Where Flavor Meets Purpose

This week’s AFRO Table brings together food, culture, and community in powerful ways. We spotlight an AFRO News feature that explores how food continues to shape connection and resilience across the Black community, then head to Midtown Atlanta for our feature on Crescent City Kitchen, where Creole-inspired brunch meets meaningful community giveback. We also introduce this week’s Taste Maker, Shaunda Necole, whose bold, soulful approach to cooking celebrates confidence, comfort, and flavor without compromise. Together, these stories remind us that food is not just what is on the plate, but how we show up for one another.

Where New Orleans Meets Atlanta: Crescent City Kitchen’s Brunch With Purpose

In Midtown Atlanta, where bold flavors and cultural creativity thrive, Crescent City Kitchen has quickly become a standout destination for all-day brunch. Inspired by the culinary soul of New Orleans and the dynamic food culture of Atlanta, the Creole-influenced restaurant offers a dining experience that feels celebratory, comforting, and unmistakably intentional.

In just over a year, Crescent City Kitchen has elevated the city’s brunch scene with inventive takes on Southern and Creole classics. At the center of the buzz is the croffle, a croissant-waffle hybrid that delivers crisp, caramelized edges with buttery, flaky layers inside. Alongside this signature creation, the menu reads like a love letter to New Orleans flavor, featuring Cajun Jambalaya Pasta, Voodoo Eggrolls filled with crawfish, shrimp, chicken sausage, and mozzarella, soul rolls packed with kale greens, creamy mac and cheese, and candied yams, plus fried salmon and lobster bites, French Quarter French Toast, Yea Yea Snapper, Surf & Turf Cajun Fried Rice, and Louisiana Red Beans and Rice Bowls.

Behind the restaurant is Crystal Drakes, a seasoned culinary and hospitality professional with more than a decade of industry experience. From 2015 to 2021, Drakes worked at Sysco Atlanta, collaborating closely with chefs, restaurant owners, and foodservice leaders across a wide range of operations, from independent restaurants to school food programs and high-end retirement communities. In 2020, she transitioned from operations into restaurant creation and development, co-founding Culinary Connect and ultimately bringing Crescent City Kitchen to life. Her expertise spans concept development, menu design, training, operations management, and customer experience, all of which are reflected in the restaurant’s polish and warmth.

But Crescent City Kitchen’s impact extends far beyond the plate. During last year’s government shutdown, when millions of families nationwide faced the loss of food assistance, including approximately 1.5 million people in Georgia, Drakes took action. Recognizing that one in six households in Fulton County relies on SNAP benefits, she launched a Community Giveback Monday initiative throughout November. Each Monday, the restaurant opened its doors to families affected by the loss of benefits, offering not only dine-in meals but also essential household items such as hygiene products, cleaning supplies, gift cards, jackets, and more.

That spirit of care continued into December, when Drakes and her team hosted a Santa’s Workshop at the restaurant, honoring 100 handpicked families. These families were fed and gifted with bikes, toys, and holiday essentials, transforming Crescent City Kitchen into a space of generosity and joy during a difficult season.

he restaurant’s efforts did not go unnoticed. Drakes and Crescent City Kitchen were featured across Atlanta media, including Atlanta News First, 11Alive, WSB-TV, ATL Live, and FOX 5 Atlanta, highlighting the restaurant’s commitment to community during a time of widespread need.

At Crescent City Kitchen, the food is indulgent, soulful, and rooted in tradition, but the mission is just as powerful. It is a place where brunch becomes a bridge between culture and care, and where hospitality means showing up for the community as much as delighting guests at the table. For Midtown Atlanta, Crescent City Kitchen is not just a restaurant. It is proof that great food, when paired with purpose, can nourish far more than an appetite.

This week’s Taste Maker is crescent, a bold, flavor-driven creator known for her unapologetic love of comforting, crave-worthy food. Through her work, Shaunda blends solid technique with lived-in kitchen wisdom, delivering recipes that feel indulgent, approachable, and deeply satisfying. Her cooking philosophy celebrates confidence over perfection, encouraging home cooks to trust their instincts, embrace rich flavors, and enjoy food that is both soulful and nourishing. Whether she is elevating a classic or sharing a no-nonsense weeknight favorite, Shaunda’s voice and vision make cooking feel joyful, empowering, and deliciously real.