2020 got off to an exciting start in Forsyth County with the quickly expanding Halcyon. Our communities Best of Forsyth financial planner, David Fountain, continues to uncover FoCo’s restaurants Best Bites.
Fountain’s Food Adventures explored the nine dining locations within Halcyon.
David, his colleague Liz Butler and many foodies took the month of January, trying dozens of appetizers, countless entree’s and many desserts too.
As mentioned, David Fountain is a financial planner, owner of Financial Consultants Group with over 26 years as an investment advisor who strongly believes that, “Your health is your best investment.”
He also believes that life is too short to miss out on any new exciting eateries with pleasing menu items.
The Main Eateries
CT Cantina & Taqueria is most likely one of the first views of Halcyon as you drive up from the north side. The atmosphere of the restaurant is well laid out both inside and out under the covered patio. The food blends fresh Mexican street food with their unique Tex-Mex “taco-flare!”
In our “Taco Tuesday” adventure we tried the Impossible with the cauliflower rice, and it was surprisingly flavorful, moist and oh so similar to the taste of ground beef. Also, the Choriqueso appetizer made up of queso dip combined with homemade chorizo was a tasty starter.
The Empanadas, cheese-stuffed with chicken, beef or veggies, were golden-fried delights. Another handmade in-house favorite were the Tamales, chicken, lettuce, queso fresco, avocado, pico de gallo and sour cream. It’s hard to talk about a Mexican restaurant without mentioning the fresh Margaritas, like the tasty Perfect Pineapple and the Skinny.
Live music is also something that will add to your experience on some of the evenings. This restaurant also pleasantly surprised us with how we were able to carry on a conversation and hear each other even on a busy night! General manager, Fernando, also made us feel extra special serving us one of the first tortillas made on their new machine. Also make note, Feb. 22 is National Margarita Day!
Cherry Street Brewpub is an upscale brewery-restaurant concept with a relaxed family-friendly vibe and chef-inspired menu. Some of us are familiar with their sister restaurant at Vickery Village — Cherry Street Brewing. You definitely can’t miss the building as it is located in the center of the complex with a nice open “Village Green.”
The restaurant has an open floor plan with walls of glass windows so you can easily enjoy seeing the activities outside. One of their mottos is "Sit. Gather. Share.," so David and others did just that and visited this location several times to get a feel for their appetizers, lunch, dinner and even their brunch items.
Some of the favorite starters were their unique cut Potato Pub Dippers and the Chicken Lips, a fried eggroll with IPA beer chicken with shredded cheeses and warm queso for dipping. For lunch, the favorite sandwich was created by owner Nick Tanner, The Brewer’s PB&J: two chuck patties with American cheese, bacon, creamy Peanut Butter and topped with the oh-so-yummy red pepper Jelly — smashed between H+F brioche.
The mains that hit the spot for dinner was The 15.2 Mahi, blackened with blurred blanc, asparagus and roasted garlic and chive mashed potatoes, and the Moroccan Pasta, pappardelle with chicken, shrimp, broccolini, asparagus tossed in their Moroccan cream sauce.
On the weekend go for brunch and maybe the Morning Hippie Chick Flatbread, sardou style, spinach, artichokes, garlic, feta, (three) eggs, pulled chicken drizzled with hollandaise. Or go all out and experience the glazed donut buns that hold The Breakfast PBJ Burger. Connected to the restaurant is the Brewhouse, an adult-only bar featuring award winning beers, wide variety of bourbons and crafted cocktails.
Ocean & Acre a beautiful restaurant, with a private room and also inviting outdoor covered patio. The style can best be described as seafood mixed farm-to-table fare.
One of the only restaurants in Halcyon that takes reservations and offers appetizing upscale menu choices that make for a perfect date night or an enjoyable evening out with friends. Southern Proper, the company that owns and operates Milton’s and Tin Lizzies restaurants, is excited for Ocean & Acre to be the first restaurant of its kind in Halcyon.
While their seafood is fresh and flavorful, the same can be said for their Smoked Half Chicken, Roasted Cauliflower or their Grilled Bone-In Ribeye. For lunch, we found the Local Grass-Fed Burger, Crab Louie and the Lobster Roll were big hits.
Overall, we were pleasantly pleased with a mouth-watering variety of the land and sea choices they have to offer. David says keep this one in mind for private parties too!
