Best of Atlanta 2014

Explore the BeltLine Eastside Trail by way of its bars—seven spots worth a stop, plus what to order at each one.

Even if you’re not a fan, you can’t refute that The Walking Dead has become synonymous with Georgia. It’s undeniable—from the ubiquitous apocalyptic Atlanta skyline via Jackson Street to Senoia’s permanent association as the sickly-sweet town of Woodbury, the landscape has forever become associated with the undead. With all that pop culture fueling fans more rabid than a horde of walkers, Atlanta Movie Tours has capitalized on the filming locales in metro Atlanta and the surrounding countryside by offering two zombie filming tours.

Because it feels so hip and modern, it would be easy to assume that Meherwan and Molly Irani’s Indian restaurant in Decatur (an offshoot of their Asheville location) caters to Westerners. False.

The casual pool player faces a challenge. There are pool halls in town where sharks hone their intimidating skills, and others where pool tables are an afterthought to the revelry. For players who fall in the middle, the Independent makes getting stuck behind the eight ball feel all right.

The Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville is worth the trip, especially on a rainy day. Block out at least two hours to take in everything at Tellus, which is named for the Roman goddess of the earth.

One part grocery store and one part food court, this Duluth market is a magnet for the local Chinese community.

At this Old Fourth Ward hangout, you can rock out to global DJs and soul-infused house music without worrying about bumping into someone every direction you turn.

With a little restaurant and bar housed in what is usually a waiting room littered with outdated magazines, a mundane chore suddenly becomes a leisure activity. And in the Bistro, the only reminder that you’re even at a car wash comes from the framed photos customers’ hot rods hung on the walls. Purple and white snakeskin chairs, a wall of plush violet velvet, and a granite bar stocked with bottles of liquor give off more of an ultralounge vibe.

These five shops are best bets when you’re under pressure to dole out holiday “thoughts” to hosts, coworkers, and neighbors.

Entrepreneurs and teleworkers have traded in their basement offices and the crowded coffee shop for memberships in Roam, which operates shared workspaces in Dunwoody and Alpharetta (and has one on tap in Cumberland for early 2015).