FOOD – A short Restaurant guide
Since the list has become very long I just want to give some personal recommendations for which places you should definitely try:
If you are on a road trip you will probably not get around stopping by at a fast food place. Try a Hardee’s (called Carls Jr. in the western part of the USA), Steak & Shake or Zaxby’s if they are around.
An affordable and very good place for southern food is Mary Mac’s, which I usually take friends and family to when they are visiting.
The best burger place in Atlanta is the Vortex. You cannot do anything wrong with this place and it is a must go if you have been living in Atlanta.
If I had to pick one breakfast/brunch place I would probably recommend Flying Biscuit.
I really like Chow Baby just for the experience and the freedom you have creating your own dish especially when it comes to creating the sauce.
One thing you should probably wait for until your parents are in town and pay for dinner are the $$$$ category restaurants. One that I really like there is the Brazilian steak house Fogo de Chao, which not only offers excellent food but also a nice experience.
There are plenty of other places, which are probably good but we forgot to list them here. So if you have something that should definitely be on that list let us know and we will update it.
There is also a good online restaurant guide called ZAGAT.
Another easy good way to find restaurants is Google.
Buford Highway: While other cities in America have "Chinatown" or "Little Cuba" Atlanta has one very long, very international road called Buford Highway. This is a great place to go to try new cuisine (my personal favorite is Vietnamese) and see a lot of cultural diversity.
$ = 0 – 10 bucks per person (food + drink)
$$ = 10 – 20 bucks per person (food + drink)
$$$ = 20 – 50 bucks per person (food + drink)
$$$$ = more than 50 bucks per person (food + drink)
Distance from Campus (student center)
Green = in walking distance from campus (not more than 20 minutes)
Yellow = short distance from campus (5-10 minutes driving)
Red = long drive (20 minutes +)
OTP = outside the perimeter, i.e. outside of I-285, i.e. Redneck territory
Fast Food
| Who? |
What? |
Where? |
How far? |
How much? |
| Waffle House |
The home of greasy food and toothless waitresses: A truly southern experience |
Everywhere south of Mason-Dixie |
|
$ |
| Hardee’s |
Best fast-food burgers |
Mult. locations (OTP) |
|
$ |
| Wendy’s |
Good Burgers |
Mult. locations |
|
$ |
| Steak & Shake |
Good burgers and outstanding milkshakes |
Mult. locations |
|
$ |
| Zaxby’s |
Good chicken |
Mult. locations (OTP) |
|
$ |
| Majestic diner |
An after-clubbing food classic. Greasy and freaky. |
Ponce de Leon |
|
$ |
| IHOP |
The international house of pancakes – does not need any additional explanation, does it? |
Mult. locations e.g. on Peachtree Rd. |
|
$ |
| The Varsity |
A true Atlanta Landmark – famous for its Hot Dogs |
North Ave. next Interstate Bridge |
|
$ |
Mexican
| Willy’s |
Fresh-made Mexican fast food |
Mult. Locations e.g. on Howell Mill |
|
$ |
| El Amigo |
Nice Lunch special |
Howell Mill next to Kroger |
|
$ |
| Zocalo |
Creative Mexican |
Corner 10th Street-Piedmont |
|
$$ |
| Rosa Mexicano |
Mexican restaurant with great homemade guacamole |
Atlantic station |
|
$$ |
| Sala |
Creative Mexican |
Virginia Highlands |
|
$$ |
Brunch/Breakfast
| Flying Biscuit |
Best breakfast in Atlanta |
Corner 10th and Piedmont |
|
$-$$ |
| Front Page News |
Great brunch place |
Mult. Locations e.g. on Crescent Rd. |
|
$-$$ |
| J. Christopher’s |
Great brunch place |
Mult. locations e.g. on West Peachtree Rd. |
|
$-$$ |
Asian Style
| Little Buddha |
Cheap fast food style |
Tech Plaza |
|
$ |
| TIN DRUM |
Thai |
Tech Square |
|
$ |
| Grand Buffet International House |
