Roswell, GA · Fulton County
After a river day inRoswell, supper comes to you
Summer Saturdays in Roswell often start on the water, paddling or floating the Chattahoochee along Azalea Drive. By evening nobody wants to change clothes and fight for a table, so the chef shows up and dinner happens on the back patio.
What a hibachi night looks like in Roswell
The river is the thread through this city. Riverside Park and the paths along Azalea Drive stay busy with joggers, dog walkers and paddlers, and the Chattahoochee Nature Center off Willeo Road is where a lot of local kids first see a turtle up close. On the north side, Big Creek Park and its boardwalks wind through the woods, and Leita Thompson Memorial Park has trails that feel a long way from the traffic on Holcomb Bridge Road.
Beyond the river, Roswell is a patchwork. There are ranch homes and split-levels from the seventies and eighties on big, shady lots, newer cluster homes tucked onto infill parcels, and larger houses toward the Cobb line. The guest list tends to match: a backyard birthday for a ten-year-old one weekend, a grown-up dinner for neighbors who have lived on the same street for decades the next. For more ideas close by, see our Alpharetta and Sandy Springs pages.
From the grill
Setting up in Roswell
Mature oaks and pines are part of the charm, but the grill needs open sky above it, not low limbs or a dense canopy, so pick a clearing, a carport with open sides, or the driveway. Older Roswell homes often have a sloped backyard with a stair down from the deck; the grill rolls on wheels and does not climb steps, so a level spot near where we park saves time. After a river day, set out towels and a hose by the door before guests sit down. Mosquitoes are serious near the creeks, so a fan or two around the tables helps.
Roswell questions
We will be on the river until late afternoon. How tight can we cut it?
Give the chef roughly an hour at the house before you want to eat. If you will still be on the water, leave a gate open and tell us where to set up.
Our yard is mostly trees. Will hibachi work?
Usually, yes. The guest tables can sit in the shade, while the grill goes in the most open spot you have, such as the driveway, clear of overhanging branches.