A Personal Note + Local Recs

My go-to guide for Atlanta.

Hi friends,

Last week, our sweet Simba (our 9-year-old tabby we’ve had since he was 10 weeks old) was diagnosed with late-stage large cell lymphoma. While he’d been battling health problems the last two months, we were told they were more likely issues regarding FIC (basically recurrent male UTIs), rather than an aggressive cancer that has already infiltrated his bladder, kidneys, and colon in the span of a month.

It was a shock, to say the least, and we’ve been a period of deep mourning and grief ever since. And for someone who loves to travel and was looking forward to going back to New Jersey/NYC for the holidays, I’ve actually never been happier to be home, where I can cherish the few days or weeks we have left.

I now find myself rolling over in the middle of the night just to place my palm on his belly, counting his breaths. I watch him quietly sleep all around our apartment, acknowledging that each extra day is a gift. I happily feed him whatever he’ll eat, a sad reminder that he used to have an insatiable appetite but no longer does.

But at least we get to be together in this time.

I guess what they say about “home is where the heart is” is true. ❤️‍🩹

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Given this, I’m going to skip the itinerary I had planned for this week (New Orleans!), but since I’m home in Atlanta, I’ll hit you with some of my favorite recs since we moved here last summer:

Neighborhoods

• We live in Old Fourth Ward, which I find to be ideal for visitors. It’s centrally located, has so much to do within walking distance, and has a lot of history associated with it (i.e., the birthplace of MLK).

• My favorite neighborhoods to stroll through are Virginia-Highland, Inman Park, and Decatur (which is technically a city to the east of Atlanta). They all have such lovely small businesses, lush greenery, historic homes, and their own personalities.

• Other neighborhoods “in the perimeter” (as you’ll often hear the term ITP) that I really like: The West Side is rapidly growing with lots of new businesses and restaurants, Little Five Points has a personality all its own (and an impressive Halloween festival!), Grant Park’s beautifully expansive park, and of course, Buckhead which is known for being a bit bougie and luxurious.

Restaurants

• Coffee shops and cafes: I sadly cannot have coffee unless it is decaf, but I can attest to these options for having great drinks!

  • Dancing Goats is a chain through Atlanta, and the drinks here are delicious and well-made.

  • FiNCA to FiLTER is an incredible queer, woman-owned cafe in Old Fourth Ward and in Southwest Atlanta—their seasonal drinks are wonderful. They also have pup cups for your furry friends. 🐕

  • Star Provisions on the west side is exceptionally yummy and their decaf drinks are ones I wish I could have every day.

  • Any place along the Beltline is also usually high quality.

• For casual eats:

  • Bomb Biscuit is probably our favorite breakfast spot—it’s Michelin-recognized (we didn’t know that when we went!), and their vegan sausage, egg, and cheese is out of this world. We’ve brought every visitor here and they love it as much as we do.

  • Pho King—and, yes, that’s the real name. If you’ve got a hankering for vegetarian-friendly pho and can’t head to the famous Buford Highway locales, this place in Midtown is great and packed with locals.

  • Most places at Ponce City Market are quite good, with all sorts of specialty pop-ups and diverse cuisine options.

  • Victory Sandwich Bar is a great little place with outdoor seating that offers both mini-sandwiches/sliders as well as beers and drinks. It’s affordable, easygoing, and the food is great for when you’re peckish.

  • A yummy little deli and Italian eatery is Tuscany at Your Table in Virginia-Highland. They have a mini market, along with daily menus/specials that you can take home like eggplant parm or meat lasagna…and it’s mouthwateringly good.

• For nicer restaurants:

  • We take every visitor to Delbar in Inman Park and for good reason. It lives up to the hype every time, and is such a love letter to Middle Eastern cuisine. Don’t sleep on the dill labneh and simple-yet-savory tahdig.

  • For my Italian food lovers, I highly recommend Sotto Sotto or a mano, both in the Old Fourth Ward/Inman Park areas. No. 246 in Decatur is also quite good.

  • If you want fine dining: Mujō is renowned (and Michelin-starred) as is Lazy Betty. Here are other highly reviewed options!

  • I’ll be real with you: It’s kind of hard to go wrong with food in Atlanta. So here are the 38 best restaurants as dubbed by Eater for Fall 2024.

Activities

• Far and away, the number one activity I love to do is walk the Beltline—it’s perfect for people-watching, there’s so much to do in the areas surrounding it, and it connects the city in a way I’ve only ever really seen in New York City (a la the High Line). Plus, you can rent a scooter, bike, etc. and quickly zip to wherever you need to go, without dealing with Atlanta traffic.

• My friend Terry is the manager at Studio W.I.P. which focuses on graffiti and street art, and their Spray ‘n Sip workshops on the West Side at Lee + White look like so much fun. If you’re looking for other workshops, you could do candle-making at Bear and Honey in Little Five Points or try a cooking class at many of the restaurants and schools around the city like Bellina or The Cooking School.

• For nature and animal lovers: The Georgia Aquarium truly is an incredible experience, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden has creative and worthwhile exhibitions all year round that are worth checking out.

• Go see a local show! We are big fans of the Horizon Theatre Company here and have seen concerts or comedy shows at the Roxy, Fox Theatre, The Tabernacle, and more—all of which are institutions in their own right. There’s also a wonderful improv scene that my husband frequents, thanks to Dad’s Garage.

• Krog Street Market, Ponce City Market, Colony Square are perfect for just strolling around, eating and drinking, and casually checking out shops. There’s also Decatur Square just 15 minutes to the east.

I could go on, but I’ll leave you with these for now—overall, Atlanta is such a hub for creativity, history, good food, and community. I never had visited prior to moving here, and it blew me away with all it has to offer. So much so that we’re hoping to put down more permanent roots come 2025. If you have any other recs for ATL, would love to hear them. (And maybe I’ll see you around!)

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• ✈️ AmEx has an impressive 40% transfer bonus to Virgin this month—if the UK, the Caribbean, or South Africa are on your list, this is the time to look ‘n book.

• 🏴‍☠️ I have not stopped thinking about the “There’s Treasure Inside” treasure hunt. I find it so fun and innovative, and if you’re American, you’re probably within driving distance to one of the $$$ prizes. Make a day trip out of it!

• 🥟 I love soup dumplings but often can’t have them because they use meat, so I was finally able to order MìLà’s vegan soup dumplings—will report back.

• ⚕️ It’s mid-December, which means if you have an FSA, now’s the time to use it or lose it with your funds. There are travel-friendly items that are surprisingly FSA eligible, like travel pillows and compression socks. I typically stock up on travel-friendly First Aid kits and Dramamine for the following year.

• 🎁 I appreciate everyone’s feedback re: the giveaway! I’ll be rolling that out next week, so stay tuned.

  

  Sending you all love—and kitty snuggles. ❤️‍🩹
  —Henah xx

weekend mood with my sweet boy