May 2018
Features
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20 Reasons Why Atlanta is America’s Music Capital
It’s a bold claim, we know. But we’re tired of reflexively stepping aside, obscuring our greatness in a show of Southern hospitality. It’s not that we don’t appreciate what New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Austin have to offer. We hear them when they tell us their cities are the best, the coolest, the most cutting edge. But, bless their hearts, we know better.
U2 in Atlanta: An oral history of the band and the city’s shared journey
U2’s intersections with Atlanta over the years have gone beyond the city as a requisite tour stop. For a band from Europe intent on deconstructing the myth of America, Atlanta—its imperfect icons, its musicians, its leaders—has been a specific, if rarely noticed, part of U2’s journey, not only for the city’s social justice movements of the past but for the present, too. In anticipation of U2’s first Atlanta concert in nine years, two generations of Georgians talk about the band.
At a Virginia-Highland dive bar, Metalsome karaoke turns everyone into a headbanger
You don’t need to be a professional singer to grab the microphone for hard-rock, live-band karaoke with Metalsome at the 10 High, the small club tucked beneath Dark Horse Tavern. A lot of the 20- and 30-somethings who join in are defiantly tone-deaf and rhythmically deficient (perhaps thanks to a PBR or three).
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The Connector
Don’t Miss List: Our top 5 Atlanta event picks for May
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is finally coming to the Fox; participate in a weeklong celebration of two-wheelers at Atlanta Cycling Festival; and treat yourself to ”all-you-can-indulge” tasting sessions at Atlanta Food & Wine Festival.
Atlanta is a growing eSports hub, so your neighbor might make $1,000 a day playing video games
Welcome to the SoaR house, the improbable headquarters of one of the largest eSports organizations in the world. Its seven residents earn their livings by playing multiplayer video games like Call of Duty and Fortnite for millions of YouTube and Twitch followers from around the world. The video-game industry has blossomed in metro Atlanta thanks to a sizable talent pool, entertainment tax credits, and Fortune 500 corporations eager to connect with young consumers.
“A poke at the underbelly of Atlanta’s gentrification.” An artist fights to preserve Blandtown’s forgotten history.
Gregor Turk paid $85,000 for his northwest Atlanta studio. That was in 2003—ancient history in the fast-evolving landscape of intown gentrification. Turk’s studio is now surrounded by 35 new single-family homes, with prices starting at $550,000, and the area has been rechristened “West Town.” Not so fast, says Turk, who in 2016 erected a billboard in his yard that reads, “Welcome to the Heart of Blandtown.” The sign is not a passive-aggressive middle finger at developers, Turk says. Instead, it’s a history lesson.
The Fall Line: Two podcasting sleuths revisit the cases of abducted Grady newborns
The Fall Line is investigating the cases of seven Grady newborns who went missing decades ago—two of whom were never found. Inspired other true-crime dramas like Serial, Laurah Norton, a writer and Georgia State University senior lecturer, and Brooke Gently-Hargrove, a grief counselor, launched the true-crime serial podcast last year, which has since racked up 2.3 million listens.
Welcome to Ratlanta: What to know about the rodents next door
Have you met your neighbors? Their names are Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus, and metro Atlanta is teeming with them.
The Bite
You could spend days trying all the tacos at Buford Highway’s Plaza Fiesta. Here’s a cheat sheet.
When it opened in 2000, Buford Highway’s Plaza Fiesta was among the first shopping malls in the U.S. marketed specifically to Latinos. Today, the 350,000-square-foot compound attracts more than four million visitors each year. You could spend several days sampling all of the tacos here—or you could study this taco cheat sheet to narrow your choices.
Review: Chai Yo brings suave Thai food to Buckhead
Opulent Thai restaurants are rare in the Western Hemisphere, but Atlanta now has two. Chai Yo, the new Buckhead hotspot from DeeDee Niyomkul, is next-generation Thai, more intimate and less conventional than Nan Thai Fine Dining, the Midtown palace owned by her mother.
The trick to finding your favorite wine: Know your importer
Find an importer you trust, and then search for their other wines by looking not at the front label—but near the barcode on the back. Empire State South and Five & Ten wine director guides you through his favorites: Kermit Lynch, Becky Wasserman & Co., Rosenthal, Louis/Dressner Selections, and Uva Imports.
The Christiane Chronicles: The case against laminated menus—and why Salt Bae is my soulmate
People sneeze on laminated menus. They handle them with greasy paws. What I want on my table is a clean sheet of paper (no need for fancy stock) printed fresh every day. Plus: why I’m in love with finishing salts.
Will the Georgia oyster rise again?
Ask Kimball House co-owner Bryan Rackley about any gaps in his Decatur restaurant’s oyster menu, and his answer comes clear and quick: On a list that includes selections from the Carolinas, Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana, he can offer no Georgia oysters.
The Goods
Flight Fashion: As Delta’s new (purple!) uniforms take off, a look back at each decade’s outfits
It’s been nearly a decade since Delta’s uniforms have gotten a lift. Now, the airline is switching out its tired togs for a runway-worthy collection of uniforms designed by iconic American fashion designer Zac Posen, which will be rolling out on the fleet this month. We look back at eight decades of in-flight fashions.
A “Bento Box” of stylish professional wear delivered to your door? Yes, please.
Not a food item but certainly craveable, the Bento Box from workwear fashion disrupter MM.LaFleur is like a chef’s tasting menu for professional women, served with four to six stylist-selected items (accessories, knits, separates, and dresses up to size 22W) and a nonsubscription, four-day free trial—a no-pressure sales pitch.
Atlanta-based Glad & Young’s leather bags are all about spontaneity
The small-batch leather and canvas accessories by Glad & Young Studio are as fun-loving as they are functional. Offering bags and purses with playful accents, the Cabbagetown brand makes good on its namesake, an E. E. Cummings poem embracing joyful spontaneity.
Room Envy: Yes, blue cabinetry is a thing, especially in this remodeled Decatur kitchen
Blue cabinetry’s a “thing?” We’re seeing the sultry hue in kitchens everywhere, from the palest turquoise to deep indigo. In Kathryn and Matt Purselle’s remodeled Decatur kitchen, Terracotta Design Build’s Nicole Jui picked classic elements like Shaker-style cabinetry and marble countertops to fit the 1930s house—but added a jolt of blue for fun.
My Style: Gazal Tabrizipour, designer and owner of Gazal Eyewear
Unique, simple, and edgy, Tabrizipour’s personal style reflects that of her eponymous eyeglasses brand. Standing out from other optical labels, Gazal Eyewear, sold at Atlanta Vision Optical, features high-end, durable elements like titanium framework, plus collections designed around Atlanta celebs and personalities.
Miscellaneous
Flashback: Laying the groundwork for the Atlanta Jazz Festival, 1966
The list of acts read like a jazz aficionado’s fantasy dinner party: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Buddy Rich, and more. It laid the groundwork for mayor Maynard Jackson to later launch the city’s own—and free—Atlanta Jazz Festival, which has been held annually since 1978 and starts this year on May 26.
