| Did a friend forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday. |  | | | By Henri Hollis | | Food & Dining Reporter | | | | | | | | | Hi, food friends, I went to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta Falcons’ 2026 season food preview earlier this week, and it raised a major question: Why don’t more venues adopt their fan-friendly pricing model? Since the stadium opened, the organization and owner Arthur Blank have been lavished with praise and positive PR for their reasonably priced concessions. A domestic beer costs $5, not $18. A hot dog costs $2, and so does a soda, which comes with unlimited free refills. The chefs, who work at the stadium and deal with the crowds, told me they love the low food prices. As one chef pointed out, anyone can cook a hot dog at home. People instinctively bristle at paying more for a single hot dog than they do for a whole pack at the grocery store, and it prevents them from buying other food items. The chefs said that their low prices give them more freedom to experiment than at typical stadiums; fans are more willing to try the fun, creative food options when they know they can get a hot dog for two bucks. The Falcons did not share any numbers, but it’s hard to imagine they’re not making any money from concessions. In a business as ruthless as the NFL, losing money isn’t tolerated. The Falcons food pricing policy seems to be a rare win-win-win: Fans absolutely love it, employees appreciate it and it appears to be making money. The Falcons haven’t raised food prices in nine years. Why hasn’t this caught on elsewhere? Of course, now I’m spoiled by the prices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Every time I buy a beer at another venue, the price gouging seems more obvious. Each purchase puts distance between me and my team because it’s a reminder that, instead of a fan whose support is valuable, I’m just another number to be crunched. Have you been spoiled by the prices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, too? Why do you think this model hasn’t been broadly adopted? You can reach out to me directly at henri.hollis@ajc.com with tips, thoughts or questions for the AJC’s food and dining team. | Mercedes-Benz Stadium showcases new food ahead of Atlanta Falcons season opener |  | | Senior executive chef Matt Cooper torches a steak at a media event showcasing new food and beverage options at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, ahead of the Falcons home opener. (Arvin Temkar/AJC) | | No matter what happens with the Atlanta Falcons on the football field this season, Mercedes-Benz Stadium continues to dominate the food and beverage game with its unique approach to concessions. Stadium officials introduced this year’s Falcons menu lineup Tuesday, several days ahead of the team’s home opener against the Carolina Panthers. They highlighted new food items for the season, including a few outrageous dishes like the rack-o-rib volcano and a dangling cowboy rib-eye, as well as the continuation of fan-friendly pricing, which keeps food prices among the lowest at any NFL stadium. A few of the new themed items include a gold rush tri-tip sandwich to be served at the San Francisco 49ers game, made with a golden barbecue sauce, and a fried grouper sandwich to be served during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. A Maryland crab mac and cheese will be served at the Baltimore Ravens game. The spectacular rack-o-rib volcano is available to all fans at the Molly B’s concession stand just inside Gate 2 of the stadium. The dish is made by rolling up a whole rack of ribs and pinning it so it forms a cylinder, which is then filled with mac and cheese. It’s served over a bed of potato chips for $24, executive chef Sam Bishop told the AJC. 🏟️ Read more: How low food and beverage prices and creative menu items continue to earn accolades for the venue. | | A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR AEG PRESENTS | | | Andrea Bocelli “Romanza – 30th Anniversary World Tour” | | |  | | We are so thrilled to announce that Andrea Bocelli will be bringing his Romanza 30th Anniversary Tour to Atlanta on February 2, 2027.🌹 Tickets available now. | | | | The Week's Essential Food and Dining Stories  | | Explore Italian cuisine at 3 new restaurants on the edges of metro Atlanta | | | |  | | 5 recipes to make at home for Hispanic Heritage Month | | |  | | 7 Atlanta food pop-ups this week, featuring a growing Vietnamese and Laotian pop-up | | | |  | | Funwoody celebrates 5 years and more from metro Atlanta’s dining scene | | | | Beyond BuHi: 4 international restaurants to try across metro Atlanta |  | | A sushi platter at Nakato. (Courtesy of Nakato Japanese Restaurant) | | Immigrant restaurant stories are rarely linear. When it comes to international food in Atlanta, the history behind each restaurant is likely to be a long, twisting tale. Discover the stories behind these metro Atlanta restaurants. 📍 Bellina Alimentari & Rina Kitchen Bellina Alimentari was restaurateur and Oliva Restaurant Group founder Tal Baum’s love letter to the years she spent in Italy, but Rina is a tribute to the family, recipes and flavors that shaped her in Israel. Named after her grandmother, the casual Beltline restaurant is built on memories, cooking techniques and dishes passed down through generations. Its signature falafel and creamy hummus are based on original family recipes. Fresh herbs, vegetables, spices and tahini define the menu’s approach to Middle Eastern cuisine. Bellina Alimentari. 