Holeman & Finch is a fave among chefs/Credit: AJC

It’s so enticing – the secret nosh. That place that has the food you crave at whatever time of day, be it two in the afternoon or four in the morning – either way, you know you can get exactly what you came for. Maybe it’s a big basket of pomme frites; maybe it’s a bowl of Chinese dan dan noodles.

Who better to share what cucina they cozy up to before or after hours than the city’s chefs? Armed with weird hours and a strong sense of what they like, these soldiers of sustenance scour the city, and I’ve got the goods on where they go. From Holeman & Finch (which seems to be on almost everyone’s list) to the Majestic, here’s a chefs’ taste of Atlanta.

Steven Satterfield of Watershed, who will open Miller Union next month, says he loves to head to Buford Highway for Korean barbecue at Hae Woon Dae BBQ. Closer to Watershed, he says, “Leon’s Full Service for some pommes frites or Cakes & Ale where (chef) Billy (Allin) and I have had cocktails after hours then raided the cheese shelf in the walk in; Zucca for pizza with the staff from Watershed.” And Holeman & Finch, “of course.”

Chef de cuisine Chris Espanol of Straits in Midtown says he heads to the Book House Pub “because of the nice beer garden in the back and the beer selection. The charcuterie plate is great.” He also loves the grilled cheese. He likes Top Flr because of the wine list and intimate atmosphere. Where else? “Holeman and Finch for their awesome cocktails and the veal sweetbreads.”

Lance Gummere, executive chef at The Shed at Glenwood, loves his fried chicken livers after hours and “black coffee at The Majestic.”

When Shaun Doty of Shaun’s in Inman Park isn’t working, he heads to The Porter Beer Bar in L5P or to Flip for a boutique burger.

Duane Nutter and Todd Richards, of One Flew South and Rolling Bones BBQ, have a hankering for Lance Gummere’s (see above) cooking at The Shed at Glenwood. “Lance cooks the way chefs like to eat, with a balance of flavors, the right amount of seasoning and a certain amount of offal on the menu.”

Paces 88 chef de cuisine Mark Alba says “after working at Paces 88, you can often find me at Churchill Grounds beside the Fox Theatre.  I absolutely love jazz music, the cocktails are great and an occasional cigar is good too.”

FLIP Burger Boutique’s chef Richard Blais says when he’s not at home, he’s at Dynamic Dish or Shaun’s. “Why?” he asks. “Because I like my family. And those restaurants offer healthy, fresh food.”

Chef Ian Winslade of Market and Spice Market loves Holeman and Finch for its “comfort food and great cocktails.”

“I like to go to Woody’s off Monroe – those guys are characters!” says chef-owner Ford fry of JCT Kitchen. “I usually get the cheese steak with extra meat and extra cheese. On Buford Highway I like El Rey del Taco or Ming’s BBQ (really good roast pork, roast duck and garlicky Chinese broccoli).”

“Top Chef” contestant  chef-owner Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill votes for – you guessed it – Holeman & Finch. “There’s not much open by the time I leave the restaurant,” he says.

“On nights when I can slip out before Cakes & Ale closes, (wife) Kristin and I will head over to La Pietra Cucina for a proper bowl of homemade pasta,” says chef-owner Billy Allin of Cakes & Ale in Decatur. “I had the squid ink pasta last time and it was perfect.”

“Top Chef” contestant, cigar lover and Pura Vida chef-owner  Hector Santiago says, “I love to go Mirch Masala off Lawrenceville Highway … I like to hit their lunch buffet with goat stew or chicken and sometimes they have good tandoori chicken as well as dal pappadams, with lots of heat and spice.  Sometimes you sweat so much eating that you are tempted to wipe your forehead with their naan.” He also likes to head to Seas Jamaica on Covington Highway for the “very smoky jerk chicken with a side of coconut pigeon pea rice. “It’s spicy, coconut-y and all Caribbean! Extra yummy…”

Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch likes to head to Dynamic Dish on Edgewood Avenue for lunch because the vegetable combinations make him “feel better.” For dinner on a night off, he eats at Cakes & Ale in Decatur. “This restaurant personifies why I love restaurants: Pure, honest and damn good cooking.”

Chef-owner Ron Eyester of Rosebud in Morningside heads to Martin’s (with area locations around the Atlanta area). “They have the best biscuits ever, all homemade. This is the place that I started taking my son to when mommy needed a break and daddy had the day off from work.” He also heads to the Piedmont Avenue location of Ru San’s: “The sushi is pretty good, but the place is always rockin’ with drunken amateurs doing sake bombs and the sushi chefs are always smiling, yapping and will usually greet you with a small snack.”