'My pussy ass is staying put'

Lord Jesus God, Lary's missing.

Not in the official sense, but in the nobody-knows-where-he-is sense. "Where the fuck is Lary?" I screamed at Grant, because … »more

'The Peach' could pave way for streetcar

There's an experiment taking place on Peachtree Street that could influence Atlanta's future for generations. It's just that nobody knows it's there.

"My biggest disappointment … »more

'This court disagrees'

Scarcely a year since its Republican backers touted it as a strong tough-on-crime measure, Georgia's harsh new sex-offender law appears increasingly likely to be defanged … »more

108th comeback tour

"I feel like I'm the caretaker of his work," Phil Sloan says of his "alter-ego," the legendary songwriter/singer/producer known as P.F. Sloan. He's responsible for … »more

5th Earl Market: The little block that could

Maybe it's because of the nearby train tracks, but it's hard not to think of The Little Engine That Could when facing the small block … »more

For daily updates and other local tidbits, read the Fresh Loaf blog

300: Go tell the Spartans

After witnessing 300 director Zack Snyder's ultraviolent, hyperstylized treatment of the Battle of Thermopylae by way of Frank Miller's graphic novel, I had to wonder, … »more

Bridge to Terabithia: Unexpected depth

On one hand, you have the lower-order kid flicks, a string of fart jokes and potty humor meant to prepare children for a lifetime of … »more

Frida Y Diego: The Elephant and the Dove

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo were the art power couple of the 20th century.

Groovy socialists and vanguard artists, Kahlo and Rivera ran with a … »more

Glastonbury: All yesterday's parties

There's a saying that anyone who claims to remember attending Woodstock clearly didn't actually go. You can imagine visitors leaving the "Three Days of Peace … »more

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With: Kicking & screaming

In the 1970s, men wore mustaches with straight faces.

That point seems important in an age when trucker hats and curated facial hair amount to … »more

No Country for Old Men: Badlands

Watching the Coen Brothers' superbly crafted scenes of hunter and hunted in No Country for Old Men, I flashed on the one that got away.

Red Road: Eye of the beholder

Voyeuristic snooping tends to get people in trouble in the movies.

James Stewart in Rear Window is perhaps the consummate cinematic example of a voyeur … »more

Reservation Road: Mourning in America

We have seen these people before: content, progressive, well-off types driving Volvos, with folk art in the den and solid jobs in academia. The Learner … »more

Season's screenings

ATONEMENT (DEC. 7)

Director Joe Wright hit the Oscar jackpot in 2005 when his debut film, Pride & Prejudice, was nominated for four Oscars. Wright … »more

Amazing Grace: Under pressure

Before and after such African-American directors as Spike Lee began to chronicle the black man's struggle against racism, directors found safer haven in the "Great … »more

Big Bugs and Killer Plants: Creature feature

Like a 1950s invasion film where measly insects have been radiated into giant monsters, the world looks utterly out of balance at the Atlanta Botanical … »more

Diggers: Clam baked

If someone were to say "clam digger" to you, you'd probably imagine someone with a shovel and a pail, strolling along the seaside with his … »more

Drove: Pedal to the metal

As the world premiere of Drove comes roaring out of Dad's Garage Top Shelf Theatre, the new comedy reminds us of the surprising effectiveness of … »more

Finn: Pap sneer

Inventing Huckleberry Finn's father using only the thin scraps of information that Mark Twain provided is a pretty admirable feat, and reading Jon Clinch's first … »more

Gone Baby Gone: Good film hunting

Not long after Ben Affleck and Matt Damon won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting, Affleck became one of the most resented … »more

Hedonism VII: Sex you up

Certain things are to be expected in an art exhibition about sex: breasts, fishnet stockings, glossy lips, various approximations of gettin' it on.

There's not … »more

Reign Over Me: Punch-drunk life

Immaturity has been good to Adam Sandler. In hit comedies such as Billy Madison and The Waterboy, the former "Saturday Night Live" sketch artist usually … »more

The History of Rock n' Roll: Roll over, Van Halen

Rule of thumb: If you arrive at a show and someone gives you earplugs, take them. The History of Rock n' Roll cranks up some … »more

A moment in time

Past the intimidating metal gate and high walls that give Buckhead's Galleries of Peachtree Hills its fortress-like air, down a stretch of equally imposing retail … »more

A tale of two public arts projects

At a town hall meeting held last week inside the cavernous alternative art space Eyedrum, the 20 or so attendees -- including gallery owners and … »more

Adam's favorite Criminal Records customers

Elitist asshole: Two words generally associated with pompous music-store employees. But they can't all be mean, can they? Not Adam Renshaw. As the music buyer … »more

Advice from the General Assembly:

Does anyone know if Mike Bowers is out of jail yet?

You remember Mike. He was Georgia's attorney general from 1981 to 1997. He's the … »more

Alternative Black Arts Festival

"I was inspired by it because it was sort of a call," says Michael Person, who plays in the alt-country band Hawkeye Pierce. He's referring … »more

Ananda Project

Some people don't like soft music. When soul veers too close to the smoothness of contemporary jazz, they immediately cry foul. Unfortunately, most R&B, whether … »more

And the winner is ...

Scott Peacock, executive chef of Watershed (406 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, 404-378-4900), was named best chef in the Southeast by the James Beard … »more

Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter

"Our name is a mashup," says Jen Caldwell of Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter. Just as the Atlanta quartet has melded the name of the late pop-culture … »more

Anti-McMansion ordinance aims to slow supersized houses

Legislative lovefests are rare in Atlanta City Hall, where even minor controversies can provide opportunities for political grandstanding and dissent.

But City Council members, fingers … »more

ATL HipHop Film Fest: Reel hip-hop

Atlanta is full of film festivals, from the sprawling Atlanta Film Festival to smaller endeavors such as the Spaghetti Junction Film Festival and the Pan … »more

Atlanta’s 2007 crime wave

In Atlanta, “Every Day Is An Opening Day.”

Unfortunately, the openings are increasingly bullet holes.

Atlanta’s murder rate for the first half of 2007 was … »more

Atlanta's 11 Least Influential People

To be included in Creative Loafing's 2007 list of Atlanta's 11 Least Influential People isn't an insult, or even a backhanded compliment. It's a tribute … »more

Atlanta's underfunded arts community could get a break

Artists such as Karen Tauches, a 14-year veteran of the scene who hosts openings at friends' houses and considers herself "more like a rock 'n' … »more

Bad education

With its breakneck pace, powerhouse leading ladies and Brit-hip cred, you'd think Notes on a Scandal would be giving off a fresher, more cosmopolitan odor … »more

Beleza: Beauty and the beast

It takes a lot to get me excited about a cocktail. I'm just not that type of girl. Years back, when I was a New … »more

Best Person Panda You Hate to Love

We might just prefer to have fresh bamboo shoots driven under our fingernails than be forced to read another story about MEI LAN, the baby … »more

Best Accessories for Pampered Pets

Whether you’re looking for a $170 dog bed, a $325 kitty jungle gym, $60 doggie booties or cat kibble labeled duck or salmon “a la … »more

Best Acoustic Music Club

A great acoustic musician in a bad venue can be a six-string nightmare. Luckily, Atlanta is blessed with a great scene for the unplugged set, … »more

