Best of Atlanta 2017: Food & Drink

Battle & Brew

Neighborhood gem: Battle & Brew

With six different gaming systems, this bar is the stuff of teenage dreams.
B's Cracklin'

Barbecue: B’s Cracklin’

This Atlanta location of pitmaster Bryan Furman’s barbecue joint—the original is in Savannah—couldn’t have been more warmly embraced by Riverside, a neighborhood in need of choice dining options.
Steve Palmer

Caretaker: Steve Palmer

There are many heroes in our local food community, but this shout-out goes to the Indigo Road Restaurant Group’s Steve Palmer, who brought a chapter of his organization Ben’s Friends here in April.
Thank U Chicken

Korean fried chicken: Thank U Chicken

Enter Thank U Chicken and you feel as if you’ve been teleported to Seoul, where frying chicken is almost a sport.
Upbeet

Health food: Upbeet

Erik Maier’s simultaneously sleek and bubbly fast-casual restaurant relies on organic ingredients and a crew of high-spirited bowl-builders.
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Pop-up: Talat Market

Parnass Savang serves Thai-inspired dinners three nights a week at Gato in Candler Park, quietly revolutionizing what Atlanta thought of this nation’s cuisine.
Anne Quatrano

Tastemaker: Anne Quatrano

Anne Quatrano boldly moved Bacchanalia to a relatively unknown industrial area on the Westside in 1999. Now, she’s done it again, designing a stand-alone building to house her flagship and its adjoining cafe, Star Provisions, just one mile away, in another offbeat location.
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Bright idea: Black Restaurant Week

Black Restaurant Week—launched in Houston, Texas, in 2016—came here for the first time this August.
Brian So

New chef: Brian So

Brian So took one of eight spots on Atlanta’s best new restaurants list this year for his French technique-driven cooking at Spring in Marietta.
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Do-good disposal system: Compostwheels

The idea: Conserve your food scraps, and Compostwheels will pick them up and turn them into nutrient-rich soil that they then deliver to nearby farms. That means less food waste going to local landfills and more local food production.

Empire builder: Revelator Coffee Company

The fast-expanding Birmingham, Alabama–based roaster hasn’t put its name above any of the Octane coffee shops it acquired in April, but its products are on the shelves.
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New Sichuan game: Yummy Spicy

Masterpiece still holds the title as Atlanta’s best Sichuan restaurant, but Yummy Spicy’s arrival on Buford Highway means you don’t have to drive OTP to get your fix.
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Gluten-free eats: Mediterranea

Those who are more interested in good food than restrictive diets typically have no idea that this charming Mediterranean bistro in Grant Park is a gluten-free haven. From its wine list to its hospitality, Mediterranea raises the bar for this neighborhood.
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Americanized Chinese: Double Dragon

Michael Lo and George Yu of Taiyo in Decatur are reinterpreting old-school Americanized Chinese dishes such as hot and sour soup, General Tso’s chicken, and Mongolian beef with organic ingredients. Their place in downtown Oakhurst is family-friendly, yet grown-up.
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24-hour doughnuts: Sublime

Just like the original location near Georgia Tech, the new Briarcliff Road outpost of local doughnut brand Sublime is open 24/7. Somehow, though, the bright lights and ice cream parlor vibe feel more conducive to satisfying late-night cravings.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium

The Mercedes-Benz of stadium food

Despite the $1.5 billion construction price tag, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is all about “fan-first pricing.” If you love fried chicken, go to Molly B’s Cookhouse. Can’t decide between a snack or a meal? Go to one of four Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q locations.
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Menu design: Food Terminal

Those of you who like to take home menus from restaurants will have no luck at Food Terminal. This is not a one-sheet; it’s a 50-page glossy magazine featuring full-bleed photos and faux cover lines.
Royal Myanmar

Cuisine to try: Burmese at Royal Myanmar

Travel to Clarkston to taste salads perfumed with tea leaves, plates of silky “tofu” made with chickpea flour instead of soybeans, and rich coconut curries.
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Big, bad salad: Petit Chou

Petit Chou is great for a number of reasons. But perhaps the number one reason to return to this Cabbagetown cafe again and again is for chef Diana Presson Eller’s “the Whole Chou” salad.
Grandma Pie O4W Pizza

Pizza (Plus): O4W Pizza

Doughy, crispy, semi-deep-dish Grandma Pie reigns supreme at Anthony Spina’s O4W Pizza, which he moved to Duluth from Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward last summer. But that Grandma Pie! Sizzled in a cast-iron pan and finished with whole fresh basil leaves, it’s a must-order.
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Worth the drive: Jerry’s Gourmet Burgers

Granted, Villa Rica is a good 45 minutes from downtown Atlanta, and granted, Jerry’s Gourmet Burgers only sells a few lowbrow food items. But “burger” is in the name for a reason, and it’s a burger you should travel for.

