When I first stepped through the door at So. Fox, the wildly hyped new restaurant in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood, I expected to board a rocket ship; instead, the experience was more like a hot-air balloon ride.

That’s not a negative — dining at So. Fox is fun and relaxing, the menu is in tune with nature and the atmosphere is light and airy. The restaurant’s strength is in its subtlety, which is not typically a characteristic that fuels such fervor in the dining public.

I do my best to avoid being influenced by other people’s opinions about restaurants before I review them; it’s important for my dining experience to be as close to typical as possible. But I couldn’t dodge the buzz around So. Fox on social media or in real life; friends and colleagues who visited earlier heaped rapturous praise on the work of chef Myles Moody and Rachael Pack, the couple who also own the adjoining Kinship Butcher & Sundry.

The interior at So. Fox is minimalist but deeply considered, with oversized tables and comfortable seating. (Dave Crawford/Courtesy of So. Fox)

So, I halfway expected my hair to be blown back on my first visit. When the meal was more of a slow burn, my idea of the restaurant required some recalibration.

When you first enter So. Fox, the most striking feature is the wide-open space by the front door. The interior is minimalist, even spare, with a large gap between the main bar and the standing bar against the windows at the front. The yawning area is a necessity for servers traveling between the kitchen and the main dining room just around the corner, and it keeps the bar space from feeling too cramped during the inevitable wait for a table (unless you’re one of the lucky few to secure a reservation).

The light, airy dining room at So. Fox. (Dave Crawford/Courtesy of So. Fox)

White tile, pale wood and a concrete floor give the room an almost clinical feel, but the design’s austerity is softened by the people who fill the space and the warm cooking aromas wafting from the open kitchen.

Once in the dining room, my perception of the space shifted; rather than minimalist, it felt uncluttered. The comfortable seats and expansive tables made it a dream to share a meal; even with four adults placing a large order, the surface never seemed overloaded.

The setting enhances the visual impact of the food; many of Moody’s plates were stunning, bursting with late-summer color. Ribbons of green and yellow summer squash swirled on a plate, held vertical by a thick, white spackling of farmer’s cheese. In a dish simply called sweet corn, dumplings and sungold tomatoes glowed like citrines in a jewelry box, while morsels of blue crab added an undercurrent of richness. A slice of Thomasville tomme cheesecake was engulfed in a fluffy cloud of its namesake savory cheese, grated into long, delicate shreds.

A dish called sweet corn at So. Fox, with dumplings, sungold tomatoes and blue crab. (Dave Crawford/Courtesy of So. Fox)

Dishes that appeared simple at So. Fox were often the product of a thoughtful, intensive cooking process. Gorgeous heels of sourdough were served with a small butter dish studded with pickled garlic blossoms preserved more than a year prior. The blossoms added a lilting note of garlic to the butter just strong enough to make the bread service unforgettable.

The sublime whole chicken, the summer menu’s big plate meant to be shared by four diners, required three days to prepare, Moody said. In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he explained how the Joyce farms bird was brined for one day, rubbed in a garlic mixture the second day and roasted on the third. The garlic is wiped from the skin before the chicken goes in the oven, infusing the meat with a hint of its flavor without blackening and burning on the surface.

The jus with pickled mustard seeds that pooled around the meat took just as long; Moody starts with a blonde stock on day one, building into a double stock on day two and using day three to perfectly clarify and reduce it into a jus.

Summer squash arranged in a bed of farmer's cheese at So. Fox. (Dave Crawford/Courtesy of So. Fox)

Moody’s cooking philosophy is built around nuance; he wants to make food that requires diners to pay attention, he said.

“Or, if you’re not paying attention, you have that one bite where you’re like, ‘Oh wait, this is really good,’” Moody said. “But I’m not trying to beat people over the head with acid or spice.”

There were times I wished for a little more forceful flavoring. The beef tartare might have benefited from a bit more of that heat or acid. And while the beautiful summer squash dish was tasty, I assumed the raw squash was unseasoned. It was a surprise when Moody said the ribbons had been dressed with a vinaigrette-like coating of sunflower oil and whey from the farmer’s cheese. With a little more oomph, a good dish might have become great.

