Coming to school in Atlanta from Chicago, I’ve missed my parents and my bed, but above all I’ve missed my açaí bowls. I knew where to find my various healthy (and not so healthy) food hybrids and trendy concoctions, and I had not realized how much I had taken my spots for granted until I left.
Luckily, in my quest to find stand-in restaurants, I’ve discovered that Atlanta dining offers up many Instagram-famous food options, even close to campus. Here’s a list of the best places to go to get your popular food fixes if you want to understand what all the hype is about.
Kale Me Crazy
Kale Me Crazy is the ultimate spot to head to if you want a hearty dose of superfoods, but most importantly, their açaí bowls are out of this world. You have an option of 2 bows, the regular for $8.50 and the deluxe for $11.50. The original comes packed with all the right toppings while the deluxe is just the amped-up version with more hemp-seed goodness. You’ll leave one of their three Atlanta locations feeling satisfied, healthy, and like your best self.
Lucky Lotus
Nestled in between various food vestibules in Ponce City Market is Lucky Lotus Juice Bar, a grab-and-go stand tailored to your wellness needs. While the menu is not extensive, featuring mainly smoothies and one bowl, their $7 açaí bowl is the perfect size for portability, and they really understand the correct ratio of toppings to açaí base. Their location makes for a nice afternoon of strolling around the very aesthetically pleasing Ponce City Market with your bowl, feeling like the picture of health.
BoruBoru
BoruBoru specializes in not one but two of the most drool-worthy foods out there: the sushiritto and the poke bowl. What’s sure to be your non-stop shop for all your Asian fusion cravings, BoruBroru’s menu is very customizable, even offering assistance in how to make your meal gluten-free.
While the restaurant is not open yet, I was able to go in and taste test and could not be happier that this place is opening so close to campus, in Emory Point. The sushiritto was just the right size– ideal in terms of grip but still large enough to be classified as a burrito – and the poke bowl featured lettuce as the base instead of rice, which made it lighter and fresher overall. Get excited.
Grub Burger Bar
Whether you’re celebrating an achievement, treating yourself after finals, or it’s simply Monday afternoon, sometimes you just need a large milkshake filled to the brim with all your other cheat-day munchies. While there isn’t a Black Tap in Atlanta, Grub Burger Bar does the trick with its “kitchen sink” milkshake. Living up to its name, this shake features pretzels, salt, peanut butter, butterscotch and caramel sauce, chocolate chips, coffee grounds, and potato chips.
#SpoonTip: If you’re 21+, you can treat yourself to the “dirty kitchen sink,” which is all these ingredients plus chocolate vodka.
8ºFahrenheit Ice Cream
8º Fahrenheit is the best of self-serve fro-yo and the taste of real ice cream rolled into one. While I’m instantly sold at the prospect of just watching coffee ice cream be manipulated into neat-little swirls, 8º Fahrenheit does not disappoint when it comes to the rest of the experience either.
From choosing between bases such as Thai and green tea, to watching Oreos or other prime ingredients of choice be mixed in, to the glorious experience that is picking an extra 3 toppings all for $6, you’ll leave the store questioning the appeal of typical scooped ice cream.
So next time you want a surefire hit food post, just refer to this guide for where to snap your picture!