Chick-fil-A Bowl: DBR's very own ATL Visitors' Bureau

[Channing]

The corner of Piedmont Rd. and Pharr Rd., NO QUESTION. Corporate-owned location and always on top of its game.

Seconded

I liked Hudson's Grille, they have a large selection of draft beer, lots of TV's and a good menu. It's also a short walk to the dome.

Hudson Grille has become very corporate and underwhelming.

I have kids, ages 10 and 12, and so am looking through that lense at Atlanta activities.

Top of the list:


- Atlanta Aquarium
- Coca-Cola Museum (World of Coke?)
- MLK Museum and Church
- Carter Presidential Library/Museum
- Little Five Points - great strolling and shopping area
- Turner Field tour
- Piedmont Park


Is the Buckhead Diner still around?

Aquarium is awesome, Coke museum is fun; MLK Museum and church are educational and close enough to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market where you can do them both at the same time (anyone with an exciting palate should check out the Sweet Auburn Curb Market); Buckhead Diner is still great.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Food options that are uniquely Atlanta and near-ish to downtown:

(1) Fox Brothers BBQ
(2) Paschals (the original location was a hangout for Dr. King and the civil rights movement; consistently excellent fried chicken)
(3) South City Kitchen (this is in Midtown but has the best fried chicken in the city IMO, though it is a bit more upstcale)
(4) Pampas Steakhouse. This, surprisingly, is not a well known restaurant in Atlanta. It is about 45 minutes north of downtown, but, I think, is one of (if not the) only steakhouse in the country to get a 29 for food from Zagat.
(5) 6 Feet Under (there is one in Grant Park and one in West Midtown - both have great views of Atlanta if weather permits sitting on the upstairs deck, and serve very good casual fare).

If anyone is looking for anything in specific please feel free to message me directly. I've lived in Atlanta my entire life and love sharing the city with visitors.

[gotoguy]

I have kids, ages 10 and 12, and so am looking through that lense at Atlanta activities.

Top of the list:


- Atlanta Aquarium
- Coca-Cola Museum (World of Coke?)
- MLK Museum and Church
- Carter Presidential Library/Museum
- Little Five Points - great strolling and shopping area
- Turner Field tour
- Piedmont Park


Is the Buckhead Diner still around?

I second the recommendation of Dantanna's in the CNN center for better food than Stats.

The Buckhead Diner is still open in Buckhead though not near Marta. Still excellent food for the (big city) price.

For you out of town beer afficionados I highly recommend the Brick Store Pub on the court house square in Decatur. Its a short walk from the Decatur Marta station, east west line. Not to be missed. Same owners around the corner at Leon's for a bit more eclectic food selection.

For Breakfast try Thumbs Up on Edgewood, cash only and a short cab ride from the downtown hotels. A bit farther and on Howell Mill on the westside is West Egg.

Live music and PBRs in bottles at night just down the street is the Northside Tavern on Howell Mill.

For a big steak dinner where cost is no object pregame or Monday night try Kevin Rathbun Steak in the MLK district near downtown. In Buckhead for steak it's Bones or Chops.

For those looking for hotels check out hotels in the Midtown area near the 10th Street, 14th street and Art Center Marta stations. Easy access to downtown and more interesting nightlife if arrving a day or two early.

Residence Inn ,the Ardmore, and at the higher end $$$ the W and Loews are a few

[Channing]

Live music and PBRs in bottles at night just down the street is the Northside Tavern on Howell Mill.

If you have any affinity for the blues this is a must if you can swing it. The place is the definition of a dive, but it is an amazing place to spend an evening (it is also very very smokey).

[wilson]

(1) Fox Brothers BBQ
(2) Paschals (the original location was a hangout for Dr. King and the civil rights movement; consistently excellent fried chicken)
(3) South City Kitchen (this is in Midtown but has the best fried chicken in the city IMO, though it is a bit more upstcale)
(4) Pampas Steakhouse. This, surprisingly, is not a well known restaurant in Atlanta. It is about 45 minutes north of downtown, but, I think, is one of (if not the) only steakhouse in the country to get a 29 for food from Zagat.
(5) 6 Feet Under (there is one in Grant Park and one in West Midtown - both have great views of Atlanta if weather permits sitting on the upstairs deck, and serve very good casual fare).

If anyone is looking for anything in specific please feel free to message me directly. I've lived in Atlanta my entire life and love sharing the city with visitors.

Agreed on all counts except Six Feet Under. It's an institution of sorts and still a cool place, but I think their kitchen has really gone downhill in the last year or two. Specializes in seafood and can be good but has gotten hit-or-miss.

