Atlanta’s Food Story Was Forged In The Fires Of The Civil Rights Movement
Atlanta’s Food Story Was Forged In The Fires Of The Civil Rights Movement
Adapted from Fearless Innovation, Atlanta’s Food Story.
Atlanta cooks with the discipline, defiance and the audacity required of the world’s greatest chefs. Atlanta cooks with swagger, a self-confidence that results only from the knowledge that there is no other city like this one. Throughout Atlanta, you are offered a glimpse into the city’s past, a constant reminder of the history that has shaped this bold and resilient food scene.
When we look back, we are met with the struggle that shaped not only the South, but the entire country’s position on racism. Atlanta restaurants emerged as the vital center for social responsibility. During the civil rights movement food became the heart of the rebellion.
Establishments like Paschal’s, Busy Bee Cafe and Frazier’s Café Society provided not only food, but also the sustenance required for what would be an arduous path toward liberation. These restaurants served as the meeting ground for change, providing nourishment for the community and feeding the belly of a movement. These restaurants offered resistance relief, providing meals for those on the front lines and for those having difficult conversations across the table. Dining rooms turned into the command centers of the revolution. The understanding that food and freedom are inseparable remains at the forefront of Atlanta’s culinary landscape.
Atlanta’s development as a culinary capital commenced only when legal segregation ended, with restaurants playing a vital role in destroying Jim Crow practices during the American civil rights movement. Once the social systems and cultural norms that caused the nation to exist in silos were removed, opportunities for people of various racial and cultural groups opened, allowing them to literally share a seat at the table.
Restaurants are shared social institutions. Within these settings, we fall in love, celebrate milestones and achievements, develop business partnerships and create unforgettable memories. And while restaurants have the power to bring people together, for nearly a century they were instrumental in perpetuating racial segregation in America, particularly in the South.
In 1887, the Supreme Court overturned the Civil Rights Act of 1875, setting the stage for legal segregation in America. It took almost 90 years before segregation was abolished by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. However, the South continued to resist change. Testing the new law, three black college students attempted to dine at the Pickrick Restaurant in downtown Atlanta, owned by Lester Maddox. The staunch segregationist unabashedly pointed a gun at the activists before a live media crew. A legal suit was filed against the Pickrick, which resulted in a federal district court ruling that private businesses could not practice overt racial discrimination. Maddox, eventually, was forced to close his restaurant but not without garnering the support from Georgia conservatives to be elected as governor of the state in 1966.
Restaurateurs like Maddox, who were no longer allowed to practice racial discrimination within the public sphere, took flight and reestablished their businesses in the suburbs. This exodus left many buildings vacant in the commercial district of downtown. Still, it created the opportunity for progressive-minded business leaders to envision a new image of Atlanta as a modern, thriving, innovative and socially progressive city. With time, the city became more international and cosmopolitan. Today, Atlanta is the heart of the South. It is a progressive city where culture and art are commonplace. It attracts and fosters creative people and businesses from all over the world, and they are helping shape everything including the local food scene. Atlanta today is one of the most diverse American cities thanks to the many cultures now calling this city “home.”
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Atlanta’s food scene is like no other.
Atlanta’s food community is like no other and is constantly evolving. It is a population brimming with creativity, self-expression and a spirit of cooperation where big-name chefs help nurture new talent, and established restaurants, on their days off, host pop-ups for up-and-comers.
Atlanta is in the South, but it is not Southern. Atlanta is a major metropolitan city replete with skyscrapers yet it is also the City in the Forest with parks, trails and, importantly, urban farms supplying local restaurants. But, above all, Atlanta is a food city, and the locals in Atlanta show their support in the way that counts-they dine out. A lot. In fact, dining out accounts for 57% percent of the city’s average total food and drink spending annually, the highest in the U.S. So why is Atlanta such a great food city? Here are six reasons:
Innovation
Innovation is the process of creating something new. More than building on established practices, it means breaking traditions in ways that move the craft forward. This requires taking risks, often big risks. Atlanta chefs have broken free from the Southern meat-and-three stereotypes, yet they are comfortable with their Southern roots and local ingredients. They are proud to reflect this in their interpretations of world cuisines rather than trying to be what they are not, which is the curse of so many chefs in cities throughout the nation who try to be “Italian,” “French” or any variation of that theme.
