Nothing Pedestrian About It

This oft-forgotten nook off Monroe Avenue plays host to an array of shopping and nightlife. Here you can do pilates, sample the city's most famous tapas, buy outlandish doggy toys, and tote home a several thousand dollar couch. Amsterdam Walk abuts Piedmont Park and is girded by tony Intown enclaves like Morningside and Virginia-Highland. Perhaps the coolest part is that Amsterdam Walk bucks the trite, boxy, stacked-stone look of the city's shopping-center abyss. It's a cool shade of red, with the Midtown skyline peeking over. I've never had to search more than five seconds for parking, but then again I've only found myself at this concealed Walk twice.

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Shopping • Extended Coverage Area

Pizza and Grits

At the bottom of that greenish condo pyramid (aka Terminus) in Buckhead comes Brick Tops, a classy take on upscale pizzerias. I randomly ended up there when the wait for the Flying Biscuit was ridiculous. It was a fateful turn of events. The Brick Tops folks--donning white waiter coats and oozing professionalism--know their way around an egg casserole. At $12, the dish was small but unexpectedly pizza-ish, likely charred in the same famous ovens. The grits were among the best I've had, creamy without being soupy, perfectly buttered. The waffles were thick and delicious with a slight crunch. I wasn’t drinking, but the man in his Oxford shirt and boat shoes adored his Bloody Bull, a bloody Mary fused with beef bullion. Whatever floats your boat.

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Restaurants • Central Buckhead

Definitely BBQ Amazement

I'd recommend you get to D.B.A., nestled in the former Vine location near The Original El Taco, before too many folks haphazardly pass it like I did. This place is going to explode, mark my words. The acronym, according to our sweet but ditzy waitress, stands for "Doing business as…" which is rather confounding but unimportant. The metro has enough shack-sounding locales like The Pig Pit and Harry's Kick-Ass Ribs. Barbeque prepped by executive-looking cooks in chefs' coats is a breath of fresh air. Lunch is available now and brunch ain't far behind. Smoked tofu is an option. No kidding. At $16, the Two Meat Combo dinner could feed Puerto Rico. The Pulled Pork sandwich, priced half that, is also heaping. As any 'cue aficionado knows, the sides are as vitale as the meat and sauce. What I've tried at D.B.A. without question cuts the mustard, what with the World's Best Broccoli, Mushroom and Cheddar Casserole on the menu, alongside crunchy little accordions of Sweet Potato fries and Braised Collared Greens. Smart money says the Creamy Allen Mills Cheese Grits are otherworldly, but I haven't gone there yet. Next time.

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Restaurants • Virginia Highland

Dip With a View

The rooftop pool at the Tribute Lofts offers that rarest of downtown Atlanta views--looking west from the Eastside, the skyline like an outstretched hand. Perhaps you know someone who smartly grabbed one of these units last fall, the first among a wave in the city to hit the auction block. The pool (it's actually a highfalutin "European mineral spa") nearly sold me, but I wasn't reading to pull the trigger. What the watering hole lacks in size it more than compensates with atmosphere. A prominent local news personality sipped wine at tables resembling Jetson furniture the day of my last visit. The Atlanta Urban Design Commission popped a stiffy for this place, naming it tops in new construction for 2008. Here's to hoping the surrounding neighborhood catches up soon.

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Swimming • Downtown / Sweet Auburn / Old Fourth Ward

'Tis the Fifth Season

Located at the burgeoning corner of Howell Mill Road and Marietta Street comes the long awaited 5 Seasons Brewery Westside, brother to its eponymous siblings in The Prado and Alpharetta. The fare here is local and organic to the max--and priced as if they’d skinny dipped for each oyster and took lashings for the romaine. But hey, the food's all from within a two-hour radius of the ATL, no exceptions, and the spectacular environs are worth a little splurge. The best dish I tried was actually an appetizer, Kari Kari Crab and Cream Cheese Dumplings in Ponzu Sauce, the blueblood cousin of Crab Ragoon. The house IPA is the tastiest and most potent of the three beers I tried. In all fairness, the place had hardly opened when I partook in the stunning views from its massive deck (where there's ample parking, in the sky). The restaurant is massive, replete with a beer garden not yet open to the public. Stop in June 9 at 5:55 p.m. (get it?) for the grand opening, featuring free suds and nosh.

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Restaurants • All Neighborhoods