Author: Bob Townsend

Haven was the first restaurant for the Word of Mouth Restaurants group in Brookhaven and was followed by Valenza, Vero and Arnette’s Chop Shop. It celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023.

Was 2023 a good year for beer in Georgia? It depends on whom you ask. Our state has some of the most restrictive brewery laws in the U.S., which likely contributed to a record number of Georgia breweries closing in 2023.

Three Taverns Brewery in Decatur celebrated its 10th anniversary last month with a large crowd and a limited-edition barley wine, simply labeled 10, that was aged in bourbon and apple brandy barrels.

Won Woo opened the first Three Dollar Cafe in Sandy Springs in 1983. As the story goes, he came to America from South Korea in 1979, with $3 in his pocket, and a dream of a better life. The restaurant has since expanded to 10 locations.

Pastry chef Sarah O’Brien, the owner of Little Tart Bakeshop and Big Softie, discusses her favorite things to cook at home and shares her recipe for Kitchen Sink Green Goddess and Tuna Salad.

Seeds Take Up the Soil sweet potato ale is a new collaboration between Athens’ Creature Comforts Brewing Co. and Our Culture Brewing Co., a Black-owned brewery that plans to open in Atlanta.

Ben Bailey and Chris Collin, the duo behind Local Republic and Strange Taco in Lawrenceville and LR Burger in Monroe, recently opened a second burger location in downtown Duluth. Overall, LR Burger is smartly designed, and it certainly fits in with the burgeoning Duluth dining scene.

Like many breweries, Atlanta’s Wild Heaven has broadened its beverage offerings beyond beer. Now, in addition to hard seltzer, you’ll find house-made hard cider, as well as wines from a pair of Georgia farm wineries.

Sisters Veena Bagga and Nazz Tucker opened Georgia Diner in Duluth in November 1998. After 25 years, they still have a loyal following for what they describe as “a people-pleasing restaurant.”

A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, with a focus on bread, Vivian Lee holds degrees in fine arts and landscape architecture, as well. That background coalesces in her bakery and sandwich shop, Leftie Lee’s. Located at the Olive & Pine development in Avondale Estates, it features skillfully creative takes on breakfast and lunch Wednesdays-Fridays, and brunch all day on Saturdays and Sundays.