5 things to eat in Atlanta before it’s too late
Jane and Michael Stern, the couple who brought us the acclaimed “Two for the Road” and Gourmet’s “Roadfood,” have a new book out, called “500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them.”
It’s basically a grand look at dives, BBQ joints, clam shacks and meat-’n'-threes across America. I was happy that Champlin’s Seafood and Allie’s doughnut shop were included from Rhode Island, and that Atlanta’s Silver Skillet got a nod for its lemon ice box pie.
It made me think of the things I would want to have — one last time — when that time comes.
61 North Ave., Atlanta. 404-881-1706 (other locations in metro area and Athens)
I talked about the Varsity last week, too, but if I were really going to never be in Atlanta again, I’d have to have a meal here — a hot dog with chili and mustard, onion rings, a “big oange” and a fried peach pie. If I ever get to heaven, the fried peach pies from the Varsity will surely be there to greet me — only there, they’ll come sans fat and calories.
1198 Howell Mill Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-365-0410, Ext. 22
If there is one fine dining establishment that has truly set the bar for all others in Atlanta, it’s this award-winning beauty (pictured) on the West Side of the city. Ann Quatrano and Clifford Harrison have built in Bacchanalia a place for repast with some of classiest, freshest and sustainable food available not just in Atlanta, but the country. The menu changes with the seasons, and many of the ingredients come fresh from the couple’s farm, Summerland, in Cartersville. Go, relax and enjoy.
755 Hank Aaron Drive, (404-614-2311
Actually, the boiled peanuts I love — and I love me some boiled peanuts — are “on the outside” of Turner Field, as my sister has taught me to say. She knows more about the Braves than Bobby Cox. The hawkers just up Ralph David Abernathy have the best boiled peanuts for the game, and once inside, buy a beer and you’re good to go. Heck, get a hot dog, too.
MISS ANN’S
1615 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, 404-687-9207
The giant burgers that Miss Ann pats out by hand, then serves up with a mess of bacon, chili, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup — and she takes her time doing it — didn’t make the Stern’s list, which surprises me. But whatevah. I wouldn’t want to miss a last bite of the gobby mess now known as the “ghetto burger.”
3165 Buford Highway, Duluth. 770-623-8569
I wish I had the time to go to Rexall Grill once a week, but I don’t. But I send folks from out of town looking for some real Southern cooking there all the time. From ham to mac-n-cheese, the girls behind the grill cook things up right. Just remember to save room for peanut butter cake for dessert.
accessAtlanta Partner Sites
Sections
Advertise on accessAtlanta.com »
Reach the audience you want by advertising on accessAtlanta.com
Join the Access Atlanta Network »
Advertisers and Publishers, expand your reach by joining the Access Atlanta Network.
Tell us what you think about the site
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement | About our ads
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
69 comments Add your comment
Old School
June 26th, 2009
8:43 am
Daddy D’z barbecue. Love the Q-wraps and even our 4 year old grandboy asks for the collard greens.
Larry
June 26th, 2009
8:47 am
Sorry but that ghetto burger is the most over rated piece of crap ever. The only thing else that is over rated is the Varsity, which serves food that tastes like what I got in elementary school cafeterias… I dont understand how people can put up with it let alone love it.
JB
June 26th, 2009
8:51 am
A BBQ sliced pork samwich on toasted white bread from Harold’s is about the best thing to eat on earth…… wish I could get to it weekly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Art
June 26th, 2009
8:53 am
Michael Jackson’s death at 50, heck even Farah Fawcett at 62, does make one think about that “last supper.” I would agree with you on the The Varsity and Bacchanalia but would have to get my “Cue Fix” somewhere before my time came… say Swallow in the Hollow or Pig-n-Chik… And there would have to be sweet tea and lots of it… maybe from Chick-fil-A of all places… I find myself spending a lot of time in their drive-thru’s on these hot summer days.
Becky
June 26th, 2009
8:57 am
My last meal wouldn’t come from a restaurant..It would be fried porks chops, fried potatoes, corn on the cob and hot buttered biscuits..With sweet potato pie for dessert..