Best Addition to the Skyline

Not much is going down in Buckhead since the neighborhood purged its nightlife, but plenty is going up. Atlanta hasn’t skyscraped this feverishly since the … »more

Best After-Hours/Late-Night Spot

If you’re seeking a lively late-night perch, look no farther than the neon and fluorescent glory of THE MAJESTIC. The eye-catching, art-deco façade beckons a … »more

Best All-Purpose Path

After work and every weekend, THE PATH TRAIL connecting Freedom Parkway to downtown Decatur fills up. Joggers jog it. Pet owners empty their dogs along … »more

Best Appetizers

Pure, fresh, simple — those are the guiding principles for the cuisine at FLOATAWAY CAFÉ. The appetizers are particularly exemplary of the style of cooking … »more

Best Art Event

Under executive director Anne Dennington’s tutelage (which will sadly end this year when she relocates with her husband) ATLANTA CELEBRATES PHOTOGRAPHY has grown into one … »more

Best Art Exhibit in a Gallery

Owner Susan Bridges watched viewers choke up and experience surges of emotion at an especially memorable, quietly beautiful show by DAVID YOAKLEY MITCHELL AT WHITESPACE. … »more

Best Art Exhibit in a Museum

The explosively hued MORRIS LOUIS NOW: AN AMERICAN MASTER REVISITED was a memorable celebration of color and size at the High Museum. The retrospective was … »more

Best Athlete(s)

When the Atlanta Thrashers debuted in 1999, General Manager Don Waddell said he had a five-year plan to get the team to the playoffs. So … »more

Best Bakery

Not only does BREAD GARDEN provide bread to some of Atlanta’s best restaurants, it sells its perfect loaves directly to the public as well. The … »more

Best Bakery for the Quaintest Cakes

The cakes at HIGHLAND BAKERY aren’t like the ones you might find at those fancy cake makers, where towering layers impose in their perfection. Instead, … »more

Best Ballot Stuffers

It’s a thin line between what we call ballot-stuffing and having a huge, supportive fan base. Every year one band runs away with the reader’s … »more

Best Bar

It’s not the overly familiar watering hole of TV’s “Cheers,” but the atmosphere at THE LOCAL makes it a comfortable destination. The place is usually … »more

Best Bar Food

Pubs in Atlanta have been increasingly devoted to providing decent food as well as booze. Now we have an out-and-out gastropub, TAP, another project of … »more

Best Barbecue

Not only does DADDY D’Z have the best barbecue in town, it also has one of the most pleasingly grungy atmospheres, lovably attitudinal waitresses and … »more

Best Bass-Guitar-Playing EcoPatriot

If America is addicted to oil (as even President Bush admitted in 2006), then Atlanta is a jittery crack whore for petro. Our sprawl and … »more

Best Beach Retreat

Snobbish Atlantans turn up their noses at the mention of our metropolis’s closest beach, TYBEE ISLAND. They think it’s cheesy, trashy or dull. They’re missing … »more

Best Beer Selection

A great place for intense conversation and incredible libations — or vice versa — the BRICK STORE PUB has been a Decatur institution for the … »more

Best Bizarre Signage

Driving east on Glenwood Avenue away from the city, you take a right on Second Avenue, just shy of the East Lake Golf Club. You … »more

Best Blues Club

In selecting the city’s best, you always strive to go beyond the obvious. But in this case, the obvious happens to be true: BLIND WILLIE’S … »more

Best Boutique for Trendsetters

It’s unusual to stay relevant in fashion as long as BILL HALLMAN has, but somehow, this venerable store seems to have the freshest, cheekiest looks … »more

Best Breakfast

Open for more than 10 years now, JAVA JIVE is especially popular on weekends, when there’s always a wait. The Midtown diner has a retro … »more

Best CD Shopping for Indie Snobs

The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into CRIMINAL RECORDS is that the high-set counters make the staff tower over you like gods of … »more

Best Cheap Eats

It’s seriously hard to find a decent inexpensive meal in Atlanta these days. EATS has been around about 15 years — long enough that it … »more

Best Chef

ARNAUD BERTHELIER is deeply symbolic of the Ritz-Carlton’s tradition of bringing Atlanta its best chefs (Guenter Seeger and Joel Antunes also once held the head … »more

Best Chinese

The much-lauded chef Peter Chang has left TASTY CHINA, but the kitchen staff hasn’t missed a beat. In fact, they’ve introduced a whole new slew … »more

Best Cinderella Story, with Maniacs

The dream of every young indie filmmaker came true for the directors of THE SIGNAL. Longtime local filmmakers David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry … »more

Best Climbing Wall

“Climbing up the walls” used to be an expression of anxiety and frustration. Two decades into the extreme-sports era, it’s a description of what lots … »more

Best Club DJ

Few DJs work as hard as DJ KLEVER. Some may offer more “exclusive” tracks you can’t hear anywhere else. Others may achieve a smoother-flowing set … »more

Best Club Event

Now more than six years old, MIC CLUB is one of Midtown’s longest-running events. Every Tuesday night at Apache Café, beatboxer MC and promoter D.R.E.S. … »more

Best Coffee

There’s a new coffee company in town: COUNTER CULTURE COFFEE. The owners are so devoted to java that they’ve opened a training center in the … »more

Best Coffeehouse

If you’re one of those coffee snobs who proclaims loudly that since your visit to Italy you simply can’t abide American cappuccino, then head over … »more

Best Columnist Not Published in Creative Loafing

Last year, we dubbed AJC Editorial Page Editor Cynthia Tucker “best columnist”; six months later she won the slightly less prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Coincidence? We … »more

Best Comedy Club

The king of comedy in Atlanta is the PUNCHLINE COMEDY CLUB. Since 1982, the intimate venue has consistently offered the best roster of acts in … »more

Best Commitment to Bizarro Humor

You can say a lot of things about the MOVIE VERSION OF “AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE,” the flagship show of Adult Swim on the Atlanta-based … »more

Best Concert Venue

Located in the pulsing heart of boho mecca Little Five Points, indie-owned and -operated VARIETY PLAYHOUSE is a relaxed arena of hipness. Once a theater … »more

Best Country Music Club

In a previous life, the building that houses WILD BILL’S was a Service Merchandise store. Where patrons used to browse the jewelry department, you can … »more

Best Country Radio Station

Keeping up with the ever-changing faces and sounds in country music is a task unto itself. But add the need to keep one foot firmly … »more

Best Cuban

Atlanta was lucky to take in a huge wave of Cuban immigrants in the ’70s, and we’re still reaping the culinary rewards. Ironic, then, that … »more

Best Dance Club

Midtown nightclub MJQ CONCOURSE is the perennial favorite in this category because there’s no place more dependable on a weekend night. Each week hundreds of … »more

Best Day Trip to a War Zone

Few hints of the Battle of Atlanta have survived the city’s bulldozers and steamrollers. Just north of the city, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park offers … »more

Best Deli

MUSS & TURNER’S is much more than a classic deli, but even if you strip away the cooking classes, the vacuum-sealed gourmet meals and the … »more

Best Dim Sum

If eating gloppy rice soup with bits of pork and mushroom in a mountain chalet appeals to you, then EAST PEARL is your place. The … »more

Best Dive Bar

Moving out doesn’t always mean moving up, and LENNY’S proves that even with a newer and bigger location, it can still proudly call itself the … »more

