When in Atlanta...

I'm in the mood to play tour guide today, so I'm talking about my city a bit. I've lived in metro-Atlanta for more than six years now, and here, that makes me practically a native, cause people move in and out of Atlanta like they're changing their clothes. Here are some things you simply must do if you're ever in town.

Food
I'll start here, because Atlanta's obesity rate belies the fact that, well, we like to eat.

Daddy D'z BBQ: A few years ago David and I did a Barbecue tour of Atlanta, where we decided to go to as many BBQ joints as we could and find the best one. Once we found Daddy D'z we never felt the need to look any further. It's in the a shady little neighborhood not far from Turner Field and Oakland Cemetery (where Margaret Mitchell is buried). The 'Q is great, and their sides are excellent. Cornbread like CAKE, folks. Everything is served on a styrofoam plate, and on Friday and Saturday nights they have blues bands play. It is a dive like no other--on the roof is a big pig with bloodshot eyes and huge letters that say "I'm DYING for some Daddy D'z!"--but you will drool all over yourself once you go there.

Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken and Waffles: Fried Chicken. Waffles. Together. On the same plate, with The World's Finest Mac and Cheese. If it sounds strange to you, don't be alarmed. It is greasy goodness that you won't soon forget. There are several locations; I went to the one in Midtown on P'tree Street. It's near the Fox, and open till 4 a.m. on the weekends, so you can go before or after the show... or both! (Just kidding.) They may have to roll you out when you're done, but that's okay. It's so worth it.
Chops: One of Atlanta's best steakhouses. Not cheap, but you get incredible food and impeccable service.
Avondale Pizza Cafe: Everyone in Atlanta talks about Fellini's and don't get me wrong, I don't cry when I eat there either. But for a divey atmosphere and incredible New York style pizza, hit this cafe on the east side of town. I like just a sausage pizza, cause it's so good there's not much need for much else. I also have to rave about their house salad dressing, which is completely crave-able.
Bollywood Masala: I love this place in Decatur for Indian. The whole theme is Bollywood movies, so they play clips on a ginormous screen and have pictures of Bollywood stars up all over the place. And the food is delish. The owners have a vegetarian place right next door, but I'm a meat kind of girl, so this is even better. They keep the naan coming through the meal, which always makes me happy. I've been known to eat here on consecutive days, that's how much I like it.

Festivals
You can just about always find a festival in Atlanta, so there's never a shortage. That said, I really do miss the days of Music Midtown, where thousands of music fans took over Midtown for three days of music on multiple stages. So what if it always poured buckets? There was tons of live music to be had--for cheap. Oh, well. Here are some of my current favorites, as well as one I'm still dreaming about attending.

Dogwood Festival: This falls in April and is held in Piedmont Park, one of the only good-sized stretches of green space in the city. It is always right as the weather gets really gorgeous and everyone is itching to get out, so it's usually really crowded. They have top-notch artists, live bands and the Disc Dog Nationals, which is really amazing! It's dogs of all shapes and sizes catching frisbee after frisbee after frisbee. This year on 4/13-4/15.


Inman Park Festival: To people in the know, this is actually THE festival to attend. Inman Park is such a great neighborhood--Atlanta's first planned community, and this festival is really unique. It includes a fahbulous tour of tomes, a juried arts & crafts plus the requisit street market. This year on 4/28 and 4/29.

Corndogorama: I think this is actually an indie-rock festival held in East Atlanta each June. That's great, but what I really care about is that there are deep-fried meat products on a stick. I really wanna go. Anyone care to join me?

Purty Places
David and I like to hike, so we often head to North Georgia or North Carolina to get in a decent vista. However, when time constraints limit us to the city, never fear! There are still pretty places to see.

Kennesaw Mountain: This was the site of a big ole Civil War battle. It is also a great place to get in a 2-3 hour hike. And it's free! (You don't even have to pay to park, which we like a lot). We like to go up what's called "Little K" first, then up "Big K", then back. Little K actually feels like a real hike and it's less trafficked than Big K (where the trails are heavily used--except for the people who ride the bus up the mountain. Sigh.). We often see people training for the AT on Little K during winter, so don't be surprised if you see big backpacks on folks. You can supposedly see Stone Mountain from the top of Big K. All I've ever been able to see is a bunch of strip malls and on a rare occasion the Bank of America building.

Stone Mountain: We live very very close to Stone Mountain, but will gladly make the drive to Kennesaw to hike for several reasons. One, it's expensive--7 or 8 bucks just to enter the park. Two, it's very very very touristy. Three, once you pay to get IN the park, you have to pay to do just about everything else, too. The only trail I've done is the Cherokee trail, which is about five miles and goes alllllll the way around the base of the big rock. There are parts that are very pretty and feel very secluded, but also parts where you're walking at bizarre angles over barren rock. But I've also taken Ada in her stroller and done the sidewalk around the park and that's a nice little stroll too. Can't comment on the laser show. People flock to it. I think it sounds strange and haven't actually been since I was about 10 and here visiting with the fam.

There's much more to talk about here in Atlanta... including shopping, fun stuff and more. Come back sometime and I'll do some more guiding for you.

Lindsay