Atlanta

I do business with a guy who was just in Atlanta visiting his daughter. He told me about a place called the Sweet Water Brewery. Said it was an awesome place to get a lot of beer for $10.
Then he also said around the corner from the brewery there's a great place for ribs. He couldn't remember the name of the place. Just that it looks like ass from the outside, but you get in and you're like "ok, this isn't bad." Great ribs though.

Sweetwater is one of our more successful local breweries, yeah. Personally I'm not a huge fan of their beers, but it's very popular. There's also Monday Night Brewing in downtown, and Red Hare a little northwest in Marietta.

If you really just want good beer, go to Brick Store Pub or The Porter. They're not breweries so you're not doing the $10 for tickets thing, but they have the best selections in the city and amazing food. They're two of my favorite restaurants in town.

I grew up in Atlanta, and had a lot of people visit me. I think the places that they most enjoyed (in no order) were Stone Mountain, Georgia Aquarium, Helen, Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield, Coca Cola Factory . . . there are lots of places to eat. If you're in the mood to party a bit, go to Buckhead (plenty of places to eat there, too!)

Thanks. The biggest problem with going to the breweries is that we will have our 1.5 year old daughter with us. Granted, my wife doesn't drink, but I don't want my daughter sitting around in a bar.

Thanks. The biggest problem with going to the breweries is that we will have our 1.5 year old daughter with us. Granted, my wife doesn't drink, but I don't want my daughter sitting around in a bar.

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Careful, in Georgia, smoking is still allowed in restaurants, so some places will not have a non-smoking area which means, no kids allowed. Vortex, which someone mentioned, being one of those. But don't worry, plenty of other better burger joints around.

For breakfast, I likehttp://thumbsupdiner.com/

Smoking is only allowed if the restaurant has separate ventilation for the smoking and non-smoking areas or does not allow anyone under 21.

Smoking is only allowed if the restaurant has separate ventilation for the smoking and non-smoking areas or does not allow anyone under 21.

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Yeah I know. I said SOME places don't have a no-smoking area, so no kids allows (he has a kid), but yea the correct description is no one under 21, his kid is 1.5, don't think the under 21 makes much of a difference for him...and Vortex specifically, which someone recommended is one of those places. But yeah, I see where I wasn't clear in stating that not all restaurants allow smoking. I was mostly just thinking of Vortex in this case.

I leave tomorrow morning for Atlanta. I was also given 2 other suggestions.

1.) BBQ place called Fat Matt's
2.) Steak place called Kevin Rathbun Steak. This one is supposedly the 5th best steak house in the country. Neat.

Parker's on Ponce is good and you can walk around downtown Decatur, go to Brickstore, etc. after.

Fat Mac's is great barbecue but I personally think that Bonelick BBQ is better. It's less traditionally southern barbecue, but their pulled pork is the best I have ever had anywhere.

Rathbun's is great but very expensive and you'll want a reservation. It's white tablecoth dining.

I know I keep harping on them, but if I was visiting for a couple days and had a limited amount of time I'd definitely check out The Porter, Iberian Pig, and Bonelick. If I wanted something more exotic, Cardamom Hill is very good Indian, and Spice Market is an upscale Asian fusion restaurant that is just killer. For a burger, try Flip Burger on Howell Mill. It's cheaper than the hipster burger joints and they have some great options (try the chorizo burger if they have it that day).

I'd check out downtown Decatur one day this weekend just to take the family. There's always something going on in the square, and there are awesome places to eat nearby (like Iberian Pig and Brickstore).

Flip is overrated due to celebrity chef ownership, though the chorizo burger is indeed excellent and the liquid nitrogen shakes are fun. Go for Farmburger for straight burgers, imo. Iberian Pig is good; I'll second that.

Yeah, I'll grant you that. On the other hand, Flip is strangely affordable. It's cheaper than Farmburger; hell it's cheaper than Five Guys.

I spent a week there last year. Had a pretty good time. Did the museum, the aquarium (fucking whale sharks!), stayed mostly up in Sandy Springs. Lot of cool restaurants and bars. Sometimes it was nice to just walk around looking at all the mansions. Not just big houses, actual estates. Climbed up Stone Mountain which was also pretty awesome.



...stay away from the strips clubs though...

LOL, Atlanta strip clubs are awesome. Full nude + liquor, right in the evangelical south.

So far I'm enjoying this trip.

We're 3 days in and we've walked a little over 10 miles so far. 6.15 miles yesterday alone.

We're staying at the Hilton (connected to the Marriott). I wish we were at the Marriott, though. That place is awesome. It has the feel and layout of a Vegas casino. And I love the look of the outside.

So far, we've only managed to eat at Flying Biscut, from the big list. Our biggest problem is that most places are just too far away, and we're determined to walk everywhere.
However, we went to this really awesome casual style restaurant thing. It's almost laid out like fast food, but the stuff is so much better than that.

Aviva or something. It's in the mall attached to the Marriott. The chef/owner, really takes pride in his restaurant, and the food shows it. Really really good.

As far as the Biscuit, we got there at around 10:30am on Sunday. We didn't actually get seated until 11:30. They served us our food around 12:00. It's slow, but it was decent. I won't say incredible, but it was good none the less.

I plan on making a trip to Bone Lick some time while we're here. Shoya is out because it's really far. Hell, here's a map that I made of the places you guys suggested.
The only location that I think is wrong is the Zoo. For some reason, it's listed as right next to the Aquarium, and that isn't correct.

As far as the Aquarium, we went there today. Yes, the Whale Shark tank was pretty awesome as was the 30 foot tall viewing wall. But the rest of the place kind of sucks. You can EASILY see the entire place in like 2-3 hours if you don't have a kid slowing you down.

Baltimore is a much nicer aquarium on all fronts. Multiple buildings, much cooler selections. I love that Baltimore is split between multiple buildings and has the upper Rain Forrest area. Sure, it may have less water volume on display, but it makes much better use of what it does have.

Ok, I'm done bitching. Looking forward to the rest of the trip, even if it means going out of my way to try some of these food locations.

You're in the same hotel complex that DragonCon is hosted in every year. The Marriott is pretty much grand central station for that whole convention since it's the middle of the 3 major hotels (Hyatt, Marriot and Hilton). Used to be a great piano bar and restaurant near there, but sadly it closed. There's lots of great stuff along Peachtree St. though. If you really insist on walking, just stick to that road and walk north from where you are. It's the main artery of the city.

Atlanta is not a walking city, sorry. The height of the map you posted is about half the distance most people commute to work.

Yeah, I understand. Most cities aren't "walking". There's entirely too much land to cover with good things spread out. Fortunately, the majority of the attractions found in the Atlanta City Pass are very close together.

We took a cab over to the Zoo today, and my daughter appeared to enjoy it, so that was a win.

We're taking another cab this evening to the Bone Lick BBQ. Really looking forward to that one.

Hope you enjoyed Bone Lick. I'm headed there right now for lunch!

We finished off our week-long trip today by heading to Fernbank Natural History Museum. Our daughter had a lot of fun there, so we stayed for 3-4 hours to keep her entertained.

After that, we went to Kevin Rathbun Steak for dinner. It was incredible. No wonder it was voted #5 in the Country. We shared a Cowboy Ribeye, creamed spinach, foie gras, and lobster fritters. Delicious meal, and only $150 after tip. If I lived in the area, I would ABSOLUTELY go back at least quarterly.

Today was a lot of fun. Your city is a lot nicer than I would have imagined, but a full week here was long enough. I miss having my car, and the joy of our house. This was great, but it'll be nice to be home.