Best Drive-by Art

Since May, it’s been easy to count yourself fortunate if you get stuck in traffic on Peachtree Street in front of the Savannah College of … »more

Best Emerging Visual Artist

Providing a welcome infusion of humor into the city’s art scene, FAHAMU PECOU was one of the standout artists in this year’s eclectic Talent Show … »more

Best Established Visual Artist

He could easily rest on his laurels — the collection at the High Museum and a retrospective at the Birmingham Museum of Art — and … »more

Best Excuse to Get Rid of Your Gut

Located right off Ponce in Va-Hi in a two-level loft, URBAN BODY FITNESS is out to give you a more personal fitness experience than you’ll … »more

Best Excuse to Throw a Dinner Party

Covering 140,000 square feet of well-air-conditioned space, YOUR DEKALB FARMER’S MARKET isn’t a farmer’s market in the traditional sense. That is, it doesn’t carry goods … »more

Best Experimental Music Venue

EYEDRUM ART & MUSIC GALLERY is an experimental music institution. It’s Atlanta’s answer to such nationally heralded avant-garde venues as Tonic and the Kitchen in … »more

Best Feather in a Theater’s Cap

National arts journalists often write about Atlanta as a “rising” theater city, as if we’re always on the cusp of living up to our creative … »more

Best Female Performance on Stage

LINDA STEPHENS’ acting is overdue for local recognition, but that’s partly due to her habit of gallivanting off to New York for such prestigious shows … »more

Best Film School for the Cinematically Precocious

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES’ “FUNDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES” is hosted by Tom Kenny, the voice of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” who delivers an engaging lineup of G-rated … »more

Best Film Series

With so much of Atlanta’s funky, retro edge being bulldozed or rent-hiked, those crazy kids over at the Plaza Theatre — led by the inspired … »more

Best French

Both traditional and modern French are represented on the menu at TROIS, so whether you’re in the mood for beef bourguignon or wild salmon with … »more

Best Gallery

GET THIS! GALLERY is a small but smartly curated space run by artist and musician Lloyd Benjamin, whose own artwork focuses on train yards. The … »more

Best Gallery for Kids

Anyone who’s ever tried to do the gallery rounds with a child in tow knows the perils: dirty looks from patrons, the threat that a … »more

Best Gallery Spotlighting Local Artists

YOUNG BLOOD GALLERY has stepped it up on the national art front, mixing visiting artists with local talent that gives patrons a more comprehensive taste … »more

Best Gay Club Night

For much of 2006 a segment of Atlanta nightlife was a drag — because there wasn’t as much drag. The closing of Charlie Brown’s Cabaret … »more

Best Georgia-Based Band MySpace Page

Some pop phenomena are impossible to ignore, especially when led by a lanky 17-year-old kid named DeAndre Way who calls himself SOULJA BOY. The Chicago-born, … »more

Best Georgia-Based Music Blog

Music blogs have become the homemade zines of our generation. Everybody has one, and most of them are completely useless. That’s why when a worthwhile … »more

Best Golf Course

LEGACY LINKS & FOX CREEK is a bustling golf campus that straddles the Marietta-Smyrna border. Two fast, 18-hole courses with no par 5s let golfers … »more

Best Guest Actor

As artistic director of True Colors Theatre, just as in his tenure at the Alliance Theatre, Kenny Leon brought in terrific actors from out of … »more

Best Gumbo

Gumbo is one of those rare dishes where the more stuff you add, the merrier: shrimp and crab and oysters, chicken and duck and andouille … »more

Best Hamburger

THE EARL is frequently praised for its bar food, partly because of the now-legendary Earl Burger, which this past year earned kudos in a much-cited … »more

Best Hype About Atlanta That Isn’t Actually True

Aside from Coca-Cola bottling tap water and then selling it for a buck a bottle, the biggest con job perpetrated in Atlanta in the last … »more

Best Ice Cream

The bad news is that HANK’S lost its lease in Grant Park. The good news is that the Houston-based company is looking for a location … »more

Best Indian

A vegetarian restaurant (where you won’t miss the meat), MADRAS SARAVANA BHAVAN is so popular that owner Narenda Patel opened a meat-serving restaurant at the … »more

Best Intown Park

It’s not city or county land, so there’s no Little League field or playground. But for those not encumbered with kids, LULLWATER PARK offers an … »more

Best Italian

Riccardo Ullio, the owner and executive chef of SOTTO SOTTO in Inman Park, is a perfectionist who hasn’t conceded to the Americanization of Italian cuisine. … »more

Best Jazz Radio Station

From the moment the station first signed on in 1974 with Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” — beaming out 57 watts of power, about enough to … »more

Best Korean

There are plenty of other Korean restaurants in Atlanta, including those that specialize in tofu and soups, but HAE WOON DAE still soars to the … »more

Best Lesbian Bar to Reopen

After shutting its doors last year to make way for a redevelopment project in Decatur, MY SISTER’S ROOM made its welcome return in June. The … »more

Best Local Actor on the National Scene

You might not guess that ED HELMS hails from Atlanta. Helms has specialized in the kind of swaggering false confidence that seems to define this … »more

Best Local Artist on the National Scene

With her work regularly featured on the cover of the New York Times magazine, Decatur photographer SUELLEN PARKER has an innovative style that melds sculpture … »more

Best Local Author

We’re crazy about JACK PENDARVIS. We aspire to write stories and humor pieces as clever, fresh and seemingly effortless as his Pushcart Prize-winning work. We’re … »more

Best Local Band That Broke Up

PARTISAN hooked up in 2002, and four years later released The Gothic and the Gospel, an extraordinarily ambitious debut album. It mixed Afro-beat, Fugazi-era emo … »more

Best Local Band You’ve Got to See to Believe

On stage, THE BLACK LIPS explode with raw power that jitters in a stew of blood, sweat and haunted reverb. Somewhere along the journey from … »more

Best Local Brew

The beer selections rotate seasonally at 5 SEASONS, but there’s no doubt these guys are brewing the best local beers around. In the past year … »more

Best Local Country Music Act

When Drew De Man sings about warding off bears on NO RIVER CITY’s second CD, Wolves and Fishes, one can almost see the teeth and … »more

Best Local Electronic Act

DAMON “HABERSHAM” FONOONI is typical of Atlanta’s electronic community: loved and appreciated abroad, but mostly ignored at home. As a DJ and producer who has … »more

Best Local Experimental Music Act

Amid the backdrop of Atlanta’s various fringe electro-noise and experimental acts, TREE CREATURE tests the boundaries of noise, pop and minimalism while diving headlong into … »more

Best Local Folk Act

JEFF EVANS, AKA CHICKENS & PIGS, can keep a room wrapped around his little finger by way of his epic, self-effacing tales of hard luck … »more

Best Local Hero

This hasn’t been a great year for the Atlanta Police Department. Every badge in the department was tarnished by the narcotics detectives who botched the … »more

Best Local Hip-hop Act That’s Not OutKast

This category could be titled “best local hip-hop act since OutKast.” SUPREEME is that good and that original — which is something that has been … »more

Best Local Indie-Rock Act

If you ask local concert promoters what they think about SNOWDEN, they’ll praise the band for its professionalism: The quartet turns up for a gig … »more

