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Places to eat in Atlanta

Places to eat in Atlanta

[info]squeaky
9/7/07 03:47 pm
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Hey I am going to be in Atlanta all next week and I was wondering if anyone knows of any place to get a good meal. There has got to be at least 1 or 2 of you on my f-list that live in or around there.

Specifically I'm looking for local Atlanta places not generic national type chain places. Also one thing specificly I need to find is a good place to get some really spicy buffalo wings.
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  • [info]jlsigman
    9/8/07 12:51 am (UTC)
    I don't live there, but one of our offices is there, and one place I always love to eat is the Cheesecake Factory. There's also a nice but pricy seafood restaurant right next to it. It's off 285 north... unfortunately, I can't get too much more specific than that, I was driven there by someone else.

    Hope that helps!

    • [info]squeaky
      9/8/07 12:56 am (UTC)
      Cool, Im looking more for local places than chains, but I'll look for the seafood place you're talking about.

  • [info]aristoboule
    9/8/07 01:36 am (UTC)
    I live in Atlanta! I can get you links for these places when I get home tonight.

    There aren't any chicken wing places that really stand out, and the places I liked the most that had them are all gone. Depending on where you're staying and if you have a rental car, these would be my local-only picks:

    Top Spice: Thai/Malaysian food, some hard-to-find dishes, good service, good wine list.

    Meskerem: Ethiopian (Amharic) food. Excellent tibs and sambusas, and they do have some extra-spicy dishes. Best Ethiopian in Atlanta, IMO.

    Istanbul Cafe: Turkish food like you'd find in Turkey. They also have manti (lamb dumplings) that are so labor intensive to make that they're even hard to find in the real Istanbul! Great service and atmosphere.

    The Depeaux: Hot new Cajun restaurant. I don't like Cajun, but my husband and one of his friends have said it's very good. It's in a refurbished train depot.

    Hae Woon Dae: Very good Korean food that is scorchingly hot. Their bulgogi is AWESOME.

    I LOVE Fogo de Chao, but that is technically a chain. More when I get home!

    • [info]squeaky
      9/8/07 03:06 am (UTC)
      Awesome! The more the better

      • [info]aristoboule
        9/8/07 03:48 am (UTC)
        Aside from the wings, what kind of food do you like? And will you be in Midtown, Buckhead, outside the Perimeter?

        And here are some reviews/menus of the places above:

        Top Spice
        Meskerem
        Cafe Istanbul
        The Depeaux
        Hae Woon Dae

        Also:
        Atlanta Fish Market (very good, some usual stuff)
        Fogo de Chao (technically a chain, but AWESOME and highly recommended)

        • [info]mistress_mab
          9/8/07 08:20 pm (UTC)
          Seconding Fogo! It's expensive, but never really crowded and has an AWESOME salad bar.

          The really good wing places? Are in the not so nice parts of town to be honest, but my friends and I always liked the Wing Ranch on Johnson Ferry (Ashford-Dunwoody off of 285).

          http://www.wingranch.com/

          I don't really consider it a chain since there's only 2. ;)

          • [info]aristoboule
            9/9/07 05:14 am (UTC)
            YES! That salad bar is serious crack, and a vegetarian friend of mine LOVES it (even though her husband's a total carnivore... like the rest of our group). Hahaha, don't ever go there on a Friday or Saturday at 7 to 8 PM -- seriously crowded, argh.

            And Kyma, next door, is also LOVE!

        • [info]squeaky
          9/13/07 05:57 pm (UTC)
          We actually headed over to the wing ranch in DeKalb(i think) last night, but got distracted by an intriguing looking cajun place next door (Back to the Bayou or something) and it was amazing. They had a cajun paella that was great! Full of crawfish, gator tail, shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage .. mmmmmm

          • [info]aristoboule
            9/13/07 07:38 pm (UTC)
            Wow! I hadn't heard of that place before, but my husband and his friend love Cajun -- I'll have to tell them about it! There's also an Emeril's in town, but I wouldn't recommend it. The sommelier is awesome, but the food is slow and insanely expensive.

