building where Perrine’s Wine shop is today. It’s the go-to brunch spot on the Westside. It’s pretty normal to see a local politician, actor or influencer enjoying the Peachtree plate. The fried green tomatoes are delicious.
Star Provisions (Blandtown)
Another great all day spot that got its start on the Westside. The Italian grinder is my go-to (with extra peppers).
Nuevo Laredo Cantina (Underwood Hills)
Not sure I even need to describe it, as Nuevo Laredo is almost always on ATL best of lists. The Mexican food is legendary and my wife can’t stop ordering the lobster taco dinner.
The Daily (Berkeley Park)
It’s tucked away on Trabert Avenue and soon to be right on the Beltline. Absolutely IG feed-worthy and the food is healthy and delicious. The fruit and yogurt bowl with the honey and cacao nibs is a great start to the day.
Brash Coffee (Westside Provisions District)
Everyone who visits the Westside knows “the box”. Brash’s coffee shop is in a shipping container. It’s where so many people on the Westside start their mornings.
Howell’s Kitchen and Bar (Underwood Hills)
[Howell’s] has a great family friendly patio and a menu where everyone can find something good on it. Love their wings. A great Sunday afternoon spot.
Chattahoochee Food Works (Underwood Hills)
I might call this the masterstroke that brought so many new visitors to the neighborhood. With so many food options, it’s perfect for taking a large indecisive group to dinner. Lots of seating and beautiful design. The “Camp” is great for the little kids to blow off steam. My go-to is Philly G’s cheesesteaks.
Gross also shouts out Marcel’s steak and cocktails, Antico pizza, and hidden gems SSAM Burger and Hankook Taqueria.
Gregg Smolar, securities regulatory enforcement attorney
Gregg Smolar moved to Atlanta nearly a decade ago and settled in Underwood Hills with his family. He says he fell in love with Atlanta’s weather and the active, laidback lifestyle of the city. Smolar currently works as a securities regulatory enforcement attorney in Atlanta.
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The responses below were lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Why he loves living on the Westside
I love being part of a close-knit neighborhood within such close proximity to all the city has to offer, with easy access to amazing bike trails (Silver Comet, Beltline, Dirty Sheets), hiking, concerts, and sports, and the diversity of world class food that is approachable and affordable.
His Westside dining favorites
Star Provisions (Blandtown)
It’s my favorite spot in the neighborhood. The food is so good: excellent quality, classic and inventive dishes executed to perfection and consistently. [I like the] fried egg, bacon and cheese on a soft roll, a chocolate croissant and coffee for breakfast. Also great are the prosciutto baguette, eggplant bánh mì, and shrimp po’ boy.
Ginya Izakaya (Berkeley Park)
Excellent food in a cool, hip, casual environment. It’s a huge menu with authentic and creative dishes, and the sushi is top notch. Try the salmon avocado salad (if you’re lucky and it’s a slow night, chef might make it with toro,) hamachi habanero, some nigiri and rolls, and don’t forget sake and a draft Sapporo. If with a group, experiment with some of the ramens and other Japanese comfort foods family style.
Floral Park Market (Berkeley Park)
During the height of the pandemic, James and Michelle walked around the store with me on the phone helping to pull together orders for curbside pickup. That’s the kind of people they are — just wonderful and supportive. They offer a plethora of local, organic fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and prepared meals (as well as crafts and gift items), and put together amazing gift baskets. It brings me so much joy to pop in, say hello, see what’s fresh and snag a few items.
Krave Korean (Underwood Hills)
It’s a new Korean spot in the neighborhood. It’s not Buford Highway, but the food is good quality and value. I had the spicy steak platter recently, and it was really good, as was the banchan. It’s not an institution like Woo Nam Jeong Stone Bowl House, which is a special spot in its own right, but we are lucky to be able to get a meal like this here in town.
Hankook Taqueria (Underwood Hills)
Another neighborhood institution. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they have a Buffalo chicken taco special that is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Paired with some sesame fries, another taco, and a fountain soda, and you have a perfect lunch. The nachos are also really good.
Eater Atlanta editor Beth McKibben is longtime resident of the area and also recommends checking out ghost kitchens Brasiliana Pizza and El Patio Dominicano, Bone Garden Cantina, Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours, Redbird, the beer garden at Bold Monk Brewing Co., and Urban Grind Coffee.