Best Local Instrumentalist

There’s a story about IKE STUBBLEFIELD when he was 15 years old and doing his first session with the Motown studio band. He knocked over … »more

Best Local Jazz Act

The JASPECTS are an innovative musical collective who have mastered the subtle art of code switching. The sextet revels in everything from straight-ahead jazz to … »more

Best Local Label

When Vice magazine came from New York to report on the hottest bands in Atlanta, what label did it seek out? ROB’S HOUSE RECORDS — … »more

Best Local MixTape DJ

No Atlanta mixtape DJ has wielded as much influence as DRAMA, his Aphilliates crew and their Gangsta Grillz brand. Before he and Aphilliates member Don … »more

Best Local New Music Act

THE COATHANGERS understand the raw power of simplicity. In less than a year, these all-female Atlanta post-punks have carved a striking path through the local … »more

Best Local Overall Music Act

It’s no surprise that 2007 is the year DEERHUNTER blew up. After all the attention the group received from sharing stages with the Liars, the … »more

Best Local Playwright

Playwrights usually draw attention by breaking social taboos or making splashy stylistic exercises. In her productions this year, playwright JEAN STERRETT took risks, but her … »more

Best Local Political Figure

In the midst of the cesspool of the Georgia Capitol is an island of relative sanity — the office of LT. GOV. CASEY CAGLE. When … »more

Best Local Political Website

Political junkies are surprisingly nonpartisan when it comes to getting the latest scuttlebutt. You could have Ted Kennedy’s face tattooed across both ass cheeks and … »more

Best Local Pop Band

There are dozens of musical categories that could easily depict ONE HAND LOVES THE OTHER’s many faces. Electronic, R&B, modern classical and experimental music all … »more

Best Local Promoter

The official talent purchaser for the Drunken Unicorn, RANDY CASTELLO AND TIGHT BROS. NETWORK isn’t the hard-nosed businessman that many promoters fancy themselves. He’s usually … »more

Best Local Record Producer

Ever since ALDRIN “DJ” TOOMP produced T.I.’s Grammy-winning hit, “What You Know,” he has been the go-to guy among Atlanta’s scores of hip-hop producers. His … »more

Best Local Singer/Songwriter

Combine equal parts peace-punk intellect, street poet and world-weary traveler with an outsider complex, and you have JUJU B. SOLOMON: a post-Dylan songwriting enigma. To … »more

Best Local Sports Blog

Mac Thomason started his BRAVES JOURNAL blog in 1998 before he even knew what a blog was. A librarian by trade, Thomason started out writing … »more

Best Local Sports Radio Host

The format is simple: Four guys and a chick, and all the sports talk you want to hear. “Mayhem In The A.M.” on WQXI-AM (790 … »more

Best Local Troublemaker

It takes personal courage to challenge authority in the Atlanta Police Department. Former Deputy Chief Lou Arcangeli suffered retaliation when he went public with substantiated … »more

Best Male Performance on Stage

The word “performance” seems inadequate to describe DOYLE REYNOLDS IN I AM MY OWN WIFE. Given that the longtime Atlanta actor played more than 30 … »more

Best Margarita

The margarita at ELEMENT would be cool if it were only what it appears to be on first look: a Slurpee for grown-ups. But the … »more

Best Mexican

This is a difficult call every year because metro Atlanta has so many authentic Mexican restaurants. Most of them, however, are taquerias. In fact, ZOCALO … »more

Best Middle Eastern

There is nothing more consoling than Lebanese comfort food. That’s exactly what you’ll find at MEZZA, located in a shopping strip on LaVista Road. Small … »more

Best Mixologist

Not to be confused with the bottle-juggling bartender, the mixologist works like a chef: sourcing fresh ingredients, rare liqueurs and forgotten recipes — and crafting … »more

Best Morning Drive-Time Radio Show

If someone told you listening to a daily dose of drama and dysfunctional relationships on your drive-in commute could actually make Atlanta’s traffic tolerable, you’d … »more

Best Music Video Shot in Atlanta

The music video for MASTODON’S “COLONY OF BIRCHMEN,” a single from its acclaimed Blood Mountain CD, shows malicious Yeti-like creatures traipsing through forests while the … »more

Best National Recognition for the Visual Arts

Art insiders have known for years that ART PAPERS is a local institution worth celebration for the depth of its coverage of the local scene … »more

Best Neighborhood Festival

To avoid the stifling heat of summer, Atlanta crams a full six months of outdoor civic togetherness into the three spring months. The festival season’s … »more

Best New Gallery

The BEEP BEEP GALLERY is a thumbnail-size storefront on Ponce de Leon Avenue’s dividing line between drug dealers and house-proud yuppies. A fresh new voice … »more

Best New Restaurant

It’s been a huge year in Atlanta for new restaurants, but none has captured our hearts quite like SHAUN’S, the Inman Park bistro from Shaun … »more

Best New Takes on David Mamet

In David Mamet’s crass classic Glengarry Glen Ross, Ricky Roma rules the roost as the alpha male real-estate salesman. Roma’s been famously portrayed by such … »more

Best Not-so-bargain Bargain Shoppin’

The coveted spring 2007 Stella McCartney dress — a silk, strapless A-line mini — still, months later, haunts our dreams. And those Sergio Rossi stilettos? … »more

Best Old Thing About Atlanta Made New Again

Just when it seemed Atlanta was as likely to issue free personal jet packs to every resident as it was to make progress on THE … »more

Best Old-School Bookstore

Traditional used bookstores — the kind with a mix of recent hardcovers, classic fiction and obscure old tomes with gotta-have titles such as I Was … »more

Best Old-School Drag Queen

Atlanta is truly lucky to have DIAMOND LIL in our midst. Of all the female illusionists who’ve graced the stages of the clubs and after-hours … »more

Best OTP Bargain Couture

Despite its location in a drab strip shopping center off the beaten path in the suburban jumble of Sandy Springs, FANTASTIC FINDS delivers the goods, … »more

Best Out-of-Town Guests

This past year, Atlanta welcomed DANIEL BOZHKOV AND GRETA PRATT AT THE ATLANTA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER. The result was a slightly wacky, smart and eye-catching … »more

Best Outdoor Music Venue

For a little-bitty record store, CRIMINAL RECORDS has a great big parking lot and a great big sound system. No, it’s not Chastain Amphitheater, but … »more

Best Overall Radio Station

Engineers are strange, in a good way. Though we never quite know how, they help us manage the banality of everyday life. So it sorta … »more

Best Overall Restaurant

The best place in the city for a fine upscale meal is THE DINING ROOM AT THE RITZ-CARLTON BUCKHEAD. From the flawless service to chef … »more

Best Parade

The Inman Park Festival parade is best-known as home turf for the incredibly entertaining Kelly’s Seed and Feed Marching Abominable Band. The quirky Pride Parade … »more

Best Pastry Chef

Not only has KATHRYN KING consistently turned out fantastic desserts at Aria for years, she also consulted on the dessert menu at JCT Kitchen, where … »more

Best Patio Dining

There’s nothing on Earth like a majestic Southern river, and no place in the city to eat overlooking one as beautiful as the patio at … »more

Best Person You Love to Hate

Pro sports stars can get away with a lot without losing the fans’ love: cheat on their wives, drive drunk, consort with hookers, make lousy … »more

