Road Trips — By Apryl Chapman Thomas on February 3, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Filed under: culinary travel, dining out in Atlanta, Places to eat in Georgia, restaurants in Atlanta, Southern Food, top-feature

Delectable Dining in Atlanta

Atlanta is known for a lot.

It’s home to such industry titans as CNN, Coca-Cola and Delta. You’ll also find the Georgia Aquarium, National Museum of Patriotism and Carter Library here as well. And to top it all off, Atlanta was also the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Of course, that’s just the beginning.

The city is also known for it’s ample culinary offerings, too. Only in Atlanta can you find distinctive and varied burger choices like FLIP Burger (map) and The Varsity (map).

And that’s not all.

I’m not being trite when I say there’s truly a restaurant (or two) for everyone’s taste and budget.

Here’s a quick glance of some of the delectable bites you can find in Atlanta.

When you’re in the city or the South in general, there are certain foods and dishes you expect to find. Items like fried chicken and fried green tomatoes come to mind. That’s why when you’re craving a good southern meal, one of the places to visit is Mary Mac’s Tearoom. Located in midtown (map), the restaurant serves both lunch and dinner. You’ll find such dishes as fried catfish, meatloaf, and chicken and dumplings. Two things to remember at Mary Mac’s. First one is don’t forget to try the pork crackling and pot liquor offered when you’re seated. The second is even if you typically skip the bread basket, you need to sample their cinnamon rolls.

The menu at Landmark Diner is plentiful and that’s no joke. You can choose from a grilled cheese ($5.49), which I enjoyed for lunch at the downtown location (map) to spanakopita ($11.49) to nearly everything in between. Later in the evening, when I was in need of something sweet, I remembered the diner’s display case of desserts. And with that one slice, I was glad I surrendered to temptation. Not only was it good, but also just may have been the largest slice of anything I’ve ever been served.

Located in downtown’s growing Luckie-Marietta District is Legal Seafoods (map). This is a place that I’ve always wanted to try and was excited when it opened in Atlanta. Known for their chowder ($4.50, cup; $6.50, bowl; after all, the restaurant is based in Massachusetts), they’re also highly regarded for their seafood options. Options on the menu include sea scallops ($22.95), steamed lobster (price depends on weight), and shrimp and stone ground grits ($19.95). If you’re looking for something lighter, I highly recommend the chopped Greek salad with shrimp and calamari ($15.95). A Gluten-free menu is available as well.

With locations in downtown (map) and Buckhead (map), Dantanna’s isn’t your usual sports bar. In fact, they don’t refer themselves to one, although you can catch a game on the TVs, if you so like. And if you aren’t into sports, you can focus more on the food. One dish (appetizer) that I recommend you try, whether you’re in for lunch, dinner or snack, is the cheeseburger empanadas, served with Coca-Cola ketchup ($10). Another good appetizer is the spicy blue crab fingers ($12). I thoroughly enjoyed the lump crab and fresh berries salad ( $10, small; $16, large ). You’ll want to stay for dessert with such choices as the chocolate bourbon pie, “twisted” key lime pie, Dantanna’s bananas, and cookie dough empanadas. In addition to their menu, they have daily specials as well.

Much like good southern dishes like you can find at Mary Mac’s Tearoom, when you in this area, you also expect some good barbecue. And one of those places that won’t led you astray is Pig ‘n Chik. I recently had the opportunity to visit the Roswell Road location (map). I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a barbecue-type person (shocking, considering I’m as about as southern as you can get.) However, I do like barbecue places that offer turkey (price varies depending on sandwich or plate). The BBQ chicken looked good as well. There’s Redneck nachos ($6.45), salad choices and wing options. A kids’ menu is available as well.

No matter what you are in the mood in to eat, it’s more than likely you can find it in Atlanta.

photo credit: All photos are from a personal collection. (top left) Legal Seafoods’ chowder; (middle right) fried green tomatoes at Mary Mac’s; (bottom left) cheeseburger empanadas at Dantanna’s.