Atlanta Through a Foodie’s Eyes: Ten Years of Culinary Exploration

By Lia Picard

Published September 19, 2024
Last Updated November 19, 2024

When I moved to Atlanta a decade ago I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. “I hope you like Southern food,” friends at home teased before we left Florida. Of course, I did find plenty of Southern food in Atlanta. I also found a metropolitan area teeming with creativity and diversity. We have access to the world’s busiest airport with direct flights to nearly anywhere – but I often find what I need right in my own backyard. 

Let’s start with the Southern food – where would this city be without it? The city’s Black community, rooted in history, gave us institutions like Busy Bee Cafe, a Downtown restaurant that played an important role during the Civil Rights Movement, as did Paschal’s Restaurant and Bar. In Atlanta’s historic West End, Black-owned restaurants like Soul Veg #1 paved the way for vegan food in the city. Today, restaurants in that neighborhood, like Tassili’s Raw Reality, continue to thrive and Black chefs like Duane Nutter of Southern National continue to keep Atlanta on the map.

Beyond Southern food, Atlanta is home to chefs who spotlight their international backgrounds. Take, for example, Talat Market in Summerhill. The brainchild of James Beard-nominated chefs Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter, Talat puts a Georgia spin on Thai food through the use of Southern ingredients and Thai cooking techniques. In their intimate restaurant, you can feast on crispy rice salad with rotating seasonal veggies purchased from nearby farms or beef skewers made with locally sourced meat. 

In Grant Park, Estrellita earned a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand distinction for its excellent preparation of Filipino dishes such as lumpia stuffed with beef, green beans and celery, and fried chicken marinated in an umami citrus. At Leftie Lee’s in Avondale Estates, Vivian Lee pays respect to her Korean-American heritage in her pastries – a brie and kimchi-stuffed Danish and corn-studded buns. And don’t forget about the veritable treasure trove of Buford Highway, the 30-mile stretch lined with cuisines spanning the globe.

Atlanta also is a city where women chefs and mixologists stand out. I quickly fell in love with Little Tart Bakeshop, not just because it has beautiful, buttery galettes filled with seasonal fruit, but because the woman behind the bakery, Sarah O’Brien, is a powerhouse. O’Brien looks out for the health and wellness of her employees while also raising her children. When it comes to exciting cocktails, look no further than Tiffanie Barriere, a history buff who knows a good drink has the power to bring people together. Pastry chef Claudia Martinez makes waves with her fruit-forward desserts at Miller Union and her advocacy for the mental health of chefs. 

A decade after moving here, I’m still enthralled with what the city’s chefs have to offer. While this dynamic city will continue to change, there’s one thing we can rely on: Atlanta’s chefs will always bring people together.

Lia Picard is a lifestyle writer who has called Atlanta home for more than a decade. Her work appears in the New York Times, Garden & Gun, and Atlanta magazine among other national and regional publications. When she’s not writing she’s exploring Atlanta with her husband and daughter.