Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. The Atlanta Metropolitan Area is the 8th-largest such region in the United States, with more than 5,376,285 residents and is the most populous in the Southeastern United States, and the city is considered the unofficial capital of the region.
Atlanta is considered a top business city and transportation hub, Atlanta contains the world headquarters of businesses such as The Coca-Cola Company, AT&T Mobility, and Delta Air Lines. The surrounding metro area contains additional corporate headquarters, including Home Depot and UPS. Atlanta has the nation’s third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is also the world’s busiest airport. The city has become one of the biggest centers for conventions and because of this the need for high-class restaurants has risen in the city in recent years.
Atlanta has sophisticated kitchens run by world-class chefs, a large amount of ethnic restaurants, and classic Southern establishments serving such regional favorites as fried chicken, Brunswick stew, fried catfish, and hush puppies. The local taste for things sweet and fried holds true for restaurants serving traditional Southern food. Tea in the South comes iced and sweet and desserts in the region are legendary. The influx of Asian immigrants makes Atlanta the perfect city to sample Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, and authentic Chinese cuisines.
More often than not, though, Atlanta’s chefs have taken these venerable culinary traditions and updated them, adding a Continental touch that livens the basics. Canoe, for example, offers mountain trout and local rabbit, dressed with fresh herbs and light sauces and modern cuisine runs rampant in this food-loving city. Elegant Bacchanalia’s international reach, Joel’s French dishes, and Floataway Café’s eclectic ambience all hint at Atlanta’s fabulous options. Great steaks and seafood are welcome standards too, and although high-end establishments are abundant, so too are low-brow eateries. The Varsity, a local landmark, showcases this end of the culinary spectrum with burgers, fries, and onion rings served car-side.
Since the 1996 Olympics made its home in Atlanta, the city has seen a renaissance of people coming from all over the world to call Atlanta home. Many of these transplants have brought their type of cuisine specialty with them and have made Atlanta one of the top dining destinations in all of the country. Most notably, the downtown Atlanta area has become the hottest of these spots with world class restaurants lining the streets all over this area. In addition to downtown Atlanta, the northern suburb of Buckhead, long considered the party district of Atlanta, has also become a hot spot for world class cusine in a rather smaller area. The districts of Buckhead, especially Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square have numerous restaurants that appeal to all different types of tastes. In addition, many five-star hotels make their homes in metro Atlanta and inside some of the better restaurants in the country make their homes.
With metro Atlanta being so large and spread out over almost 30 counties, the area has thousands of restaurants to choose from. Neighborhoods in the northern part of the metro area, such as Marietta, Alpharetta, Kennesaw, Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody have a large amount of restaurants that cater to locals and visitors alike. With many businesses in the area, it is no surprise that these restaurants are booming at all times with no reason to believe that a slowdown is approaching.