10 more dishes that define Atlanta now

Cheese Pizza
Glide Pizza
Old Fourth Ward
Glide Pizza nails the New York slice with its foldable crust and tangy sauce, but it is so Atlanta with its Beltline location, walk-up window, and late-night energy. —Jennifer Zyman

Black Bean and Cheese Pupusas
La Bodega Market & Pupuseria
Sylvan Hills
At this cheery new Sylvan Road eatery with a walk-up window and a cute patio, enjoy assorted meat and meatless Salvadoran pupusas (stuffed cornmeal cakes cooked on a griddle, served with pickled slaw and salsa) and café con leche or tamarind iced tea, plus shopping at the adjacent market for Georgia-made snacks, staples, even pet treats. —Vené Franco

Lemon Pepper Chicken Biscuit
Bomb Biscuit Co.
Grant Park
This winning trifecta of Atlanta flavors is a sight to behold: a stacked masterpiece of two fluffy biscuit halves holding golden-brown fried chicken, glistening with a glaze of lemon-pepper sauce (hat tip to bread-and-butter pickles for bringing the zing). —Vené Franco

Crispy Rice Salad
Talat Market
Summerhill
Snappy greens, red chili jam, and peanuts anchor this staple salad at Talat Market, while the supporting cast of lettuces, herbs, and floral garnishes changes with the seasons. —Lia Picard

Photograph by Tim Robison

SDPD (Sev Potato Dahi Puri)
Botiwalla
Ponce City Market, Old Fourth Ward
For those who love textural flavor bombs, the SDPD is a treat. It has flour crisps (puris) stuffed with potato, sweet yogurt, tamarind and punchy green chutneys, and cilantro, all topped with crispy chickpea noodles. Eat them in one bite, posthaste. —Lia Picard

Blueberry Pancakes
Vegan House of Pancakes
East Point
A pink-painted flapjack house (VHOP, for short) brings the weekend crowd to the sunny deck at the back of the restaurant for fluffy hotcakes and more, including jalapeño grits, vegan sausage, cheesy potato casserole, and tofu scrambles. —Vené Franco

Ivy’s Oxtails and Grits
Betty Sue’s
Downtown
A heaping portion of succulent, fall-off-the-bone oxtails and buttery, creamy stone-ground grits make for a perfect pairing at this all-day brunch-themed restaurant near MARTA Five Points station. —Edward Adams

Smashburger
NFA Burger
Dunwoody, Alpharetta
The NFA Smashburger is a study in texture: Seared, flipped, and pressed on a flattop until its edges are impossibly crisp, the patty is topped with a gooey layer of melted American cheese and served on a pillowy, buttered potato bun to create a scientifically perfect bite. —Angela Hansberger

Pollo a la Brasa
Las Brasas
Decatur
Las Brasas, which just reopened after a renovation, stands out for its Peruvian-style marinated and charcoal-roasted rotisserie chicken, which is juicy, smoky, and spiced just right. —Jennifer Zyman

Courtesy of So So Fed

Mapo Tofu Pork Dumplings
So So Fed (Sunday and Monday pop-up at OK Yaki)
East Atlanta
A clever twist on a classic, the savory minced filling of silken tofu steeped in a numbing spicy sauce flecked with pork delivers all the aromatic wonders of a bowl of mapo tofu in a single, comforting bite within pretty pleated packets that are light and crispy. Vegan version available. —Angela Hansberger

This article appears in our November 2025 issue.

Advertisement