Best of Atlanta 2013
3 Peas in a Pod Produce
4450 Atlanta Highway, Loganville, Snellville, GA, 30052
678-232-6087
Open daily year-round, the family-owned business stocks a mix of produce sourced from Loganville gardens and trucked in from the state farmers market.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Threepeasinapodproduce
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Food, Shopping
Agent Provocateur
3500 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA, 30326
404-869-2881
Though some of its products may veer into Fifty Shades territory, on a whole, AP brings an upmarket edginess to underpinnings that hasn’t been seen in this city before.
Website: http://www.agentprovocateur.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Buckhead
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Lingerie, Shopping
AMC Parkway Pointe 15
3101 Cobb Parkway, Suite 201, Atlanta, GA, 30339
770-937-0730
Parkway Pointe has all the comforts we’ve come to expect from the modern multiplex, but the little things set this theater apart.
Website: https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/amc-parkway-pointe-15
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Vinings, West Paces Ferry / Northside
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013, Cinema
Ansley Eye Care
1544 Piedmont Avenue, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA, 30324
404-888-9444
Accessible display racks make it easy to browse a selection that includes specialty lines like Barton Perreira and ProDesign: Denmark, and the staff members are friendly but not overbearing.
Website: http://ansleyeyecare.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Midtown
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Eyewear, Shopping
Aria
490 East Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA, 30305
404-233-7673
This enduring fine dining destination showcases chef Gerry Klaskala’s taste for slow-cooked food and organic produce. A fitting choice for anniversaries and other intimate celebrations.
Website: http://aria-atl.com/
Neighborhood: Buckhead
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, New American
Atlanta Contemporary Art Center
535 Means Street, Atlanta, GA, 30318
404-688-1970
A recent Andy Warhol Foundation grant is boosting the mission of this non-collecting institution, which also offers educational programs and subsidized studios for fourteen resident artists.
Website: http://thecontemporary.org
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Westside / Home Park
Category: Art, Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013
Atlanta Made
1187 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA, 30318
855-285-6233
Why didn’t someone think of this before? Gather products from more than fifty of the city’s talented artisans together under one roof.
Website: http://atlantamade.us/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Westside / Home Park
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Gifts, Housewares, Shopping
Aurora Theatre
128 East Pike Street, Lawrenceville, GA, 30045
678-226-6222
This Lawrenceville company has always excelled at Broadway classics. But this year, the ensemble scored one for the ages with the epic Les Misérables. The show was a breakthrough for young Atlanta director Justin Anderson, who is suddenly working all over town.
Website: http://auroratheatre.com
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013, Live Theatre
Bacchanalia
1198 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA, 30318
404-365-0410
How does the Westside’s crown jewel remain at the top year after year? Extraordinary hospitality, for starters.
Website: http://starprovisions.com/
Neighborhood: Westside / Home Park
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, New American
Bean Head Toys
3497 Northside Parkway, Sandy Springs, GA, 30327
404-373-6300
With a focus on educational books, games, and kits from companies like Playmobil and Thomas & Friends, the aisles of this Sandy Springs store are strewn with building sets and dolls.
Website: http://beanheadtoysonline.com/
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Shopping, Toy Stores
Becky Nickerson, Agni Power Yoga
655 Highland Avenue, Suite 2, Atlanta, GA, 30312
The asanas are traditional but the music is cool and fun—ever heard of hip-hop artist MC Yogi?—and her classes strike that difficult balance of welcoming beginners while providing a workout for the advanced.
Website: http://agnipoweryoga.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Old Fourth Ward
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Sports & Recreation, Yoga Studio
Bella Bag
650 Miami Circle, Atlanta, GA, 30324
877-623-5522
The bread-and-butter of this luxury bag retailer is online at shopbellabag.com. But the founder, Cassandra Connors, lives in Atlanta and has a brick-and-mortar showroom on Miami Circle open Monday through Saturday.
Website: http://bellabag.com/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Buckhead
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Clothing Accessories, Shopping
BeltLine Lantern Parade
86 Pryor Street, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA, 30303
404-477-3003
Hosted by the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons, the parade features hundreds of giant puppets, light sculptures, lanterns and glow sticks, and thousands of cheering spectators along its route.
Website: http://beltline.org/
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Downtown, Old Fourth Ward
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Events, Best of Atlanta 2013, Non-Profit Organizations, Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Beaches, Professionals, Sports & Recreation
Big Creek Greenway
Marconi Drive to Mansell Road, Alpharetta, GA, 30022
After you depart one of the five convenient parking lots along the 8.3-mile Alpharetta trail, the rumble of traffic quickly gives way to the chirp of crickets and cicadas and the peaceful trickle of the adjacent creek.
Website: http://bigcreekgreenway.com
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Outdoor Recreation, Sports & Recreation
Billy Allin, Cakes & Ale
155 Sycamore Street, Decatur, GA, 30030
404-377-7994
His Decatur restaurant is in its fifth year, and Billy Allin’s menus are ever more poetic love letters to vegetables.
Website: http://www.cakesandalerestaurant.com/
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Personalities, Professionals
BoccaLupo
753 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, GA, 30307
404-577-2332
Bruce Logue, who bewitched food lovers at Midtown’s La Pietra Cucina with his housemade pastas draped in bombastic sauces, has settled into his own restaurant—a lovably eccentric bungalow on the fringe of Inman Park.
Website: https://www.facebook.com
Neighborhood: Atlanta, Inman Park
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Italian, Restaurants
Brunswick’s Norcross
6345 Spalding Drive, Norcross, GA, 30092
770-840-8200
Lanes at Brunswick’s Norcross are pricey ($25 an hour, $35 on weekends), but concierge-level service makes it splurge-worthy.
Website: http://brunswicks.com/norcross.html
Category: Best of Atlanta 2013, Bowling Alleys, Sports & Recreation