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3 cities down, plenty to go. Odds are this turns into a "mmbt0ne tells you about Atlanta" thread b/c I don't know how much the other ATLiens read this forum but hopefully they'll stop by and contribute. The cities grown a lot in the past couple years and there are more things to do all the time.

Also, hopefully this won't just be a bunch of people listing restaurants like the LA thread kind of turned into.

So, name off some favorite bars, restaurants, museums, hotels, neighborhoods, galleries, etc.


To start, I'll talk about Whole World Improv Theatre. They do two shows Friday and Saturday (and have an apprentice show sometime during the week) that costs $21-$24 depending on when you buy. A group of friends and I went a little while ago when someone's boss got them free tickets and it was a lot of fun. Small venue on Spring St. between 16th and 14th with plenty of parking for like $2 by the Shell station.

There's a small bar inside (well, beer and wine) and you're free to drink in the theatre. And actually, it's not really a theater, just some stadium seating with couches so you might end up sharing a couch with somebody you've never met before. Pretty cool vibe overall.

Two off the beaten path bars on Ponce De Leon Ave:

MJQ

Hip night spot with live music and cool vibes. Like El Bar, it is off the beaten path and if you drive by you have no idea that a night club calls the place home. You have to walk in and then down a spiral entrance underground. Last time I was there they had expanded and now had two big rooms offering different beats.




El Bar

Hidden treasure below El Azteca. No signs or adverstisements will point you to this cozy bar. The owner, an ex King & Spalding lawyer in his 30s, spent some time in L.A. and wanted to create a hangout where you either knew about it or you didn't b/c it is tucked away and below a non descript Mexican restaurant.

D.J.s regularly spin and they used to have a weekly reggae night.

clairmont lounge baby

liga,

Wow, I lived like half a mile from those two places for about a year and never even heard of them. Hmmm. The only bars I ever went to in that area were either Manuel's Tavern (site of my first 2p2 meetup) or the general Virginia Highlands area.

There's too much in VH to touch on in one post, but here are a couple of my favorite things there.

Panita Thai is right next to the more popular Surin, but a completely different experience. There is literally only one guy who works there and he'll seat you, cook your food, serve you, etc. so it's a full night event, not just a short meal. The single Yelp review is kinda meh, but everyone I've known who went there loved it.

Moe's and Joe's. If you can put up with a bar full of Emory students (which is no easy task tbh) then it's a fun place to drink cheap on a Tuesday night.

If you like to eat, you can get great, cheap Korean, Chinese, Mexican, whatever, food on Buford Highway. I also highly recommend the Buford Highway Farmers Market and the Dekalb Farmers Market for food shopping.

MJQ was open when I moved here 9 years ago. El Bar opened about 2 years ago.

One of my favorite places to go is Cafe Intermezzo on Peachtree. Great ambiance, gigantic drink list, and sweet dessert case.

I also love going to Piedmont Park to run, with friends or for dates.

Holla at the Dekalb Farmers Market. I remember going there all the way back when I was 3 or 4.

I like Cafe Intermezzo too. The desserts are great and sitting out back is fun.

Not that it's much of a secret, but I love Mellow Mushroom pizzatrivia on Wed nights. Not sure if it's at all locations, but I go to the one on Lavista near Briarcliff.

the best steak in town is definitely at Bone's in Buckhead off of Piedmont. I go there every year for my birthday.

Yeah, the Dekalb Farmers Market is amazing. I love going there to get food. Also, they have a little cafe in there where they charge by the pound and it's all the fresh food from the market. Great place to eat cheap.

PZ,

If you like running at Piedmont, you should go up to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park one day. Now, I think there are a few entrances and I'm not entirely sure how to get there anymore. My gf always used to drive. All I remember is that I started my runs on the south side of the park. There are a bunch of trails weaving through the woods and it's a beautiful run. Unfortunately it is pretty confusing if you've never done it before, but I have a 5-mi and a 7-mi loop that I have done there before.

El Bar and MJQ can both be fun under the right circumstances. I usually hang out at the Local, which is literally next door to MJQ. 97 Estoria in Cabbagetown is a great place, although the hipster vibe can be a little overwhelming at times. N 82, good call on the Mellow Mushroom. I go to the Decatur one for trivia.

My vote for best brunch is Ria's on Memorial right next to the cemetery. Also Six Feet Under is a great seafood restaurant next to Ria's.

Yeah, there are a ton of trivia restaurants around the city. Thursday nights at 10pm Crown & Anchor Pub does a Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll trivia that's pretty fun. Also, there are a couple trivia leagues where the top 150 teams go to a big tournament every 3 months or so at Midieval Times where first place gets $5000.

Part of me died when they closed the Mellow Mushroom in Roswell. I used to go there every Sunday with lifelong friends for pizza and beer, what a shame, I loved that place.

lol.