Take James Beard Award-winning chef Linton Hopkins. Not content with owning one of Atlanta’s best fine dining establishments, Restaurant Eugene, Hopkins closed that successful restaurant to pave the way for a new concept, thereby adapting to the changing trends of the younger generations. Whether it is consulting Delta Air Lines on its culinary program, supplying bread to other restaurants or co-founding the Peachtree Farmers Market, Hopkins has long been at the leading edge of the Atlanta food scene.
Another classic example is James Beard Award-winning chef Anne Quattrano who, back in the early ‘90s, established both a 60-acre farm on the outskirts of Atlanta and opened the bastion of fine dining, Bacchanalia, supplied by her Summerland Farm still to this day. Twenty years later, her restaurant still leads the way, but she has moved it twice, both times helping establish a new neighborhood as a culinary destination. She has continuously pushed the innovative envelope with her other ventures.
We could go on and on celebrating innovative talents who have helped shape the Atlanta culinary scene. These talents include chef Kevin Rathbun, Steve Nygren of the Pleasant Pheasant group, chef Ford Fry and chef Kevin Gillespie. Gilliespie’s Gunshow restaurant earned a spot on GQ magazine’s list of “12 Most Outstanding Restaurants” in 2014 and has been receiving accolades ever since. Every aspect of Gunshow is innovative, starting with the mixologist who brings a cart to prepare cocktails tableside, to the Darwinian approach to menu selection and the real time feedback of the patrons as the sous chefs hawk their wares table to table.
Diversity
Thanks to the world’s busiest airport and innumerable international corporations that have their headquarters here, combined with the impact of hosting the 1996 Olympics, there are more than 70 foreign consulates representing large established international communities that now call Atlanta home. Atlanta has unprecedented global reach, and with this comes cross-cultural exchanges that have further enriched Atlanta’s culinary scene. This is evidenced by the huge number of culturally specific food markets and authentic restaurants serving the various communities. Whether you crave the Laotian food of Snackboxe Bistro or the spicy East African Ethiopian dishes of Desta, Atlanta’s large international communities of each culture ensure there are many well-supported choices of each style of cuisine to choose from. A trip up the iconic Buford Highway quickly demonstrates the depth and breadth of Atlanta’s culturally diverse food scene, likely second only to New York.
Local Sourcing
Yes, the groundbreaking Summerland Farm of chef Anne Quattrano set the standard for modern day restaurants working with local producers, but it would be remiss not to acknowledge Evelyn J. Frazier. As early as 1936, she established a 40-acre farm, raised animals and grew produce to supply her restaurant, Frazier Cafe Society, and to guarantee quality and consistency of supply.
Atlanta enjoys an abundance of small farms located within and around the metro area that supply the restaurant community, often working closely with chefs to plant what they need for their menus. Stone Mountain Cattle supplies Atlanta restaurants with organic pasture-raised, carbon negative beef and pork. Rodgers Greens and Roots Organic Farm supplies fruits and vegetables from a 15-acre farm on the outskirts of the city. Within the city, Filomena Andrade owns and operates Mena’s Farm, one of more than 50 small urban farms supplying locals and restaurants with organic produce.
Neighborhoods
Most people who have heard of or visited Atlanta, know of Buckhead. For decades, Buckhead was the shopping and dining district of Atlanta to the extent that if you asked any Downtown hotel concierge where to go for a great meal, they would even direct you to Buckhead. This is no longer the case. The last decade has seen unparalleled development of restaurants in residential neighborhoods all in close proximity to Downtown. While Buckhead can still hold its own, a foodie is now spoilt for choice, but will have to compete with the locals for a seat at the table.