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-330-9933, bellina-alimentari.com Rina. 699 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-343-0362, rinakitchen.com 📍 La Bodega Market & Pupuseria In a cheery outdoor space with picnic benches surrounded by flowers and produce in Atlanta’s Sylvan Hills, Ken Katz and Jeannette Flores-Katz have recreated the atmosphere of the communal gardens from the city of her youth: San Salvador, capital of El Salvador. The design, location and menu represent an evolution of their first restaurant, Buenos Dias Café, which opened at Georgia State University in 2012 but closed eight years later amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Flores-Katz’s favorite pupusa, the Revuelta, features chicharrones made from local pork chosen for its resemblance to the flavor she grew up with, along with black beans and cheese. 1975 Sylvan Road SW, Atlanta. 404-809-4158. labodegaatl.com 📍 Nakato Japanese Restaurant The longest-running Japanese restaurant in Atlanta may be on its third generation of ownership, but generations of diners have a determined immigrant to thank for its existence: Tetsuko Nakato. She opened the iconic restaurant in 1972 before passing it to her daughter, Hiroe Nakato, who later handed control to her daughter, Sachi Nakato Takahara. After falling in love with Atlanta while visiting the South, Nakato moved from Japan to buy what was then Caruso’s and open a restaurant. Fifty years later, her instincts have been proven right time and again. The restaurant remains one of the city’s premier teppanyaki destinations and features one of the only authentic tatami dining rooms in the United States. 1776 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, Atlanta. 404-873-6582, nakatorestaurant.com 🍽️ Read more: Dive deeper into the stories behind restaurants and food businesses founded by immigrants. | Upcoming Events | | | | | | | After the Blind Pig Parlour Bar closed in Buckhead in January, it was unclear whether its popular Halloween pop-up, the Wicked Pig, would live on. The Wicked Pig will return this year to Tin Lizzy’s. The Midtown location will be decked out with Halloween decorations, spooky cocktails and themed food. | | | | | | | BBQ & Bourbon Football Watch Party | | | | | Catch this weekend’s University of Georgia football game at Smith’s Olde Bar with a special lineup of food and drinks. Atlanta chef Todd Richards will join “Bar Rescue” TV star Jon Taffer for a football watch party with barbecue from Richards and Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon. Guests can purchase a $25 ticket for one of Richards’ entrees. | | | | | | | | | | | Chef Jarrett Stieber of Little Bear will join chef Sebastian Vargas at Fum for a chef collaboration dinner focused on hyper-local ingredients and global techniques. Expect to find dishes like sourdough focaccia and sesame seeds with chicken liver custard; grilled butternut squash with labneh, pickled onions and squash seed gremolata; and a 15-day dry aged New York strip. Reservations are recommended but walk-ins are welcome. | | | | | | More From Food and Dining  | | Linton Hopkins to open new Buckhead restaurant, plus the return of the Buttery | | | |  | | Salsa on the Square and more: 15 things to do in metro Atlanta this weekend | | |  | | At Seed Atlanta, the plants are almost beside the point | | | |  | | 5 frozen treats that go beyond the ice cream scoop in Atlanta | | | | Use a sheet pan and your broiler for the quickest eggplant Parmesan |  | | It's possible to get eggplant Parmesan cooked in less than half an hour. You'll just need to employ a sheet pan and your broiler. (Aaliyah Man for the AJC/Food styling by Kate Williams) | | September is the perfect month for eggplant Parmesan. Eggplants are abundant and the slight bit of crispness in the air (emphasis on slight) means a warm, cozy meal is welcome — as long as the oven doesn’t have to be on for too long. And it’s possible to get eggplant Parmesan cooked in less than half an hour. You’ll just need to employ a sheet pan and your broiler. 💡 Broiler cooks eggplant quickly with little mess Cooking the eggplant is often the messiest and most time-consuming step of making eggplant Parmesan. Traditional recipes bread and pan-fry eggplant rounds before layering into a casserole, but this is not truly necessary. The eggplant simply needs to be cooked through, and you can do that under the broiler. Simply season eggplant rounds with salt, drizzle with oil and stick under the broiler for 6 to 8 minutes a side. Two 1-pound eggplants will fit on a single sheet pan; a few rounds may overlap and/or stick off the sides of the pan, but once they start to cook, they’ll shrink and will fit in a single even layer. 💡 Combine Parmesan and panko for flavor-packed breading layer While the eggplant cooks under the broiler, prepare the breading. Toasting panko in a bit of olive oil ensures each bite will be golden brown, and the additional oil will bring a bit of pan-fried flavor to the breadcrumbs. I like to stir the Parmesan into the panko after toasting to make sure it gets evenly dispersed over the eggplant in the assembly step. 💡 Assemble in a single layer to cook quickly Instead of moving the cooked eggplant into a separate casserole dish for assembly, keep the rounds on the sheet pan. A single, relatively thin layer of eggplant Parmesan will finish cooking much more quickly, plus you won’t have to wash an extra dish later. The best order for assembling eggplant Parmesan on a sheet pan is a little different from a traditional recipe. Instead of adding the breading directly to the eggplant, you’ll pour the sauce over the rounds and then top with the breading mixture. This order helps the panko adhere and still allows it to retain some of its crispness. Finally, top with fresh mozzarella cheese and then pop it under the broiler until everything is hot and browned. It only takes minutes. ⏱️ Get the full shortcut recipe on the table in less than 30 minutes. |  Follow us on Instagram | | | |