Andy
June 26th, 2009
9:01 am
I agree with Larry about the Varsity. It’s greasy, it’s small and not very substantial. Every time I have been there, the amount of fat that supplants taste makes me physically ill. Not good. I have heard Ann’s is overrated before, but I have yet to go there. That being said, I understand the nuance of someone WILLFULLY treating you poorly at their place of business, but I choose not to patronize such a place. What ever happened to service with a smile? Not service when I am damn good and ready.
Check out Uptown Breakfast in Roswell for the best benedicts and Tara Humata for margaritas and chips.
Pete Townshend
June 26th, 2009
9:06 am
Wish I had gone to Larry’s elementary school … and that he could get a tongue transplant, because obviously his ‘buds are on the fritz.
Scoutmamma
June 26th, 2009
9:17 am
Once upon a time, I too, would have listed the Varsity in my top picks. But after having eaten there this past Monday, I was sadly disappointed. It’s just not the same. Now, as far as the best burgers…go to George’s in Virginia Highlands. It ain’t “ghetto”, but it sho is tasty….
Name (required)
June 26th, 2009
9:35 am
I will never understand the obsession with boiled peanuts. Nothing like eating something with the consistency of sinus-infection snot, and about the same taste. Peanuts should be roasted, or mashed into butter.
South Georgia
June 26th, 2009
9:52 am
Boiled peanuts is shore ’nuff good eatin’.
Becky
June 26th, 2009
10:01 am
Boiled peanuts are to die for…Do you eat boiled orka? Now that stuff is nasty…
jakesdad
June 26th, 2009
10:36 am
Mellow Mushroom – yes, they’re all over the SE now but they started here!
HCCynic
June 26th, 2009
10:56 am
Harold’s BBQ!!!
I need a fix and it is about lunch time…See you there!
Babs
June 26th, 2009
11:11 am
The Varsity is some of the WORST food I have ever had.
South Georgia
June 26th, 2009
11:12 am
What would get my post removed for heaven’s sake?
South Ga.
June 26th, 2009
11:14 am
What about my comment could possibly have been remotely offensive?
Money
June 26th, 2009
11:19 am
Say Becky, are you married?!? You hit the nail on the head with that homemade masterpiece of a meal!!!!!
Becky
June 26th, 2009
11:52 am
Money, yeah I’m married..Going on 16 years now..
But hey, if you have enough money, maybe we can talk..LOL
Just Me
June 26th, 2009
12:11 pm
A chick fil a sandwich, with ketchup, a large waffle fry and a large sweet tea. Now that’s worthy of a last meal!!!!
“Whadayahave, whadayahave?” “An order of heartburn with a side of indigestion, please.” « Gwinnett County Nonesuch
June 26th, 2009
2:26 pm
[...] Things to Eat in Atlanta Before It’s Too Late.” The Varsity is on the list. Read it here. « Should Schools Be Able to Conduct [...]
sthop456
June 26th, 2009
6:13 pm
Already gone: Lums for hotdogs boiled in beer and clams and Olley’s trolley for the “Ollie Burger”. Older native Atlantan’s know what I’m talkin’ ’bout.
OldTimer
June 26th, 2009
7:05 pm
Love the Varsity.
Jenn H
June 26th, 2009
7:31 pm
Varsity is nasty. I heard all the hype and visited and didn’t even finish my meal. The hamburger was dry and the hot dog tasted three days old. I’ve had better chili from a can.
