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atlurbanist:

Atlanta’s got great dining choices. Even downtown.

Take a look at this video of locals recommending their favorite places in Atlanta. It comes from TravelChannel.com and the recent Atlanta episode of Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover.

I loved it all — except for the one dude at the 1:49 mark in the video, who warns you to not go downtown. Because of course, there’s nothing good there. Which reminds me of the references to the downtown’s “dining dessert” by Creative Loafing and Atlanta Magazine writers.

My neighborhood takes a lot of heat from locals. Yes, downtown doesn’t look anything like Poncey Highland or East Atlanta Village or any of the other wonderful neighborhoods that are more easily embraced. Yes, downtown is in need of improvements (fewer dead spaces, more residents). But like it or not, Atlanta, this red-headed step child is still part of your family.

My best wishes to White Oak Kitchen and Cocktails, Lunacy Black Market, Peasant Bistro, Alma Cocina, Naan Stop, Arepa Mia, Blossom Tree and all the other cool, locally-owned spots that have taken a chance on a downtown location. I’ll keep putting in a good word for you guys when I can.

Deciding Atlanta’s streetcar future —lines along Peachtree, 10th Street and MLK belong high on the list

atlurbanist:

The above link comes via themidtownarchive who writes:

A streetcar on 10th Street would be phenomenal.  

I agree! I would love to see this happen. I like this quote in the article:

A 10th Street route would connect Piedmont Park with the Midtown MARTA station and then to the heart of the Georgia Tech campus and the vibrant West Midtown area.

Giving Tech students and the growing population of West Midtown a convenient streetcar route to Piedmont Park, the Midtown MARTA station and other points east of the 75/85 Interstate (pictured below) would be a very cool move.

The interstate busts up the connectivity of Midtown badly and renders non-automobile travel, particularly going east-west, very difficult:

Atlanta Interstate

A streetcar on 10th street would do a great deal to repair the damage and connect some very popular nodes of activity in the area. And expanded transit options may also reduce the need for such an insane amount of parking infrastructure in central Midtown, as mentioned on this blog before:

Midtown Parking

Interstate photo from Flickr user SkylineScenes

twentyfourbit:

Alabama Shakes: “Heavy Chevy”

Now with a television debut and Third Man live single adding space dust to their meteoric rise, Alabama Shakes are hitting the road to do what they do best: stir up and settle down souls in person. A dozen stateside tour dates were added to the spring jaunt today while the Shakes have also shared Boys & Girls bonus cut “Heavy Chevy,” a fine doubleshot of rockabilly espresso ready to cure any listless afternoon. Stream/download the track above alongside lead single “Hold On.”

twentyfourbit:

Video: Allo Darlin’ - “Tallulah”

London-based twee-pop outfit Allo Darlin’ have put a sophomore album to tape and set its first official single for an April 3rd arrival date, following up their eponymous debut (and this summer’s “Darren” 7”) with “songwriting [that] has deepened and developed” on Europe. Before the LP’s uplifting lead cut, “Capricornia,” arrives next spring, here’s frontwoman Elizabeth Morris strumming a ukulele and singing a pensive solo teaser track along with footage from recent tours shot by the band.

life-aquatic:

Kwala // Tobias

 

 

A month or two ago I started following the sounds of Kwala and was excited to receive a heads up by Jake Martin, from the delightfully forward thinking blog Speaker Snacks, about a recently released free EP called Projectionss. It was really difficult to find a track off there that I liked more than the others. I finally chose Tobias. With its underlying sound of trickling water it mixes an array of percussion instruments with a soft bass line and crisp powerful vocal samples. The EP was released by FreeForm Records and is downloadable here for a price of your choice. [photo]

 

mp3 : Kwala // Tobias

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