My wife will be in ATL for work in late September and I am thinking of flying down to meet her and making a weekend of it. Never been to ATL, don't know much about it except that the cool neighborhoods are all spread out and MARTA sucks. Any advice?
Atlanta?
#1
Posted 26 July 2016 - 01:50 PM
#2
Posted 26 July 2016 - 02:00 PM
My wife will be in ATL for work in late September and I am thinking of flying down to meet her and making a weekend of it. Never been to ATL, don't know much about it except that the cool neighborhoods are all spread out and MARTA sucks. Any advice?
MARTA's fine... there's just not enough of it...
Whatcha wanna do while you're there?
- NewMarketSean likes this
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
#3
Posted 26 July 2016 - 02:08 PM
Drink and eat, mostly....I am sure she'll want to browse some shops, walk around and just take in the scene.
#4
Posted 26 July 2016 - 02:17 PM
Drink and eat, mostly....I am sure she'll want to browse some shops, walk around and just take in the scene.
Lots of great places to eat... since you've only got a couple nights there, lemme think about it and get back to you...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
#5
Posted 26 July 2016 - 02:17 PM
MARTA's fine... there's just not enough of it...
Whatcha wanna do while you're there?
Yeah, that's mostly my thought. Though there were a few sketchy moments.
Buckhead is the big happening area.
Downtown you can do the tours of CNN, Coke... and go to the Aquarium (extremely nice). Also enjoyed the Zoo.
Definitely spread out.... takes awhile to get anywhere.
Lots of great restaurants....
#6
Posted 26 July 2016 - 02:45 PM
#7
Posted 26 July 2016 - 06:28 PM
Drink and eat, mostly....I am sure she'll want to browse some shops, walk around and just take in the scene.
The Vortex isn't joking when they claim to have an amazing burger. From classic hamburger, to 4 patties stuffed between grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches with fried egg...and everything in between. Got a bit of a gothic or emo theme, making it a unique experience.
Also for the sports fan, the College Football HOF is there.
#8
Posted 27 July 2016 - 07:09 AM
Lots of great places to eat... since you've only got a couple nights there, lemme think about it and get back to you...
For a fine dinner...
Bacchanalia: One of my favorite restaurants on the entire planet. Sometimes reservations must be made months on advance, sometimes not. Even if they're booked, it sometimes works to see if they've had cancellations. Try to book early and often.
Rathbun's: (I keep thinking "Rathman's", but it's not.) The owner/chef made his name in the biz from opening a long list of well-known ATL restaurants. He finally got tired of doing it for other people, so he opened his own place and put his own name on it. The menu has way too many items on it, and every one I tried was great. It's as if he decided he wanted to show everything he could do, so that's what he did. I could not imagine going nuts over somebody's creamed corn, but I went nuts over his. (He's also got a steak house under his name, but I know nothing about that place... except I trust the guy to use his name carefully.)
Other well regarded places:
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
#9
Posted 27 July 2016 - 08:27 AM
It's somewhat a chain, but Ted's Montana Grill is a favorite of mine. There's a location near the CNN building. The bison burger melts in your mouth. I highly recommend it.
The Varsity is a place everyone should experience once, just for the massive size of the counter and the history. The hot dogs are better than the burgers. It's near Georgia Tech. Just don't expect it to be the greatest food you've had.
The aquarium is huge and worth a visit. The Olympic area nearby is cool with the water fountains that go off every half hour or hour. I'd imagine the College Football Hall of Fame is completed by now, but obviously I've not been there.
The MLK site is my favorite part of Atlanta. His grave is there, the museum is inspiring and you can stand in the church he pastored.
Another thing I've done around there is visit the Kennesaw Mountain civil war battlefield site. It'll require a drive. The cool thing there was that confederate trenches are still visible on the hill, winding their way around. I walked up the hill, imagining what it was like for the union troops to approach those trenches, and it was chill-inducing. Probably the most memorable civil war site I've visited for that alone.
#10
Posted 27 July 2016 - 10:14 AM
I haven't been to Atlanta in over 10 years, other than changing planes in the airport (ugh). But the Coca Cola museum was cool and worth the time. There's a great BBQ joint called Dave Poe's, but it's out in Marietta, and traffic there being what it is might not be worth it depending on where you're staying. No trip to ATL was ever complete without a stop at The Gold Club, but I think it may have closed, and your wife might not be into that anyway.
Guess that's not much help. Sorry.
#11
Posted 28 July 2016 - 01:13 AM
It's somewhat a chain, but Ted's Montana Grill is a favorite of mine. There's a location near the CNN building. The bison burger melts in your mouth. I highly recommend it.
It's Ted Turner's post-CNN biz...
The Varsity is a place everyone should experience once, just for the massive size of the counter and the history. The hot dogs are better than the burgers. It's near Georgia Tech. Just don't expect it to be the greatest food you've had.
Jesus, the Varsity... how could I possibly forget? You gotta go there...
It opened in the '20's, just a few years after John Heisman left town after his 16 years coaching GT (he left in order to not embarrass his wife by staying in town after their divorce)... it's just a short walk from Bobby Dodd Stadium (oldest FBS football stadium, and the most home wins of any)... they put the interstate in between them, so you have to walk across the bridge if you wanna sneak into the stadium and nose around...
Since the Varsity opened, it's been closed exactly 1 day... the day after the owner died...
They say they're the world's largest drive in...
Two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2500 pounds of potatoes, 5000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily.
The city was gonna put the place on the historic register... until the daughter came in with a demolition permit in hand and dared them to dare her to knock it down... (it's sitting on some very valuable real estate)... they backed up in a hurry...
Just forget about how you think a hot dog should be... get yourself 2 chili dogs... they come with chili and yellow mustard... ask for onions, they'll put some diced onions in wax paper for you to put on your dogs... some folks prefer the slaw dogs, but anything other than a dog is a step in the wrong direction... also, for 2 people, share one order of fries and one of onion rings... for a drink, get a "FO" (= frosted orange = orange milkshake)... for desert, order yourself a fried pie... I think the peach one is better but some folks prefer the apple version... for 2 of you, get one of each and swap bites...
To eat, take your orange tray and choose a place to sit... you can choose from a handful of individual rooms with lots of orange plastic chairs with desktops attached to them, each room with a TV tuned to a given channel (ESPN's and local)... or you can grab a seat in large open areas that have lots of plain ol' booths and tables...
Asking if it's good is entirely beside the point... it's The Varsity...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
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