Old School
June 26th, 2009
7:34 pm
Mmmmmmm… Lum’s hotdogs steamed in beer and piled high with sauerkraut! Their french fries with the seasoned salt were also to die for. Thanks for reminding me of great food & good times, sthop456!
jon
June 26th, 2009
8:17 pm
As long as we are time traveling, how about the fried chicken and biscuits at Johnny Rebs. It was around Union City, I think.
janet
June 26th, 2009
10:27 pm
Any thing prepared at the Five Seasons Brewing in Sandy Springs. Fresh, seasonal and organic…what a way to leave the planet.
joe
June 27th, 2009
3:12 am
I have been living overseas for the past decade and sure do miss good ol’ Georgia soul food! At this point I would pay top $$$ for a home-cooked meal of buttermilk fried chicken, black-eyed peas and collard greens with pepper sauce, fried okra, squash casserole and cornbread, with a tall glass of iced tea…followed by peach cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream. Man o’ man, my mouth starts waterin’ every time I think on it. Anybody know where I can find a meal like that next time I drop in?
p.s. My great Uncle Ralph “Hot Papa” Wages was said to make the best BBQ hash in the state when he used to work out at the Athens Country Club. Wouldn’t mind to have some o’ that either. Mmmmm-mmm GOOD!
raven
June 29th, 2009
12:31 am
tora fugu or tiger blowfish is on the top list. there is only one restaurant in Atlanta that served it. check out yasu japanese bistro.
gmeanie
June 29th, 2009
9:03 am
the tomminator at fox bros bar-b-q!
Becky
June 29th, 2009
1:34 pm
sthop456, Oh my..My first job (as a cook) was at Lums..I was 17, started as a waitress, one day the regional manager came in and I had to be his server..Talk about scared to death..A few days after he left, my manager called me into his office and told me that per the regional managers request, I was gonig to train to be a cook..This was at the one on S.Cobb Dr..My older brother cooked at the one on Roswell Rd. I also rememeber Ollie’s burgers..
reservoirDAWG
June 30th, 2009
1:54 pm
What is a Tomminator?
Meridith Ford Goldman
June 30th, 2009
2:43 pm
Dawg: A tomminator is a BIG plate of tater tots smothered in brunswick stew and cheese. Available at FOx Bros. Barbecue.
reservoirDAWG
June 30th, 2009
3:26 pm
That sounds good. I’m not a big fan of their BBQ, though.
Robert
June 30th, 2009
10:31 pm
All these people complaining about the Varsity are obviously not native Atlantans. As someone that grew up on the Varsity, it definitely makes my top 5 list. And as far as the dogs being 3 days old, well, that’s just plain wrong since it says right on the side of the box that they don’t serve any food over 12 hours old.
dan.....k
June 30th, 2009
10:33 pm
Places in Atlanta you have to eat before you die…
1.Pancakes @ Rias Bluebird
2.Biscuit @ Biscuits and More/Fagans Biscuit Barn
3.BBQ @ BBQ1
4.Meat and three @ Carvers Country Kitchen
5.Dinner @ Rathbuns
Honorable mention: Pastries A Gogo, Varsity, Vortex, Daddy Dz, Swallow at the Hollow, Baccanalia
Coastal Cavalier
June 30th, 2009
10:36 pm
I’m glad someone mentioned Ollie’s Trolley. I have mentioned them to several people and they look at me like I am slack eyed. An Ollie burger and fries now that was good eating…
Coastal Cavalier
June 30th, 2009
10:37 pm
I am also glad other share my rather low opinion of The Varsity.
Grant Park Kirk
June 30th, 2009
10:39 pm
Last meal? Go for the delicious buttermilk fried chicken and taters at Agnes and Muriels in Midtown. Or maybe the succulent Fish n’ Chips and Belgian pint at Decatur’s Brickstore.
bigwheel
June 30th, 2009
11:10 pm
Larry and Andy prefer each others weenies, go back to NY!
Southside Native
June 30th, 2009
11:11 pm
What the heck is Big Orange??? Whenever I go to The Varsity, and shame on y’all for picking on an Atlanta landmark, I always order an F.O., or Frosted Orange. They change the menu on me?
Techfan
June 30th, 2009
11:11 pm
just give me Carrabbas all day long
A. Greaseman
June 30th, 2009
11:12 pm
Larry, Andy, Babs, & Jenn H need to get back to yankeeland where they belong.Please allow me to add in the words of the late,great Lewis Grizzard, “Delta is ready when you are.”
