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Restaurant for lunch between Atlanta and Savannah

Restaurant for lunch between Atlanta and Savannah

Old Sep 1st, 2015, 07:08 PM
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GKS
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Restaurant for lunch between Atlanta and Savannah

Hi All! We're planning on driving from Atlanta to Savannah on a Saturday, and are hoping to find a fun pit stop on the way, somewhere kid friendly, but with history and culture. A cute little restaurant would be amazing, or a fun town to stop in... Any ideas?
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 07:42 PM
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We did not have time to stop when we made this drive a few years ago, but I thought Madison GA seemed worth a visit. Beautiful old homes! Maybe someone more local will chime in.
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 09:31 PM
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If you want to drive interstates all the way, the route would be to Macon on 75 and the 16 to Savannah. There are restaurants in Macon and then at Dublin on 16.

If you want a fun stop a bit off the road, you could detour to the little town of Juliette GA. The entire little town was the set for the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. The restaurant in town, the Whistle Stop Café, serves southern dishes. It's less than an hour from Atlanta and about 3 hours from Savannah.

I agree with k_marie that the beautiful town of Madison would be a great stop. It's one of the ten prettiest towns in the US, full of antebellum homes. It's the town "too pretty to burn" by Sherman on his March to the Sea. Legend has it that Sherman's roommate from West Point was from Madison and the reason he didn't burn it. Restaurant suggestions there include the Chop House in town and Amici's (pizza and pasta) on the square. Pretty little town square with shops and a great place to stroll a bit.

To get to Madison, you would leave Atlanta on I 20 and then drive down 441 (limited access highway) to Dublin and get on 16 there. Very nice 4 lane road with 2 stoplights between Madison and Dublin.

Another option just before Madison is Social Circle, GA and the famous Blue Willow Inn. The Blue Willow serves southern cooking via buffet. Very good.

A third option just before Social Circle is Covington GA. Another nice little downtown and small town with antebellum homes. If it looks familiar, the town served as the set for the original Dukes of Hazzard, the TV show In the Heat of the Night and now currently is the set for the Vampire Diaries. On the square is the Mystic Café, which was an exterior set for the show until the restaurant was opened in the building. There's another Amici's restaurant just off the square behind Scoop's (ice cream place). The Thai restaurant on the corner in town is very good. If you want a less expensive option to "country cooking", Stalvey's is just off the square on 278 and has several meat plus 3 options, as well as steaks, etc. from the menu. Plenty of other good restaurants in town. As you drive around the town you'll see a huge antebellum home that was the inspiration for Twelve Oaks in Gone with the Wind (now a B&B) and more antebellum homes, especially on the parallel streets of Floyd and Conyers streets.

Covington, Social Circle and Madison are all within 20 miles of each other, all just off I 20. You could head down 441 from Madison to Dublin or take other roads to intersect with 441, including going through the small community of Shady Dale, a stage coach stop. The smaller roads are two lane, but with little traffic and go through pretty countryside of farms and woods. The small town of Eatonton is the home of Joel Chandler Harris of the Br'er Rabbit books. There's a small museum in town. The statues of the characters are now at the entrance to the library in Madison GA - moved from Lenox Square in Atlanta years ago. The Madison library is in the Uncle Remus library region.

Pricey but pretty is the Ritz Carlton on Lake Oconee outside Greensboro (not far from Eatonton). It's a lovely resort with a New England lodge décor, but would be a better overnight stop than a lunch stop.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 03:00 AM
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This is so amazing!! THANK YOU!!!!
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