For you out of town beer afficionados I highly recommend the Brick Store Pub on the court house square in Decatur. Its a short walk from the Decatur Marta station, east west line. Not to be missed. Same owners around the corner at Leon's for a bit more eclectic food selection.

In the same neck of the woods and again with some overlapping ownership, there is Twain's, which makes very good, straightforward bar food, has pool tables, shuffleboard, and the like, and brews its own beer (specializing in ales) in-house. My favorite place in town.

I too am happy to provide local counsel if anyone wants or needs. Like Channing, I love sharing our fair city.

[FerryFor50]

Uh, Chick-Fil-A?

Hello??

[Reilly]

Uh, Chick-Fil-A?

Hello??

The first time I ever heard of/had Chick-fil-A was at ... Northgate Mall, Durham, NC. College broadens one's horizons.

[BigWayne]

I have kids, ages 10 and 12, and so am looking through that lense at Atlanta activities.

Top of the list:


- Atlanta Aquarium
- Coca-Cola Museum (World of Coke?)
- MLK Museum and Church
- Carter Presidential Library/Museum
- Little Five Points - great strolling and shopping area
- Turner Field tour
- Piedmont Park


Is the Buckhead Diner still around?

Adjacent to the zoo, the Cyclorama is a unique destination I would recommend highly.

[rasputin]

In 1996, This actually happened to me, except it was the two different McDonaldses, in the afternoon, in Danville, Virginia. Her name was Christi and she played the violin. She lived in Lynchburg, but had a dentist appointment down there for some reason, so the plan was to get her teeth cleaned and then see me.

Shortly after, she met a boy who was more conservative than I was, so that was that. Happens a lot in the South. Liable to happen at Liberty. I think she later transferred to Eastman, that's how good she was on the violin. Her parents had smuggled fresh mangoes back from the Caribbean.

Oh, she also borrowed my 1992 Deutsche Gramophon recording of Pelléas et Mélisande and never returned it. I have a mind to look her up on Facebook and ask for it back, just to mess with her, but I think it will amuse me more if I wait until it's been twenty years. I suppose I need to get a new recording of Pelléas et Mélisande.

Man, the wealth of stories that are going to die with me. Cherish this while ya can, y'all. I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time.

What's the statute of limitations on Carmina Burana?

[throatybeard]

What's the statute of limitations on Carmina Burana?

I knew exactly where it was until we moved. But since then...I'd rather buy you a new copy than pay myself minimum wage to find it. What I do know is that it's not with my CDs. I had a small stack of something borrowed, books and a couple CDs. It was a specific place just for things we had borrowed from people. My wife has since hidden those items somewhere.

_________

OK, this is hilarious. To me anyway. I had a vague recollection of a visual of this CD, and I went to look for it. It was under a pile of clothes no one wears because she's too skinny for them and I'm too fat.

So I have your Carmina Burana CD. I have placed it in my backpack, which is the one place I know is safe from my wife moving everything around and hiding it from me.

Throaty's possession of Rasputin's CD: (March 2008-?)

_________

I second, third, and seventeenth the endorsement for the Brickstore Pub.

[BigWayne]

Uh, Chick-Fil-A?

Hello??

Well actually, the very first location is near the ATL airport and is an interesting step back in time.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chick-fil-a-...ouse-hapeville

[Edouble]

Adjacent to the zoo, the Cyclorama is a unique destination I would recommend highly.

Right up there with The Varsity, Mary Mac's, and Underground Atlanta, as far as places that poor, unsuspecting tourists get sucked into. A complete snooze fest! Avoid at all costs!

Best BBQ in the city, for those that love good Q (in order)... Daddy Dz, Heirloom, Fox Bros.

I second the recommendation of Six Feet Under.

Two great gastropubs that I go to all the time:

The Porter in L5P--best beer selection in town, and it's not even close.
Young Augustine's in Cabbagetown/Grant Park. Shirt rib grilled cheese is the best sandwich in the city.

[Edouble]

http://www.fellinisatlanta.com/fellinis_locations.html

Ponce de Leon location is the best NY style cheese slice in the world (not a joke). Open 'til 2:00 AM. Hit it after the game, win or lose!

[wilson]

http://www.fellinisatlanta.com/fellinis_locations.html

Ponce de Leon location is the best NY style cheese slice in the world (not a joke). Open 'til 2:00 AM. Hit it after the game, win or lose!

And CHEAP. That was our high school weekend ritual. You can still stuff your face there for like six or seven bucks.

[throatybeard]

If you have any affinity for the blues this is a must if you can swing it. The place is the definition of a dive, but it is an amazing place to spend an evening (it is also very very smokey).

What's the current legal status of smoking in bars/restaurants in Georgia?