Just a mile from the city center to the north west you find the Westside district, a hub of diverse and outstanding restaurants like Miller Union, The Optimist, Bacchanalia, Marcels, and more. A mile and a half to the east of the city center takes you into Inman park and the Old 4th Ward neighborhoods where you can find incredible Italian at Sotto Sotto or BoccaLupo, exquisite sushi at MF Sushi or some of the city’s best steaks at Kevin Rathbun Steak. Heading further east to East Atlanta Village for the best late night dining at Octopus Bar or enjoy the innovative cuisine of Banshee. The list goes on, but these are neighborhood restaurants that the locals love so be prepared to wait if you haven’t made a reservation. Check out our neighborhood guides for a more comprehensive drill down of options.
Food Halls
Much like with hip-hop, Atlanta has a habit of taking an idea to the next level and then owning it. Ponce City Market, originally opened in 1926 as a Sears Roebuck headquarters and retail store, was developed by the owners of NYC Chelsea Market and launched in 2014 as a food hall and retail market. Attached to the popular Beltline, it is home to a diverse array of ethnic cuisines ranging from Sichuan to South African, Korean to Italian, and everything in between. But this was by no means the first food hall in Atlanta. The Municipal Market (known by the locals as Sweet Auburn Curb Market) first opened in 1924 and has been a launching pad for many restaurants around Atlanta. It continues to this day to serve locals with fresh produce alongside great eateries. Krog Street Market is another food hall attached to Atlanta Beltline with over fifteen establishments to enjoy. To keep the balance with the Eastside, Chattahoochee Food Works aims to become a culinary destination on the Westside, a massive reimagined industrial warehouse with over thirty food stalls including Lebanese barbecue, Thai food, a Korean Tea House and a Prosecco bar. No visit to Atlanta would be complete without checking out each of these halls, as they each have a very distinctive character but deliver on the promise of great and affordable food.
Civil Rights
Atlanta has, for many years, been playing catch up with other major U.S. cities that have storied culinary reputations. Atlanta as a city is only 10 years younger than Chicago, but has not enjoyed the reputation for its culinary scene at anywhere near the same level. To understand why, we worked with historians and learned from residents who took us back to the beginning of the American civil rights movement to appreciate that a rich and diverse culinary scene could never begin to develop in an environment of segregation. It was only in the late 1960s that people of all colors could sit at the same table and begin to share a meal. For this reason, we believe that Atlanta’s food scene started 100 years or more after such beginnings in the North, but has been developing at a far faster pace since. That same revolutionary spirit that motivated the activists to push for desegregation now powers the diverse creative culinary community. Learn more about how the struggle for civil rights was integral to the development of the Atlanta food scene of today.
Lemon Ice Box Pie
Lemon Ice Box Pie
Revolutions. Sugar Shortages. Pioneers.
makes 1 large pie
Crust
14.4 oz graham crackers, 1 box
12 oz butter, Banner
Gently melt the butter over medium-low.
Finely crush graham crackers. Mix butter into crumbs by hand. Evenly distribute and press mixture into a deep, stone pie plate. Chill.
Filling
6 egg yolks, Trippin’ Root Workshop
12 lemons
1 ½ cans sweetened condensed milk
Juice lemons and set aside.
Whisk yolks and milk together until fully combined. Add lemon juice in a very slow stream, whisking constantly. Continue adding and whisking until no juice is left. This process allows the acid to cook the yolks.
Pour into prepared crust. Chill overnight.
Meringue
6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 blowtorch
In a stand mixer, whisk egg whites on low speed.
Combine sugar and water in a small pot. Heat to softball stage. To test for softball stage, keep a small container of ice water next to the range. Dip fingers into the ice water, then grab a small amount of the boiling sugar, and immediately plunge it (and fingers) back into the ice water. If you can form a soft ball of sugar in the ice water, the syrup is ready.
Softball stage is between 235 and 245 F. Reaching fingers into boiling sugar at this temperature is dangerous but can be performed without injury. Trained fingers are more precise than a thermometer. Do not attempt if you
have slow reflexes. The sugar will know if you’re scared.
When syrup is ready, increase stand mixer speed to medium-high. Pour syrup down the side of the bowl, not too fast, but not too slow.
Continue to mix on medium-high until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
Dollop meringue onto prepared pie. Spread and fluff with an offset spatula to make it pretty. Use a blowtorch to gently brown the meringue.
Atlanta’s Food Story
Fire. Flavor. Color.
