Today Kelly Rowland joins Condé Nast Traveler to share everything she loves about her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Whether you want to try the city’s best lemon pepper wings and peach cobbler or know whether the Coca-Cola museum is actually worth a visit, these are Rowland’s best recommendations for a trip to Atlanta.
MEA CULPA releases on Netflix February 23.
MEA CULPA releases on Netflix February 23.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Sweet tea is everywhere in Atlanta,
00:02 especially on a hot day.
00:03 Oh, this is so --
00:05 Oh, this brings me back to the front porch
00:08 and Boulevard Drive.
00:11 When my great-aunts and we were in rocking chairs,
00:13 this tastes just like that.
00:15 I can literally smell the day.
00:16 Isn't that amazing?
00:18 Wow.
00:19 Hey, I'm Kelly Rowland, and I'll tell you all the reasons
00:21 why I'm very proud to be from Atlanta.
00:24 We'll try some food.
00:25 I'll give you some tips on what to plan on your trip,
00:27 and we'll take a nice, deep dive
00:30 into Atlanta's banging music scene.
00:33 ♪♪
00:41 ♪♪
00:43 So, Atlanta, GA,
00:45 has a lot of wonderful snacks and foods,
00:48 and I'm about to try some.
00:51 Ooh, this is so hard, but I'm gonna start
00:52 with Blooming Pepperways.
00:54 [ Laughs ]
00:55 I'm so excited!
00:57 If I wasn't in front of this camera right now,
00:58 I'd probably just put my teeth into it,
01:00 but I'm gonna be conservative 'cause we have company.
01:04 Ooh. Ooh.
01:07 This tastes like the A.
01:09 A little bit of tang from the lemon.
01:11 Now, there's a spot while I was filming "Mea Culpa"
01:14 by Tyler Perry Studios called American Wings,
01:18 and it was so good.
01:21 I ordered there every other day.
01:23 Next, there's the Peach Cobbler,
01:26 and there's very few people that can get the crust right.
01:29 Like, your peaches can be like brand-new peaches.
01:32 You got to wait till they get a little soft on them.
01:34 Let me make it to where somebody can try something later.
01:37 I won't be selfish and just dig right in the middle
01:39 'cause that's what you usually do,
01:42 but I won't do that.
01:45 Actually, I'm gonna do that.
01:46 [ Laughs ]
01:48 'Cause I want the middle part.
01:50 Oh, this is good crust.
01:52 Okay.
01:54 Oh, that's real good.
01:56 And the peaches are just right.
01:58 There's a place in Atlanta
02:00 across the street from the aquarium.
02:02 I know that because my son loves the aquarium,
02:04 and it's called Busy B.
02:06 Busy B got a bomb, Peach Cobbler.
02:09 Peach Cobbler brings back so many memories for me,
02:12 in particular with my mom,
02:14 because she would actually make fried peach pies
02:19 that were like Cobbler.
02:20 Perfect amount of sweetness, perfect amount of tart.
02:23 The way the crust was was just flaky.
02:27 Ooh, that thing was flaky.
02:29 Ooh, Lord, I miss you, Mama.
02:32 It was so good.
02:33 So, so, so, so good.
02:35 Now, the next thing I'm gonna try is pecan pie.
02:40 Now, some people say pecan.
02:42 Do you say pecan or pecan?
02:43 Pecan or pecan?
02:45 I think it's pecan.
02:46 Ooh. Ooh, you can tell this gonna be good.
02:50 Okay.
02:51 [ Sighs ]
02:56 Mm.
02:58 It's a moment of silence for this.
03:01 That is nice.
03:02 Now, I have no idea in the A where to get pecan pie from.
03:06 I get it from, like, a family member's house,
03:09 and sometimes they add a little, like, bourbon to it.
03:13 Bourbon pecan pie is really bomb.
03:16 I would literally shove this whole thing in my mouth
03:18 if y'all weren't right here. It's so good.
03:21 This is really, really good.
03:24 Mm.
03:26 I'll wash this down with some sweet tea.
03:28 Now, sweet tea is everywhere in Atlanta,
03:31 especially on a hot day.
03:32 Oh, this is so --
03:34 Oh, this brings me back to the front porch
03:36 at Boulevard Drive.
03:40 When my great-aunts and we were in rocking chairs,
03:42 this tastes just like that.
03:44 I can literally smell the day.
03:45 Isn't that amazing?
03:47 Wow.
03:48 -Do you prefer it with, like, lemon or mint?
03:51 -That's too mature.
03:52 If it's with lemon or mint, it's just too mature.
03:57 Lemon makes it feel like kind of a cocktail.
03:58 I remember I felt grown with a lemon in my tea
04:00 when I was a kid.
04:02 This is good.
04:04 Now, pimento cheese, I'm gonna try
04:08 because it's an Atlanta staple,
04:09 but I don't like pimento cheese.
04:13 It's a very -- It, like, takes a very mature palate,
04:15 but I don't remember tasting it, like, since I was a kid,
04:18 so let's see if I have a very mature palate right now.
04:22 Here we go.
04:24 Y'all, that's good.
04:33 I have a very mature palate right now.
04:36 Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm, that's good.
04:38 [ Laughs ]
04:41 I had no idea that's what I was missing out on.
04:44 ♪♪
04:46 So, Atlanta has a huge music scene,
04:49 and a lot of dances have come out of Atlanta,
04:51 so I'm going to do some of those dances.
04:55 ♪♪
04:57 Oh, my God. If my son does this one more time,
05:01 I'm like, "Son, it's -- Oh, you can let it go."
05:06 Dabbing.
05:07 ♪♪
05:09 Do the --
05:10 ♪♪
05:14 Oh, my gosh.
