Foodways

Author of Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking, Revised and Updated  Virginia Willis shares a delicious recipe with us in anticipation of her upcoming Author Talk on October 15.

American barbecue’s origins are deeply rooted in Black and Indigenous American culinary traditions. Indigenous peoples used open fire pits for cooking for over 10,000 years, and the term “barbecue” evolved from the Taino and West African words “brabacot” and “babbake.” Despite modern associations with suburban men, barbecue spread across the U.S. through migration and has diverse regional styles.

As part of our Civic Season programming, we break down the origins and cultural significance of the regional divides in barbecue.

Explore the rich heritage of African American cuisine, from the enduring traditions of West African dishes to the culinary innovations of enslaved chefs like James Hemings. Learn how iconic foods like cala, macaroni and cheese, and bean pie symbolize resilience, cultural preservation, and the profound impact of Black chefs on American culinary history, celebrated through generations.

When Azhar Mehmood and his wife Farah opened Mughals in 1994, they not only invited Atlantans to experience authentic Pakistani food, but also helped lay the foundation for Pakistani cultural life in metro Atlanta.

Throughout the civil rights movement in Atlanta, soul food restaurants were hubs of change where civil rights leaders could convene, converse, and strategize, and in times of terror and violence, these places were retreats where leaders could plan their next tactical moves.

Two teens tug the tail of a possum at a nighttime wiener roast in 1946.

Guests gather at Charles and Dorothy Ross’s home on Eleanor Terrace in Collier Heights for a party in 1975.

Local entrepreneur Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville in 1946.

Along with enslaved human cargo, European traders transplanted peanuts to the Caribbean and North America in the 17th-century.

In 1912, lawyer Harold Hirsch issued a call to glass companies across the U.S. to develop a product “so distinct that you would recognize it by feel in the dark or laying broken on the ground.” 

The American South boasts an amalgamation of delicious global foodways. We’ve drawn up a four-course spread from across our many culinary categories.