January 2016
Features
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No Accident: Inside GM’s deadly ignition switch scandal
Lance Cooper was looking for answers behind a single car crash. What the attorney found led to a recall of 30 million vehicles. Inside General Motors’ deadly ignition switch scandal—and the price one Kennesaw family paid.
Welcome to the Magnolia Music and Medicine Show
Karl Hilliard dreamed up the Medicine Show nine years ago, and its fusion of small-town idiosyncrasy with star musical talent has made the spectacle an unlikely success. A supremely charming, rough-hewn cross between A Prairie Home Companion and the Grand Ole Opry, the Medicine Show is hosted six times a year by the hospitable citizens of Eastman.
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The Connector
How less than six square miles could determine Atlanta’s next mayor
Since Kasim Reed took office, more than 20,000 white transplants have moved inside the city limits. That influx, combined with the past decade’s foreclosure crisis that disproportionately affected black residents, means today the city’s black population is roughly 50 percent, compared with 67 percent in 1990.
Stephon Ferguson brings Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to life
Bowing his head in prayer, he takes a deep breath and begins to deliver familiar words in a voice that instantly transports the listener back in time. For the next five minutes, Stephon Ferguson recites, no, inhabits the 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech in a tone, diction, and cadence uncannily reminiscent of King’s own. So reminiscent, in fact, that it would almost be an insult to call Ferguson’s reenactment an impersonation.
A look at the latest additions to Emory’s Jack Kerouac collection
Emory University augmented its already impressive Jack Kerouac collection with a newly donated trove of nearly 100 letters, family photos, and personal effects—including correspondences with Neal Cassady.
A fiber Internet frenzy is coming to Atlanta, but it will be a while before you can get online
Until recently, the gigabit service that fiber provides—at speeds billed as up to 100 times faster than basic broadband—had been the exclusive provenance of startup hubs like Atlanta Tech Village and Alpharetta’s progressive, mixed-use sensation Avalon.
The Agenda
Dad’s Garage is reborn with a new theater in Old Fourth Ward
The new space, which Dad’s bought after raising $169,000 through Kickstarter, marks the first time that the company has owned its own theater.
Atlanta artist Michael Goettee captures the spirit of the West in new Booth Museum exhibit
Michael Goettee, a magazine art director turned painter and sculptor, grew up loving Westerns like The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. But it wasn’t until a trip to Santa Fe 10 years ago that he began incorporating Western imagery into his work.
How to ship an artistic masterpiece
Museums often borrow works of art for exhibitions, but how does a precious, fragile painting from, say, New York make its way to Atlanta without a speck of damage? This month the Georgia Museum of Art offers a rare glimpse into the complexities of shipping a work.
The Bite
Technique: Kyma’s Pano I. Karatassos on making fish en papillote
One of the easiest and healthiest fish techniques is cooking en papillote, in which fillets are wrapped in parchment to steam in a hot oven. Stuff the parchment packets with sliced vegetables or rice for a complete meal.
Fresh on the Scene: Ticonderoga Club, Bar Margot, Bellina Alimentari, and Brezza Cucina
Get an early look at four newcomers to Atlanta’s dining scene—Ticonderoga Club, Bar Margot, Bellina Alimentari, and Brezza Cucina.
It’s always tea time at Tipple + Rose
A sunny oasis for the 21st-century sipper, Virginia-Highland’s Tipple + Rose offers kombucha on tap, nearly 100 loose-leaf teas, housemade scones and sandwiches, and cakes from Southern Sweets.
The Christiane Chronicles: Attack of the giant ice cubes, and popcorn perfection
Now that so many bartenders are using sophisticated machines to freeze water into all shapes and sizes, I’ve started to worry about what kind of ice might appear in my tumbler. And 30 years ago, I discovered Andy’s Original Popcorn, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Why are restaurants so damn loud?
Dining rooms today seem louder than ever, boasting all the acoustics of a shipping container. We turned to local designers for an explanation and determined that the problem is multifaceted, rooted in design trends, dining preferences, and economic conditions.
The Goods
Room Envy: A walk-in wonder in Brookhaven
Move over, master baths. Lavish closets are the new “it” retreats. Amy Ferrer, owner of the Roswell store Miko + Boone Home, created this space for some Brookhaven clients who wanted “a place to begin the day feeling relaxed but with a little glam.”
Atlanta-based Elk Head Clothing is rugged and modern
Garrett Hilgendorf’s second collection is out now, with slim but sturdy trousers, leather and canvas accessories, and six shirting silhouettes—including Western, popover, and round collar—all made from Japanese-woven fabrics.
Five reasons to love Vinings
Just across the banks of the Chattahoochee River, Vinings is Cobb County’s only ITP neighborhood, adjacent to Buckhead and a 10-mile drive northwest of downtown.
Brrr clothing is designed to keep you looking and feeling cool
You know the soothing sensation of flipping over a clammy pillow to rest your cheek on the fresh, cool side? That’s the feeling Tosha Hays and Mary-Cathryn Kolb hope to bottle up with their new Atlanta-based fashion-tech company, Brrr.
Miscellaneous
Editor’s Note: Accounting for taste
Is this the last word on the best restaurants in Atlanta? Hardly. Evan Mah told me one of the toughest challenges that he, Corby Kummer, and Christiane Lauterbach encountered was how to rank restaurants when so many could be wildly inconsistent.
One Square Mile: Freddy Cole and Sweet Auburn’s evolution
Freddy Cole sits at a table in a back corner of Sweet Auburn Seafood restaurant. The linens are crisp, the decor modern: shimmering tile, high-backed benches—all unmarked by smoke or time. This place is a welcome sign of slow resurgence in this historic part of town.