Butcher & Brew on the other end of the “Village Green” is a craft American gastro sports bar that owner Louis Soon started just a few years ago with their first location in the heart of Alpharetta’s Historic Downtown. His South Main Kitchen also has a focus on quality ingredients and a unique experience with every bite.
Fountain and his staff from Financial Consultants Group found the Starters as a pleasant place to begin. Jennifer loved the Fried Cauliflower, which was a pleasant surprise with the ginger chili aioli. While David and his Pigs in a Blanket pick and a spicy honey mustard did it for him. The Paleo Bowl with salmon was Liz’s pick, featuring sweet potato, spinach, caramel-iced onion, red bell pepper, hardboiled egg, broccolini and bacon with spicy honey mustard.
The Gustavo sandwich was an easy pick for the Southern raised Sandee, featuring fried chicken breast, buttermilk aioli, avocado, tomato with pickles. Some other favorites were the Korean BBQ Wings, House Chips with Gorgonzola crumble, blue cheese sauce, sriracha and scallion. The LandLady is a sandwich that was surprisingly tasty, with pork belly barn mi, ginger-chili mayo, asian slaw and cilantro.
CMX Stone Sports Bar is one of the 385 sites that the parent company Cinemex has created to redefine the experience in watching your favorite sports and movies while
Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings and the Wagyu Beef Sliders with bacon jam & melted fontina were good choices for the crew and the Goat Cheese Dip especially nice for the vegetarians. The House Ground Bistro Burger made with their signature blend of fresh short rib, brisket and chuck beef with a special sauce and topped with pecan wood smoked bacon was quite a satisfying sandwich for David. Chicken, steak, salad and seafood are also found on the menu, so from a snack to a complete meal CMX is worth checking out.
CinéBistro adjacent to the Stone Sports Bar, is a unique restaurant that shows movies with a luxury dine-in and in-seat service. Picture enjoying upscale and creative American Bistro cuisine while relaxing in their comfortable oversized reclining seats — not a bad movie watching experience.
Market Hall
Explore a world of flavors in the Market Hall that is designed as a gathering space to enjoy small bites from the quick counter service while overlooking the Village Green.
GU’s Dumplings serves authentic Szechuan dishes, with a focus on dumplings, noodles and stir-fry. David and the group loved the Zhong Style Dumplings, with their amazing secret homemade sweet and spicy Zhong sauce. The Dan Dan Noodles might just hit the spot!
Pita Mediterranean Street Food is a well-established brand in Atlanta, well known for gyros, shawarmas, falafel and hummus. They bring the street food concept from an open kitchen with cooked-to-order authentic Mediterranean food. You can’t go wrong with a pita, rice bowl, platter, salad or mezza spread.
Sweet Tuna is a Hawaiian-style eatery with a create-your-own poke bowl concept. All bowls are gluten-free, made with locally-sourced organic produce and fresh proteins. You can choose from one of their signature bowls or create your own. First, pick your Base (eight choices). Then pick your protein: fish, steak, chicken or tofu. Third is Mix-ins, fourth is Add-ons, fifth is the Sauce (12 choices) and sixth is Crunch. Whatever you create, our bet is it will be as tasty as ours were.
Tocayo is a taco stand inspired by Mexican street food but with an elegant vibe with Bohemian-inspired décor. A steak, chicken, pork, fish or mushroom taco will probably be your pick here. Enjoy fresh tacos with hand-made tortillas and housemade cheese.
Sweets & Treats
It’s a Sweet Life is a specialty cake boutique specializing in cakes for all occasions, along with cupcakes, cookie favors, macaroon’s and more. Definitely worth stopping in to take in the fabulous aroma.
Kilwins is another stop to take in the smells of freshly-made confections being crafted in-house daily. Treat yourself to high quality, handcrafted chocolates or caramel apple or one of 32 flavors of premium ice cream.
Popbar is a one-of-a-kind innovation for dessert lovers with over 50 flavors of deserts on a stick. Every pop can be customized. A few of our picks were the Chocolate & Caramel covered popcorn, Coffee half-dipped dark and Mint chocolate chip.
Coming to HALCYON Soon!
Cattle Shed Wine & Steak Bar | Holmes Slice | HobNob
Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee | Never Enough Thyme
Salata Salad Kitchen | Frenchies | Iron Age Korean Steak House
Fountain’s Food Adventures presented by Financial Consultants Group
David and the Fountain’s Food Adventure foodies hope that this article was insightful and we would love your feedback and support as the adventures continue. Keep in touch through Facebook, Instagram and foryourfuture.net/foodaventures.