Legislation: Senate Bill 85

Victory! As of last spring, local breweries can sell beer directly to customers.
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Tapas: Bar Mercado

Castellucci Hospitality Group’s new tapas restaurant in Krog Street Market exhibits a knack for conviviality and passion for all things Spanish.
Canteen

New all-day eats: The Canteen

The concepts that make up the Canteen, which the General Muir’s Todd Ginsberg and his partners opened near Georgia Tech in June, aren’t necessarily new, but packed into what they’re calling a “micro food hall," they feel fresh.
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New food court: Jusgo Supermarket

The best part of Jusgo Supermarket in Duluth is the food court, a quick study of regional Chinese cuisines. Craft your own Sichuan-style dry hot pots at Uncle Zhu, and try Cantonese barbecue at BBQ Corner.
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Homecoming: Shaun Doty

Chef Doty is back in the kitchen again at the Federal, a bistro-cum-steakhouse that he and partner Lance Gummere opened in Midtown late last year.
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Vegetarian: VeGreen Vegetarian Fusion Restaurant

VeGreen puts an international spin on its eclectic menu of vegetarian fare. The dishes lean Asian, with some Chinese and some Japanese influences, but here and there, you’ll find a wild card such as pumpkin “cream” soup. Vegans are welcome here, and carnivores, too.
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Noodles: LanZhou Ramen

Walk into LanZhou and you see a showcase window framed in neon. It overlooks a kitchen where chefs stretch, bang, and twirl dough for the house specialty of this new central China–style noodle shop in Doraville.
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Venezuelan: Arepa Mia

Venezuela-born Lis Hernandez has been feeding Atlantans arepas at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market since 2012. This summer, she moved the second location of Arepa Mia (first opened in 2014) from Decatur to Avondale Estates, where she has a patio, more parking, and new menu items.
Miller Union

Overdue recognition: Miller Union

This year, after five nominations, Miller Union chef Steven Satterfield brought home a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast.

Action dining: Kula Revolving Sushi Bar

Conveyor-belt dining has arrived in Doraville. The idea is to serve a large number of customers quickly and cheaply, sending inexpensive sushi ($2.25 each) and small plates through the dining room on a mechanized runway.
Bon Ton

Late-night drinking: Bon Ton

This Vietnamese-Cajun boil house with a consciously gaudy New Orleans vibe is a sultry Midtown spot to drink—and drink late.
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Lowbrow Shakespeare: Shakespeare on Draught

With only one rehearsal before each production of their five-show season, the classically trained actors have just as much fun as the audience, who are encouraged to participate. If anyone forgets a line, everyone drinks.
8arm

Al fresco bar: 8Arm

A Technicolor pink-and-green-lined shipping container, a few communal tables, and Joshua Fryer’s commitment to classic cocktails have turned the tiny space next to 8Arm into Poncey-Highland’s buzziest outdoor bar.
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Neighborhood gem: Brine Seafood Shack

Marc Taft is wooing fans with oysters and crab cakes at this modern two-story structure—definitely not a shack—plunked in the middle of the ritzy new Avalon extension last April.
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Hot trend: Rage rooms

If you’re feeling angry and looking for a healthy way to express your emotions, try a rage room, including Sandy Springs' the Break Room.
C. Ellet's

3 new restaurants with classic luxuries

Atlanta isn’t turning its back on experimentation, but established chefs have been exalting more classic luxuries, too.
Poor Hendrix

Neighborhood gem: Poor Hendrix

Restaurant Eugene alum Aaron Russell operates with a strict set of rules at this low-key spot in East Lake.
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Neighborhood gem: Greens and Gravy

Cookbook author and emerging restaurateur Darius Williams celebrates black culture in his new “soul bistro” in the quickly gentrifying neighborhood of Westview.