A bowl of zipper peas was a bit lost on me, too. The undeniably beautiful dish featured a pile of chilled peas in a cool pool of broth poured at the table, topped with an enormous dollop of caviar. The dashi-like broth was made with leather britches, an old Appalachian technique for smoking and preserving long beans. Individually, I enjoyed the savory broth, firm beans and saline caviar, but I’m not sure the elements coalesced into a harmonious dish. Then again, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and I’d certainly try it again. I’m not sure I’ve seen a more generous use of caviar in town.

The food at So. Fox gives diners much to think about. Luckily, Pack’s beverage program is delightful, so it’s easy to lubricate the gears grinding in your head as you ponder your dinner.

Three summer cocktails at So. Fox, including the pop's watermelons (upper right) made with tequila and watermelon. (Dave Crawford/Courtesy of So. Fox)

There’s a short menu of well-made, approachable cocktails and a brilliant wine list, with plenty of interesting glasses and reasonable bottles. The bar staff is friendly and knowledgeable enough to tailor individual wine recommendations, and they’re happy to give diners a taste of this or that for reassurance. I enjoyed being introduced to the Crab, a sparkling orange blend of Albariño and pinot gris from Carboniste in California. Wines by the glass range in price from $16 to $28, and there’s a surprisingly wide selection of large-format bottles. On Mondays, So. Fox offers wine magnums at half-price.

The service was excellent in every respect, not just at the bar. The front-of-house team is professional, conversational, well-versed in the menu and clearly in sync. Though we had a primary server in the dining room, nearly everyone working seemed to touch our table at some point, whether it was refilling water glasses, delivering a dish or cleaning up the odd crumb.

I still can’t quite pinpoint why So. Fox developed such powerful hype. The food is not indulgent or extreme; it’s creative, thoughtful and restrained. You won’t find chocolate truffles coated in gold or martinis laced with diamonds here. In a fast-moving world, it’s hard to get people to pay attention as closely as Moody’s food requires.

Grilled beef at So. Fox. (Dave Crawford/Courtesy of So. Fox)

By focusing on nuance rather than flash, Moody and Pack seem to be building something that will last. So. Fox is the type of restaurant you could return to again and again, never tiring of it and still discovering something new each time.

You won’t sit down at So. Fox and feel like you’ve been blasted into space; the liftoff is so gentle, you might not even notice it. But at some point, you’ll take a divine bite or sip and sense that you’re soaring at great height. So. Fox offers a calmer sort of adventure, but it still reaches rarified air.

So. Fox

4 out of 5 stars (excellent)

Food: American, modern farm-to-table

Service: excellent, attentive and professional

Noise level: moderate to loud

Recommended dishes: sourdough, young greens, summer squash, sweet corn, zipper peas, grouper, grilled beef, big chicken, Thomasville tomme, peach dessert, bay dessert

Vegetarian dishes: sourdough, young greens, summer squash, Thomasville tomme, peach dessert, bay dessert

Alcohol: seasonal cocktails, a few beers and a well-considered wine list

Price range: $75 — $100 per person, excluding drinks

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Thursday — Monday

Accessibility: fully ADA accessible

Parking: free lot(s) available on-site and on street nearby

Nearest MARTA station: none

Reservations: recommended, available on Resy

Outdoor dining: no

Takeout: no

Address, phone: 1017 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta.

Website: sofoxatl.com

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.

Each week, Punk Foodie highlights Atlanta pop-ups worth catching before they disappear, helping readers find the city’s most interesting chef-driven dining concepts, food trucks, supper clubs and limited-time food events.

Galettes pimento cheese and bacon jam profiteroles. (Courtesy of Morgan Perkins)

Late-summer muscadine ‘Pop-Tarts’ and savory pastries from Le Soir

Who: Le Soir from Ashley Thomas, Morgan Perkins and El Westover.

When/Where: Friday, Sept. 4, 5:30-8 p.m. Galette (@galetteatl). 110 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates.

