Midtown Lunch

My favorite little sister moved to Atlanta for grad school this year. I got to visit her recently, and was able to rekindle my love for fattening, Southern food. Philly has so much to offer, but we really haven’t nailed that Southern thing yet.

This first picture was taken at The Silver Skillet (200 14th St NW), which looks essentially like how I picture all old Southern diners.

At The Silver Skillet I ordered skillet country ham on a biscuit with a side of gravy. The salty, crisped up meat on the buttery biscuit was exactly what I hoped for. This cost under $5. And my sister loved her equally chicken biscuit (fried chicken biscuit sandwich). Though I don’t always want to listen to Diners, Drive ins, and Dives recomendations, Guy Fieri did not steer us wrong here.

Isn’t she adorable, picking at her chicken? 

My sister took me to a Carribean spot  (3358 E Ponce De Leon Ave, Scottdale, GA) for amazing, smokey, spicy jerk chicken. Half the appeal though, is the fact that this chicken comes from a shack on the side of a road. Philly is lacking in shacks. We have the Jamaican Jerk hut, but a plate of chicken there costs about 3 times what it did here. Shacks  and/or huts should = cheap!

At Daddy D’z BBQ Joynt (264 Memorial Dr SE), a $16 sampler platter comes with enough food for 3 people; ‘Que Wraps, 2 Ribs, Beef, Pork, and choice of one side order- obviously mac and cheese (just ok). What are ‘Que wraps? Pulled BBQ pork  wrapped in dough and fried, basically a mini  pork spring roll. While the BBQ was pretty good, the ‘Que wraps were unique and addicting. Philly bars need these.

Mary Mac’s Tea Room is an Atlanta classic (224 Ponce de Leon Ave), as its been deemed “Atlanta’s Official Dining Room” by the State of Georgia. As a first timer, we were given “pot lickers” complimentary- a little bowl of collard greens in broth with a fried pork corn bread. Yea, corn bread with fried pork in it, hello. More free things: yeast rolls, more corn bread, and cinnamon buns. As for the stuff we actually paid for- I loved my Whiskey Lemonade and my chicken fried steak. The tomato pie and fried green tomato side dishes I picked to go with it were almost better than the chicken. Maybe the best FGT I have had, the breading stayed on like it was superglued. I am still not quite sure what the Southern version of tomato pie is, but it is NOTHING like what Philly considers a tomato pie; instead, a lovely mush of tomatoes and cheese. A perfect Southern dining experience, complete with super friendly staff.  I made sure to pick up some pepper sauce, which apparently every table in Atlanta has, to take home.

And for food shopping, there is reall nothing that can campete with the Dekalb Farmer’s Market (3000 E Ponce De Leon Ave, Decatur, GA). It is the Disneyworld for people who like food. They sell everything you want in one place, neatly organized, with reasonable prices; produce, baked goods, wine, meat and cheese departments, desserts, spices, and hard to find speciality items. From their own beef jerky to their chocolate chip cookes- perfection all around.

Other stellar stops included The Porter Beer Bar and Crawfish Shack seafood. Who else has Atlanta recommendations for my next visit?