August 2022
Features
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The everyday beauty of life in East Point
In intimate documentary portraits from East Point—Headland Drive and the surrounding area—photographer Rita Harper reminds us that you don’t have to be famous to have a story worth telling.
Atlanta’s greenest parkway is more relevant than ever
Widely recognized as the father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted is best known for designing landmarks like Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, and Biltmore Estate. In Atlanta, he designed a series of six linear parks along “Ponce de Leon Parkway” for the new residential development of Druid Hills.
A visit to Che Butter Jonez, one of Southwest Atlanta’s happiest little restaurants
There are few restaurants in Atlanta like Che Butter Jonez, where Malik Rhasaan interprets some of the dishes he grew up eating in Queens—a flagship lamb burger, chicken pitas and bodega-style breakfast sandwiches, a pastrami-topped patty melt called the Patti LaBelle—while Detric Fox-Quinlan works the counter.
Raised on Bleveland
In the news recently for its links to gang violence, Cleveland Avenue could represent much more than that. It just needs a little push.
One night at Northside Tavern
Amid a landscape of shiny new “West Midtown” development, a shabby old blues club is an oasis of old-school debauchery.
What’s the most Atlanta street?
Edgewood vs. Moreland: Two writers argue their case for which street is more uniquely Atlanta.
What’s the worst street in Atlanta (and why is it DeKalb Avenue)?
“It’s been a hated road since its conception,” says Serena McCracken, a research manager at the Atlanta History Center, speaking about—well, go ahead and guess.
The (somewhat definitive) ranking of Atlanta’s Peachtree streets
According to an oft-cited figure from the Atlanta Regional Commission, the metro boasts 71 streets bearing some variation on the name “Peachtree.” That number is several years old, though, and a spokesperson says the organization doesn’t keep a running list. Here, an assuredly incomplete, highly subjective ranking. You’ll never guess who came out on top.
Southwest Atlanta’s rising restaurant hot spot
New concepts from Deborah VanTrece, Shema Fulton, and others are upping the food options in an area that’s long been underserved—and turning Cascade Heights into a dining destination.
What determines who gets a grocery store?
Cascade is distinct from nearby locales in that its residents don’t lack fresh food from traditional retailers. I was fascinated to learn that yet another grocer was moving in—even more so when I came across a city-created map of fresh-food options, where that cluster of stores stands in contrast to the rest of Southwest Atlanta, and the other predominantly Black neighborhoods where grocers are few and far between. Why the abundance in Cascade Heights? And how does a Black neighborhood that needs a grocer get one?
Clairmont Road: Atlanta’s other international restaurant row
It starts on the Decatur Square, ends at Peachtree Boulevard; and is an overall enlightening cultural journey amid many international businesses and places frequented by the gourmet crowd.
A man, a plan, a canal … Atlanta!
Originally named Terminus, the Georgia capital was a railroad town that became an automobile town. Did we miss an opportunity to become the Venice of the Southeast?
Tasteless beginnings in Grove Park
Edwin Wiley Grove lost a wife and a child to malaria, inspiring him to create a “tasteless” treatment for the disease that contained quinine but sought to counteract quinine’s bitter flavor. It was in fact not tasteless but sweetened and lemon-flavored, and reputedly disgusting. By 1890, Grove’s tonic was apparently selling more bottles than Coca-Cola, in spite—or because?—of a chimeric ad campaign depicting the head of a baby affixed to the body of a pig: GROVE’S TASTELESS CHILL TONIC, it says. MAKES CHILDREN AND ADULTS AS FAT AS PIGS. Bottoms up.
Is there room for longtime residents in “that new Atlanta”?
With a marquee greenspace, a planned Microsoft campus, and other flashy new developments, Grove Park and Bankhead are ground zero for Atlanta gentrification. What happens to the people who are already there?
The rebirth of Bankhead Seafood
Rappers Killer Mike and T.I. are angling to bring back the hallowed restaurant, which served fish “so darn good it blocked traffic on Fridays.” It will reopen in a rapidly changing neighborhood.
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The Connector
What’s with all the potholes in Atlanta?
When it comes to transportation issues, there’s perhaps only one thing motorists and cyclists, skaters and scooters, walkers and wheelchair users, the rich and the poor can agree on: Potholes suck.
Atlanta’s churches are now hot real estate property, creating opportunity and dilemmas
As land values skyrocket, Atlanta churches are falling for development left and right. But is cashing in and moving on really a sin?
How an Atlanta collage artist depicts her home
“Atlanta is home to me. I highlighted the streets in our city by making the signs big and bold throughout the design, but foregrounded by subtle imagery from pervasive topics like gentrification.”
The Bite
The verdict on 3 new Atlanta restaurants: Oreatha’s at the Point, Slabtown Public House, and NoriFish
A maternal menu from Deborah VanTrece, bar snacks on the BeltLine, and omakase in Sandy Springs.
Battle of the Bowls: How Atlanta’s fast-casual restaurants stack up
Grain bowls, avocado toast, “superfoods” galore: Atlanta is awash in fast-casual restaurants. Here’s how they stack up.
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
The pros and cons of heated workouts
With sweltering outdoor temperatures and classes like heated spin, hot pilates, and, of course, hot yoga on the rise at Atlanta’s boutique fitness studios, you’ll have no trouble working up a sweat this summer.
A wave of new shops in Atlanta are showing off previously online-only brands
You might have noticed that, suddenly, more and more stores you’re used to seeing online have locations in metro Atlanta: Lunya, Rothy’s, Allbirds, Peloton, Lovesac, Framebridge. Ironically, traditionally digital-only brands are discovering the advantages of brick-and-mortar.
Room Envy: A garden made for relaxing, even in late-summer heat
Gardens can get a bad rap in late summer—with wilting flowers and fewer blooms than in spring—but interior designer and author James Farmer added architecture and heat-tolerant plants so that his backyard excels even in August.