Why you should check them out: Galette lead baker Westover is spearheading Le Soir’s latest evening menu of savory and sweet bites in Avondale Estates. Westover’s kitchen pedigree includes serving as executive chef at Full Commission and executive pastry chef at Ink & Elm, alongside roles at Kimball House, Golden Eagle and Atmosphere. Hosted monthly by Galette co-owners Thomas and Perkins, the series uses the bakery space during off-hours to engage the neighborhood and give Westover an opportunity to experiment creatively with sweets and complex, savory dinner bites.

For this iteration, Westover is focusing on late-summer local ingredients, highlighting the menu with a dessert similar to a Pop-Tart that uses local Georgia muscadines for the sweet jam filling. The rest of the a la carte menu features a balance of savory pastries and rich desserts, including her signature pimento cheese profiteroles served with bacon jam or caramelized onions, seasoned ricotta with butternut squash on a baguette, duck-fat-poached potatoes with gremolata, chocolate mousse entremets, cheesecake cream puffs and butterscotch pot de creme.

Ronlaires pork and shrimp shumai. (Courtesy of Claire Li)

Chinese street food from Ronlaire

Who: Ronlaire (@ronlaire) from Claire Li.

When/Where: Sundays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Avondale Estates Farmers Market (@aefarmersmarket). 64 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates.

Why you should check them out: Born in Guiyang in the southwest of China, Li tweaks traditional Chinese street food by bringing regional Chinese taste profiles into familiar scratch-made dumplings and baos. A prime example of this approach is her beef shumai infused with Sichuan spices, a unique creation not found on standard Chinese restaurant menus. She serves this spicy Sichuan beef shumai alongside classic pork and shrimp options in mix-and-match orders. The menu also centers on her fluffy steamed bao, including Cantonese-style barbecue pork char siu bao, traditional green onion pork and a vegan tofu bao filled with tofu, carrots, bell peppers, cabbage and a newly added vegan spicy mapo tofu cauliflower version. Beyond the steamed buns and shumai, the lineup also features pork potstickers served with garlic soy sauce.

Buen Provecho and Loko Eatzs concha breakfast smash burger. (Courtesy of Teresa Martinez)

Sunday brunch collab from Buen Provecho and Loko Eatz

Who: Buen Provecho (@buenprovechoatl) from Teresa Martinez and Loko Eatz (@loko_eatz) from Damarkus Hubbard.

When/Where: Sunday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 13, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Boggs Social & Supply (@boggssocial). 1310 White St. SW, West End.

Why you should check them out: Martinez and Hubbard are joining forces for a couple of collaborative Sunday brunches at their West End pop-up home base, Boggs Social & Supply. Martinez’s Buen Provecho concept reimagines the traditional Mexican recipes of her Southern California upbringing as contemporary street food, while Hubbard’s Loko Eatz, specializes in fusing American comfort foods with global flavors powered by his 15 years in Illinois, Minnesota and Georgia kitchens.

The joint brunch menu features a concha breakfast smash burger built on an At Heart Panaderia (@atheartpanaderia) hibiscus concha (which we previously profiled here), a griddled tres leches French toast on thick brioche and crispy chicken and waffles topped with sticky jalapeno hot honey on a cornbread waffle. Pop-up diners can also browse the Goth Flea Market, which takes over the West End venue from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

Springfield BBQ Co.s Mark Springfield. (Courtesy of Lauren Lynn)

Craft barbecue from Springfield BBQ during Labor Day weekend

Who: Springfield BBQ Co. (@springfieldbbqco) from Mark Springfield.

When/Where: Sunday, Sept. 6, 2-5 p.m. Deep Roots Wine Market (@deeprootswinemkt). 1055 Canton St., Roswell.

Why you should check them out: While Springfield typically sets up at Deep Roots for a recurring third-Thursday residency during the Alive Roswell street festival, he is returning to the Northside wine market for this standalone Sunday holiday block party. Instead of his usual massive classic barbecue platters, Springfield will cook up a special menu featuring pork belly burnt ends, smoked chicken sliders with Alabama white sauce, summer sausage with barbecue crackers and mini wedge salads. The event will also have live acoustic music from Heavyn Leigh and Steve Ward, and beer and frosé specials.

