August 2024
Features
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Kirk Cousins, the new Atlanta Falcons quarterback, takes aim at a Super Bowl
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins’s calculus is this: Stack great daily habits in the film room and on the practice field, stack them in conversations and building relationships, and this tower of invisible hours will result in victories. Stick to this process, and the chances of winning a Super Bowl increase tenfold.
8 quick getaways from Atlanta that make for perfect vacations
Who doesn’t love a long, far-flung vacation? Fortunately, even when a lengthy trip isn’t in the cards, there’s plenty to explore close by. These eight spots are just over the Georgia state line and make ideal stops when you’ve got only a night or two.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Bicycling
My late father taught me how to ride a bike, and my late husband taught me how to enjoy it. The legacy continues with my kids.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Tennis
I was a tennis warrior until the game wore out my knees; after surgery, I yearn to get back on the courts.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Camping
There is gorgeous camping all over the state. But I hold a special fondness for the bare-bones sites run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Trail racing
The forest tempted me, but I stayed away until I did a trail race up Smith Mountain in Helen. The pouring rain didn’t bother me; the encounter with a bear did.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Rugby
At the age of 50, I joined a women’s rugby football club and found a true sense of camaraderie.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Canoeing and kayaking
The state’s waterways carry the currents of a painful past. Paddling through them, my family charts a new story.
Why I love Georgia’s great outdoors: Mountain biking
A warren of devilishly good trails—and a bike memorial of mysterious provenance—keep me coming back to Atlanta’s Southside Park.
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The Connector
Be safe around the Chattahoochee’s Diving Rock
Leaping from Diving Rock has been something of a rite of passage for generations of Georgians, including Jimmy Carter, who jumped while serving as governor in 1972. Mother Nature may have obliged in building an organic diving board, but the reality is that, being a natural feature, Diving Rock was not designed with safety in mind.
Atlanta Roller Derby celebrates its 20th season
An Atlanta skater named Sweet ‘n Sour shoves her way past players from rival team Terminus like a human Tetris block. She pushes and jumps her way to securing the lead—only to fall. She’ll get back up and try on a future lap, because it’s just the beginning of the first bout of Atlanta Roller Derby’s 20th season, now in a new home at Agnes Scott College.
A new book, A Devil Went Down to Georgia, explores the 1987 murder of Atlantan Lita McClinton
Deb Miller Landau first wrote about the haunting 1987 murder of Lita McClinton Sullivan for Atlanta magazine. Her new book on the case has gained national attention.
Taking a trip back to Cabbage Patch’s BabyLand
When I was a toddler, my grandparents brought me to the original BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia, where Cabbage Patch “babies”—not dolls—are “born”—not produced—and “adopted”—not bought. The original “hospital,” located in a converted medical facility the size of a double-wide, captured the kitschy, uncanny-valley aesthetic of the classic ’80s toy.
Atlanta-based Ever After offers an inclusive, queer-friendly matchmaking service
Matchmaking is back in vogue, and this time, it’s for everybody. Welcome to the world of Ever After, an inclusive, queer-friendly matchmaking service that launched this spring to give all Atlantans a better shot at love.
The Bite
Finding fungi: Hunting for edible mushrooms in Georgia’s woodlands
For Sarah Hawkins, the act of foraging—touching the soil, smelling the moss, connecting with nature—is satisfying in its own right. But the goal is to return home with a haul of tasty forest treasures. And anyone can do it: You just have to learn how to find the right fungi, and how to cook with them.
The verdict on 3 new Atlanta restaurants: Pure Quill Superette, Pizza Verdura Sincera, and Casa Balam
Find superette Saturdays at Pure Quill in Edgewood, vegan pizza in Little Five Points, and a new upscale Mexican spot in Decatur
Review: An elegant new space for Michelin-starred Lazy Betty
Moving from DeKalb Avenue to Midtown is an excellent business decision for an ambitious chef with a new Michelin star and all that it entails in terms of target audience. The number of dishes on the tasting menu has increased, and so have the prices. I love the new menu (be prepared for slight seasonal changes) and its intentional progression from recognizable to unfamiliar.
Things We Like: The rise of mezcal
Eleven years ago, chef Octavio Aguirre arrived in Atlanta with the dream of bringing his Mexican culture to the South. To his surprise, his salsas were too spicy, and his mezcals were too strong. Coming from a family in Jalisco of jimadores (agave farmers) and taqueros (taco experts), he didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to showcase the flavorful Mexican cuisine he grew up on. So he took it upon himself, with the help of his wife, Roxana Aguirre, to help broaden Atlanta’s palate.
The Goods
PushPush Arts has evolved from a theater company to an incubator for Atlanta artists
Whoever invented the trope of the starving artist must have been in the real estate business. With rents rapidly rising across the U.S., many cities have seen an exodus of artists who can no longer afford to live and create there. It’s a growing concern that drove local arts incubator PushPush Arts to become the creative partner of ION Arts College Park, a community for artists to find support and inspiration, all in one cohesive, public transportation–accessible location.
Sound baths around metro Atlanta promote meditation and relaxation
Sound therapy sessions, often known as sound baths, are guided by a sound therapist or practitioner. Attendees typically dress in comfortable clothing, recline on a blanket or yoga mat, close their eyes, and await a variety of soniferous elements, including singing bowls, chimes, gongs, drums, and other instruments. These tones permeate the indoor or outdoor space and wash over listeners, encouraging a deep sense of wellness.
Miscellaneous
A love letter to the Piedmont Park Robot Bathroom
I love the Piedmont Park Robot Bathroom. Not because it’s pretty or pleasant. A basic green-and-stainless-steel box, this public bathroom was designed to be vandal-resistant, fully automated, and self-cleaning. It was a futuristic eyesore when it was installed in 2008, inside the stately Charles Allen Gate. Outside, it looks like a misplaced elevator. Inside, as one Department of Parks & Recreation employee told me, “It looks like a prison toilet.”
