Food Issue - The 2015 Food Issue: Fun and Games

How Atlanta plays with food

In the mid-00s, the city’s fine dining culture withered away, only — in true Atlanta style — to reemerge from a young restaurant community eager to innovate and grow. This year we’ve entered a new chapter. Atlanta is experiencing a major restaurant boom. In only a few years, a procession of mixed-use developments, food halls, at-home delivery services, and a proclivity for small, highly conceptualized chef-driven eateries have transformed Atlanta’s dining scene.

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Change is inevitable. And it can also be swift. It’s easy to get caught up analyzing the city’s restaurant scene evolution and theorizing about what Atlanta’s food future might hold. But rather than taking another historical deep dive, this year’s Fun and Games Food Issue is about making the most out of what we have right now before it’s whooshed away.

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Among many things, this issue explores Atlanta’s game day food culture. We compiled a list of our favorite hot wings in town; crashed the Falcons opening day tailgate; and asked industry pros about their fanatical pre-game party rituals. We also created an array of tools to connect food lovers with amusing experiences and oddball offerings, including a treasure map of Atlanta eats; a flowchart to help navigate the city’s new and/or notable restaurants; a roundup of go-to game bars; and best bets for dinner and a show. We even dreamt up an adult activity book complete with foodie word games and a chef’s tattoo-turned-coloring page, and caught up with five local artists whose passions for art and food collide in quirky ways.

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Food is fun. Let’s stop pondering how we got here and where we’re going for a sec, and focus on enjoying what we’ve got.

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— Stephanie Dazey






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