Sabericos Pedro Porras. (Courtesy of Stephany Barboza)

A night celebrating El Tardeo with Saberico

Who: Saberico (@saberico.us) from Pedro Porras.

When/Where: Thursday, Sept. 10, 6–10 p.m. Trade & Tempo (@tradeandtempo). 552 Decatur St. SE, Old Fourth Ward.

Why you should check them out: Spanish chef Porras brings a culinary pedigree to Saberico, drawing on more than 20 years of professional kitchen experience including stints at Madrid’s one-Michelin-star Corral de la Moreria and the Michelin-recommended El Senor Martin. For this ticketed event, he is offering a nighttime version of “el tardeo,” the traditional late-afternoon-into-early-evening Spanish ritual of lingering over wine, food and music at Trade & Tempo, an open-air plaza and community space in Old Fourth Ward. Taking advantage of the venue’s covered patio setup, the evening features chicken paella cooked on-site, Spanish wines and tinto de verano cocktails, with music from DJ Chanda. Options include a classic package with the paella, pan con tomate and a glass of wine, or a limited-seating omakase experience that adds salmorejo con jamon (chilled tomato soup topped with ham), tortilla de patatas (Spanish potato omelet) and crema Catalana (custard dessert) paired with three Spanish wines.

Reserve a spot.

Palestinian ground lamb and beef kabobs from Master Butcher Halal Meat. (Courtesy of Travel Foodie Ishy)

Halal pizza, pot stickers and tacos

How World Fest is redefining the halal culinary experience in metro Atlanta

Who: Halal World Festival Atlanta (@atlworldfestival) from Suhoor Festival (@suhoorfestival).

When/where: Saturday, Sept. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 6, 4–11 p.m. Gwinnett Place Mall. 2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth.

Buy a ticket.

When you think of halal food, you might not immediately picture pepperoni pizza or tacos. The founders of Halal World Festival Atlanta are actively challenging the preconception that halal dining is limited to traditional Middle Eastern or South Asian fare by hosting crossover food vendors like Buford’s Cuzco Peruvian Cuisine, Pretty Little Tacos, Abuelita Oaxaquena, Sunnyside Pizzeria and Wong’s Wok.

Far from a restrictive diet, co-founder Nageeb Alghoul explains that halal is “just the technique of making sure that the meat remains pure.” In practice, this involves a verbal blessing pronouncing the name of God at the moment of slaughter, alongside strict physical and humane standards: Handlers must raise the animals healthily, treat them humanely and ensure a swift, painless death. Alghoul said that draining the blood prevents cortisol from spiking in the meat, a stress hormone surge that can tense muscle fibers and make the meat tough, providing the added benefit of keeping the cut tender.

The festival is riding on what seems to be a growing interest in halal across metro Atlanta. World Fest co-founders and brothers Nageeb and Nour Alghoul’s first event, Suhoor Fest, designed to share suhoor, the pre-dawn Ramadan meal typically eaten privately at home, as a community, drew 5,000 attendees in 2024. Under their direction, turnout tripled in 2025 to 15,000 guests, before reaching more than 20,000 visitors at Gwinnett Place Mall earlier this year. With World Fest, the Alghouls are creating a new halal festival highlighting global food, crafts and cultural shows, with afternoon and evening hours to reach a broader audience. The growth of these events coincides with the launch of other halal-centered gatherings in the city, including the overnight Atlanta Ramadan Food Festival in Norcross, the Feast of Eid al-Adha and the outdoor Atlanta Summer Halal Food Festival.

Echoing this growth, Alghoul said that a number of Halal Fest participating restaurants plan to keep halal options on their permanent menus. They want to do this, he said, because halal menus “kind of work as like a marketing tool.” He noted that on “festival day, a lot of these businesses are able for the first time ever to actually reach new customers and engage with them,” a first step toward making them inclusive of a greater community.