[Channing]

To allow smoking a restaurant or bar has to limit itself to only allowing patrons over 18 (I think is the age) so virtually all restaurants (except for the Vortex) are smoke free. Most bars are also smoke free (of their own volition, not legally), though some still do allow smoking.

[Atlanta Duke]

Consider the Sweetwater Brewery Tour - it is just north of downtown off I-85

Now that Georgia has thrown off the yoke of no alcohol Sundays I think the tour is on both December 29 and 30

http://sweetwaterbrew.com/brewery/tours/

[burnspbesq]

I knew exactly where it was until we moved. But since then...I'd rather buy you a new copy than pay myself minimum wage to find it. What I do know is that it's not with my CDs. I had a small stack of something borrowed, books and a couple CDs. It was a specific place just for things we had borrowed from people. My wife has since hidden those items somewhere.

_________

OK, this is hilarious. To me anyway. I had a vague recollection of a visual of this CD, and I went to look for it. It was under a pile of clothes no one wears because she's too skinny for them and I'm too fat.

So I have your Carmina Burana CD. I have placed it in my backpack, which is the one place I know is safe from my wife moving everything around and hiding it from me.

Throaty's possession of Rasputin's CD: (March 2008-?)

_________

I second, third, and seventeenth the endorsement for the Brickstore Pub.

In case it disappears again, the definitive (IMO) recording of Carmina, the one from the 1960s on DG that features Janowitz and Fischer-Dieskau, is still in print.

[JasonEvans]

Best BBQ in the city, for those that love good Q (in order)... Daddy Dz, Heirloom, Fox Bros.

Preach on, brother! Heirloom Market, which is almost impossible to describe as it appears to be part of a quick-e-mart gas station, has some truly amazing BBQ. It is not easy to get to and is in the Northern suburbs, nowhere close to downtown. You will probably drive past it three times before you actually find it. Here is what it looks like --


Anyway, it is worth the trek and is just a mile and a half from my house, so stop on by and say hi! Ha!

I also cannot understand how this discussion of culinary options around Atlanta has not dealt with the city's burger joints. I think Atlanta has some of the best burgers in the country. Grindhouse and Vortex are awesome and both are part of the downtown/midtown scene so they are easy to get to. Vortex is a real experience in terms of the clientele. If you want something a bit more upscale, I like the tuna burger at Flip. There are three or four Flip restaurants around town. If you go, you must try one of their crazy milkshakes. My kids swear by the Krispie Kreme milk shake which tastes just like you are drinking a doughnut.

-Jason "If you want a real experience, go to Anne's Snack Bar for a burger. You'll have to wait an hour or more to be seated but it has been called the best burger in America" Evans

[Eakane]

Yes, and it's still as good as ever.

Buckhead Diner has the 2nd best burger in town, behind the Vortex. Other good restaurants near the Diner are Kyma (get the fish, any fish, prepared in lemon and olive oil) and if you're really hungry and ready to pay, Fogo de Chao is a neat Bralzian Steak house/experience.

Great steaks can also be had at Chops or Bones, and Ruth's Chris does a nice filet for a chain.

Forget waffle house, head for the aptly named, Chicken and Waffles in downtown on Peachtree. Gladys Knight (of GK and the Pips fame) is the owner/operator. Ask for the night train. Three ginormous fried wings and a waffle.

Best strip club would be Cheetah, with what I'm told is a good steak place within it, but honestly, who eats at a strip club? Atlanta has GREAT talent, but do yourself a favor and stay away from the Jack Shacks and Massage Parlors.

Great ribs are at Fat Matt's Rib Shack on Piedmont.

Awesome dim sum on weekends only at Hong Kong Harbor.

Best little Family Italian -- Nino's on Cheshire Brige. get the spaghetti al'olio.

In the mood for a cuban? Try little Havana on Buford Highway off of I85. In fact head up Buford Hwy into Little Vietnam and stop at any place that has s ign that says "Pho."

For a view, choose Nicolay's at the top of the Hilton over the sundail at the top of the Westin. Much better food but also more pricey. Sundial does rotate, so that's a nice touch, but the food is awful.

The Imperial Fez is a good time and a good meal.

Best french meditteranean is at Atmosphere on Piedmont. Get the escargot.

Best Meat and Two -- Carver's, on the west end.

If you have the $$$, Bachanalia on Howell Mill.

Stone Mountain is great for the kids, as is the Zoo (we've got Pandas).

Avoid the Underground unless youi enjoy being overcharged for bad food.

Atlanta is a great city for foodies. Tell me what you're in the mood for and I'll make a recommendation

[wilson]

P\\If you want a real experience, go to Anne's Snack Bar for a burger.

Ann's is the Gospel truth. One of the three best burgers I've ever had, and fills you up for like 2 days.