When three top food critics were tasked with researching the top 50 restaurants in Atlanta, they ended up with 75. They could not whittle it down any further. That tells you something — our food scene has matured big time.
Atlanta has long been overlooked and underappreciated as a culinary destination. This occurs despite many national media articles raving about the food scene and the best places to eat in Atlanta, including everything from The Wall Street Journal’s top three burgers in the nation to Bon Appetit’s best new restaurant in the country.
Simply put, Atlanta is a foodie city that does not rely on outside validation but continues to innovate and thrive. Here’s a guide to whet your appetite and to what you’ve been missing.
Discover More
Get to know Atlanta, and discover the best things to do around the city.
A Journey through Atlanta’s Culinary Classics
The Latest and Greatest Restaurants in Atlanta
Atlanta’s Bar Scene
A Journey through Atlanta’s Culinary Classics
Atlanta’s Food Story Was Forged In The Fires Of The Civil Rights Movement
Atlanta’s Best Chef-Owned Restaurants
Taste of Atlanta
Grand Tasting Midtown
When: Thursday, October 17
Where: Epicurean Hotel Atlanta
Grand Tasting Westside brings to Atlanta the ultimate entertainment experience. For
one night only, guests 21 and over can experience unlimited tastes from 25 of the
area’s best restaurants and more than a dozen wine, beer and cocktail tastings, a decadent dessert bar,
plus live music and other special entertainment to enjoy.
Reasons to go to Taste of Atlanta
- Eat your heart out and meet the chefs. Enjoy unlimited signature bites from over 25 of the Westside’s best local restaurants and meet the faces behind those delightful dishes.
- Bottomless fun. Keep your glass always full with bottomless tastings of a variety of beer, wine, and craft cocktails.
- Support the community. In addition to showcasing mouthwatering tastes, a portion of the net proceeds from every ticket will be donated to community partners, making this event a “Grand Giveback” and Party With a Purpose.
- Live demos and a little competition. Tanqueray mixologist and participating chef Pat Pascarella will be having some live demonstrations and a Burger Throwdown will determine the best Westside Burger.
- Be a judge. Attendees will be the judge and vote for the “best taste,” “best beverage,” and “best dessert” of the evening
- Sweeten your life. Indulge on delicious desserts in the Dessert Bar.
- Good tunes. The Geek Squad will take over the entertainment, taking you from Motown and Jazz to Funk, Hip Hop and today’s Top 40 Hits.
Insider tips
- The VIP experience; totally worth it: VIP tickets offer priority early access to the event from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., a VIP gift bag per household and a special welcome cocktail to enjoy.
- Get your tickets before the event: Advance ticket purchase is highly recommended as tickets are expected to sell out. Tickets will be available at the gate based on availability but at a slightly higher cost.
- Be in the known: Follow Taste on Atlanta on social media and get a sneak peek at what and who to expect at the big event.
- Getting there: The event will take place at The Foundry at Puritan Mill and even though there will be parking, ride share is preferred and encouraged.
Know before you go
Where is Taste of Atlanta’s Grand Tasting Midtown event held?
Taste of Atlanta takes place in Epicurean Hotel Atlanta located on 1117 W Peachtree St NW.
Where can I get tickets to Taste of Atlanta’s Grand Tasting Midtown event?
Purchase tickets online and choose from a VIP and General Admission experience. Tickets can also be purchased at the door based on availability.
Taste of Atlanta Contact Information
Other Taste of Atlanta 2024 Events
Atlanta Wing Fest
When: Thursday, April 18
Where: Uptown Atlanta
Food That Rocks
When: Thursday, June 6
Where: Sandy Springs
Grand Tasting Alpharetta
When: Thursday, August 8
Where: The Hotel at Avalon
Dining in Atlanta: Steakhouses
Beef up your dinner with an Atlanta steakhouse
From casual to elegant, steakhouses in Atlanta are perfect for both business lunches and romantic dinners, as well as birthday celebrations or a family-friendly night out. The best steaks in Atlanta, GA, are found everywhere from New York-style steakhouses and Brazilian steakhouses to the 1940s-style supper club serving American cuisine.