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Best of Atlanta 2011
It all begins with a meeting. A long meeting between a group of strong-minded journalists wrestling with the impossible question: What were the best things about Atlanta this year?
Atlanta confounded us, surprised and excited us over the last year, but what's best about the city isn't an easy question to answer. What makes a person, place or thing worthy of CL's highest honor? Did it transform the way we live? Did it change the scene it emerged from? How do we weigh the hype of mainstream bands against the lonesome howl of a guy singing in a tunnel? And what actually defines a "best restaurant"?
It's a grueling, months-long process, but a rewarding one because it gives us a chance to pause and reflect on all the things we love about Atlanta.
This is the year of the cocktail, the year Atlanta's indie dance scene came into its own. The Atlanta Beltline finally took shape this year, and the city's nightlife made a fresh comeback. Our farmers markets expanded and improved and we're now home to world-class chocolate. And did you know there's a goat-themed bed-and-breakfast in Grant Park?!
With all of that in mind, our conversations over the last few months have been heated, enthusiastic and delirious thanks to sleep-deprivation. But this is our special burden to bear — how to do justice to the sweet morphing beast that is Atlanta. (Term borrowed from Dashboard Co-op).
We ate, we drank, we partied. We went to countless shows and listened to countless albums. We scoured galleries, shops, streets and parks to come up with this list of the best of the best of what Atlanta has to offer. It's obvious you've done the same — a record-breaking 10,393 votes for Readers Picks were cast in 2011. As always, our readers have proven themselves to be engaged, knowledgeable and passionate about this city.
We're thrilled to finally be able to pass on the months of debate, late nights and tireless exploration. We look forward to toasting the winners with you at this year's Best of Atlanta party. Lord knows we need a drink.
— Debbie Michaud and Besha Rodell
Comments (19)
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Perhaps CL should just do a "Best Of" every decade...seems kind of pointless to instill the same awards on the same places year after year.
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Let's give CL credit, Critics Picks are different, but it's readers/voters who are unoriginal. You should advice your buddies to a) vote or b) quit voting for the same things and people. :)
I'm not faulting CL - they can't help it that nothing changes in this town.
Thank you for voting for me as Best Local Promoter. It touches my heart!
Cheers,
Mon Cherie
this is typical Atlanta...a metropolitan city but not a cosmopolitan city. I don't blame you CL, I blame the lack of originality and education of your readers. Majestic best late night food? You ever eaten at the Majestic? And these fake foodies in this city picking mediocre food places. Soul Vegetarian as best Soul Food? Its a vegetarian restaurant. Please city, educate yourselves, get out of your comfort zone, and expand your minds so that you can give other viable places opportunities to thrive. And lets not talk about the promoters, DJ's and every other run of the mill winner. Ever heard of The Constellations? Or Sexual Side Effects? Or how about Soundtable for music (and amazing food), or WIC (local hip hop). Atlanta never grows!
Question for any: Is there a theater company in Atlanta which has put up a show treating Bush's and Cheney's having committed 9/11? Looking for someone to support. TIA
Thank you Atlanta for voting me (Das Bunker) for Best Nightlife Event! I couldn't be more thrilled...
Personal kudos out to friends, acquaintances, and colleagues -- Mon Cherie, Dax ExclamationPoint, and especially The Shelter for giving us a place to call home! :-)
Big thanks to CL and CL readers for making WonderRoot Atlanta's Best Advocate for the Arts and Best Film Series!!!
I think part of the problem is that CL - while maintaining the facade of a hip, urbane publication - spends too much time mentioning things that aren't even in Atlanta. You write 1 article a year about a place that isn't in Atlanta? That's 1 too many.
This is the best of Atlanta. It's not the best of Marietta, the best of Ackworth, or whatever other banal, boring, mediocre, pop-up town lays on the fringe. Treat it that way. When you write articles and food reviews, don't write them about places that aren't in Atlanta.
I have such a vision of success for this city, because I think there is so much resource here to capitalize on. However, it's constantly undermined by our politicians, our papers, and everyone else who gives a shred of urban interest to the desires of the suburbanites. If Atlanta ever wants to grow up and be a real city, it's got to act like one.
Va-Hi won for best neighborhood? Hmm...maybe if you're a bougie housewife or a frat douche. Lame!
If the readers pick the same things, we are unoriginal and uneducated. If we pick different things, we are unloyal and flaky.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
Disable but Able to Rock. I would have certainly appreciated at least a mention. http://www.spike.com/video-clips/uori6p/da…
It's An Honor To Be Voted BEST LUXURY MANI/PEDI!!! Thank You.... www.NouvelleNailSpa.com
Watershed has been closed for at least three months. Whom ever ate fried chicken there... is well....#@$
Luxor Couture is a breath of fresh air in L5P if you love the exotic. Luxor Couture 1087 Euclid ave. Atl . Luxorcouture.com
I find it a bit ironic that the people who slander or criticize CL readers, denizens of Atlanta, and the city of Atlanta, of not being cultured or getting outside of their comfort zone, but yet cannot spell the city of Acworth correctly. A-C-W-O-R-T-H
To all you fans out there in Atlanta, Georgia:
Thank you for making me your official superheroine and for supporting my movie, Disabled But Able To Rock!
I hope that I will be able to get my awards soon.
DANGER WOMAN