Mel on a car phone
June 30th, 2009
11:19 pm
I’d stop by Cafe Pig in Peachtree City for some BBQ and Brunswick Stew.
bearinatlanta
June 30th, 2009
11:57 pm
Grant Park Kirk obviously hasnt been to Agnes and Muriels in a long time, Its CLOSED. New owners ran it into the ground and it closed months ago.
MOT
July 1st, 2009
12:18 am
Hey Mr./Ms. Name Required: if you have eaten boiled pnuts as you describe, they were not done right, in fact it sounds like you got mixed up with boiled okra. A boiled pnut done right is not soggy, it is just right firm just right amount of salt, and when done right you can’t eat just one. But boiled pnuts like grits and other southern delicacies get fixed wrong many times by non-natives (like grits with sugar and cream????? eeewwww gross, no wonder those poor yanks think they are nasty…they ARE like that!!!)
We used to have a dependable source for good boiled pnuts, the man in Stone Mountain village, but that was years ago. We have since had to resourt to fixin our own b/c apparently there is NO one who knows how. I am guessing that they buy canned boiled pnuts which are already on the mushy tasteless side and then boil them some more with salt and water, to say they are fresh boiled, so yes you would end up with a snotty consistancy. Sorry that had to be your first (and probably last) experience with a boiled pnut.
E
July 1st, 2009
1:51 am
Sorry, Robert but as at Atlanta native (well, lived here since age 3, now 38) I have to agree with others on here about the Varsity. It is just god-awful. For nostalgia, you can’t beat it and once every two or three years I will think, oh, it can’t be as bad as I remember…I’ll go, get a slaw dog, a chili dog and onion rings, eat a bite of each then toss it out and cry at having wasted $7 on that sludge. Fun for people watching, but take your own food or just get a coke.
For me, some of those RDA boiled peanuts and some BBQ from Harolds, original Pig n Chick or Swallow at the Hollow would make the list of Atlanta “last meals” for sure!
dagnabit
July 1st, 2009
6:01 am
down with the varsity and go to the swallow in the hollow.
party pooper
July 1st, 2009
6:20 am
varsity does suck
Fat Johnny
July 1st, 2009
6:55 am
Fresh Air BBQ in Jackson, GA (since 1929)
Native
July 1st, 2009
6:57 am
For all you Varsity haters……You HAVE to admit that the onion rings can’t be beat…nobody does onion rings like the Varsity- Say what you will about the dogs/ but you gotta give it up for the rings! And anyone who don’t like boiled peanuts…you aint a true georgian!
ms c
July 1st, 2009
7:20 am
Ollie’s Trollley was the BOMB.
FORMICA DINETTE
July 1st, 2009
7:36 am
HEY! ANYBODY REMEMBER THE HONG KONG ON LUCKIE STREET? THE SOUTHERN CLUB ON 11TH? THE RIO VISTA?
THESE ARE THE ONES I REMEMBER MOST AS GOOD EATS.
wendy
July 1st, 2009
1:28 pm
Amen to the Fresh Air BBQ in Jackson!! I grew up eating their BBQ and haven’t found a pork sandwich or brunswick stew anywhere that’s even close! They also have locations in Macon and Athens. The Athens location is a great stop for Bulldog tailgating food.
Becky
July 1st, 2009
2:43 pm
There is still a Rio Vista in Jackson and Griffin..
Is there anyone from the Cobb County area that remembers George’s Steaks on Atlanta Rd. Steak to die for..So tender,that you could cut it with a fork..
amy
July 1st, 2009
5:05 pm
burger from the Vortex and Pulled Pork BBQ from swallow at the hollow on their homemade texas toast!
Computerblue
July 1st, 2009
5:40 pm
Best onion rings on the planet? Beacon Drive In in Spartanburg SC. WOW. For my last meal, I’d have to leave Atlanta… I’d either hit Lotus Pond in Clemmons, NC (their crispy scallion chicken rocks) or the Main Stream Fish House in Dallas, TX — they had (argh, just found out they closed) a tomato butter sauce that was to die for — you could’ve eaten old shoes with that stuff.
