Spice Is Nice

For Westsiders and Buckhead dwellers—even the bona fide in-towners of Midtown and Inman Park—Atlanta’s downtown proper can feel like a different city entirely: a foreign place populated by transient business types by day and rarely, if timidly, explored by night; one that causes you to marvel at the architecture, fumble with one-way streets and get the sense that you’ve just lost your way; better get home soon.

But 191 Peachtree Tower’s new anchor eatery, Alma Cocina (which means “soul kitchen” in Spanish), endeavors to change all that. It’s a destination not because of its proximity to a hotel, tourist attraction or sports arena—though it should certainly become the place to dine after enjoying each of them. This restaurant is for Atlantans. The real kind.

As might be expected from the direction of Fifth Group Restaurants and the dual design genius of Bill Peace and ai3, Alma Cocina is categorically beautiful—and spatially perfected, offering an expansive dining room, a corridor of café tables and two rows of booths that cancel sound from the neighbors without shutting out spontaneous interactions with passersby. A glittering “agave” chandelier decorates the bar—one end of which wraps around so imbibers can sip from both sides—and golden yellow back-painted glass illuminates the backsplash wall, setting off the beautiful selection of spirits. Additional seating spills into the tower’s atrium, providing the perfect place for private affairs next to a second bar. From our own booth, my dinner companion and I remark at how cool the concrete wall is behind it. Cast in an intricate, architectural motif, it is at once rugged and graphic, adding much dimension to the space.

Alma boasts thoroughly realized Latin American-inspired cuisine born from months of research and just the right chef for the job—onetime Floridian and natural Southern sympathizer, Chad Clevenger. Clevenger spent three years in Santa Fe, N.M., cooking up fine Southwestern fare, and headed to Denver when he needed a change, earning his stripes at the award-winning Mel’s Bar & Grill, before eventually owning it, along with his beloved food truck, The Porker. During our dinner, the chef stops by the table to quickly make us feel like friends.

After a colorful chat about his time spent near Nice, France—cooking for a prominent next-door neighbor to Rod Stewart, no less—we dive into tales of sourcing the restaurant’s curiously rich mezcal from a ranch in Mexico—a scene he paints vividly, complete with a barrel-strapped donkey. He recounts all this in his jovial way, and, before long, it is apparent how excited the chef is about our own Atlanta. Ranking it one of the top food cities in the nation, he describes the pepper-punctuated menu he’s meticulously conceived for his latest venture.

One item I’d like to make my usual is the bay scallop ceviche, which brilliantly balances the tartness of blood orange juice with the suppleness of fresh shellfish, the crunch of Marcona almonds, the spice of amarillo chiles and zippy slivers of red onion. But we also dug into a chipotle-strewn butternut squash-and-queso fresco guac, plus small plates like taquitos topped with fried avocados—dredged in a delicious breaded spice mixture—mated with roasted tomato slices, Cotija cheese and poblano pepper pesto for a nostalgic, almost Italian-inflected flavor. A narrow plate with three small tostadas, or deep-fried tortillas, looked immediately girly due to thin slices of juicy mango and a springy micro cilantro garnish. But all it took was one bite to understand why the greasy, heavy flavor of ground chorizo and creamy white-bean purée pair so well with those delicate ingredients. And not to worry, hearty eaters, platos mayor—or large plates—also pepper this menu.

Beverage Manager Matt Crawford is just as charming as the other staffers we meet during the night—and thoroughly Southern. Showing off his craft, he serves us a few samples of his sips with a knowing twinkle. As likely as the Pisco-and-lime Galatas Gland, hibiscus salt-rimmed The Lay of the Land and dangerously drinkable citrus Amatitán cocktails are to become famous, we couldn’t stop talking about the Reposado tequila, poured over a cool cube of prickly pear-and-dragonfruit purée—only one of three similar drinks you can try.

And as well as its spirits and spices will warm you up in winter, it’s clear that Alma also will become the ultimate summer hangout—for pretty much everyone. Go for girls’ night, a romantic date or a round with the boys after the big game. Most importantly, just go downtown! 191 Peachtree St. NE, 404.968.9662, alma-atlanta.com