            • [info]squeaky
              9/13/07 07:43 pm (UTC)
              This place was awesome and cheap I would absolutely recommend it.

              • [info]aristoboule
                9/13/07 07:48 pm (UTC)
                Will do! I take it you're going for the Wing Ranch tonight? I've not been there, and our favorite wing place closed about 5 years ago, sadly.

                • [info]squeaky
                  9/13/07 07:55 pm (UTC)
                  Nope, don't know what we are doing tonight. I looked at it and it wasn't what I expected at all. Kinda want a sit down kind of place after class.

                  Our class is up in Dunwoody (I think it is called) even though the directions say atlanta. Kinda a pain in the ass to get out of here in the afternoons, if you know of any good places close to here that would rock! Maybe some good Mexican

              • [info]aristoboule
                9/13/07 08:32 pm (UTC)
                Okay, I know where Dunwoody is -- and yeah, it's "metro" Atlanta. we actually live in Decatur but it's easier to just say Atlanta!

                As far as Mexican, I know of some places (like any Los Bravos, those are a locally-owned group of restaurants) but not many up there by name. You're probably close to Chamblee-Tucker road, and there a TON of authentic Mexican (and Asian) restaurants up there.

      • [info]aristoboule
        9/9/07 05:03 am (UTC)
        Some more:

        Mary Mac's Tea Room (Husband recommended this; it's been in Atlanta for a looooooooooong time and serves Southern food.)
        Brick Store (Another husband recommendation. Atlanta's -- and the region's, really -- only Belgian beer bar. One advantage to this place is that it's easily accessible from MARTA, so if you don't have a car you can probably still get there. Expect it to be packed.)

        More of mine:
        Sotto Sotto (Italian. Fritti, next door, is also good according to mah husband. HIGHLY recommend getting reservations.)

        Watershed (The shrimp and cheese grits are VERY good. They have brined fried chicken on Tuesdays, but it's sold out early. One -- possibly both -- of the Indigo Girls owns it, and will sometimes serve your food.)

        Yeah... we don't go out. EVER. XD

        • [info]squeaky
          9/10/07 05:25 am (UTC)
          Thanks for all the great ideas, I'm sure there is enough there for me to find a new place to eat every night. Just looked at my itenerary and I'm going to be staying right outside Olympic Park.

          Forgot to ask, do you know anywhere around there that serves good english and irish ales (i.e. Newcastle, Bass and the like)?

          • [info]aristoboule
            9/10/07 05:51 am (UTC)
            Twains (according to the husband) is the best English-style beer in the city. They brew it themselves, but don't filter it or inject it with CO2 and age it just like English beer. It's in Decatur, but you could easily get there on MARTA -- it would take about a half hour or so if you don't have a car, and would probably be easier. Also, it's within eyeshot of Depeaux.

            He also thinks that McCormick and Schmick at CNN is probably going to be the closest place to get good beer. There's not a whole lot down around that area, and it's a chain, but at least it's good!

        • [info]squeaky
          9/12/07 04:52 am (UTC)
          We went to The Brick Store today .. that place freaking ruled .. awesome beers and really good food!

          • [info]aristoboule
            9/12/07 05:22 am (UTC)
            YAY!!! I'm glad you went early because say around 9 PM or so? INSANE.

            I also forgot about Java Monkey, which used to be owned by one of the guys who owns the Brick Store. It's more college crowd than anything else, and is a bigger wine and dessert place. They have cakes by Southern Sweets, which is the local bakery that sells desserts to all the high-end Atlanta restaurants that's sort of the big town "secret."

            There's also the James Joyce in Avondale (walkable from our house, about 2 miles from the Brick Store) that is an Irish-style pub and they have trivia on Thursday nights.

  • About 9,000 miles further down the road...

    [info]snapetoy
    9/8/07 12:41 pm (UTC)
    I can't give you recs for Atlanta, but I can give you a whole stack for Sydney and regional New South Wales if you're ever heading to my corner of the world! *tempts*

  • [info]britneyleague
    1/7/08 06:39 pm (UTC)
    I know this is way too late but if you ever go to GA again you should go to the Varsity. There are only like two or three and there are in Ga.
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