Root of the Matter
just for the trip through the gentle, almost impossibly beautiful hills, many flanked with tidy lines of tended grapevines. Or for the visit to the vintage movie set that is Augusta. It’s worth it just to sit in that early 20th-century home, much of it still original, cozy, and nestled under giant trees, surrounded by gardens that practically demand a stroll. It’s worth it for those cocktails, weird and to enjoy the luminous artwork, a la Thomas Hart Benton, like the mural outside and the magnificent portrait of a sycamore inside. It’s worth it, you realize, even before you have a single plate set before you at Root Food + Wine, the best new restaurant we visited this year.
