June 2022
Features
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Six months after arriving in metro Atlanta, an Afghan family starts a new life
The roughly 1,500 Afghans who’ve arrived in Atlanta since last fall mark a substantial increase in the metro’s small Afghan population. Familiar comforts are sparse: The only Afghan grocery in the area is Kabul Market off Lawrenceville Highway, known for its freshly baked Afghan bread. Since the beginning of Operation Allies Welcome, Georgia hasn’t been a top destination like Virginia, Texas, or California—but Atlanta itself has been among the top 10 cities for Afghan resettlement, and the only major one in the Southeast. Here is the story of how one family is building a life here.
How one family’s passion has tapped into a bustling Georgia market for farm-grown South Asian vegetables
Kattula Family Farms is one of just two commercial farms in Georgia devoted to growing South Asian vegetables. Plus: A roundup of five great restaurants for regional specialties from across India.
Eat your way through the vegetable kingdom with these Atlanta feasts
Wherein we welcome mac and cheese to the veggie family—we’re still in the South, after all. Plus: Korean banchan, superbly spiced Ethiopian platters, and more.
These Atlantans make it easy for us to love our veggies
Gardeners and chefs, pumpkin whisperers and okra aficionados, taco technicians and pecan purveyors: meet Atlanta’s green giants.
The best veggie dishes at beloved Atlanta barbecue joints
Not long ago, a meat-averse person who found themselves at a barbecue restaurant would have been relegated to a pretty short menu of side dishes: mac and cheese, potato salad, green beans that might not be flavored with bacon. But, as palates have become more plant-forward, so too have ’cue joints—where veggies are now getting almost as much respect as their low-and-slow menu mates.
How Black-owned vegan restaurants in West End prefigured Atlanta’s passion for plants
West End led the way in serving practitioners of plant-based eating in Atlanta, connected to—but also distinct from—the contemporary popularity of vegetarian and vegan restaurants here today. In one way, the devotion of customers to these businesses helped the neighborhood circulate community dollars, which paved the way for such hot spots as Slutty Vegan.
7 of Atlanta’s most eye-catching—and most delicious—vegetable dishes
From tomatoey hand-pulled Chinese noodles to fancy beet “poke” at the Four Seasons. Plus, of course: hot dogs.
Billions have gone into perfecting the climate-friendly burger. What if the answer is already here?
In the U.S., the burger is symbolic above all. Its fate stands in for bigger concerns about climate change adaptation: Will things change cosmetically—an electric truck that’s as powerful as one with a combustion engine, a burger that bleeds like the real thing—or more fundamentally?
The joy of vegetables
Exuberant garden tostadas, beautiful beet poke, irresistible Indian street snacks—even vegan barbecue! Welcome to Atlanta magazine’s soulful celebration of food from the soil.
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The Connector
They came out slugging: The history of the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance
Fifty years ago, a ragtag group of queer women launched the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance, upending Georgia’s leftist politics with protest, performance—and plenty of softball.
How Bankhead became a hip-hop landmark
Before Vincent “Pudgy” Richardson and brothers Kevin and Travis Denson helped turn Bankhead into a hip-hop landmark, they sold CDs and white tees out of a bread truck outfitted with 15-inch rims. How they got the bread truck, or why they chose that specific mode of transportation, only Kevin knows. But this mobile operation—the humble beginnings of Toe Jam Music—made a lot of business sense in spring 1998.
What it’s like taking care of fish and invertebrates at Georgia Aquarium
“We work with the animals, but our backgrounds also include plumbing, electrical, chemistry, water quality. You get to tinker a lot—we can fix anything with duct tape and a zip tie.”
The Bite
Drink the rainbow! Where to find bright, vivid drinks in Atlanta
Summer’s here—and with it, a cool drink for every color under the sun.
What’s holding back Atlanta’s food trucks—and what’s being done about it
Costs and red tape—plus strict municipal regulations about where food trucks can do their business—have conspired to stifle the growth of the industry in the Atlanta area, keeping trucks at the fringes of the dining scene. Some relief, though, is on the horizon.
Review: From fresh croissants to Vietnamese fried chicken, Juniper Cafe serves something tasty for every hour of the day
For their second outing, Ron Hsu and Co. turned to a more casual format and a more specific focus: In December, they launched Juniper Cafe, devoted loosely to the fare of Vietnam. Why this direction? It’s not just that Vietnamese is a favorite cuisine of his, Hsu told me—it also sits at the precise intersection of his Chinese roots and French training.
Our (frequently updating) guide to Atlanta’s very best pop-ups, food trucks, and more
Some of the most exciting food in Atlanta today is served out of borrowed kitchens, at farmers markets, and from food trucks. Here’s some of our recent faves, and where to find them.
The Goods
Roswell resident Jonathan Sams debuts a bag collection, Aubrey Jai, in honor of his daughter
Most designers and inventors spend years obsessing before launching a product line. But Roswell resident Jonathan Sams jumped quickly on one good idea.
How to grow easy countertop sprouts
No sun? No rain? No dirt? No problem. Sprouts can do without.
Room Envy: How an Atlanta interior designer created an “elevated, grown-up” pink bedroom
A touch of pink on the bolster pillow and in the painting above her bed inspired interior designer Courtney Moss to wrap her bedroom in rosy tones.
