Meat and 3s?

August 28, 2006 8:28 AM

More Atlanta: I moved to Atlanta from Boston 3 months ago. My parents are flying in from NH tonight and this will be their first time below the Mason Dixon line. I'm looking for recommendations on good lunch and dinner restaurants to entertain them at.

They're New England suburban parents who are usually at home at an Applebee's, but I want to take them somewhere, well, nicer. I will be taking them to the Flying Biscuit, but would like to know where fellow Atlantans would take their parents.

posted by Constant Reader to food & drink (18 comments total)

Mary Mac's on Ponce. That's where I take my relatives from New York when they come visit.
posted by deadmessenger at 8:40 AM on August 28, 2006

If your parents like barbecue, take them to Dusty's Barbecue. Daddy D'z is also awesome.

Both are non-chain places serving the type of authentic southern barbecue that's probably hard to come by in Boston. Oh, and they're definitely lunch places rather than dinner places -- they're quite informal, in that classic-barbecue-joint way.
posted by adrian_h at 8:40 AM on August 28, 2006

The Varsity? (i.e. the big downtown one.) It's not necessarily classier, but it's fun and retro. And there's Mary Mac's on Ponce de Leon for home-style Southern.

Don't necessarily think upscale -- though Atlanta has its share of posh nosh -- but more along the lines of 'you're not in NH any more'.
posted by holgate at 8:43 AM on August 28, 2006

Oh, and they're definitely lunch places rather than dinner places

Should have added that: you'll usually find better BBQ and home-style food on lunch menus, because the places don't feel the need to tart things up for a dinner crowd.
posted by holgate at 8:47 AM on August 28, 2006

The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle (40 m east of Atlanta, more or less) is yummy. The homestyle food is buffet style, and the restaurant itself is a period Greek Revival mansion, smack in the middle of the historic district. When you're done, drink your tea in the rockers on the porch.
posted by headspace at 8:53 AM on August 28, 2006

When my dad was here in June we definitely had breakfast at the Biscuit and since it was Father's Day, we went to Chops up in Buckhead for dinner. We also went to Shout at Phipps that weekend because I figured with the small plates/big variety, he'd find something he likes. Neither of those are particularly daring but the food was good and he's a really picky eater. He also liked the ribs at Fat Matt's.
posted by superkim at 9:01 AM on August 28, 2006

One more suggestion - The Colonnade on Cheshire Bridge has excellent food, although the neighborhood can be a bit... interesting.
posted by deadmessenger at 9:10 AM on August 28, 2006

Dante's Down The Hatch is a VERY neat place. They serve fondue... you order one of several different platters of raw food, and cook it yourself in a hot oil cooker on the table. Live jazz most nights. A lot of the seating is on a ship, although I'm not clear whether or not it's a real ship, a prop, or something in between. (The size is about right, so it could easily be real.)

If you're looking for a place they'll tell their friends about when they get home, this is a GREAT choice. The food is good (as long as you follow cooking directions :) ), and the atmosphere is second to none. Disney restaurants don't look this cool.

The Blue Willow Inn is also good. It's a long drive, but it's a pretty good spot to take tourists, as the food is very Southern. (ie, not fancy, but good.) I probably wouldn't bother more than once or twice, though.
posted by Malor at 9:13 AM on August 28, 2006

Atlanta is a city unto its own, so maybe try some Atlanta hotspots that aren't neccessarily southern flaired. How about Manuel's, fifty year old bar that is the unoffical home of Georgia Democrats.

Varsity! Home of heartburn and cashiers yelling at you.

Walk through Virginia Highlands and pick a place that appeals to you. There are lots of lovely and quaint places sprinkled through out the city for a neighborhood feel.
posted by stormygrey at 9:58 AM on August 28, 2006

For breakfast, there is a little-trafficked place on North Highland (near Manuel's actually, which is teh rock) called Rue de Paris, and they have exquisite omelettes. There are other places you can go for breakfast (J Christopher's for example) but I have never gotten over Rue de Paris.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:04 AM on August 28, 2006

It's definitely more casual than Applebees, but Fat Matt's is real southern batbecue and has good music at night, although it can get pretty crowded. For more upscale places, I have had really good meals at The Buckhead Diner and Bones (an upscale steakhouse). In general the Buckhead area is full of good, unique restaurants.
posted by TedW at 10:42 AM on August 28, 2006

Both are non-chain places serving the type of authentic southern barbecue that's probably hard to come by in Boston.

My brother lived in Boston for several years after graduating from Georgia Tech, and assures me that southern barbecue is impossible to come by in Boston, unless you cook it yourself. So any of the recommended barbecue places would be something worth checking out.
posted by TedW at 10:46 AM on August 28, 2006

Decatur could fulfill all your hopes -- the courthouse on the square is nice to look at and typically Southern, and there are a ton of restaurants within walking distance. The Crescent Moon on Ponce has great meals all day, but breakfast is best. The Brick Store (on the square) has good pub food for lunch/dinner, and the fish and chips are amazing. For a meat-and-three lunch, you can hit up the Our Way Cafe on College, in Avondale Estates. For a nicer dinner, Wahoo is good (also on College but the other way, toward Eastlake). The Taqueria del Sol is yummy, but closed on Mondays.
posted by mdiskin at 12:48 PM on August 28, 2006

I second the Crescent Moon; the second location at Northlake is bigger, but busier on weekends. I take or direct ALL my out of town visitors there, and they always love it.
posted by BoringPostcards at 12:54 PM on August 28, 2006

Carpe Diem, a few blocks east of the Decatur square, and Apres Diem in Midtown Plaza at 10th and Ponce are both nice for dinner or lunch.

The names and appearance of these places make them seem slightly snooty, but at both you'll see clothes ranging from jeans to prancy dresses. They're very low-key, don't mind people who linger over drinks, and have never given me attitude for coming in in grungy sneakers.

Apres Diem gets busier than Carpe, as it's right next to a movie theater, so might involve a wait. Carpe's location is nicer, and I don't think I've ever had to wait for a table there. Both have a large amount of seating indoors and out.

The website includes menus for both restaurants. Their phrasing is a little, um, fruity... "cheese" = "fromage" (give me a break, it's not a french restaurant). But the food itself isn't unnecessarily frilly - they have killer pizzas and sandwiches. The prices are reasonable too - their eight-buck salmon on ciabatta is my favorite seafood sandwich in the city.
posted by jessicapierce at 1:26 PM on August 28, 2006

flying biscut is a must but you know that. ill second apres diem and recommened el azteca for the most ridiculously cheap and amazing mexican food, ru san's for exciting and fun sushi and japanese and r. thomas for 24 hour, kooky, omnivore organic food!. argh i crave all of these places almost daily and i live in nyc!
posted by c at 2:48 PM on August 28, 2006

I don't recall where in Atlanta it is (try the yellow pages), but if you want southern food, I highly recommend Green's. It's all very southern-style cooking, which means you better you like fried chicken. I normally hate southern cooking, but it is one of the few places I love going.
posted by jmd82 at 4:52 PM on August 28, 2006

Is the barbecue place near the art museum still around? I was there twelve years ago and it had ribs that slid off the bone--also live blues.
posted by brujita at 10:25 PM on August 28, 2006