February 2015
Features
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Gossip Guys: How Yik Yak’s founders are protecting their app from its biggest threat: Us.
The founders of Yik Yak are Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll. They’re both 24 and graduated in 2013 from Furman University, where they noticed the popularity on campus of certain Twitter parody accounts. The two friends thought it would be fun if everyone had a platform for telling jokes and sharing news—and to be able to do that anonymously.
Asylum: Inside Central State Hospital, once the world’s largest mental institution
In 1837, Georgia lawmakers authorized a “Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum.” Five years later, the facility opened as the Georgia Lunatic Asylum on the outskirts of the cotton-rich town that served as the antebellum state capital.
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The Connector
Groundhog vs. Groundhog: Who predicts better, Punxsutawney Phil or General Beauregard Lee?
Punxsutawney Phil may call Bill Murray a friend, but Georgia has its own weather woodchuck, General Beauregard Lee. On February 2, the groundhogs will emerge from hibernation to determine whether we’re due for another Snowpocalypse. Which rodent is the more reliable forecaster?
Can CEO Keith Parker make MARTA cool?
This is a historic chapter in MARTA’s history: the first major expansion in four decades. Much of the credit goes to the transit authority’s general manager and CEO Keith Parker, who joined MARTA in December 2012 when the agency was beleaguered with a fiscal crisis and plummeting ridership.
Jonathan Odell’s new book, Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League, is not The Help redux
Like The Help author Kathryn Stockett, Jonathan Odell is white and writes about interracial relationships in the segregated South. And like The Help, Odell’s new book focuses on the relationship between a privileged white woman and domestic workers. But here’s the twist.
Who owns these Atlanta eyesores?
Atlanta is riddled with vacant properties, many of them development efforts that stalled during the recession. But other decaying structures have been that way for years—decades even—often in the middle of burgeoning neighborhoods.
Vets help vets stay out of jail through a unique Fulton County court
Outside the Fulton County Accountability Court headquarters, a cold wind ripped through the Bankhead neighborhood west of downtown. Standing inside before two dozen veterans of conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan, John L. Walsh, a real estate broker and a Vietnam War veteran, gave his pitch with all the fervor of a seasoned recruiting sergeant.
School of Folk: Legendary music promoter Eddie Owen starts his third act
Maxwell Williamson is 15 years old and wants to be a rock star. He lives in Snellville, plays lead guitar in a cover band called Retromaniacs, and just started writing his own songs. And on this Thursday, he’s come to the Red Clay Music Foundry’s Songwriting Workshop for help.
A pop culture-centric guide to Verdi’s Rigoletto
This month, the Atlanta Opera stages Verdi’s Rigoletto. To help you impress your opera-going companions, a few nuggets you can drop before the curtain rises or during intermission.
Steampunk rules: AnachroCon will let you rewrite history
When you run a convention dedicated to reinterpretation, debates get hot, as the organizers of AnachroCon (mission: “present all sides of the historical record”) know full well.
The Bite
Technique: Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co. owner Kristen Hard on how to temper chocolate
Dip a marshmallow, a pretzel, or even a graham cracker into a bath of melted chocolate, and suddenly, the mundane becomes magical. But here’s the catch: If you’re using fine, unadulterated chocolate—as opposed to artificially flavored coatings fortified with vegetable oils—you must temper it first.
Oak Steakhouse
Where Oak Steakhouse aims to set itself apart from other steakhouses—as the genial, tall, bearded chef Chad Anderson will tell you if he comes by your table—is in its selling only Certified Angus Beef, all of it prime. If you order one of the four “classic steaks,” as I did the ribeye, the server will quickly ask, “Don’t you want the dry-aged?”
Fresh on the Scene: Fred’s Meat & Bread, Cooks and Soldiers, and more
The family behind the Iberian Pig, Double Zero Napoletana, and Sugo takes its latest inspiration from Spain’s Basque region, a province that practically breathes pinxtos (Basque for “tapas”) and glasses of Txakoli. At the corner of 14th and Howell Mill Road, this is easily the Castelluccis’ most rave-worthy effort.
