Meet Farzana Zerin | Content Creator and PhD Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Farzana Zerin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Farzana, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am from a beautiful country in Southeast Asia called Bangladesh. It is a small country with big flavors. Culture, traditions, food, people, and all in all filled with a zest for life. Add to that the love of my family and their inspiration, molded me into the person I am today. However, if I must be specific about the origin of my outgoing nature and love for the new, then I must give homage to all the restrictions and social expectations I faced while growing up. Counter-intuitively it was the lack of freedom that made me love it so much. When I was younger, the extent of my reach was getting lost in travel, art, and cultural shows. Then the magical thing called growing up happened and I finally could invest in what I always loved. Traveling, trying new food, experiencing various cultures all seem a bit more within a reach now. Of course, I am still a prisoner to some of my old habits and accommodate all my addictions within reason.

One of the biggest shifts in my life happened when I moved to the USA specifically Atlanta, Georgia. It was 2014, and as sad I was to leave Bangladesh, I was also excited to experience this next chapter of life. Despite all the differences, the US did not come as a culture shock to me. I lived with my uncle and aunt for the first few years. They helped me understand and blend into the fabric of the US. From then, I had a clear idea of what to expect in the upcoming years.

I always wanted to avoid becoming a robot to the monotonous routines of academic life. This fear pushed me to seek and find life in a different light. The very step into the U.S. was magical with the cities, the people, the food, and the diversity. Everything required a snap, a moment of appreciation. In the beginning, it was taking pictures of food cooked by my uncle and aunt. Then I met my best friend, Rez. He and I used to hit various food spots, of course on a student budget. We always looked for the mom-and-pop, hole-in-the-wall spots, or cheap eats. It might sound silly but it was through food that I first saw the U.S. as the melting pot of the world. It is the various cuisines, the people behind the meals, and the cultural experience when we walked into a food spot. It felt like every one of those moments deserved acknowledgment.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What do I do? I create content that reflects who I am. I am not a fancy person, I am down to earth and my content surrounding food, culture and travel reflects just that- budget friendly, hole in the wall, adventurous, authentic, and occasional fancy experiences. I wouldn’t go as far as considering it art but if pouring my heart out and doing something I enjoy can be considered so, I guess then it is some form of art.

The intention is never to compete or be unique from any other content creators. The goal has always been to be completely and honestly myself. I do understand that in this day and age it can be difficult to achieve. Finding your own voice and letting your creativity flow in a way you want it to, can sometimes be restricted by the noise that surrounds us. There are set standards, magic potions and rules that people always push but I try to tone down that noise so I can create something of my own. This has been a struggle but an adventure at the same time. This process of finding myself has shown me what I am good at and my weaknesses.

Honestly, excitement would be a better word than proud. I am still not at a point where I am proud with my output as a content creator. I believe there is so much more that I can offer and I am still getting there. What excites me is this journey of creating the next best content,

Unless you are extremely lucky like winning the lottery, life is not easy. And I believe an easy life lacks the colors and beauty of living. I have moments of difficulty, moments of happiness, sadness and all the emotions in between. Finding your own voice, add the responsibilities of being a PhD student and maintaining relationships, is difficult but its also colorful. The way I tackle it, is by doing what I love to do. Content creating, going to new places, travelling- are all an elaborate coping mechanism to fight off these difficulties.

I am writing my story everyday, so it is difficult to pin point exactly what I want the world to know about me. But if I do have to say one thing, I just want to say that there is a life beyond the 9-5 paradigm. Going out to try a new cuisine or may be a food truck can be an adventure worth remembering. If you are struggling in life with work like I was and I still do, just know that may be even a 30 minute detour can make things way better than you can imagine.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Atlanta has so much to offer, so I feel like a weeklong trip would not be enough for me to show my best friend all my favorite places. But if I really have to pick out a few, I will start with Gwinnett County.

Monday Breakfast would be like getting bakery products from Grand Polish Bakery in West Pike Street and then going to Boulder Creek Coffee in Lawrenceville Downtown. If my friend is still hungry, I would make a stop at Adriatic Grill to grab some Chevapi. For lunch, we will definitely go to El Dorado in Pleasant Hill, it is a tiny Mexican restaurant that is always packed. They have the best cabeza tacos and pretty looking molcajete. We would then go to Rozana Restaurant and Hookah Lounge in Lilburn to chill while smoking some grapefruit and mighty freeze hookah. Monday Dinner will be at Kabobs House in Old Norcross Road. They have $1 Chinese Kabobs that taste super good. I will also get the Hot and Numbing Chicken pot to share. Finally, we will end the night with a Thai Bubble Tea from Quickly.

For Tuesday breakfast, I am sure my friend will love some sweet and savory buns from Sweet Hut in Duluth. For lunch, I really want to take them to Dan Moo Ji located in Duluth (5-6 minutes from Sweet Hut). They have the best kimbap in Atlanta, I always order the spicy chicken and spicy grilled chicken kimbap, they are only $5 each. At that point, we will be super full, but we can’t skip a good soft serve from Cafe Matcha Maiko. For Tuesday Dinner, we will most likely end up going to La Brasa Rustica in Peachtree Industrial. It is a small family-owned business, they serve one of the best Peruvian Chicken ever! I love the Chaufa de Vegetales with the chicken and some Peruvian hot sauce!

We will start driving towards Fulton County on Wednesday for brunch. First stop will be at Beef Grill- in my opinion, it is the best Brazilian Steakhouse near Atlanta. You can eat as much as you want for $15. The tenderloin and the garlic beef is to die for. In between brunch and dinner, we will be hanging out in Marietta Square and see the cute little stores. Not too far from there, I like a sushi spot called Sushiology. They are great for dinner because the restaurant has a nice vibe, and the food is delicious. Before going home, I would absolutely love a cocktail from St. Julep Rooftop Bar in Midtown Atlanta.

