Larakin in Midtown Finally Lands Its Beer and Wine License Six Months After Opening

After opening last November and hosting several BYOB wine nights at the 12th Street location, Midtown coffee shop and wine bar Larakin was finally granted its long-awaited (neighborhood-approved and prayed for) beer and wine license last week from the city of Atlanta. The six-month “soft opening” is over.

Owned by Jordan Chambers (Steady Hand Pour House), Larakin features an all-day menu of freshly baked biscuits and focaccia, tinned fish, French cafe-style sandwiches, and cheese and charcuterie. In the afternoons and evenings, Larakin turns into a wine bar, but coffee is always served throughout the day. Most of the seating is on the patio overlooking 12th Street, and it’s pretty much standing room only inside. But that’s the point, because lingering at Larakin is the name of the game. Larakin is currently open Wednesday - Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Chambers hopes to open the coffee shop and wine bar seven days a week this fall.

The a la carte menu is back at Southern Belle in Poncey-Highland

Andrew Thomas Lee

Chef Joey Ward’s Plaza on Ponce restaurant Southern Belle returns to its pre-pandemic menu July 13, doing away with the current tasting menu model and relaunching its popular a la carte menu of “authentically Atlanta” dishes. Think cold smoked pork belly with chili garlic crisp, Georgia peaches, and Coca-Cola reduction with Chinese black vinegar. The restaurant continues to prepare some cocktails table side from a Delta beverage cart, too, including a strawberry-infused cognac Negroni with a Biscoff cookie.

There’s a hidden bar at Buckhead Caribbean-Southern restaurant Apt 4B

Reservation-only cocktail bar and listening lounge the Bassment is now open, hidden beneath Apt 4B on Peachtree Road in Buckhead.

Summerhill now includes a Publix

ICYMI the new Publix is finally open on Hank Aaron Drive in Summerhill, a neighborhood once considered a food desert for decades due to its lack of a grocery store nearby and other affordable food options.

“Many of us lived years without any grocery stores within miles of our homes,” Organized Neighbors of Summerhill president John Helton told the Atlanta Voice this week during the grand opening. “As a 22-year resident of Summerhill, I know my neighbors are as excited as I am for the new Publix to open in our neighborhood.”

Weekend recs: Eat this sandwich in Glenwood, go for ice cream in Adair Park

The beef brisket cheddar melt at Phở Cue with fried pickles is A+ eating. Head over to the Met in Adair Park to the Creamy Spot and cool down with vegan soft serve ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, floats, and creamsicles in flavors like chocolate and vanilla swirl, mango, and maple vanilla. Did you know that Little Tart Bakeshop in Grant Park features a bar, and it serves frozen margaritas and coffee slush cocktails?

Celebrate Peru on Ponce June 28

In honor of its one year anniversary in Poncey-Highland, Peruvian restaurant Tio Lucho’s is throwing a big party Wednesday, June 28, with food from owner and chef Arnaldo Castillo and guest chefs Molli Voraotsady of So So Fed, Claudia Martinez of Miller Union, and Nikko Cagalanan of Manuel’s Filipino Foods with drinks from Charleston bartender Fabiana Pinillos.