Stephanie_24

Hello There,
My family and I are heading to Atlanta and Savannah each for a few days.

Does anyone know of any good place's to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner that aren't too expensive either ....

Thanks,

rncheryl

We had lunch here a couple of weeks ago. Savannah

Great fresh veggies, fried chicken. :You won't leave hungry.

http://www.mrswilkes.com/

toupary6

Week before last, with a friend from Paris, I had the opportunity to try all three meals at Empire State South in Atlanta.

http://empirestatesouth.com/menus/breakfast

We were not disappointed in any meal, the service was exceptional, and my friend was so impressed by the wine list that he asked for a copy (which they happily gave him) so that he could take it back to Paris and show it to some restaurateurs there.

Hope this helps.

starrs

J. Christopher's for breakfast in either city. Mrs. Wilkes is wonderful and only found in Savannah. Pink House in Savannah for nice dinner. Papillote in Savannah for a casual French lunch. Mary Mac's in Atlanta for a southern lunch. I'd follow toupary's advice anywhere. ^^^

Orlando_Vic

In Savannah, try Wiley's Championship BBQ http://www.wileyschampionshipbbq.com/

It's the best BBQ I have ever tasted!

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

toupary6

Oh, thanks, starrs.

Let me say, one of my meals was a Croque Madame that rivals any I've had in Paris.

toupary6

Another place in Atlanta, where we didn't eat but that is getting good reviews, is Cucina Asellina on Peachtree. We only had wine, but the service was excellent, and they did serve us some very good bread (not always easy to find) with olive oil.

Yesterday, I walked by, and they had a water bowl and a dish of biscuits with a note inviting passing dogs to partake. So we know there hearts are in the right place.

As I said, can't tell you first-hand about the food, but they are getting stellar reviews, and the menu looks good. I'm really sorry now that we didn't eat there.

bachslunch

Will enthusiastically second Mrs. Wilkes in Savannah.

In Atlanta, I enjoyed The Varsity (a drive-in type place excellent for chili slaw dogs and frosted orange drinks), Fox Brothers (BBQ), Rolling Bones (BBQ), Mary Mac's Tea Room (Southern soul food meat-and-three), and Flying Biscuit Cafe (great biscuits, also does breakfast and such).

None of these are very expensive, either.

KatieL

I second the recommendation for Flying Biscuit Café, for breakfast all day. It is great, reasonably priced, and pretty healthy also. I’m sorry bachslunch, but I have to disagree with the Varsity recommendation. I find it disgusting…worse than what a hot dog at McDonald’s might be. They are old and many Atlanta natives might have fond memories of going there in high school, but I cannot imagine going back myself.

In addition to the Flying Biscuit, I have enjoyed West Egg and the Silver Skillet for breakfast. The Silver Skillet is an old diner, and has very basic food. I like it though. West Egg has more of a variety.

For dinner, I highly recommend the Iberian Pig in Decatur (just outside of Atlanta). Downtown Decatur is a great place to walk around in the evening, with an historic, small, artistic downtown sort of feel. The Iberian Pig is definitely one of the top restaurants I have enjoyed anywhere. It isn’t cheap though.

South City Kitchen has great southern food.

Let us know where you decide and how it is!

toupary6

Another vote for Flying Biscuit and Iberian Pig.

KqtieL, my friend from Paris wanted to go to the Varsity (he had read about it), and I talked him out of it. After he left, I was feeling guilty, thinking I had denied him a little bit of Americana. Glad for the reinforcement that I had made a good decision.

When I moved here, a young girl told me that her mother said that if you were born here, you were genetically equipped to digest the food at the Varsity, but that anyone else got sick.

starrs

That may be true, toupary. My parents grew up "sparking" at the Varsity. When my 80+ year old father was released from the hospital a few blocks down the road after his open heart surgery, I asked him where he wanted to go for lunch. The answer? The Varisity. I took them there - mainly because the heart surgery was to fix a congenital defect and the rest of his heart was perfect- "clean as a whistle". We pulled up for carhop service (where the comedian Nipsey Russel was discovered). I heard all sorts of stories about growing up and dating in Atlanta in the 40s. Before dating age, my mom and her girlfriends would ride the streetcar in to Five Points, walk to a movie at the Loew's Grand or the Fox, dinner at the Varsity and then walk down to Krispy Kreme for donuts. They'd walk back to Five Points - and they'd walk down the middle of Peachtree, arm in arm because there was such little traffic at night. The Varsity and Krispy Kreme were teenage standbys for them. Chili slaw dog and Frosted Orange = my dad's standing order

toupary6

starrs, I guess there are a lot of places like that, where you go as much for the memories as for the food

I just heard that Hot Shoppes (the ancestor of Marriott) is set to reopen in DC. I know a lot of people who will be lining up for their strawberry pie.

KatieL

Toupary, please don't feel guilty for not taking your French friend to Varsity. I haven't been to Empire State South yet, but it looks great! I'll have to talk DH into branching out and going there on our next night out. Ever since we found Iberian Pig, we haven't gone anywhere else. Starrs, I love the story about your parents! I think that perfectly illustrates the nostalgia factor that makes Varsity so busy still. haha

bachslunch

KatieL, interesting to hear your thoughts. I am basing all my recommendations above on the single visits I did during a trip to Atlanta a couple years ago. No nostalgia factor from me.

