South - First time in Atlanta... things to do, places to eat?

I'll be spending some time in Atlanta, GA and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on things to do in my spare time. Also, I am a big foodie, so restaurant recommendations would be great! I love fresh, local food that really demonstrates what the area is known for. I also love anything seafood. What are must trys?

where are you staying and when will you be there? chomp and stomp is a local neighborhood chili/blues festival which is a lot of fun. i went last year and had a blast. get there early, though. parking is a pain and the chili goes fast.

sweet auburn curb market (http://www.sweetauburncurbmarket.com/merchants.htm#RESTAURANTS) will give you a great taste of local food.

typical touristy things like the aquarium, cnn center, stone mountain.

a lot of good restaurants and nightlife in midtown and buckhead.

I'll be there in early Dec. and while I don't have a hotel yet, I will be near the convention center. If you know of good places near there, that would be great! Otherwise, I assume I should be able to taxi it, right?

Try Miss Pitty Pats Porch for dinner.... show up hungry....

i've been visiting atlanta alot lately, and i'm also curious to discover good local food options. i'd particularly love to find a good vietnamese pho place; there are some on buford highway, but i'm not impressed so far.

au pied de cochon is a nice, but expensive, french place in buckhead.
penang is a nice malaysian place at buford and chamblee-tucker (it's also an idine joint).
and, of course, there's chick-fil-a.

For fish, I've heard good things about Ray's in the City. I went to the sister restaurant, Ray's on the River, years and years ago, and enjoyed it a great deal. Then again, I'm not a particularly picky eater.

Then there's Mary Mac's Tea Room. I've not been in years, again, but it's pretty much a standard place for folks visiting Atlanta to have a Southern meal. You can get things like fried green tomatoes, hoppin' john, and collard greens and cracklin'. Now, this seems normal to me, but I remember the time I went my northern visitors weren't used to them at all.

Avoid any and all restaurants that you read about in the tourist books. Especially the Varsity unless you want to spend the remainder of your trip on the john.

Try some of Kevin Rathburn's restaurants; Krog Bar, Rathburns, and Rathburn Steak never a bad meal at his places.

There is a large Krispy Kreme plan on Ponce near the higlands, if you go late and night and sweet talk one of the ladies working they will take you in back and let you pull a few donuts right off the line.

If you love blues and Jazz check out the Northside Tavern. On any given night some of the greatest blues legends will just be having a drink there and they usually get talked into performing the the Swing Kings the house band who are great themselves.

If you are civil war buff check out the cyclorama near the Zoo, and unless you really love sea creatures avoid the new aquarium, I was very dissapointed.

Check out a Georgia Tech basketball game if you can, the Thriller dome as we call it is very exciting to watch a game at.

I've lived in Atlanta for 20+ years and love this city feel free to PM if you have any more questions.

Avoid any and all restaurants that you read about in the tourist books. Especially the Varsity unless you want to spend the remainder of your trip on the john.

Try some of Kevin Rathburn's restaurants; Krog Bar, Rathburns, and Rathburn Steak never a bad meal at his places.

There is a large Krispy Kreme plan on Ponce near the higlands, if you go late and night and sweet talk one of the ladies working they will take you in back and let you pull a few donuts right off the line.

If you love blues and Jazz check out the Northside Tavern. On any given night some of the greatest blues legends will just be having a drink there and they usually get talked into performing the the Swing Kings the house band who are great themselves.

If you are civil war buff check out the cyclorama near the Zoo, and unless you really love sea creatures avoid the new aquarium, I was very dissapointed.

Check out a Georgia Tech basketball game if you can, the Thriller dome as we call it is very exciting to watch a game at.

I've lived in Atlanta for 20+ years and love this city feel free to PM if you have any more questions.



I second Rathbun's, excellent. Also Two Urban Licks and One Midtown Kitchen are great. Both in the Highlands and Midtown areas.

Three great steakhouses in Buckhead are Chops,Bones and New York Prime. They don't mess around with anything but beef (besides huge lobster!) but do it well. Chop's has a restuarant downstairs called The Lobster Bar that specializes in seafood (hence the name), very nice and very expensive.

If you are interested in Sushi, Zuma in the Highlands is great along with Nickiemoto's in MIdtown.

Emeril's in Buckhead is also great but not particularly authentic to Atlanta.

I can keep going but I think that should cover your trip. I mentioned places in Buckhead, Midtown and Highlands but there are other parts of town with good food. These places are predominantly where most people go though. I would hit Piedmont Park if you have some time one day (or afternoon).

My favorite hotel is the Intercontinental in Buckhead but I am partial to them:D. You can have your pick of hotels downtown, Hyatt, Omni, Embassy Suites, Westin...

Atlanta is much larger than most people think, if you have any other questions PM me.

I highly recommend Bones restaurant (http://www.bonesrestaurant.com/). ^^ Excellent steaks and exceptional service. Houston's (of the Hillstone Group - http://www.hillstone.com/) is consistently good. ^^ Reasonable prices and great service. Although not in Atlanta Bandera and Palm Beach Grill ^^ (also part of Hillstone Group) are more excellent restaurants. An NO, I am no affiliated with any of these restaurants or the Hillstone Group other than having frequented them when in the vicinity.

some very good suggestions only made. Only addition I have is the Sundial Restaurant on the 76th floor of the Westin hotel (rotating restaurant). The steaks were good, but not the best I've had. Great lounge and for drinks with an amazing view. Great for a romantic sunset dinner. I proposed to my wife on the obervation deck looking out over the city. http://sundialrestaurant.com/

On a side note, I was a big fan of the Varsity... but that was during my college days. I'm also a huge fan of Tommy's at 2 a.m. in California, so I guess it depends on your style. I had a great experience at the Renaissance downtown. Sits just outside the business of downtown but still within walking distance.
Picture from our Renaissance balcony http://home.comcast.net/~majiktib/Downtown_ATL.jpg

Couple of other restaurant recs: JCT Kitchen in Midtown area and Floataway Cafe in Virginia Highlands.

Portions of the post that previously appeared in this space have been deleted. I would provide you with a reason why, but doing so would likely be against the TOS.

Rathbun's, Two Urban Licks, One Midtown Kitchen -- all excellent. Would also recommend TAP (gastropub) for causal. Vortex is awesome but kind of freaky if you're not expecting the tattoos. As for more upscale, Kyma, Buckhead Diner (yes, it's $$$/$$$$ and great), South City Kitchen for noveau Southern (I kind of liked and am VERY Northern). Dolce E Entoncia and Geisha House for trendy. That's what I've tried in the past 2 months of living here. PM me for more specific reviews, etc. Oh, to answer specifically about the Downtown area... I'm not sure what there is around there... I would head to Midtown or Buckhead for restaurants/nightlife. Just my 0.02

I'm placing my vote on Rathburns, as well.

And to add, if you're into tapas,check out Eclipse de Luna.

http://www.eclipsediluna.com