Two new summer reads explore the food scene in Atlanta—the city their authors once called home

Two new books—one a memoir, the other a work of fiction—capture the glamor and grit of the restaurant world and the often-messy lives of the folks whisked up within it.

Hunger Like a Thirst: From Food Stamps to Fine Dining, a Restaurant Critic Finds Her Place at the Table

(Celadon Books, 2025) by Besha Rodell

Atlanta has had its share of standout restaurant critics: Bill Addison, Christiane Lauterbach, and John Kessler are among the GOATs who chronicled our food landscape before moving on to other cities. And then there’s Besha Rodell.

With her badass swagger, biker boots, and long, untamed locks, she is unquestionably among their ranks, having earned her stripes while restaurant reviewing at a then-robust Creative Loafing . Before arriving in Atlanta in 2006, she’d already worked in