Sophia
July 2nd, 2009
8:15 pm
You have to try the Marietta Diner on Cobb Parkway in Marietta. Reasonable prices with generous portions.
Pat
July 2nd, 2009
8:34 pm
The best meat and 3 in the city is Barbeque Kitchen on Virginia Avenue near the airport. Awsome biscuits! Another good one is the OK Cafe at the corner of West Paces Ferry and Northside. Gotta love their homemade corn muffins! No Jiffy Mix there!
nicole
July 2nd, 2009
8:50 pm
I have lived in Duluth 13 years, Rexall is definitely overated!! Give me Dillard’s BBQ on Buford Hwy
junebaby
July 2nd, 2009
10:14 pm
i would love to have a burger from ollie’s trolley, with all the special sauce they used to dress em’ with. a hot dog from the cart that used to set up in the old central park downtown. and fruity sweet tea to wash em’ down. man.. i could eat that everyday for the rest of my life! forget about my health.
Nicky
July 2nd, 2009
11:23 pm
The Vortex! Love, love love their burgers and even the chicken sandwich. AND the tater tots can’t be beat! Great people watching opportunity as well. Midtowm is my favorite but Little Five Points will do in a pinch…
Regrets
July 3rd, 2009
1:00 am
I sure did miss out. I was in Atlanta with my band and we had a bunch of time before our gig. I was really looking forward to some local authentic cuisine. So where did we end up? At one of those combo taco bell / KFC places. I kid you not. Reading this article and the comments make me want to weep for my loss.
ATL NATIVE
July 3rd, 2009
4:22 am
KC BBQ in Sandysprings is pretty good. Busy Bee, Landons, Pelgreens is where you can get that buttermilk chicken. Marietta Dinner overrated, Buckhead dinner overrated and the Ghetto Burger has no taste. Still looking for the best STEAKS around, Chicago’s in Marietta have a good ribeye, and prime rib. Prime in lenox is OK, I am headed to Rathbuns nextweek check his out. Ruth chris does a great prime rib. Still looking for a good aged steak any suggestions>
ADL
July 3rd, 2009
8:00 am
I am a Southerner, born and bred, but nothing from the Varsity beats a Nathan’s hot dog!!!!
Dubbs
July 3rd, 2009
8:28 am
To Atl-One of the best filets ever….Hal’s at old ivey.
Bob
July 3rd, 2009
8:33 am
My first trip to the Varsity was in 1960 when I drove from Nashville, TN in my Candy Apple 1957 Corvette. Thought I was in heaven. Moved to Atlanta a year later and never looked back. Still go to the Varsity but not more than once a month, still watching my weight and health.
My next favorite is Baccnanalia. Having dinner there tonight. Don’t go there as often as the Varsity, too $$$$$$$$$$
Jake
July 4th, 2009
3:47 pm
Here’s some good places to eat in Atlanta:
-R. Thomas Deluxe Grill
-Slice
-Flying Biscuit Cafe
-Matthews Cafeteria
-Red Snapper
-Savage Pizza
-Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
-Greenwoods on the Green
-Dominick’s
-McCray’s Tavern on the Square (Cool patio on the roof)
-Capri Italian American Cafe (Call ahead very small)
-Burger Joe’s
-O K Cafe
-Eats (Off Ponce)
-Thai Restaurant of Norcross (Not the best area but amazing food)
New to ATL
July 5th, 2009
11:55 pm
From the Mid-west to the West Coast now in the South I thank you for the suggestions on places to eat here and near to ATL. PS. you folks sure like to fight. LOL
Thank You
Perfect Moment Project
August 11th, 2009
12:58 am
Oh yeah. We spent a wonderful morning at The Flying Biscuit recently.
Take a look at the photos. Flying off the plate biscuits. Definitely my last meal in Atlanta:
Sometimes you just gotta have a biscuit