We Speak Dining & Drinks

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Turns 16 With New Burger and Fried Chicken Showdowns at The Home Depot Backyard

Published

2 months ago

September 9, 2026

The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is old enough to drive. The festival, presented by Invesco QQQ and produced by a21, returned September 10–13, 2026, for its 16th year at The Home Depot Backyard in downtown Atlanta, built around the theme “The City is the Story.” Nearly 100 celebrated chefs, restaurants, beverage partners and culinary personalities took part across the four days, with all guests required to be 21 or older.

This year’s hosts were Monti Carlo, Andrew Zimmern, Shawn Osbey, Ford Fry, Kardea Brown and Kelli Potter. The signature walk-around Tasting Tents, presented by Goya Foods, ran all four days with a different host and theme each day: The Atlanta Standard hosted by Carlo on Thursday, Flavors of Atlanta hosted by Zimmern on Friday, The Southern Spread hosted by Osbey on Saturday and The Homecoming hosted by Brown on Sunday.

Two events were new for 2026. Stacked: The Burger Social, hosted by Ford Fry on Saturday, September 12, lined up chefs including Billy Kramer of NFA Burger and Jonathan and Justin Fox of Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q. Southern Fried: A Fried Chicken Affair, hosted by Kelli Potter on Sunday, September 13, paired buttermilk-brined and Nashville hot styles with Korean, Japanese and other global interpretations. Atlanta Magazine listed tickets for each new event at $125 for general admission and $155 for early access, with single-day Tasting Tent tickets ranging from $135 to $205 depending on the day and access level.

The lineup also brought back Whiskey & Fire Atlanta at Guardian Works, the Publix Culinary Demonstration Stage, and pours from Pernod Ricard, Caymus Vineyards, The Coca-Cola Company and Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. “The strength of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival comes from the incredible partners who share our passion for showcasing the South’s culinary community,” said Brett Friedman, founder and CEO of a21. The festival’s charitable partner was the Event Zero Foundation.

We Speak Dining & Drinks

Georgia Grabs Two of the South’s Three New Michelin Stars as Atlanta’s So. Fox and Gay’s Uberto Join the Guide

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

We Speak Media

Georgia owned the room at the 2026 MICHELIN Guide American South ceremony. Six Georgia restaurants received new distinctions at the unveiling at The Pinnacle in Nashville on October 21 — and the state’s two new one-star restaurants, So. Fox in Atlanta and Uberto in Gay, were two of only three new stars awarded across the entire seven-state region. The third went to Dakar NOLA in New Orleans.

The second annual American South selection covers 265 restaurants across 44 cuisine types, with 22 starred restaurants, 59 Bib Gourmands and 184 Recommended restaurants in total. Georgia now counts 10 starred restaurants statewide.

So. Fox, in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood, is helmed by chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack, and its name pays homage to the Southern fox, another term for the indigenous muscadine grape. Inspectors praised dishes including corn dumplings in sweet corn sauce with lump crab and a roasted apple granita, along with Carolina Gold rice with toasted shrimp and drop dumplings with nettle and confit rabbit.

Uberto operates inside the World of Quercus resort in Gay, roughly an hour south of Atlanta, where chef Ryan Smith serves a tasting menu built on fermentation and preservation, open to non-resort guests on Friday and Saturday nights. Critics highlighted his miso and Alabama blue crab chawanmushi, cold-smoked, dry-aged Rohan duck grilled over binchotan coals with carrot puree, and fig ice cream with buckwheat sponge. Smith also received Michelin’s new Mindful Voices award; Uberto sources more than 90 percent of its produce from its on-site regenerative farm, which runs entirely on solar power and uses no chemical pesticides or herbicides.

Georgia’s new Bib Gourmands are Summerland in Atlanta, chef Anne Quatrano’s cafe on Collier Road, and Tipsy Thaiger in Roswell, while Pink Lotus in Atlanta and Spring 2nd Branch in Marietta joined the Recommended list.