Best Photographer

Drawing from his own Southern upbringing with a family that taxidermied for fun, JODY FAUSETT explores the uncanny line between the living and the dead … »more

Best Pizza

Atlanta’s palate has been elevated by many new (and primarily suburban) pizza practitioners who’ve opened up shop in recent years. But no pie in town … »more

Best Place for the Sexiest Skivvies

A few years back, French-born-and-raised Lamia Aouassi was in the business of importing vegetables. Though she’s still in the import industry, it’s taken a bit … »more

Best Place for Timeless Threads

You could haunt Goodwill like a ghost and never find vintage items as choice as those at STEFAN’S. From ’50s bowling shirts and fur-trimmed swing … »more

Best Place to Buy a Glass Tobacco Pipe

There are plenty of enticing and exotic wares in the front of the store to distract you, from handcrafted jewelry to billowing glass sculptures to … »more

Best Place to Commune with Nature Without Leaving the City

Atlanta may not be the city in a forest anymore, but there are still forests in the city. Scores of wooded acres endure in scattered … »more

Best Place to Dress Your Baby À La Mini Me

Pack a lunch; we’re taking a road trip. Believe it or not, the most fashionable kids’ clothes are found OTP … in Duluth. CAYENNE carries … »more

Best Place to Drop a Wad on Skinny Jeans

Though we swore we’d never do it, we caved liked everyone else. We had no idea how many wildly expensive skinny choices we’d have: Chip … »more

Best Place to Enjoy a Brew with Your New ’Do

If Ernest Hemingway’s reanimated corpse somehow found itself shambling down Powers Ferry Road in desperate need of a shave and haircut, it would surely stumble … »more

Best Place to Fill Your Tank

It might only be a penny cheaper by the gallon compared with its closest competitor, but Atlanta’s four QUIKTRIP stations offer something more than cheap … »more

Best Place to Find Girls Gone Wild

On the water tower that hovers over I-85 is the declaration: GWINNETT IS GREAT. What’s Gwinnett great at? For one thing, producing otherwise unremarkable young … »more

Best Place to Furnish a Jetsons’ Pad

In addition to providing a new drooling venue for contemporary-furniture enthusiasts, CONTEXT has taken the pioneering step of opening its spacious downtown showroom in a … »more

Best Place to Get in Touch with Your Inner Ty Pennington

The problem with neighborhoods is, once they become the Place to Be, you can no longer afford to move there. You’ve got to catch them … »more

Best Place to Get Waxed by a Lust Lister

Actually, SALON RED AND SPA in Candler Park is probably the only place to get waxed by a winner of CL’s annual Lust List. In … »more

Best Place to Get Your Rear End Buffed

There are more than 115 car washes in the metro — not including the free-wash-with-fill-up gas stations that do little beyond taking the dust off. … »more

Best Place to Hear Local Music

Moving out doesn’t always mean moving up, and LENNY’S proves that even with a newer and bigger location, it can still proudly call itself the … »more

Best Place to Hear Music for Free

Ah, we love those beans and beats. Want some music with that coffee concoction? The best place to hear music for free these days is … »more

Best Place to Spot Celebrities

Atlanta’s kinda like the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding who thinks everything is Greek. Celebs with tenuous or long-ago links to the metro … »more

Best Pool Hall

Why go to a dingy pool hall when there’s BARLEY’S SPORTS BAR AND LOUNGE? In the heart of downtown, it’s a bar, restaurant and live-music … »more

Best Post-Lakewood Rummaging Spot

Folks loved Lakewood because, in addition to the costly antiques, there was plenty of good junk and funky tchotchkes to be had at reasonable prices. … »more

Best Quirk About Atlanta

We don’t have a harbor, casinos or a pleasant climate in the summer. But Atlanta still ranks as a major convention destination, in large part … »more

Best Radio Drag Queen

Radio was the last thing on MISS SOPHIA’s mind when the cross-dressing comedian moved here from Houston to further her stage career. But since taking … »more

Best Radio Oasis from Red-State Insanity

Some parts of the country only have to contend with right-wing, know-nothing blowhards dominating their radios. In Georgia, know-nothing blowhards don’t just dominate the radio, … »more

Best Reason to Play in the Dirt

From the extensive line of organic and natural fertilizers and pest control to the earthy, knowledgeable and helpful staff to the sprawling community garden that … »more

Best Reason to Stay Away from Blockbuster

Don’t let some nationwide chain — or your Netflix queue — dictate which films you check out next. If you really want to broaden your … »more

Best Record Shop That Feels Like a Time Warp

Former Athens music staple LOW YO YO STUFF, well-known for its tight quarters and unwieldy selection, relocated two blocks ITP in April 2006. The shop … »more

Best Resource for Cobbling Together a New Kitchen

Georgia nonprofit Habitat for Humanity does more than build homes for the needy. It also offers donated home-renovation supplies to the public — at a … »more

Best Resource for the Carless

For those who’d like to give up their cars full-time — with the option of having some wheels to borrow for grocery shopping, picking up … »more

Best Restaurant for a First Date

There are enough aphrodisiacs on the menu at CHOCOLATE BAR to drive a hoard of potential lovers mad with lust. Between the oysters, creamy cheeses … »more

Best Restaurant for Late-Night Dining

There are plenty of other Korean restaurants in Atlanta, including those that specialize in tofu and soups, but HAE WOON DAE still soars to the … »more

Best Restaurant to Bring the Kids

If boiling oil and crocodiles don’t scream “kid friendly,” we don’t know what does. Seriously, the hot fondue pots at DANTE’S DOWN THE HATCH might … »more

Best Restaurant to Take Visitors

You’ve heard it countless times when visitors come to town: “Where can I get a real taste of Atlanta?” The answer is WATERSHED. Chef Scott … »more

Best Restaurant Trend

It seems absurd, but until the last year or two it was difficult to find good SOUTHERN COOKING outside the city’s soul-food cafes. The exceptions … »more

Best Rock Club

For starters, THE EARL boasts $2.50 tall boys and friggin’ amazing sweet-potato fries. And unlike many beautiful dives, the sound here is stellar since being … »more

Best Rock Club that Closed

RIP stands for rest in peace, and ISP stands for Industrial Strength Promo. ISP was like an open-till-whenever convenience store for edgy music, art and … »more

Best Rock Radio Station

The collective knowledge of Pitchfork’s contributors is an invaluable tool for finding new and interesting rock; on the other hand, the mag is marred by … »more

Best Sample/Trunk/Clearance Sale

The Big Apple has the fabled semiannual Barney’s Warehouse Sale; we’ve got the locally renowned INTOWN BOUTIQUE WAREHOUSE SALE, where bargain hunters can score seriously … »more

Best Sandwiches/Subs

There are a lot of notable sandwiches in Atlanta, but during the last year one has outshined all others: the bresaola panini with Parmesan and … »more

Best Sign Atlanta Isn’t Like the Rest of Georgia

BUFORD HIGHWAY is Atlanta’s Chinatown. It’s also our Koreatown, our Vietnamtown, our Mexicotown and many more. To some, Buford Highway is just a shopping and … »more

Best Sign Atlanta Isn’t Turning Into Houston (or L.A., New York, or D.C.)

