There are some other decent places up the area - I like Normans Landing on 13 - havent been there in a few years, but they used to have some excellent, fresh seafood. Marlowes isnt bad at the Avenue, and I am a fan of Ted's, Also at teh Avenue.

What I am looking for is a decent bar that is not a ****hole in the Alpharetta/Cumming area...anything?

anyone know of any decent home games? looked some up online and THE RAKE S TOO DAMN HIGH, to say the least. 10% up to $15 ftl

Holy f antico is as awesome as hyped

I live a few blocks south of Midway. I got rid of cable so I watch every football game on ESPN there. I think they know me by name.

It really is. Giovanni's Chicken Amalfitano just opened next door. I've yet to try it, but I've heard excellent things.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/gios-chicken-amalfitano-atlanta

Since my new years weekend was a pretty solid food tour of Atlanta...

The Pinewood - A drink-centric place in Decatur (you'll notice a theme wrt drink places) that we tried because of an expiring deal on Scoutmob. All of their drink ingredients that they can legally infuse/make are done in house, and it shows.

Get: Crispy Pork Belly Biscuit, Crunchy Buttermilk Chicken.
Get (Drinks): Roots Radical, Day That I Die, Porch Punch

Ammazza - Awesome pizza. On par with Antico, but a few more options with a little less mozzarella. Bonus that it's about 25 feet from my place.

Get: Insalata di Basil, Capricciosa pizza

H Harper Station - Pretty sure I've talked about this one before. Great place for drinks, and the food doesn't disappoint either.

Get (both drinks): Bufala Negra, Br'er Rabbit

The Optimist - Best New Restaurant of 2012 according to Esquire. It was pretty damn good, but we went there at 9:15 and they were out of 3 of the entrees our group was looking at. Not very good inventory management, imo, so it's a little unfair to judge the food. We all liked what we got, but those other dishes were possibly otherworldly. Drinks were kinda eh, only because they are very summer-y drinks despite the names.

Get: Main dishes changes all the time, but everything was good.
For sides: the bok choy and brussels sprouts were probably the best sides I've ever had anywhere.

Damn, another nationally recognized restaurant in Atlanta! ?!?

Sushi Nami off windward isnt bad for otp alpharetta crowd

Heads up - next episode of The Layover (on 1/14, Travel Channel) will be Atlanta

http://atlanta.eater.com/archives/20.../food-tv-9.php

Any of you make frequent travels to Brickstore?

Yes it's beer heaven. I try to avoid weekends cause it's utterly insane, but it's a pretty amazing place.

Good places off windward?

went to The Optimist last night. It's probably my new favorite restaurant in Atlanta.

For drinks I had the Los Feliz, Heaven's Door (I think thats what it's called?) and the Tiki Torch - all good.

Apps we had the mussels, spicy octopus, crudo, and ga white shrimp. All were excellent.

I had the seared yellowfin tuna, which was very good. Large size for a seared tuna plate, also had more of that good octopus on it.

Deserts were really good too I had the banana pudding

Thats hamachi crudo in case it changes. Double zero sometimes has excellent scallop crudo

What is my best bet for a good meal semi near Kennesaw?

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/cover...l-fork-bracket

Calamari tacos at Verde Taqueria are solid

Yes they are. I've been to the one in Brookhaven a handful of times and have always enjoyed it.

Cypress Street Pint and Plate is doing a 5 course meal with Dogfish Head pairings on the 19th. The Dogfish southeast regional manager will be there. Only 30 tickets available: http://cypressbar.bigcartel.com/prod...ad-beer-dinner

I snapped a pic of the menu when I was there the other day:

Not saying it is as good as Antico... but Hearth is very comparable

Coming into town for the Final Four from Friday-Tuesday. Staying either in a hotel near downtown/midtown or a friend's place near Georgia Tech. Looking for any bar/restaurant recommendations. Casual places and not trendy clubs or super upscale restaurants would be preferred. Won't have a car so walking/cabbing distance from downtown/GT/Georgia Dome would be nice.

Thanks in advance.

Vortex: http://www.thevortexbarandgrill.com/

Great for burger, drinks, etc. Also has a comedy club adjacent.

Antico
The Spence

Cypress: http://cypressbar.com/
Surprisingly good food for earlier in the night, and definitely a cool bar atmosphere.

SkyLounge: http://glennsskylounge.com/
On top of the Glenn hotel right next to Phillips arena. Really nice views, I've had fun there.

6 Feet Under: http://sixfeetunder.net/
The one on 11th. Sneaky great (and easily accessible) view of Midtown from their rooftop. It'll be a wait to get a table up there if the weather's nice, so be prepared.


Since you're in town for a few days, take advantage of Atlanta's food forte: Brunch
West Egg: http://www.westeggcafe.com/
Highland Bakery: http://highlandbakery.com/
Ria's Bluebird: http://riasbluebird.com/web/ (cash only)
Homegrown: http://www.homegrownga.com/

Haven't lived in town for years, but Highland Bakery used to be awesome. Glad to see it on the list.

Ria's is not cash only. Also recommend Java Jive and Sun In My Belly for brunch.