January 2024
Features
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Ask a sleep doctor: Atlanta experts give advice for combating insomnia
It’s heavenly to drift softly into slumber at bedtime—but that doesn’t always happen, and for some people, falling asleep is a nightmare. We asked sleep medicine physicians Nancy Collop at the Emory Sleep Center and Hitendra Patel at the Wellstar Sleep Program about insomnia and what to do about it. Here’s a summary of their advice.
Three places in metro Atlanta to get a good night’s sleep
If the chaos of everyday life is keeping you up at night, maybe you need a true escape. You can find your dream retreat in nature or in luxury—without leaving the metro.
Georgia is one of the most sleep-deprived states. Here’s how some Atlantans eased their sleep struggles.
In a 24-hour world, the city might never sleep—but you should. Studies have shown Georgia is one of the most sleep-deprived states in the nation. Here’s advice from local experts for insomniacs and anyone just trying to get a better night’s rest.
The ancestors of Nettie Washington Douglass still have stories to teach us. She just hopes we are ready to listen.
Nettie Washington Douglass, descendant of three legendary Black Americans, was born under the heavy mantle of history. Through the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, her family is now linking their ancestors’ stories to the most pressing issues of today.
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The Connector
Project Street Vet bring pet care to Atlanta’s unhoused
On a Sunday in October, members of the unhoused community gather in the Big House Guitars parking lot on the corner of Cheshire Bridge and Lavista Roads. There, the Elizabeth Foundation, a nonprofit service organization, lays out two spreads—one with food, the other with warm clothes for the upcoming cold and wet winter. Veterinarian Dr. Kristen Schmidt is also there to help. Through the nonprofit Project Street Vet, Schmidt provides free veterinary care to pets of unhoused individuals in Atlanta.
SwemKids, Atlanta’s largest Black-owned swim school, is helping change the aquatic narrative
Trish Miller’s near-tragic story is one of the reasons she started SwemKids. On a college trip in 1996, a group of girlfriends found out Miller couldn’t swim, so they decided they were going to teach her. Not really thinking, Miller jumped in the deep end of a pool after her lesson. She started panicking in the water. Thankfully, somebody was there to rescue her.
Radio announcer Steve Holman on his 39 seasons with the Atlanta Hawks
“My first [Hawks] season was 1985–1986. I had hoped that I would be the longtime voice of the team. That had been my dream as a young broadcaster—to become that guy, like a Vin Scully [with the Los Angeles Dodgers] or Johnny Most with the Celtics or Chick Hearn with the Lakers. People that have been so-called ‘lifers.’ That’s what I set out to do. And here we are, 39 seasons later.”
The Emory Farmworker Project gives medical care to migrant farmworkers in South Georgia
The Emory Farmworker Project exists to give medical care to approximately 2,500 itinerant farmworkers a year in South Georgia, who tend the fruits and vegetables we eat. Many of the workers are immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, or Haiti. Every June and October, Emory students, faculty, clinicians, interpreters, and volunteers (about 350 total in the summer and 120 in the fall) travel to the area, setting up and taking down entire clinics twice a day as they move from farm to farm.
The Bite
The verdict on 3 new Atlanta food and drink spots: Little Sparrow, Punk Foodie, and Burle’s Bar
Ford Fry’s new French brasserie, pop-ups at Ponce City Market, and a bar tucked into a plant shop.
How chef Chef Shai Lavi creates Yemenite kubaneh
There’s nothing like waking up to the aroma of baking bread, especially bread that brings back memories of home. Yemenite kubaneh is commonplace in many Jewish homes and touches all the senses. Hues of brown, a crispy crust, and a slightly sour fragrance indicate its readiness. Pull the brioche apart with your hands, and you’ll expose its beautiful swirls and feathery, flaky layers. Some historians believe that kubaneh, a relative of another Yemenite Jewish pastry called jachnun, predates puff pastry and inspired the French croissant.
What makes an Atlanta pizza?
We’re not a New York thin slice or a Chicago deep-dish. In a word, Atlanta-style pizza is FLAVA! All caps and no regrets. Pizza-makers throughout the city are channeling culture and creativity into pies that could be born only out of Atlanta.
Offbeat and intimate, here are 4 new Atlanta supper clubs you should know about
Atlanta supper clubs aren’t exactly new. Kamayan ATL, a Buford Highway eatery recommended by Michelin, began as a series of pop-up feasts. Shai Lavi hosts small-scale, modern-Mediterranean dinners at the Third Space, where Asha Gomez began hosting private events ten years ago. But recently, this big trend has gotten, well, smaller. Chefs are hosting more informal, intimate suppers in offbeat locations, even private homes. Here are four new ones to watch.
The Goods
How to get a healthy start to the new year
Every July, we present our annual list of Top Doctors, as selected by licensed physicians in the metro area. As we started 2024, we asked the primary care physicians on our list to share their advice for New Year’s resolutions.
Breaking down Atlanta’s newfound passion for mahjong
Brookhaven resident Melissa Cott remembers the click-click-click of her mom and her friends playing mahjong. She loved the nights when it was her mom’s turn to host and recalls sneaking out of bed to the kitchen where the women were playing. “I vividly recall bowls of strawberries and M&M’s—there wasn’t any fancy charcuterie in the […]
Najee Dorsey creates a home for Black artists
Black Art in America, a 4,000-square-foot art gallery–artists studio–gift shop and 8,000-square-foot sculpture garden in East Point, is intended, says CEO and founder Najee Dorsey, as “a space to document, preserve, and promote African American visual culture.” Dorsey, who is also a self-taught artist represented by Arnika Dawkins Gallery, has made that focus his life’s goal—ever since he opened a gallery in the corner of an Arkansas beauty salon in 1998.
Room Envy: A cool kids’ room in Virginia-Highland
This multipurpose kids’ room in a Virginia-Highland addition has good ideas for all ages, thanks to the creativity of designers at Copper Sky Design + Remodel.
Miscellaneous
A love letter to the Righteous Room
True dive bars have become harder to find in our ever-gentrifying city, where $16 cocktails are being served at every cafe and movie theater. Fortunately, the original location of the Righteous Room has been a reliable dive for more than 25 years.