L.A. has earthquakes and wildfires. New York and D.C. have terrorism. Houston and Florida have hurricanes. For a large city and commercial hub, Atlanta is … »more

Best Snitch

When an Atlanta police narcotics squad killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston last November after bursting into her home with a bogus search warrant, police tried to … »more

Best Soul Food

The corner of Hurt Street where SON’S PLACE has stood for 12 years may have become a lot trendier over time, but Son’s still serves … »more

Best Stage Director

SUSAN V. BOOTH began her relationship with the Alliance Theatre as a freelance director, breezing in from Chicago and blowing audiences away with stunning stagings … »more

Best Steak House

Attention carnivores: You don’t have to go to Buckhead for world-class steaks anymore. KEVIN RATHBUN STEAK, which opened in late spring in the Old Fourth … »more

Best Store for Buying Shabby-Chic Decor

Merchandise spills out into the parking lot from MELROSE ON PONCE’s loaded front porch. Weathered benches, plant stands and peculiar lamp bases hint at what … »more

Best Store Makeover

Putting a hipster clothing boutique in a stately old library building on Moreland Avenue was a stroke of genius when WISH opened a dozen or … »more

Best Street Character Who’s Not Baton Bob

With his paid gigs and his slick website, “street character” is no longer an apt title for Baton Bob. He’s a full-fledged local celeb now. … »more

Best Strip Club

Even swelling gas prices can’t stop folks from descending on STROKERS, the pleasure palace where parting with dollar bills never felt so liberating. Bottles aren’t … »more

Best Strip Club to Get Your PBR Can Smashed

When it comes to strip clubs, the CLERMONT LOUNGE stands at the topless, er, top of must-see Atlanta landmarks. Locals and visitors are drawn to … »more

Best Suburb

Because it’s closer to intown Atlanta’s coolest neighborhoods than most of the rest of intown Atlanta, people tend not to think of DECATUR as a … »more

Best Sunday Brunch

It’s been a huge year in Atlanta for new restaurants, but none has captured our hearts quite like SHAUN’S, the Inman Park bistro from Shaun … »more

Best Sushi

MF SUSHI is still king in Atlanta when it comes to raw fish. It’s possible to have a truly exquisite meal here, especially if you … »more

Best Tapas

Even without a stove, the cooks over at KROG BAR are turning out tapas that best represent the true function of this type of food … »more

Best Thai

It was a sad farewell for Atlanta diners when Tamarind closed late last year. But now that TAMARIND SEED has opened in Colony Square, all … »more

Best Theater Premiere

Sometimes the Center for Puppetry Arts feels less like a playhouse than a haunted house. Spooky stuff seems to get the puppeteers’ creative juices flowing, … »more

Best Thing About Atlanta That We Don’t Get Credit for Having

Yes, Virginia, THERE’S CULTURE IN ATLANTA. Sure, it’s not a New York City or San Francisco or Chicago, where finding “culture” is a matter of … »more

Best Timely Art

It hasn’t always been easy for the ATLANTA PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP GALLERY, tucked away inside an obscure downstairs nook of the Tula art complex. But the … »more

Best Tourist Spot

After a charmed debut year when it welcomed (and collected admission charges from) more than 3 million visitors, the GEORGIA AQUARIUM has experienced a bit … »more

Best Underground Art Space

A welcoming, nicely laid-out East Decatur Station gallery with a Juxtapoz style, FOUNDATION ONE GALLERY is run by graphic designer and Moscow native Ivan Annikov. … »more

Best Unlikely Place to See Art

Restaurants, hair salons, coffee huts … everyone seems to want to find a way to make art work in their businesses. But “curated” is not … »more

Best Unpretentious Salon for Hipster Mops

It’s barely a year old, but Inman Park’s ADORE HAIR STUDIO & SHOPPE has attracted a — dare we say it? — adoring clientele, and … »more

Best Urban Music Club

No other venue captures the sonic and cultural diversity of Atlanta like SUGARHILL, an urban hang suite where underground legends, Blackberry professionals and occasional pop … »more

Best Urban Radio Station

Personalities are the lifeblood of commercial stations. And V-103, WVEE-FM (103.3) has a killer lineup: Frank Ski, Wanda Smith and Miss Sophia (mornings), Porsche Foxx … »more

Best Vegetarian

In the world of vegetarian cuisine, imposters run rampant. Rather than innovating, some chefs opt for a selection of faux-meat dishes based on what they … »more

Best Vietnamese

We’re still wholly enamored with COM VIETNAMESE GRILL more than two years after it opened and set foodie hearts ablaze with grilled meats, bold herbs … »more

Best Vocalist

Not since Francine Reed settled here 25 years ago has a singer new to the Atlanta scene made such an indelible first impression as BERNADETTE … »more

Best Waitstaff

Led by maitre d’ Rob Payne, the staff at QUINONES sets the standard for service in the city. Gracious, warm, pitch-perfect without ever being stiff … »more

Best Way to Impress a New Flame in the Kitchen

So you want to invite your new beau to your place for dinner, but there’s just one teensy problem: You don’t know the difference between … »more

Best Website for Shopping, Sex and Miscellaneous Weirdness

CRAIGSLIST is more than just a shopper’s mecca. Its “anything goes” posting policy has made it a repository for users’ deepest and weirdest thoughts. Though … »more

Best Wine List

It takes a lot of time and knowledge to assemble those phonebook-like wine lists, but what is just as difficult in its own way (and … »more

Best Wine Selection at a Grocery Store

We would never have guessed that our hunt for a bottle of 1921 Chateau Caillou Sauternes would have led us to the ANSLEY MALL KROGER. … »more

Best Workout for Masochists

Move over, yoga and Pilates. A long-ignored form of Russian strength training is making a comeback, and disciples swear that two months of the exercise … »more

Best Yearly-Orama

Whether seen as a defiant indulgence, kitschy novelty or unexpected projectile, it’s hard to deny the mysterious allure of the corn dog. No wonder David … »more

Best-Looking Waitstaff

There are plenty of restaurants in Atlanta where you have to provide a headshot when you apply for a job, and where the waitstaff uniform … »more

Black Mafia Family trial set for late summer

An August trial date has been set in the 41-defendant federal prosecution of the Black Mafia Family, an alleged multistate cocaine ring whose operation spanned … »more

BMF's judgment day

BREAKING NEWS: Meech pleads guilty. Update on the Fresh Loaf blog.

Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory had a certain style of doing things: way over the top.

When he traveled, his entourage numbered in the dozens. When he … »more

Cafe 101: Szechuan surrealism

Walking into Café 101 can be a little mind-boggling. The decor of the new Chinese restaurant might as well be an allegory for Buford Highway … »more

Career opportunities

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten doesn't look much like the usual rock-star documentary of the "Behind the Music" model. Director Julien Temple crafts something … »more

Charles Mingus

Every hardcore jazz fan will tell you there are certain career-defining albums you must have in your collection. But when the artist himself says, "This … »more

Charles Walston: Onion ringleader is back

The world has changed for Charles Walston in the decade since the Vidalias broke out of Atlanta to find acclaim on the alt-country circuit. He … »more

Chris Pig

British printmaker Chris Pig specializes in what he calls "the venal side of life" through March 31 at Decatur's Vinson Gallery.

