ATLANTA — Atlanta has long been considered the capital of the New South. It boasts the world’s busiest airport and 16 Fortune 500 companies. It is a black entertainment mecca. So many movies are shot here that people call it Y’allywood.

Getting traction as a great restaurant city has been harder. It has been tough to compete with neighbors like Charleston, S.C., New Orleans or that sexy food upstart, Nashville. As a national food contender, Atlanta never had the culinary firepower or customer base of New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Diners made do with a parade of meals at local or national chains, punctuated by the occasional steak in a pretty room.

But now, as the nation’s infatuation with Southern food matures and Atlanta’s recession-battered economy recovers, a city that often looked over its shoulder for culinary validation and inspiration is coming into its own.

Over the last couple of years, a record number of new and independent restaurants have opened. Especially in the urban core — what people here call intown Atlanta — veteran chefs and newcomers alike have taken advantage of cheap rents and a growing cadre of good line cooks who don’t feel the need to prove themselves in bigger ponds.