When I moved to Atlanta, I started dating a girl. On our *first date* she took me to the Clairmont.

The Clairmont Lounge is famous for being a free strip club. The girls are nassssty but they are hilarious, too. There was/is a mother/daughter combo, and a girl who is locally famous for crushing beer cans with her boobages.

Some friends and I did a Buford Highway Crawl. Each week we would go to a restaurant on BH, starting with the first (after corporate blvd), then continuing to the next restaurant down the following week. It was a blast and I learned about some great restaurants. Some in particular are Abbay (Ethiopian), Panahar (Malaysian) and Bien Thuy (vietnamese, and apparently a mafia joint now). There are several others but the names escape me.

DeKalb Farmer's market is the bomb.

Ditto Six Feet Under.. Fish Tacos!

I used to hang out at 97 Estoria quite a bit. Back when it had a different name which I forget. The hipster vibe was more in control back then I think.

I also declare ditto on MJQ and The Local. The Local is very chill and simple. MJQ is fun but very dirty. I'm 31 and am unlikely to go back there anytime soon, but it was the [censored] when I was 25ish.

There's another one on Crossville Road. Probably not as good as the old one, but still f'ing great pizza either way.

[quote}
To start, I'll talk about Whole World Improv Theatre. They do two shows Friday and Saturday (and have an apprentice show sometime during the week) that costs $21-$24 depending on when you buy. A group of friends and I went a little while ago when someone's boss got them free tickets and it was a lot of fun. Small venue on Spring St. between 16th and 14th with plenty of parking for like $2 by the Shell station.

There's a small bar inside (well, beer and wine) and you're free to drink in the theatre. And actually, it's not really a theater, just some stadium seating with couches so you might end up sharing a couch with somebody you've never met before. Pretty cool vibe overall.

[/quote]

I like WWT, but I prefer Dad's Garage. I like the atmosphere better there, it's more shabby (yes, that's a good thing in this case) and I find their structure and actors to be better (IOW: funnier).

I was sad when the Echo Lounge closed. But East Atlanta is still a great area to go out drinking. The East Side Lounge is OK, though it's probably a lot different. I used to go often when it was the Fountainhead. I really miss the Heaping Bowl, too. The Earl has one of the best hamburgers on the planet (according to WSJ, the top three burgers in the US are all in Atlanta. The other two are Ann's Snack Bar and the Vortex).

Speaking of the Vortex, that's another fun place. It feels like a dive bar decorated by a motorcycle gang. Cheap drinks and the burgers are insane. They have a huge selection, including the coronary bypass burger and a wicked good black bean burger.

The Star Bar is good times. It's another dive bar type club that has great local/indie rock.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Martini's at IMAX is fun (Fernbank Museum). It's upscale and expensive, but qualilty. The drinks are solid and it's fun to drink in an ancient history museum. On other days it's decent museum, but not very large.

I will refrain from mentioning more restaurants. There are so many, but as mmbtone said, it will probably derail the thread to do so!

A,

Where did you come from? 2.5 years and 190 posts? Read the last 50 or so posts in this thread and come hang out: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...e=0#Post6047489

As for top restaurants in US being in Atlanta, the #3 taco joint is here: Taqueria Del Sol. There are 3 spread out across the city, but when you go make sure to get the Shrimp Corn Chowder. I promise you it's one of the best things you'll ever taste.

Yeah, I was a lurker for a long time. Nearly all of my posts are in the last 2-3 months.

Shrimp Corn Chowder? I am stunned by the realization that I have been ignorant of this for so long. I will check that out.

I just PM'ed FFK for the addy. See you there.

Eddie's Attic in Decatur. Definitely check out Bobby Yang when he plays there - usually plays it several times a year. A great place to listen to live music.

Oh man let's not even get started on Decatur. I had Taqueria Del Sol yesterday...fish tacos FTW. The Brickstore is an awesome place to try 100's of different beers and their food is pretty good. Jake's ice cream is literally the best I've ever had.

Are any of you guys going to the Decatur beerfest on the 20th? I am for sure, $30 all you can drink for 5 hours and a lot of great beers (not generic Bud Light crap.)

Good idea!

I second Eddie's Attic. They have an "open mic night", that's about the least open I've ever seen. There's a sign-up sheet months ahead, and everybody who gets on is really good. It's the normal folky, singer-songwriterish open mic stuff, but without all the usual sloppy tuning and forgotten lyrics. I think 'Open' Mic Night is on Mondays.

This isn't really a "restaurant" per se, but Sawicki's on Ponce is an awesome butcher/fishmonger/etc. with tons of great variety. Lynne will order anything you want, and is a blast to talk to about food.

The Glory of all Glory in Atlanta is at the Northside Tavern. Live Blues every night featuring my hero on Sundays and Tuesdays. If you know what's hot you'll use the web to find out how to get there.

-Bill