1) Bizet's "The Pearl … »more

Comedy: Joe Rogan

Man's man JOE ROGAN is trained in jujitsu, played handyman Joe Garrelli on "NewsRadio," hosted both "Fear Factor" and the "Man Show" and is a … »more

Corndogorama leaving the Earl

On April 6, Patrick Hill, booking agent for the Earl, sent out an e-mail with some startling news: The Earl's iconic indie-rock festival, Corndogorama, would … »more

Creole Stuffed Tomatoes

"There ain't nothin' like a Creole tomato." That's what folks kept telling me during a recent visit to New Orleans. In fact, while I was … »more

Crowded House: A room with a view

In November 1996, Crowded House played a farewell show at the foot of the Sydney Opera House. Between 100,000 and 250,000 people showed up -- … »more

Does your life suck?

Gather round, you nattering nabobs of negativity. I have good news. Positive thinking is getting a drubbing.

Well, sort of. First, some background: A few … »more

Eddie Levi Lee

With his writing and frequent performing partner Larry Larson, Eddie Levi Lee founded the Southern Theatre Conspiracy and took a chainsaw to the genteel notions … »more

Film: Wired to Win

Pop quiz. What do IMAX movies and the Tour De France have in common? "They both go better with drugs." Wrong answer. Great guess though. … »more

Georgia Diner dishes up comfort

While I love my Southern meat-and-three as much as the next Atlantan, anyone with a nana in New Jersey can tell you there are times … »more

Gone, baby, gone

Last fall, Mayor Shirley Franklin requested that a survey be done to provide insight into Atlanta's underfunded public art program.

She wanted to know how … »more

Grady is Sicko

It's true. Sicko, Michael Moore's new film about the American health-care system, is not a documentary if your definition of that genre requires objective reporting … »more

Grand new Opera

Three weeks before its much-anticipated opening, the two-story brick building at 1150 Peachtree St. that is now called Opera is very much under construction. Most … »more

Greased out

Jerry McDowell was out of town when he received a strange phone call from a part-time employee of his coffee shop.

"She said there was … »more

Half-brained history lesson

Old scenesters fondly remember that the Swimming Pool Q's and the Brains were contemporaries on the late '70s/early '80s Atlanta music landscape. Both of the … »more

Hits vs. myths

Are the ancient Greeks getting hot again? Perhaps inspired by the success of Georgia Shakespeare's Metamorphoses (a show being restaged this month), two of the … »more

Holiday Guide '07

Sometimes it feels like we've all settled into some pretty well-worn and predictable grooves with the holiday season. It's natural. We are, after all, creatures … »more

Imprison the fellaters!

Last week's Loaf included a brief piece by Scott Henry about the closing of two gay bars. One of them was the Phoenix on Ponce.

Java Jive puts kitsch in kitchen

Atlanta natives know how long the wait can be to grab a weekend table at Java Jive. But the same kooky kitsch atmosphere and breakfast-only … »more

Johanna Edwards

In her third novel, How to Be Cool, best-selling author Johanna Edwards takes her readers into the world of Kylie Chase, reformed fat girl and … »more

Judy Rushin: Roll tide

Former Atlantan Judy Rushin moved to Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana last summer. She now lives close to a National Guard headquarters buzzing with the activity … »more

Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons' (Eve's Bayou) latest film, Talk to Me, concerns a man who puts today's vacuous, hate-spewing shock jocks to shame. Politically outspoken ex-con-turned-radio-DJ Petey … »more

Keb' Mo'

ASO Presents: Keb’ Mo’

Recently nominated for a fourth Grammy for his 2006 release, Suitcase, contemporary blues artist Keb’ Mo’ makes a pit stop in … »more

Ken Batie: Heart of homegrown soul scene succumbs

On Monday, Feb. 12, musical tastemaker and longtime WCLK-FM (91.9) employee Ken Batie was killed in a car accident. His death at the age of … »more

Kumbaya my landlord

A couple of guys spend Sunday afternoon hanging out in a royal-blue den overlooking the corner of East Atlanta's Stokeswood and Ormewood avenues. No cookie-cutter … »more

Kyle Cooper

If movie title sequences can be said to have a marquee-name star, it might be Kyle Cooper. Cooper champions the opening credits as both an … »more

Last call for nightlife in Buckhead Village

Pub crawlers who harbor nostalgia for the rowdy Buckhead bar scene have only a few more weeks to enjoy a drink in their old stomping … »more

Latest setback for Paschal's revival could be final

With another deal fallen through to revive the old Paschal's restaurant and hotel, Ivory Young is again worried Atlanta could lose a Civil Rights-era landmark. … »more

Ledet Ethiopian: Pick it up and eat it

Though Ethiopian is now a common part of Atlanta's culinary quilt, most local restaurants featuring this African country's fare seem (at least to the novice) … »more

Los Straightjackets: Who is that unmasked man?

Surf guitar? Check. Rockabilly guitar? Check. Mexican wrestling masks? On. Vocal mics? Off. It's not the preflight check most bands do before going on stage. … »more

Meltdown

It was early January, and Atlanta's poorest neighborhoods were uneasy. An old anxiety had resurfaced with lethal urgency: Were police cruisers roaming the streets the … »more

Messin' with Texas

Next week, more than a dozen Atlanta and Athens bands will head to Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest, the premier music conference in the … »more

Michael Eric Dyson

Michael Eric Dyson is a self-described public intellectual who is an author, college professor, ordained minister and, until last week, hosted a nationally syndicated weekday … »more

Mike Katinsky

Co-founder of Sensurround Stagings, Mike Katinsky has worked with many Atlanta theaters as a director, producer and playwright, and currently directs The History of Rock … »more

Mistaken identity

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain telegraphed a New York newspaper that had mistakenly published his obituary.

The folks at … »more

MondoHomo Dirty South: The other side of the rainbow

The South is known for two things: down-home hospitality and the go-nuts attitude of crunk. If you attended the Atlanta Pride Festival's headlining act, the … »more

New hate-crimes bill introduced

Gay-bashing in Savannah. Jews attacked on their way to synagogue in north Fulton. Latinos murdered in South Georgia. A lesbian nightclub bombed by a radical … »more

News of the weird

Lead Story: Popular Science's "10 Worst Jobs in Science" this year (July issue) included the divers who scrub the walls of pits of sewage, toxins … »more

No arrest yet in L5P shooting

Terry Williams made the walk from the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club to his nearby Seminole Avenue apartment countless times. He was a regular at the … »more

Nucci's: Gelato, my gelato

I had a moment in Italy once that took my breath away. Common enough. But this moment had nothing to do with a remarkable wine, … »more

Play date

The case of the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" fiasco in Boston was bound to happen if you think of all the ways corporations have attempted … »more

Police Accountability

A measure to create an independent board that would have full subpoena power to investigate allegations of police misconduct is now before the Atlanta City … »more

Producer Tommy Gunz helps himself to some Southern hospitality

For ATL heads, the most significant thing about "This Is Why I'm Hot," the No. 1 single by New York rapper Mims, is that it … »more

Requiem for a hero

Even in death, Richard Jewell couldn't escape the weight of his infamy.