05:16 I remember when I was a kid, and me and the girls,
05:20 we were always banking, and we thought we were fishing it,
05:22 rolling it back in, and go, "Whoa!"
05:24 Roll it back out.
05:26 Let's walk it out.
05:28 ♪♪
05:35 Wait, what's a whip?
05:36 Oh, a whip. Okay, sorry.
05:38 ♪♪
05:41 Okay, you know it.
05:42 I started off with too much caffeine this morning.
05:45 [ Laughter ]
05:46 ♪♪
05:49 So, Atlanta has a lot of popular spots.
05:52 We're going to take a look at some of the places
05:54 that you can skip going to
05:56 and some of the places that you should definitely run to.
05:59 First up, the Varsity.
06:01 Now, I remember going to the Varsity when I was a little kid,
06:05 and I remember wanting extra chili on my hot dogs,
06:09 and it was so good.
06:11 And what was really good with the hot dog
06:14 was a nice, ice-cold Coca-Cola.
06:20 Varsity is definitely a spot you should go to.
06:22 If you're vegan, don't think about it.
06:24 So, the Coca-Cola Museum is really cool.
06:27 You see how everything has changed
06:29 because you see all the different fonts,
06:31 you know, that they have had over the years.
06:34 Even, like, the faces and the pictures have changed,
06:37 how they've become more diverse.
06:38 I love watching that.
06:40 Fact -- my dad, he showed me a ad that he did with Coca-Cola.
06:46 He's, like, a young teen boy, and I thought it was so cool
06:51 that my dad is kind of, like, a part of the Coca-Cola history.
06:54 I'd say that the Coca-Cola Museum is a must-go.
06:59 Pond City Market.
07:00 Anywhere there's a lot of food, I shall be.
07:03 I think that when it comes to food
07:06 and, like, just trying different things,
07:08 I'm always wanting, as I say, a culinary experience.
07:12 So, it's a go.
07:14 Oh, just this name brings back so many memories for me.
07:19 Marta. The public transportation.
07:22 Basically, they have trains, they have buses.
07:24 I remember the first time riding Marta with my mom,
07:28 and we would go from East Point to North.
07:33 We would go North. I remember going North.
07:36 That's where the money was.
07:37 There was this pamphlet in there called "Reader's Digest,"
07:40 and I remember telling my mom to pass me
07:42 one of those Reader's Diggest brochures.
07:46 I didn't know how to say it at that time,
07:48 but I was trying to read, so there was an E for effort.
07:51 I would take Marta any day than sit in Atlanta traffic
07:55 because Atlanta traffic will hold you tight
07:58 for at least two hours.
07:59 So, go.
08:00 Oh, the Fox Theater.
08:04 This is a great spot, man.
08:06 I remember performing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
08:09 It was awesome.
08:11 It has so much magic and essence to it.
08:14 It's one of my favorite places.
08:15 I mean, you can skip it if you want,
08:18 but if you love to, like, really get into,
08:20 like, historical buildings or into architecture,
08:23 the Fox Theater's a really good place to go.
08:25 So, I guess there all goes.
08:28 Oh, my gosh.
08:29 They have a Ferris wheel?
08:30 Word?
08:31 ♪♪
08:34 Coca-Cola is, like, the headquarters is in Atlanta,
08:38 so somewhere in this box is some Coca-Cola,
08:41 and I have to guess which one is the real thing.
08:46 Here we go.
08:47 Should I go left to right?
08:49 I shall.
08:51 This feels so strange.
08:53 It's like one big juice box.
08:55 ♪♪
08:59 Nah, that's Dr. Pepper.
09:01 Right?
09:02 Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
09:04 Okay.
09:05 ♪♪
09:10 Okay.
09:11 ♪♪
09:17 [ Laughs ]
09:18 Can you tell I really drink a lot of Coca-Cola?
09:22 Hmm.
09:23 ♪♪
09:28 That's Coca-Cola.
09:30 [ Ding ]
09:31 [ Applause ]
09:34 [ Laughs ]
09:35 ♪♪
09:38 So, Waffle House is really and truly an Atlanta staple,
09:43 and there are some things that you definitely order
09:46 when you go to Waffle House,
09:47 be the hash browns, the hash browns be poppin'.
09:51 So, we're gonna go over all the ways
09:53 you can order your hash browns.
09:54 Smothered, if you're like me, you love onions,
09:57 and that's just so delicious.
09:59 It just makes them really, like, flavorful, in my opinion.
10:02 Covered is when your hash browns are covered in cheese.
10:06 Now, some might think that that sounds a little gooey,
10:10 but don't knock it till you try it.
10:11 Chunked is with that ham in there,
10:14 a swine, as my grandmother would say.
10:17 As you could imagine, the juices from the swine
10:21 gives it that thing.
10:23 Diced is grilled tomatoes with the hash browns.
10:27 That's a vibe, too.
10:28 Peppered is with jalapenos.
10:30 You got a little bite to it.
10:32 Capped is with grilled mushrooms.
10:34 I just remembered an NBA All-Star
10:37 where I had some hash browns with chili.
10:40 That is top.
10:42 Country is with gravy,
10:44 and all the way is with everything.
10:48 I like to order my hash browns with chili and jalapenos.
10:51 And if you're really having a good day, add the cheese.
10:55 Cover that thing up.
10:57 And if you're really having a great day,
11:00 add the onions, too, and get the waffle.
11:03 That waffle is so good.
11:04 Thank you so much for watching.
11:06 I hope you had as much fun as I did,
11:08 and I hope to see you in Atlanta.
11:10 You got to visit my city.
11:11 ♪♪