espagnole
Senior member
Posts: 260
L'etat, c'est moi
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« on: February 24, 2008, 09:32:59 AM » |
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I will be attending a conference in Atlanta soon and am looking for ideas of things to do and see, as well as good places to eat. I am especially interested in any "must visit" locations. The conference will be held downtown near Peachtree Center, but I am willing to rent a car and do some travelling. Thanks.
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copper
Ice Road Truckin'
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Shaking up the Shakespeare in his velveteen.
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« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2008, 09:48:05 AM » |
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The Georgia Aquarium. I'm making a special visit to Atlanta soon just to see the Aq. Oh, and some, family.
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"The most exciting things in life require more courage than we currently have." -- Jack McPhee, or whoever wrote the 4th season of Dawson's.
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croaker
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« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2008, 09:52:04 AM » |
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Stone Mountain is pretty close.
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titania
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« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2008, 10:00:35 AM » |
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Atlanta is not big on "must visit" locations. Besides the two mentioned though, I have also heard that the Botanical Gardens are worth a visit.
There are lots of decent places to eat. Try and see if you can visit the North Highlands or Little Five Points or Midtown neighborhoods to eat out. Those are the neighborhoods most people go to for evening activities. Little Five Points is a little more...eclectic. North Highland and Midtown are a little more upscale. Downtown Decatur is also a cute little centralized square with lots of nice eateries and a small square to walk around. It can be nice if there are outdoor bands or something like that.
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espagnole
Senior member
Posts: 260
L'etat, c'est moi
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« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2008, 12:33:10 PM » |
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Any specific restaurant recommendations? My uni is in a small town and I really look forward to conferences for big city dining.
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titania
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« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2008, 01:57:36 PM » |
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I am a real foodie - here are a few places (you can google most of these for types of food and prices):
Cheap:
Flying Biscuit (well-loved Atlanta key spot - particularly the one in Candler Park)
Alon's (not really cheap, but delicious bakery)
Vortex (fun hamburgers)
Las Palmeras (Cuban)
Everybody's Pizza (good and big servings)
Crescent Moon (fun diner)
Park Tavern (great for live music next to park)
Mellow Mushroom (a staple Southern pizza place with toppings like pesto and sundried tomatoes)
Medium:
Loca Luna (tapas)
Pura Vida (tapas)
MF Sushi Bar (trendy)
Noche (tapas)
Agnes and Muriel's (Southern)
Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant (good ethiopian)
Nicola's (Lebanese)
Upscale:
Murphy's (great desserts)
Food 101 (trendy)
Two Urban Licks (trendy)
Watershed (Organic and local food - excellent)
Cafe Lily (not been there yet but good rep)
Babette's Cafe (not been there yet but good rep)
Mezza (Lebanese)
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daurousseau
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« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2008, 02:37:09 PM » |
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Any specific restaurant recommendations? My uni is in a small town and I really look forward to conferences for big city dining.
There are no good, fun restaurants in Atlanta. There are a couple pretty good ones, such as Bacchanalia, but no one would call it fun. Canoe will do for a pretty location. Surin is OK for creative Thai food. Ray's on the River may have a good vocalist your night. Fuego always has a great guitar and rhythm band on weekends. Shorty's is fun for a least a couple of dinners, especially if you get the apple pizza for dessert. Floataway is good for creative dishes. For foodies, there's nowhere to go other than Buford Highway and other ethnic areas. There's some pretty good Korean and other ethnic restaurants tucked away out of sight, with no or minimal English signage. If you like vegetarian Indian, Madras Saravana Bhavan is the place. For vegetarian and meat both, Cafe Bombay has a delicious buffet during the day--inexpensive, too. Cafe Istanbul is OK Turkish with frequent belly-dancing and nice hosts. Niccola's is Lebanese, reliable. Cedars is Lebanese buffet, pleasant atmosphere and inexpensive. The best restaurants in this area went out of business. Tells you something about the clientele. Atlanta is not the big city. When I want a good meal, I drive to Nashville or fly to the Bay Area or Oregon. |
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qrypt
Qryptacular & not really a Member-Moderator
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Posts: 5,439
the great vampire squid round the face of humanity
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« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2008, 03:00:00 PM » |
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Isn't there some sort of Sherman memorial?
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notaprof
Not a
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This space for rent
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« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2008, 03:11:52 PM » |
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When I had time to kill in Atlanta I went to the Coca Cola museum and the underground shopping place. They were both a disappointment and I didn't have high expectations. I just enjoy walking around with no real destination in mind and I found some of the architecture appealing. I rather enjoyed walking around the Olympics plaza and reading some of the inscriptions on the bricks. I am easily entertained and find designs on manhole covers and patterns in tree bark interesting so take my advice with that in mind. I can honestly say that I am rarely bored, but I do boring things happily.
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phdbliss
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« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2008, 03:46:05 PM » |
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I love the Coca Cola museum! You get to taste all the different and weird varieties of Coke products from all over the world, which is tasty...sometimes.
The Varsity is an Atlanta tradition. Go there for a great burger and fries.
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hollow_man
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« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2008, 09:02:44 PM » |
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The Coke museum used to be a disaster, despite the tasting room, which was sort of fun for 10 min. It has recently been re-invented at a new site and may be better. But I would never again spend my money to be fed Coke propaganda.
No one has mentioned the High Museum, which is excellent, or the MLK Jr. historical area, which is both important and moving, and can be experienced in just a couple of hours.
No matter what time of year you come, there are bound to be pro sports events going on, if that interests you.
The comment that Atlanta is "not the big city" is the most preposterous kind of snobbery. It is a *very* big city, with possibly atrocious taste in food.
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titania
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« Reply #11 on: February 24, 2008, 11:31:37 PM » |
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The comment that Atlanta is "not the big city" is the most preposterous kind of snobbery. It is a *very* big city, with possibly atrocious taste in food.
Even the food is not that bad. And I am from the Bay Area so I know good food. There are some types of food that you just can't get in Atlanta but if you work to the strengths that are here, and don't expect to go to the high end $50 a plate food, there are some fun decent places. |
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gastr1
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« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2008, 09:59:23 PM » |
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Check the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's restaurant guide ( www.ajc.com). Watershed is a good call. I would include Sotto Sotto (contemporary Italian) and Dish--I can't imagine that place not being fun. I wouldn't include Murphy's or Everybody's Pizza, personally. |
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t_folk
Your mom's a
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« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2008, 10:08:31 PM » |
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Clairmont Lounge ... heh heh heh ... trust me! (you'll want to go around 2:00 am!)
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titania
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« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2008, 10:09:46 PM » |
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Check the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's restaurant guide ( www.ajc.com). Watershed is a good call. I would include Sotto Sotto (contemporary Italian) and Dish--I can't imagine that place not being fun. I wouldn't include Murphy's or Everybody's Pizza, personally. When you are a grad student places that give you a lot of food for little money are important... :) Clearly most people posting here have way more money than I do! Next time I will stick to one or two recommendations. |
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