Jewell, the security guard who discovered the bomb that Eric Robert Rudolph placed … »more

Resurgens renaissance

Hunkering on Ponce de Leon Avenue is the largest building in Georgia. You've seen it, you know it, you've likely dismissed it as one of … »more

RuPaul: Starrbooty's revenge

There must have been some magic or serendipity in the air in Atlanta during the early 1980s, when some of the most compelling cultural trends … »more

Shades of hate

The Cox Enterprises-owned Atlanta Journal-Constitution has directed much outrage at nationally syndicated talk-show host Don Imus' racially insensitive comments. But while AJC editorial writers were … »more

Some help from Cupid

Cupid left a voice mail last night. With the annual archery tournament in just a few days, he wanted to check in. Would I be … »more

Sound Menu

THURS/12

DEEP PURPLE, JOHN KAY'S STEPPENWOLF They don't get much respect from the music cognoscenti, but these crusty bands can still crank out the hard-rocking … »more

Spoon

Spoon knows how to play to its strengths. Ever since the Austin, Texas, band debuted in the mid-'90s, it's stuck to a sound that combines … »more

Stax Records: Original snap makes comeback

"Can you dig it?" rumbled the husky baritone of Isaac Hayes as he introduced the first Stax Records 50 Year Reunion concert at the South … »more

Steven Wright

"I'm a part of the Jehovah's Witness Protection Program. I go door-to-door telling people I'm someone else." Who else but comedian Steven Wright could come … »more

Sultan's: Something sultry in Sandy Springs

There is the smell of something sultry in the air. Earth tones and purples and small splashes of crisp, colorful cloth adorn the walls of … »more

Superbowl chaat

I know little about the upcoming football showdown (it's in Miami, correct?), and frankly, I don't care. What's important is the need for superior snacks … »more

Tap water wears a bow tie when it's put in a bottle and sold

It would be the most ironic of ironies, but we'd probably be too dehydrated to laugh.

Should Atlanta plum run out of water – even … »more

Terri Montague

The subject of this week’s Profile is: a) a CEO in such high demand that during a rare reprieve between jobs, she received 22 … »more

The art of debate

The arts community never feels so much like a community until it is under attack and the wagons circled. Such was the case on April … »more

The blotter

KEEPING ABREAST OF THE SITUATION: A 42-year-old Buckhead man said he was kicked out of a bar on Piedmont Road because he complained about a … »more

The color purple

Janelle Monae may be the most intriguing artist on Big Boi's Purple Ribbon imprint. She's a pixie-sized beauty with a Technicolor fashion sense that rivals … »more

The deceit of capital punishment

It's too bad Albert Camus isn't alive and visiting Atlanta. The great French thinker would understand precisely what is going on when Georgia officials proclaim … »more

The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker

Whether it's a deliberate reaction to the banality of contemporary urban music or an innocent revival of past glory days, the deep-funk sound has once … »more

The little labels that could

After a million-plus-selling album with Gnarls Barkley, several international tours, two Grammy Awards and dozens of sundry honors, Cee-Lo is finally back home in the … »more

The party starter

It's one of those perfect summer nights: clear and crisp, almost chilly from the afternoon rain and brimming with anticipation. Outside a courtyard just off … »more

The Pecan: Appraising grace

There is something endearingly old-fashioned about a restaurant such as the Pecan. It's not just the slightly desolate charm of College Park's Main Street where … »more

Thinking inside the box

The more I watch TV shows "live," while they're being broadcast, the more I feel like a chump.

Seeing episodes on The Man's schedule, sitting … »more

Timeless: Best Local Blues Act

The blues is a universal feeling that transcends languages, social status and the constraints of musical genre. DANNY “MUDCAT” DUDECK knows that feeling intimately. He … »more

Timeless: Best Old-School Restaurant

With all the glitz and glamour in Hotlanta, some days you just want an excellent meal in a quiet, sophisticated room. When the micro-mini-wearing waitresses … »more

Timeless: Best Place to See a Movie

You can see the major Hollywood releases at practically any neighborhood cineplex, but will you enjoy the experience? At a time of high ticket prices … »more

Timeless: Best Retail District to Maintain a Classic Vibe

It’s more than 2,000 miles away from Haight-Ashbury, but on a good weekend, Finley Square is a gathering ground full of free spirits — some … »more

Timeless: Best TV News Anchor

TV news anchors aren’t reporters. They’re readers, tasked by TV stations with the job of lending authority and likability to the copy scrolling up their … »more

Top 5 ways to play the Star Bar

In addition to his duties with the Forty-Fives, garage-band-loving Bryan Malone has been booking the Star Bar for the past couple of months. But, thanks … »more

Top 5 worst bands hipsters like

Maybe America's fashion-forward youth have too much going on right now to really look for quality music. Maybe they're just too busy memorizing Vice's dos … »more

Top five worst band names

Cassie Smith knows Georgia music -- the good, the bad and the ugly. Serving as general manager of Album 88 WRAS-FM (88.5) for the past … »more

Trendy: Best Blogger

Since starting Drifting Through the Grift in March 2006, GRIFTDRIFT has attracted a loyal following with his easygoing online persona and his trenchant commentary on … »more

Trendy: Best Local Soul/R&B Act

When RAHBI takes the stage with a swagger that’s part pimp, part drag queen, it’s obvious why his arrival has caused such a stir among … »more

Trendy: Best Place to Experience the Restaurant Scene

Even after three years in business, there’s still nowhere like TWO URBAN LICKS for wowing a date or out-of-towners with the fabulously trendy Atlanta dining … »more

Trendy: Best Shopping Destination for Chloe, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen

It’s part of every guidebook to Atlanta. It’s heralded as the premiere shopping destination of the South. Gucci, Jimmy Choo and Versace all reside here. … »more

Trendy: Best Theater Company

Since opening the Balzer Theater at the old Herren’s Restaurant space alongside the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts, THEATRICAL OUTFIT has proven itself the … »more

Wages of sin

At 61, David Lynch remains one of the most original, befuddling, visually astounding and structurally perverse directors around, as his recent foray into digital video, … »more

Walking while black

Adrienne Carmichael didn't understand how little it could take for her 17-year-old son to land in jail on a disorderly conduct charge.

"I thought [disorderly … »more

What happens if the water tap goes dry?

Should the last drops of water trickle from the gates of Buford Dam at Lake Lanier, the metropolitan area would be in an unprecedented pinch.

White shadows

Lonne Elder's play Ceremonies in Dark Old Men and Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye, debuted a year apart, at a time of dawning … »more

Who is Victor Bout?

For several months, the White House and Pentagon have been telling the American public Iran is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops … »more

You got served

Last week we delved into the sinister world of bad customers. But being a restaurant critic, I couldn't let the other side of the equation … »more

Best 'Hood to Get a House for a Steal

Best 24-Hour Restaurant

Best Accessories

Best Accessories

Best Accessories

Best Acoustic Music Club

Best Addition to the Skyline

Best Adult Toy Store

Best Adult Videos

Best Annual Event

Best Antique Store

Best Appetizers

Best Art Event

Best Art Exhibit in a Gallery

Best Art Exhibit in a Museum

Best Art Supplies

Best Arts Blog

Best Baby Store

Best Bakery

Best Bar Food

Best Bar to Hook Up

Best Barbecue

Best Barbershop

Best Bartender

Best Beach Retreat

Best Beer Selection

Best Beer Selection at a Liquor Store

Best Bike Shop

Best Bikini Wax

Best Biscuits

Best Bizarro Local News Story

Best Blues Club

Best Body Treatment

Best Book by a Local Author

Best Book Event

Best Bookstore

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