 
A Good Start Begin your visit in the Old Fourth Ward, a rapidly changing neighborhood that runs from the historic Sweet Auburn District on the edge of downtown to a gulch that was once blanketed in kudzu and falling-apart warehouses, and now sprouts condos. Here, you’ll find the city’s freshest-tasting breakfast at Thumbs Up Diner (573 Edgewood Ave. SE; 404-223-0690), where homemade jam and whole wheat biscuits keep company with creamy, bran-flecked grits, enormous omelets, and a tamari-zinged tofu scramble. Then again, you might want to grab a chile-laced Mexican fruit cup and medianoche breakfast sandwich at the nearby LottaFrutta (590 Auburn Ave.; 404-588-0857), a sweet corner store that owner Myrna Perez has painted as a color-splashed homage to Carmen Miranda’s headdress. From there it’s a short walk to Sweet Auburn, the locus of African American culture and upward mobility in Atlanta since the early 1900s. You will stumble upon the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site (450 Auburn Ave.; 404-331-5190), where the tombs of the civil rights leader and his wife, Coretta Scott King, lie side by side in a reflecting pool. Stop at the visitor center to see about visiting King’s boyhood home, just up the street. Drive along the elevated rail lines that border the Old Fourth Ward until you find the Krog Street Tunnel, which burrows under the tracks. This dark two-lane passage has become the de facto canvas for the city’s best graffiti artists. The exhibit changes frequently, but a photo-realistic portrait of Bob Marley has earned such respect that no one dares paint over it. Fun Sights, Good Eats On the other side of the tunnel lies Cabbagetown, a former mill town that got its name from the preferred diet of the poor Appalachian workers who lived there. Once a bag and cotton mill, a loft complex looms alongside the tight streets packed with lovingly tended shotgun homes. Cabbagetown Market & Little’s Grill (198 Carroll St.; 404-221-9186), like the neighborhood itself, feels like a folk art installation come to life. The worn wooden shelves are crammed with gourmet oddities, while the lunch counter features a pimento cheeseburger made from grass-fed Georgia beef. Various lawn gnomes stare at you while you eat. If you’re around the first Saturday in November, head over to the Cabbagetown Chomp and Stomp (chompandstomp.com), the annual festival that features a chili cook-off, bluegrass music, and an art mart. Proper art galleries tuck themselves into all kinds of hidden spaces throughout Atlanta. Unless you know to look for it, you’ll never find the Whitespace Gallery (814 Edgewood Ave.; 404-688-1892), set in an 1893 carriage house behind Susan Bridges’ residence in the gracious Inman Park neighborhood. If the massive wooden doors are open, so is the gallery, where Bridges showcases contemporary art against a backdrop of mottled brick and pitched wood timbers. The nearby Jimmy Carter Library and Museum (441 Freedom Pkwy.; 404-865-7100) at the Carter Center brings in traveling art exhibits, but people really go to see the full-scale mock-up of the Oval Office, circa 1977. At this point, you might stop around the corner for an olive-infused vodka and a bite of smoked salmon on homemade potato chips at Two Urban Licks (820 Ralph McGill Blvd.; 404-522-4622). This huge, startling restaurant staged in the back of a warehouse complex offers amped-up live blues and meats twirling on a fire-spitting vertical rotisserie that rises fourteen feet in the air and looks as if it should be roasting a sweaty Englishman in a pith helmet. Don’t stay for dinner. Instead head to the city’s coolest new pub in decidedly uncool South Buckhead. It’s strip-mall central, but you’re sure to fall hard for Holeman & Finch Public House (2277 Peachtree Rd.; 404-948-1175). Head bartender Greg Best creates masterful cocktails like the Nihilist Sour with rye, peach brandy, and cardamom tincture. The small-plates menu goes heavy on pig business, from house salamis to a dish called Head to Tail: fried pigs’ ears and tails with barbecue sauce. A safer bet might be the great Crunchy Gentleman sandwich—a croque-monsieur with a Southern accent. Spend the night downtown at the Ellis Hotel (176 Peachtree St. NW; 866-841-8822), a year-old boutique operation that packs in modern amenities and design without overdoing the fabulousness. The historic building was previously the Winecoff, site of the nation’s worst hotel fire in 1946. One assumes the $28 million renovation brought it up to code! Another Day: Shopping and More The next morning is the time to visit west midtown—a former warehouse district with a moody streetscape that is home to some of the city’s best shopping. Begin with breakfast at the aptly named Social House (1663 Howell Mill Rd.; 404-350-1938), which has a friendly communal table. Fuel up: Blueberry pancakes come six to the order and, if you’re game, a breakfast shrimp and grits comes topped with andouille sausage, two poached eggs, and a biscuit. The most stylish shops on the west side sell home furnishings. Retro Modern (1168 Howell Mill Rd.; 404-724-0093), recently relocated from midtown, specializes in twentieth-century design classics and iconic mid-centurystyles in continuous production. Verde Home (1000 Marietta St.; 678-927-9113) sells only furniture produced from sustainable forests with organic upholstery. Continue shopping at Sid Mashburn (1198 Howell Mill Rd.; 404-350-7135)—a men’s clothing store that makes the case for the retro-prep look and keeps tailors on call for anyone in the market for a bespoke suit. Just next door is Star Provisions (1198 Howell Mill Rd.; 404-365-0410), Atlanta’s best gourmet market, where you can shop for gifts (chocolates, rare spices, gorgeous oils) or order a fantastic sandwich to eat on the patio. The west side also manages to tuck away a number of significant galleries on its serpentine streets. The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (535 Means St. NW; 404-688-1970) has spaces that can accommodate four large installations simultaneously. The greatest concentration of galleries lies in nearby Castleberry Hill—a transitional neighborhood that seems to have morphed from scuzz to SoHo overnight. Try to time your visit to the fourth Friday of the month for the Castleberry Hill ArtStroll (castleberryhill.org/artstroll.html), a night when all the galleries stay open and plastic cups of wine greet you at every turn. On other nights, you can stop in for a margarita on the patio at No Más! Cantina (180 Walker St., 404-574-5678), hidden behind a showroom crammed with colorful Mexican furnishings and accessories. Then again, you may just want to stroll on down to Maxim Prime (110 Marietta St. NW; 404-469-0700), a restaurant next to the CNN Center, and have a drink in its open-air rooftop lounge. The crazy quilt of Atlanta radiates out in every direction. After the last couple of days, it almost begins to make sense. |
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