At World Fest, beyond the Western, Asian and Latin crossover options, guests will find quite a few cuisines that are not readily available in the Atlanta area. Bangladeshi cuisine is represented by Char Kingz pitmaster Nasrul Alam, who charcoal-grills 24-hour-marinated Bihari beef kabobs, while Umm Israa Kitchen serves ancient Mesopotamian Iraqi comforts like masgouf, a butterflied whole fish slow-roasted beside an open fire. Guests can also explore Vietnamese-Persian “pho-risian” skewers from Saffron Wok, Chinese pot stickers from Bun & Bites, Jordanian fusion Tex-Mex wraps from Shawarma Press and Palestinian ground lamb and beef kabobs from Master Butcher Halal Meat. For dessert, WowBooza pulls stretchy Turkish booza (mastic-gum ice cream) and Khaas fuses Pakistani gulab jamun with Italian cannoli shells.

All told, the festival at Gwinnett Place Mall will host 34 savory vendors, 12 dessert spots and eight drink makers, alongside nine clothing vendors and five art and jewelry booths. To navigate the event, guests can use the festival’s mobile app to check the live map, buy premium passes to skip the lines and preorder food.

Note: By their very nature, pop-ups are fluid and subject to the whims of weather. For the latest schedule and information, consult the pop-ups’ Instagram feeds.

When a dumpling craving hits on a weeknight, I’m usually one to turn to a bag of frozen. Making dough and then folding or crimping it around a flavor-packed filling for homemade dumplings is a project that requires dexterity and patience. These skills are worthwhile to hone when you have the time, but it’s not an after work activity.

But there’s a way you can achieve the flavor and texture of homemade dumplings with only a little bit more effort than pulling a bag out of the freezer — making so-called blanket dumplings.

What are blanket dumplings?

Blanket dumplings are what they sound like: a ball of filling blanketed, rather than encased, in a wrapper. Simply prepare a simple mixture of ground meat and seasonings, roll into small meatballs, place in a skillet and cover with a wonton wrapper. No need to fold, wrap or crimp.

Steaming in skillet is fastest way to cook blanket dumplings

While some blanket dumpling methods call for a two-stage cooking method, I’ve found that the best (and quickest) method is to simply assemble the dumplings in a cold skillet, add water, cover and steam until the filling is cooked through.

Many recipes online will add a second step after steaming: continuing to cook the dumplings uncovered until the bottom has browned and crisped. This sounds appealing, but I’ve discovered that it turns the filling dry. This is because the dumplings aren’t sealed — any moisture released from the meat while cooking will evaporate if you attempt to crisp the bottoms. Instead, keep things simple with a quick steam and serve the dumplings straight from the pan.

Cumin, scallions, red pepper flakes bring earthy, spicy flavor

The blanket dumpling method works with any filling that can form a cohesive ball — choose your own ground meat or meat-alternative and play with whatever seasonings you’d like. The recipe below takes light inspiration from stir-fried cumin lamb, but swaps the lamb for more affordable ground beef. Finely chopped scallions, toasted sesame oil, ground cumin and red pepper flakes form the backbone of flavor in the dumpling mix, then a final flurry of even more scallions after steaming gives the final dish color and a hint of brightness.

The blanket dumpling method works with any filling that can form a cohesive ball choose your own ground meat or meat-alternative and play with whatever seasonings youd like. (Aaliyah Man for the AJC; food styling by Kate Williams)

Blanket Dumplings

• 1 pound 85% lean ground beef
• 3 scallions, finely chopped, divided
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 20 to 25 wonton wrappers
• ¼ cup water

1. In a large bowl, combine the beef, about two-thirds of the scallions, the oil, cumin, salt and pepper flakes. Mix thoroughly. Form the mixture into 20 to 25 walnut-sized balls and place in a 12-inch nonstick skillet.
2. Place a wonton wrapper on top of each ball of meat, pressing the wrapper around the ball to cover. The skillet will be quite full, with the edges of the wrappers touching or slightly overlapping. This is OK. Carefully pour the water into the skillet around the dumplings. Cover the skillet and place over medium-high heat. Once the water comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the meat is cooked through and the wrappers are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Top with the remaining scallions and serve straight from the skillet.

Serves 4.