Last Monday
Dec. 29 — If you’re looking for somewhere to dine on New Year’s Eve to welcome in 2026, we have some suggestions, but reservations are going fast.
☔ Windy with showers and rapidly dropping temps this afternoon. After a morning high of 57°, it will be 25° overnight.
🔎 Atlanta Police are investigating the deaths of a man and woman – one identified as an APD officer – at a home in Virginia-Highland on Saturday.
🛩️ A small plane headed for PDK crashed on Homeland Drive in Doraville yesterday morning, injuring two passengers.
🧨 A group of juveniles ejected from Atlantic Station on Saturday night for shooting off fireworks was later arrested for shooting guns at Midtown buildings and a car.
🛍️ Megan Huntz announced she was closing her Atlanta boutique, Shop MH, after seven years, with a sample sale tomorrow and final weekend openings through Jan. 25.
🐝 Georgia Tech’s once-hopeful season – and quarterback Haynes King’s college career – ended on a down note Saturday as the No. 24 Yellow Jackets fell to No. 12 BYU with a final score of 25-21 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
🏀 The Hawks will try to end their six-game losing streak when they face Oklahoma City on the road tonight at 8 p.m. (FanDuel; 92.9 FM).
ELSEWHERE
❄️ A “bomb cyclone” hit the Upper Midwest, bringing blizzard conditions from Montana to Maine, 50 mph winds, and travel chaos for millions, a sharp pivot from the warmest Christmas Day on record.
🚇 The New York City subway is retiring the MetroCard on Dec. 31 and switching to a new payment system that allows riders to tap their credit card, phone, or other devices.
🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
• Best Dishes 2025
• Piedmont Park installation
AND
• Global Headlines
✨ Experience elevated nightlife at Starlight Lounge & Grill – Sandy Springs’ newest upscale destination featuring galaxy-inspired ambiance, fusion bites, craft cocktails, live DJs, and themed nights. Open this season. Dress to impress and step into the stars. Explore the experience. SPONSOR MESSAGE
1. The 42 best dishes we ate in 2025
📍 Each month, Rough Draft’s dining team, Beth McKibben and Sarra Sedghi, share their favorite local dishes, along with a few restaurant discoveries and cool pop-ups to put on your radar.
In 2025, that translated to 42 recommended dishes and drinks to try, which we’ve compiled into a handy map.
➳ Check out the dishes and interactive map here.
Start the New Year with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
🎻 Bring in the New Year with family, friends, and your Orchestra! ASO Concertmaster David Coucheron presents Antonio Vivaldi’s iconic masterwork The Four Seasons, capturing the elation of springtime and deep winter chill, Jan. 4 and 6.
➞ Jan. 15 and 16, enjoy Franz Schubert’s enchanting music from the ballet Rosamunde, the sublime Mass No. 2, and his “Great” Symphony No. 9. Get details here.
2. Gregor Turk mirrors Atlanta
VIA SKETCHBOOK, A WEEKLY ARTS NEWSLETTER | SUBSCRIBE
🪞 Atlanta-based artist Gregor Turk installed his latest piece, “Myriad,” a permanent public artwork commissioned by the Piedmont Park Conservancy and funded by the Antinori Foundation, just before Christmas.
Installed near the meadow entrance of Piedmont Park, just off the Atlanta Beltline, the work features 36 convex mirrors arranged in a sweeping arc.
“Myriad” arrives at a moment when many Atlantans are in constant motion. We spoke with Turk about how the piece is meant to function not just as art, but as a place to pause, reset, and reconnect.
➳ Read Sherri Daye Scott’s conversation with Turk here.
⚡ A smarter way to move around Atlanta. Lime is expanding safe, sustainable micromobility with free e-bike lessons, dynamic speed zones, and new vehicles – helping residents and World Cup visitors travel confidently on and beyond the Beltline. Ride, learn, and explore Atlanta differently. SPONSOR MESSAGE
3. Netanyahu, Trump to meet in Florida; Brigitte Bardot dies at 91
🇮🇱 Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu will meet President Donald Trumpat Mar-a-Lago today.
🇺🇦🇷🇺 President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, saying both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin want peace as negotiations continue to end the nearly four-year war. Putin, however, said Moscow would achieve its goals by force, as Russian troops claimed additional territorial gains in eastern Ukraine.
🇰🇭🇹🇭 Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a new ceasefire Saturday to halt fighting over their disputed border.
🎗️ Brigitte Bardot, the French actress who became a global sex symbol in the 1950s and ’60s before retreating from public life to focus on animal rights activism, died at 91.
🗓️ Atlanta’s World Cup moment is here. Join the World Affairs Council of Atlanta for a dynamic fireside chat on Jan. 27 with Katie Kirkpatrick, President & CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, discussing this once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase the city on the global stage. Reserve your table today.
✨ Experience elevated nightlife at Starlight Lounge & Grill – Sandy Springs’ newest upscale destination featuring galaxy-inspired ambiance, fusion bites, craft cocktails, live DJs, and themed nights. Open this season. Dress to impress and step into the stars. Explore the experience. SPONSOR MESSAGE
🎧 Look & Listen will return next week.
🔤 Don’t miss News Word Atlanta, our daily word game.
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