Minhwa Spirits Feels Like Your Cool Friend's House
Welcome to another installment of Scene Report in Atlanta, a new column in which Eater captures the vibe of a notable Atlanta restaurant at a specific moment in time.
The soju distillery in a Doraville strip mall, is an unlikely hot spot, but when you make the OTP drive and enter the doors, you realize you're at your coolest friend's house party.
Minhwa Spirits founders Ming Han Chung and James Kim are those friends. After opening Georgia's first soju distillery (soju is a Korean distilled alcohol fermented with rice) last year, they were smart to house more than just the spirit, which was widely unknown in the state. The space is home to Postern Coffee during the day, chef residencies in the kitchen, and a cocktail bar, invitingly introducing diners to soju and makgeolli.
The atmosphere: Minhwa has two versions: an evening electric energy and a daytime chill mode. On a recent visit on a Saturday afternoon, the space was flooded with ample natural light from its floor-to-ceiling windows. Young people sat at tables on their laptops, the air smelled of freshly brewed coffee (try the coconut ube latte, $7), and a gentle hum of conversation and laughter came from the bar stools. An outdoor patio has several tables against a stunning mural called 'Morning Calm' by artist Kimchi Juice, depicting a Korean woman wading through mountains and peach trees — a nod to Georgia.
On a Saturday evening, there was a line forming out the door. The space was buzzing with people. A table close to me was celebrating a birthday, and another seemed to be on a first date with shy, awkward body language and cocktails in hand. Andrew Bloom's kinetic art on the walls seemed to move in its liquid florals. People were relaxed, the service was attentive and friendly, and no one seemed to keep tabs on the parking meter — parking is free.
From bottom to top: Cheesy kimchi fried rice, coconut ube latte, KFC nuggets, gilgeori toast, japchae, and volcano hot dog. Henna Bakshi
The food: Minhwa Spirits has welcomed chef Lino Yi (formerly TKO at Southern Feed and Lazy Betty) to the kitchen since Ganji's departure, the excellent pop-up that popularized the purple rice bowl. Yi brings Korean comfort bar food to Minhwa. The cheesy kimchi fried rice ($12) is a treat any time of the day, the japchae ($15) with sweet potato starch noodles and mushrooms is an umami bomb, and the volcano hot dog ($6) is piled high with spicy krab, sriracha, eel sauce, and scallions. The food is delicious barfare, though the menu could use a punch of acid through a bright salad or pickles and kimchi. Pastry chef Molly Follet (Little Bear, Ticonderoga Club) makes the fluffiest butter cheesecake ($10) with a peach ginger jam that pairs perfectly with Postern's cortado using Ethiopian coffee.
Insider tip on food: A spam and egg souffle gilgeori toast ($10) with cabbage, carrot, and spicy mayo is the current offering for brunch, and black sesame chicken and waffles with a spicy miso maple caramel will be added soon. Food pop-ups are hosted here often — look for Jay Patel's popular Indian-fusion barbecue tandoori sliders and wings from Dhaba BBQ.
Mom's Backyard Garden made with soju, gin, cucumber and lime cordial, and perilla. Henna Bakshi
The drinks: As one would hope, this distillery slings great cocktails. Minhwa has taken on one of Atlanta's top award-winning mixologists, James Sung (formerly Umi, Palo Santo), to whip up concoctions using the housemade soju and gin. The housemade Yong soju is earthy and light, and the gin is made in partnership with local tea company, the Chai Box, with Indian chai spices.
Beaches Down in Georgia cocktail with hibiscus jelly at Minhwa Spirits. Lauren Lynn
Sung infuses Korean ingredients with fat-wash and clarification techniques to create floral, fresh, and velvety-textured drinks. In one cocktail, aptly named Mom's Backyard Garden ($16), Sung uses his mother's perilla from her garden to garnish the drink made with soju, gin, and a cucumber and lime cordial. (Perilla leaves are commonly used in Korean cooking and have an herbaceous and peppery flavor.) It's refreshing, with a milky texture, punctured by bright green perilla — a visual stunner. The Beaches Down in Georgia ($16) is served with a cat face-shaped sour digestif gummy made from an extract from the Japanese raisin tree (hovenia dulcis thunb). It is commonly found in alcohol digesting supplements. I couldn't tell you if it works, but I can surely tell you the cocktail is a sweet and sour beauty with tongue-popping acidity. Most signature cocktail on the menu right now use clarification and fat washing, giving them linearity in a milky texture. They also tend to lean sweet, which is expected in Korean food and drinks. I'll be curious how Sung experiments moving forward, leaning on spice, salt, and umami in other iterations.
Insider tip on drinks: Be sure to order the makgeolli service (cloudy Korean rice wine) ($22) served from the traditional gold aluminum kettle in golden cups. Pair it with the KFC chicken nuggets. Buy bottles of soju and gin to take home.
Why go here: Minhwa Spirits gets it. The precarious 'it' is the balance between accessibility and finesse, and a downright cool factor. The team here is finding its groove, and it is exciting to witness their experimentation. The distillery is drawing local talent to itself seemingly naturally, making the space a creativity incubator, all while keeping its boozy and cultural spirit alive. This is my kind of house party.
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