Four February dining events in Atlanta: Uncorked Atlanta, Taste of Athens, and more
Wine and dine yourself at Uncorked Atlanta, Taste of Athens, Oakhurst’s wine crawl, and Atlantic Station’s festival of beer, bourbon, and barbecue.
Spice route: Asha Gomez takes us to her favorite Atlanta Indian restaurants
If there’s one thing Asha Gomez has taught us, it’s that Indian food is more than fiery curries and mango lassis. What does she eat? To find out, I asked Gomez to take me on a tour of some of her favorite Indian spots around town.
Todd Ginsberg improves the Philly cheesesteak, Pie Local’s new owner thrives, and more bite-sized dining news
Meet the defining sub at Fred’s Meat & Bread, Todd Ginsberg’s stellar sandwich stall in Krog Street Market. Ginsberg originally planned to serve strictly burgers until he and his partners remembered the Philly cheesesteak.
The Christiane Chronicles: Atlanta’s best cakes, and what’s so Southern about fried food?
I have nothing against pies, but when it comes to the ancient debate pitching pie lovers against cake fanatics, I align myself firmly with the second group.
The Goods
February market minis: Phipps and Lenox personal shoppers, Georgia designers show at New York Fashion Week, and more
Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square now offer personal shoppers. After a complimentary consultation, it’s $75 an hour for an escorted shopping tour—or for them to just shop for you.
February Getaway Guide: Flowers in Philadelphia, arts & crafts in Asheville
Escape it all and experience the Philadelphia Flower Show, arts and crafts in Asheville, the French Market’s Dutch Alley, and more.
Whipping Post brings “uncommonly durable” leather goods to Inman Park
In 2008, musician-turned-craftsman Ryan Barr began tinkering with leather in his apartment in Virginia-Highland. Two years later, after working for a leather company and studying the craft in Mexico, Barr founded Whipping Post.
Editor’s pick: Maridadi Trading accessories
Vena Kim’s accessories line, Maridadi Trading, is a product of her far-flung travels. She bounced around Asia as a child. For college, she chose the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, then lived in London; Muscat, Oman; and Cairo—launching-off points for journeys in the Middle East and Africa.
Room envy: A dining area transforms into an efficient home office
Decorator Jennifer Healey had an “aha” moment when she decided to convert a small former dining area into a home office for her family of four. Because the space opens to both the kitchen and family room, it needed to be attractive as well as efficient.
Find these literal hidden gems at Bella Bag, Tiffany, and David Yurman
These by-request-only fashion statements are sure to sparkle.
Destination: Aiken, South Carolina
Journey east on U.S. 78 a half hour past Augusta, and you’ll find yourself clopping through the Carolinas’ equestrian epicenter. This is primo sandy-soiled horse country, where sheikhs with dreams of Derby glory train their prized ponies, and the hottest to-dos are typically thrown in an infield under a tent.
The Love List: Dating game
Dating nags me like a sore muscle. But I’m single, so I do my fair share. Valentine’s Day is more or less a massive national date night, and I have mastered the fine art of dressing for such an occasion.
Atlanta-based Ukies reaches new heights with comfortable high heels
When I first slipped on the Arianna, a nude patent pump with a gently pointy toe, it was clear it wasn’t your average heel. It had shock absorption, a roomy toe box, and stability.
Miscellaneous
February 2015: A streetcar leaves us wanting
The first time I took the Atlanta Streetcar, on its third day of operation, I waited alone at the Peachtree Center stop across from the Ellis Hotel. It was raining, but the shelter kept me dry. The stop is about two blocks from our downtown office, and I wanted to check out for myself the project that took almost three years and $98 million to build.
One Square Mile: Hunter Park Community Center
Angelica Blackwell was seven on the night of the dance, old enough to know about looking good. She wanted the red stockings—not the black—and red bows in her hair, with the puffs done just right. And because this was a mother-daughter dance, and because daughters of a certain age hold themselves responsible for their mothers’ appearance, she had to inspect her mother’s dress.
