Best of Atlanta 2013
Bungalow Classic
1197 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA, 30318
404-351-9120
A Westside stalwart, Bungalow shines especially bright (pardon the pun) with its selection of stylish, affordable light fixtures.
Website: http://bungalowclassic.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Westside / Home Park
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Home & Garden
Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co. – Virginia-Highland
1064 North Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA, 30306
404-892-8202
While other local confectioners craft pretty bon bons from couverture (a basic form of wholesale chocolate used to make truffles and pastries), Kristen Hard and her team make their world-class chocolate completely from scratch, starting with superior beans from places like Venezuela and Peru.
Website: http://www.cacaoatlanta.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Virginia-Highland
Category: Bakeries, Bakery/Bagel/Donut, Best of Atlanta 2013, Candy Stores, Dessert/Ice Cream/Yogurt, Restaurants, Shopping
Cardamom Hill
1700 Northside Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30318
404-549-7012
Chef-owner Asha Gomez takes her singular cooking in two directions. She re-creates the dishes of her childhood in Kerala, and she marries the flavors of the Indian South with the American South.
Website: http://cardamomhill.net/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Westside / Home Park
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Indian, Restaurants
Centennial Olympic Park
265 Park Avenue West, Atlanta, GA, 30313
404-223-4412
If there is a lasting and tangible remnant of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, it is Centennial Olympic Park. As grass and trees have filled in over the years, the park has evolved from a pile of commemorative bricks into a restful oasis.
Website: http://centennialpark.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Centennial Place
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013, Parks & Beaches
Chaos Conditioning
325 East Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA, 30305
404-590-5852
The small but effective interval-training gym is well known for hosting bootcamp-style workout classes—think modified jump-roping, digs, squats, and push-ups—that leave you trembling and toned.
Website: http://chaosconditioning.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Buckhead
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Fitness & Instruction, Gyms, Sports & Recreation
DragonCon
Downtown Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 30303
Every parade has bands and politicians, but this Labor Day extravaganza has bagpipers in steampunk gear and ruling-class representatives from Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.
Website: http://dragoncon.org/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Downtown
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013, Family Fun, Local Attractions, Sports & Recreation
East Pearl
1810 Liddell Lane, Duluth, GA, 30096
678-380-0899
Pinning down optimum dim sum is a never-ending hunt: The chefs at Chinese restaurants constantly hop from one kitchen to the next without warning. Right now we’ll put our money on Duluth’s East Pearl, oddly lodged in a faux Alpine chalet.
Neighborhood: Northeast Metro
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Chinese
Empire State South
999 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA, 30309
404-541-1105
Famed chef Hugh Acheson directs a talented crew who create a playground of ideas and an expansive vision of Southern food. Don’t miss the coffee counter, baked goods, and wine list.
Website: http://empirestatesouth.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Midtown
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Breakfast/Brunch, New American, Restaurants, Southern/Soul
Fabu Face Spa
335 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, Suite E, Decatur, GA, 30030
404-377-6363
There’s nowhere better for a customized facial. Add the $20 herbal eye treatment for a transformative reduction in dark circles.
Website: http://fabufacespa.com/
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Services, Spa and Body
Fay Gold
760 Tenth Street, Atlanta, GA, 30318
404-625-9094
Gold closed her gallery in 2009 but returned this summer with a new space in the Westside Cultural Arts Center, the exterior of which showcases a commissioned mural by HENSE and the 3,000-square-foot interior of which carries a mix of established and emerging talents.
Website: http://faygoldgallery.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Westside / Home Park
Category: Art, Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013
Five and Ten
1653 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA, 30606
706-546-7300
Five & Ten put Hugh Acheson—and Athens—on the culinary map. He mingled the Southern lexicon (catfish over grits, Lowcountry Frogmore stew) with influences from France, Mexico, and Italy.
Website: http://fiveandten.com/
Neighborhood: Athens
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, New American, Restaurants, Southern/Soul
Flatz
314-A Pharr Road, Atlanta, GA, 30305
404-963-1668
Part of us thinks heels are the devil, which is why we fell for this new store on Pharr Road.
Website: http://flatzshoes.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Buckhead
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Shoes, Shopping
FLO2S
427 Moreland Avenue, Suite 800, Atlanta, GA, 30307
678-856-8060
In a Little Five Points suite, FLO2S offers Atlanta’s only two commercial sensory deprivation tanks: Each holds body-temperature water, less than a foot deep, and 1,200 pounds of Epsom salts, dissolved to create ten times the buoyancy of the Dead Sea.
Website: http://flo2s.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Little Five Points
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Services, Spa and Body
Ford Fry
914 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA, 30318
What’s his secret? The man knows how to dazzle with design without going too glitzy, and he traffics in comfort foods with a dash of novelty.
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Westside / Home Park
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Personalities, Professionals
Four-Handed Massage, Mind & Body Day Spa
5250 Windward Parkway, Alpharetta, GA, 30004
678-366-7825
In the Alpharetta spa’s largest treatment room, a duo of practitioners work in tandem: They begin by unknotting the back with fluid, simultaneous motions, then one kneads the shoulders while the other works on the legs.
Website: http://mindandbodydayspa.com/
Category: Beauty and Spas, Best of Atlanta 2013, Massage & Bodyworks, Services
Foxtale Book Shoppe
105 East Main Street, Woodstock, GA, 30188
770-516-9989
Perched on the edge of downtown Woodstock, FoxTale is the quintessential community bookstore.
Website: http://www.foxtalebookshoppe.com/
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Books and Magazines, Shopping
Freedom Park Trail
Boulevard and Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30312
This paved, mostly shaded route offers a glimpse of the city without the crowds of the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.
Website: http://pathfoundation.org/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Candler Park, Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013, Parks & Beaches, Recreation Facilities, Sports & Recreation
George’s
1041 North Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA, 30306
404-892-3648
You can order loaded nachos or a salmon BLT, but the uncontested draw is the burger in a dozen variations. Sticklers who eschew toppings will appreciate the plain burger’s grilled smokiness.
Website: http://www.georgesbarandrestaurant.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Virginia-Highland
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurants
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