Thursday Brunch will be at Mary Mac’s Tea Room because anyone who visits me in Atlanta, that’s where I take them to try Southern Food. My favorite is their fried green tomatoes, chicken liver, beef pot roast and fried chicken. We will head over to Alon’s bakery in Dunwoody because it is a cute spot with fresh bakery products. I like their cheesecake a lot and its just fun to find new snacks there. For dinner, I will take them to Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft. They have a garlicky chicken fried rice which is great, the dumplings are very spicy, so I love them, and they do a good job on their curries. We will also take pretty pictures in their patio; you can see the skyline from there. Since I will be in Buckhead, I would love to end the night at Drawbar in Bellyard- they have gorgeous looking cocktails and a breathtaking rooftop.

As I love Bangladeshi food, so I would definitely want my friend to try different items from Bangladeshi cuisine on Friday for brunch. All the cool Bangladeshi spots are located in Buford Highway- first stop will be at Bismillah Café, to pick up $1 chicken and veggie samosas. Then we will go over to Al-Amin Restaurant for Paratha, Dim Bhaji (Fried Eggs) and Mixed Veggie- all Bangladeshi style. My meals always need some type of meat, so I usually like to get an order of goat curry from Purnima Bangladeshi Restaurant. Once I have all the food, I like going over to the Dekalb Airport and just eat there like a picnic brunch. If my friend is not too tired, I will take them to Decatur square because it is a chill place to walk around. We will then head over to Thrill Korean BBQ for dinner. I like that they give lots of sides compared to other Korean BBQs and the restaurant has a fancy vibe to it. Our first party in Atlanta will be at Tongue and Groove, we will try to head over their by 10:30pm because most Fridays there is no cover charge if you go before midnight. They are known as the best nightclub in Atlanta, and I totally agree with that.

If we are lucky and not hung over, I would love to take them to Sun in my Belly for Saturday brunch. Since there is too much eating in our schedule, I bet my friend would like to walk around in Atlantic Station or even Ponce City Market. Ponce City is an Atlanta thing, so I highly recommend going there. Dinner will be at Atlanta’s best burger spot- Vortex Bar and Grill. My favorite is the Hells Fury Burger, I recommend the sauce on the side because you will most likely be crying halfway through your meal. One great thing about Saturday night is you can find $4 shots at Moondogs. It is always free entry, but the line is super long, once you are inside- there is just too much to do. After we are drunk and tired, I will take them to El Ray Del taco for late night mini tacos. El Ray has the best tripa, asada, pollo and mushroom tacos- you can’t forget the green sauce because everything tastes 10X better with it.

I am already sad writing this part because Sundays are emotional as the weekend is coming to an end. To make the day not emotional, we will go over to Madras Chettinaad for weekend special brunch, it is $13.99 for all you can eat. Then I’d love to take them to walk around in Avalon and Halcyon. These two places are not too far from each other and has aesthetic vibes. If at some point we are craving dessert, Jeni’s Ice cream is a must- my favorite is the Brambleberry Crisp and the Brown Butter Almond Brittle. The last meal of the weekend will be at Sufi’s, they have the best Chicken Koobideh Kabobs. The kabobs are super juicy and buttery. Before heading home, I would love to show my friend the Battery, we probably won’t be super hungry, but I always love to check out the Asian Night Market there. If we could somehow have one more meal that night, I would love to grab some hot chicken tenders from Hattie B’s later at night.

As I said earlier, there’s just too much to do in Atlanta- I would insist my friend to stay an extra day so we could go visit the three beautiful Falls located in North Georgia! Tallullah Gorge State Park, Minnehaha Falls and last but not the least Amicalola Falls State Park.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Where I am in life and where I am going has a lot to do with the people around me. I am lucky to receive continuous love and support from my surroundings. Even that simple compliment that took a person 15 seconds to type made my entire day and forget my struggles. Or, that brief recognition from the server saying, “Omg! Aren’t you guys Atlanta Foodies? I see your videos all the time” made me instantly energized and inspired to make the next content. Such support and smiles are the recipes behind the content I create.

I am also very happy to have a like-minded partner in my crime, my BFF Rez. There are days when I don’t even feel like getting up from my bed. But Rez is always hyping things up and pushing to go places, foodie events, or just a cute spot for making some content. This gets me all excited. He and I both believe in supporting local small businesses and have similar tastes. This similarity and his efforts make my life so much easier. Also, being a Ph.D. student means deadlines and a lot of stress. Rez is understanding and supportive even during those stressful times. Most importantly, he has been there for me every single day for the last 7 years. Therefore, that one person who I would love to dedicate this shoutout to is Rezwan Rafid, my best friend and one of the most amazing people I have ever met.

I also want to give a shoutout to my former Yelp community manager, Christina Venditti. She believed in me and reached out to me about the Yelp elite nomination. That changed a lot of things for me. The countless viewers of my content, who inspires me to create the next one and the next one. I wish I could meet every one of them. Also, people who gave me a chance to work and create content for them. Moreover, a shoutout to my friends for bringing so much energy to every single trip that we plan together. They make the travel-related content more exciting.

Last but not the least, is the support of my family because they always make me feel like I can do anything in the world.

Instagram: instagram.com/atlanta_diaries

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farzana-zerin-287459200/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FarzanaZerin2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atlantadiaries

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=rU23YJOYGpwwi5azzA7IKQ

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBF5LnwwOJr0dbyGsJ1vpzQ/featured

Other: Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdBay187/

Image Credits
Rezwan Rafid
Elliott Fuerniss