Huge Buffet Mainly Asian Cuisine, all you can eat
lunch |
I-85 – Exit 91 Clairmont Rd |
|
$-$$ |
| Mu Lan |
Thai/Chinese with cheap Lunch Special |
Juniper |
|
$-$$ |
| Chow Baby |
Pan-asian stir-fry. You design your own meal / All
you can eat. |
Howell Mill |
|
$-$$ |
| Spoon |
Good Thai food next to campus |
Howell Mill |
|
$$ |
| Penang |
Malaysian Food. Yummy and Spicy |
Buford Hwy |
|
$$ |
| Tamarind |
Sister restaurant of Nan Thai. A bit less
exclusive, but food is outstanding. |
Colony Square |
|
$$$ |
| Nan Thai |
Upscale Thai food. Probably one of the best
restaurants in Atlanta. |
Corner 17th and Spring St |
|
$$$$ |
| Hashiguchi |
Authentic Japanese place. Great sushi and much
more. |
Next to Lenox Mall |
|
$$$ |
Seafood/Sushi
| Ru Sans |
American style Sushi with good lunch buffet |
Mult. Locations e.g. at corner Piedmont/Monroe |
|
$-$$ |
| Six Feet Under |
Good seafood place with rooftop tables – best
catfish in town |
11th Street of Howell Mill |
|
$$ |
| Mt Fuji Japanese Steak House |
Great sushi & asian food |
Marietta |
|
$$-$$$ |
| Ray’s on the River |
Upscale Seafood |
6700 Powers Ferry Rd (Sandy Springs) |
|
$$$$ |
French
| Café Alsace |
Excellent French/Alsacienne restaurant. Very nice atmosphere. |
Ponce de Leon in Decatur |
|
$$$ |
Italian Style
| Fellinis |
Good pizza |
Mult. locations |
|
$-$$ |
| Figo |
Good pasta |
Mult. locations |
|
$$ |
| Baraonda |
Nice pizza restaurant close to the Fox. |
Peachtree St. |
|
$$ |
| Sotto Sotto |
One of the best Italians in town. |
313 N. Highland Ave. |
|
$$$$ |
| Fritti |
Pizza restaurant with wood-fired oven.
Neapolitan pizza! |
309 N. Highland Ave. |
|
$$$ |
Greek/Mediterranean Style
| Avra Greek Tavern |
Good gyro and other Greek style food |
Juniper |
|
$$ |
| Mediterranean Grill |
Good kebob |
Monroe Ave (close to 10th) |
|
$-$$ |
| Café Instanbul |
Good food & Hookahs |
Decatur |
|
$$ |
| Café Lilly |
Nice Mediterranean Place |
Ponce de Leon Decatur |
|
$$$ |
| Kyma |
Fanzy Greek place, lots of sea food |
3085 Piedmont Rd |
|
$$$$ |
Indian
| Madras Chettinaad |
Indian place with Bollywood movies in the background |
Decatur |
|
$$ |
| Desi Spice |
Nice Indian place |
Monroe Dr. / next to Midtow Arts Cinema |
|
$$ |
American/Southern
| Mary Mac’s Tearoom |
Great southern food |
Ponce de Leon - Midtown |
|
$$ |
| Busy B Café |
Great soul food |
Downtown |
|
$$ |
| Fat Matts Rib Shack |
Excellent southern BBQ |
Piedmont Ave. |
|
$$ |
| South City Kitchen |
Creative southern cusine |
Close to corner 14th and Crescent Ave |
|
$$$ |
| Globe |
New American cuisine |
At technology square |
|
$$ |
| Pleasant Peasant |
Good lunch place |
Close to Bank of America on Peachtree St. |
|
$$ |
Barfood/”Upscale Fast Food”
| Vortex |
Best burgers in the world. |
Peachtree St.or Little 5 Points |
|
$-$$ |
| Gordon Biersch |
Excellent microbrewery with decent pub food. brew master was educated at
TU Munich. |
848 Peachtree St. |
|
$$ |
| Brick Store Pub |
Good pub food and incredible choice of beer |
Decatur |
|
$-$$ |
| Taco Mac |
Good Bar Food with incredible choice of beer |
Mult. Locations e.g. Virginia Highlands, Buckhead,
Decatur |
|
$-$$ |
Steakhouses
| Bones |
2008 highest ranked steakhouse in the US |
Piedmont Rd. Buckhead |
|
$$$$ |
| Fogo de Chao |
Brazilian Steak House – High End Steak Buffet (come hungry) |
Piedmont Rd. Buckhead |
|
$$$$ |
| Kevin Rathbun Steak |
Steak from one of America’s Iron Chefs |
Krog Street – close to MLK Sights |
|
$$$$ |
Deserts/Sweet&Baked Stuff
| Paolo’s Gelato |
Authentic Italian ice cream |
N. Highland Ave. (Virginia Highlands) |
|
$ |
| Café Intermezzo |
Vienna-style café with great crepes. |
Peachtree Rd. |
|
$ |
| Alon’s |
French bakery. Real bread! Sells also various snacks. |
Virginia Highlands |
|
$ |
| 
