Atlanta Magazine

We asked six top local chefs to share the Atlanta dish they wish they created. Robert Butts, chef/co-owner of Auburn Angel, said: “Miss Ann’s Ghetto Burger [from Ann’s Snack Bar in Kirkwood] was an Atlanta classic. The shack closed years ago, but this burger still stands the test of time to Atlanta natives.”

From smashburgers to mapo tofu pork dumplings, these 10 dishes reveal how Atlanta is still evolving and always hungry for more.

According to Executive Chef Jacob Stull, the most popular appetizer at Rêve, Birmingham, Alabama’s first-ever tasting menu restaurant, was inspired by a late-night Southern favorite: the “scattered, smothered, and covered” hash browns at Waffle House.

In 2023, retired educator Irma Levenson, looking to brighten the spirits of teachers in her community, organized a fashion show with classroom-appropriate outfits. To achieve it, she gathered clothes from her neighbors. “Within days, I had bags of clothing, a lot new with tags,” she says. The event was so successful that she created a nonprofit organization, the Teacher’s Closet, to keep it going.

As the Beltline prepares to open segments 2 and 3 of the Southside Trail, workers have been clearing trees and shrubs to pave future paths. Instead of just turning these plants into woodchips, they’ve been given a second life as food for animals at Zoo Atlanta. Known as browse, these fresh branches and leaves nourish animals across the zoo, from goats to giraffes.

The cocktail menu at Hop City's Krog Street Market bar boasts several drinks created by some of the city's most popular street artists. “We were wrestling with finding something that's just distinctly Atlanta,” says owner Kraig Torres. “We always pick an Atlanta theme for our cocktail menu, so we've done neighborhoods, and we've done strip joints, and we were like, you know, what's more Atlanta than our amazing street art scene?”

Since 1853, the North Carolina State Fair has drawn huge crowds to Raleigh by showcasing the best livestock, produce, and crafts from around the state. Throw in some thrill rides, indulgent fare (battered bologna fries, anyone?), and nightly fireworks, and you’ve got what is now one of the nation’s most popular state fairs. Here’s a glimpse of all the blue-ribbon fun that goes down.

What was once the cellar of a 19th-century grocery store is now the home of one of Atlanta’s largest arts spaces. Willow Goldstein—a local artist and entrepreneur who also founded the arts nonprofit The Bakery—opened her newest venture, The Supermarket, which hosts exhibitions and performances, art workshops, and private rentals in a 12,500-square-foot space.

OutKast’s official induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this past weekend is a milestone Antwan "Big Boi" Patton and André "André 3000" Benjamin both acknowledged as bigger than themselves during their acceptance speeches.

Chef Fuyuhiko Ito has worked in kitchens around the world, studying French and American culinary techniques, as well as his native Japanese. But he’s most known for his delicate, high-end sushi, as evidenced by his previous work as executive chef of Umi. Now he’s opening not one but three restaurants in Midtown: a 16-seat omakase spot called Ishin by Ito, a rooftop cocktail lounge named Celestia, and a modern Japanese eatery dubbed Sozou.