Brooklyn-based food festival Smorgasburg’s Atlanta era is just around the corner. The weekly food fair officially debuts on Saturday, Oct. 18, with a grand opening event in South Downtown. Smorgasburg will then operate every Saturday through Dec. 20 from a parking lot at the corner of Forsyth and Trinity.
In addition to more than 40 food vendors, Smorgasburg Atlanta will feature two bars serving soft drinks, wine, simple mixed and nonalcoholic drinks, rotating special cocktails, and canned beers from neighboring Wild Leap Brewery. Look for artist stalls and live entertainment, too.
Free to attend, Smorgasburg’s food stalls serve a wide range of dishes, including hibachi-stuffed burritos, Coca Cola-flavored macarons, and “Jamexican” jerk chicken and oxtail tacos.
Like other businesses and restaurants in South Downtown, Smorgasburg Atlanta is a short walk from the Five Points MARTA station. (Garnett MARTA station is closed for renovations until Oct. 26.) People can also park at the small lot on the corner of Forsyth Street and Nelson Street for $2 an hour.
On Oct. 4, Smorgasburg Atlanta held a family and friends event and invited local media and South Downtown business owners, like Darryl Harris of vinyl shop Crates ATL, to sample dishes from the restaurant stalls and food trucks.
Rough Draft attended, sampling as many dishes as possible. Despite splitting portions, however, we couldn’t get to every food truck or restaurant stall in attendance that day. But we did our best, and are sharing some of our favorite bites from the Smorgasburg Atlanta preview below.
Doubles and guava wings from BARA ATL
I overheard a few people say they specifically came out to try BARA’s doubles and, to be honest, they’re part of the reason I came out. The Trinidadian food truck, which launched in April, did not disappoint. We opted for plain doubles with chutney – a filling enough dish without added protein – and the fall-off-the-bone guava wings. Both dishes provided a kaleidoscope of flavors. There were fruity notes from the chutney and guava wing sauce, and an earthy depth from the turmeric in the doubles. Be sure to grab plenty of napkins from this Smorgasburg Atlanta food stall.
All the shrimp from Bun & Bites
Admittedly, we made multiple trips to Bun & Bites in order to get our hands on a shrimp burger, because those tiny sandwiches disappeared quickly. We also tried the fried shrimp balls and the double delight dumplings filled with chicken and shrimp. The shrimp burger was worth the wait. The shrimp patty itself was succulent and juicy, but the shrimp balls and dumplings did more than simply quell the anticipation for another burger.
Frutas loca from Chispas Snacks
I was thrilled when I saw Chispas Snacks at Smorgasburg Atlanta. If you’ve visited Piedmont Park or walked that portion of the Beltline lately, you’ve likely seen the Stroll Coffee y Snacks silver Airstream stationed near the entrance to Park Tavern. Chispas serves Mexican snacks and street foods from Stroll, like esquites and tacos de canasta (basket tacos). At Chispas’ Smorgasburg stall, we opted for the frutas loca, a mixture of pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumbers drizzled with a hibiscus chamoy and topped with candy, including Skwinkles. Owner Luis Enrique referred to Skwinkles as the “Mexican version of Twizzlers.” Pro tip: Enrique said later this fall, he’ll switch to a tamarind-based chamoy for the frutas loca. This fruit-filled snack was a nice respite from some of the heavier dishes at Smorgasburg Atlanta.
Sweet potato pie from First Batch Artisan Foods
Vegan dessert operation First Batch Artisan Foods offered dairy-free cookies, brownies, ice cream, and, our favorite, miniature sweet potato pies during the Smorgasburg Atlanta preview. Not only are these small pies the perfect size for walking around a food festival, but the pies are downright delicious and entirely vegan. The crust was rich and buttery, and we could tell the sweet potato filling was made with high-quality nutmeg.
Chicken empanada from Hermanita
While I imagine the bulk of Smorgasburg Atlanta customers will be drawn to Tio Lucho’s chef and owner Arnaldo Castillo’s pollo a las brasa and skewers, his new pop-up, Hermanita, also offers empanadas. (We went with the chicken.) The empanada itself is great, but the ultra-tangy crema de aji sauce, a mix of mayonnaise and local Peruvian peppers from Pinewood Springs Farm, might be even better. Fortunately, the sauce is available with Hermanita’s other dishes, because you’re going to want to slather it on everything.
Check out the complete list of food vendors on Smorgasburg Atlanta’s Instagram page.