Re The Varsity -- it's not a place where I'd have considered straying beyond what they reportedly do best, and that's what I got: a chili slaw dog, onion rings, and a frosted orange drink. I really liked the frosted orange a lot, the rings were good, and I enjoyed the dog I got -- though admittedly one can successfully cover up the quality of a mediocre hot dog if you put enough on it, and perhaps that's what happened here. And if you don't bury your dog in slaw and chili, maybe it's not a happy frankfurter experience. I can't say. But I can only go on my experience here, and I was pleased. I wouldn't have recommended them otherwise.

Conversely, I was not happy with the meal I had at another old-fashioned Atlanta favorite, The Colonnade. I didn't recommend them as a result -- but the place was packed, it appears in guidebooks, and there are folks on Chowhound and elsewhere who like it.

Anyway, that's where I'm coming from.

suewoo

OK, now I need a chili slaw dog.

starrs

The Colonnade is indeed an Atlanta classic, fondly known as the Gays and Grays. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your meal there, but there IS no more finicky clientele (IMO anyway) than old Atlanta (usually moneyed) grey haireds or (mostly) gay men. Colannade is good, day in and day out. It helps they have a full service bar Few people return to the Colonnade for nostalgia - they return for the food. Roxx is across the street for the gay clientele who are okay with okay food and just want to be seen. People return to the Colonnade for the classic Southern food.

amyb

I went to quite a few restaurants in December in Atlanta, none of which I felt were "too expensive" but budgets are subjective things, of course. I was not a fan of Mary Mac's, btw.

Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint At first I didn’t think I’d like the atmosphere because there was live music (Duh, it is a juke joint) but I ended up enjoying having something to watch while I ate. I had fried green tomatoes for appetizer, shrimp and grits for dinner and apple cinnamon bread pudding for dessert. I also had a Texas marga-tini as a drink. It was extremely good. I could eat buttery grits all day, I think.

Fandangles at the Sheraton Hotel. I will admit that the reason I chose it when researching restaurants on Open Table was for the appetizer. Frickles and Frings was a fried pickle, fried onion string, banana pepper basket that was quite simply to die for. I had a peach martini with them which was just wonderful. My main course was chicken and dumplings in a sage butter sauce. The “dumplings” were actually sweet potato gnocchi and just delicious. Really, the whole meal was very tasty and the server was wonderful! I was too full for dessert (as much as I wanted the peach cobbler) so I had a double chocolate martini (Godiva Chocolate Vodka and Godiva Chocolate Liqueur).

Pitty Pat’s Porch A friend who travels frequently recommended this to me after I mentioned how much I liked the southern style food at Georgia Brown’s in D.C. As this was near my hotel, I decided to give it a try on my last night. Here, I had the fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. With every entrée you have access to the sidebar, which is like a southern-style salad bar. My main course was Savannah crabcakes with a red pepper sauce over grits and really it was the best meal of the trip, I think. Believe it or not I saved room for the Peach Cobbler with cinnamon ice cream, which was just sinful.

Mary Mac’s Tea Room The “other travel guide” for Atlanta said this was an Atlanta institution. Indeed the photos of many recognizable celebs lining the walls testifies to that. However, after the meals I’d already had in Atlanta, this, lunch on my last day, was a bit disappointing. The décor is dated but the service is friendly enough. I had the fried green tomatoes again (I know, I should have quit while I was ahead, these were not impressive) and the meatloaf with sweet potato soufflé. The soufflé was fabulous, the highlight of the meal. The meatloaf was ok. They were out of the peanut butter pie, so I finished my sweet tea and moved on. The best part was the bill, with tip, was under $20. It is a bargain if nothing more.

Ackislander

As usual, I agree with Bachslunch on food. I love the Varsity for the experience and for the food, but then I know exactly what they serve and would not go there for anything beyond that. But I wouldn't go if Georgia Tech was playing a home game.

bachslunch

Ackislander, thanks for the kind words. Great minds think alike.

What I got at Mary Mac's was fried chicken (a specialty of theirs) with sides of collards, pot likker, cornbread, and Brunswick stew, all of which I liked very much at the time. I remember the chicken being moist inside and not greasy outside. The sides were flavorful and appealing, not an afterthought at all.

I may have gone slightly out of the Colonnade's wheelhouse (apparently they also specialize in fried chicken). But I just didn't want another fried chicken meal the next day after Mary Mac's. What I ordered there was chicken fried steak with sides of fried okra and turnip greens. The okra was actually pretty good. The greens, though, were very plain -- and the main course was heavier and more blah tasting compared to the other couple times I've had this. Chances are, I'd get the chicken were I to go again.

A note about cornbread in this part of the country -- my understanding is that it's routinely not a sweet-tasting item, and every time I've had it in the South, there's no hint of sweetness as in other places in the country where I've tried it.

Re The Varsity, I think Ackislander's observation is spot on. There are some eateries where straying too far from their wheelhouse just isn't a good idea, and this may be one of them. In Boston, you can actually have a decent meal at the often groused-about No Name Restaurant, but you have to stick to their fish chowder and fried seafood basics -- in my experience, veering over to other dishes here can produce less reliable results. At The Varsity, I would stick to what they reportedly do best, which is what I got: chili slaw dog, orange frost, and onion rings.