Things to see and do in Atlanta

Maroon92 wrote:

David S. Wallens wrote: . The Varsity is worth a stop for an F.O. and a dog.

WHATTAYA HAVE WHATTAYA HAVE WHATTAYA HAVE?

My answer has always been" Heartburn".......

poopshovel wrote: The only reason to go to the Clermont Lounge is so you can tell all your friends what a horrible experience you had there. Now the Body Tap (bka the 'Booty Tap,') that place was legendary...until it burned to the ground.

It's a hazy memory, but I remember going there once to see my friends' band play. And yeah, it's an experience.

Curmudgeon wrote: Gawd, a Varsity chili cheese dog was nearly the greasiest thing I have ever eaten. Yum.

...only 'nearly' the greatest thing because you forgot the slaw, dumbass.

surf craigslist while you are there, seems all the cool stuff pops up around atlanta.

Check out the Summit Racing store, it's east of town, not sure which interstate it borders. Showroom is big as a warehouse. They have some restored vintage speedway cars / hot rods and stuff in the showroom.

poopshovel wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: Gawd, a Varsity chili cheese dog was nearly the greasiest thing I have ever eaten. Yum.

...only 'nearly' the greatest thing because you forgot the slaw, dumbass.

Um... they have greasy slaw?

Chili Cheese Slaw Dog, nyukuh.

as many time as I've been to atlanta, I still haven't been to the Varsity.

The Varsity may have the worst food I've ever eaten. And I've eaten at the Beacon!

The best thing I've seen in Atlanta is Malfunction Junction in the rear view mirror.

spitfirebill wrote: The Varsity may have the worst food I've ever eaten.

Why do you hate America?

Clermont Lounge? Isn't that the place Noelle said "is where old strippers go to die?"

Nyukah? i LOL'd.

AngryCorvair wrote: Clermont Lounge? Isn't that the place Noelle said "is where old strippers go to die?" Nyukah? i LOL'd.

If Noelle didn't say it, I will. The Clermont's a "rite of passage" for new residents of the city.

David's right about the Virginia-Highland neighborhood, great bars, great restaurants. And the original Taco Mac is there. If you're into "Indie Music", I have to admit that Atl's not the powerhouse it was 25yrs ago. There's still some good stuff here, but it's moved from downtown (RIP, 688 and Metroplex) to East Atlanta. EA's now what "Little Five Points" was years ago. L5P's still worth a visit, though. Get a burger at The Vortex. I have to agree with everybody else about The Varsity..

Lessee, what else..the Aquarium rocks, the CNN tour is still interesting (even though CNN is "Fox Light" these days, if you're curious about how TV is actually made, you'll see some of the technical areas). Skip "Underground Atlanta", the real one died, and the new one is just wishful thinking by the Chamber of Commerce. Kids might like the World of Coca-Cola down there (strangely enough, the English girl I dated loved the place), but everything else is tourist trap trash. The Fox Theatre is a must-see if you're interested in classic movies, it's one of those "movie palaces" the studios built back when the studios were allowed to own theatres. It also retains all the stuff needed to hold a live show on stage..I saw the off-Broadway crew's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express" and "Cats" at the Fox.

http://www.foxtheatre.org/foxhistory.aspx

Stone Mountain is actually pretty cool, for the geological oddity if nothing else. Be aware that the park was originally created as a memorial to the Confederacy, tho.

Ironically, Atlanta is also Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace. The King Center has a great collection of the man's writings & artifacts.

http://www.thekingcenter.org/Default.aspx

And if you're actually young enough to enjoy rap music, the strip clubs here are where the new artists play.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2010/12/23/132287578/strip-clubs-launch-pads-for-hits-in-atlanta

Atlanta is misunderstood. We have a fantastic city here, but so much of what makes it so fantastic is because we're still trying to define what it means to be "Southern" in the modern age. I could go on, but that would hijack your thread into a "political" one. I'll just leave an old joke about Atlanta here..

The reason we call I-285 "The Perimeter" is because there's a bunch of gay folks & Democrats out there with machine guns trying to keep the rednecks out.

friedgreencorrado wrote: The reason we call I-285 "The Perimeter" is because there's a bunch of gay folks & Democrats out there with machine guns trying to keep the rednecks out.

that's funny, because outside the perimeter is a bunch of rednecks with machine guns trying to keep the gays and democrats in!

In reply to AngryCorvair:

I live only a few miles outside the perimeter and I have to say that the rednecks have failed.

There were recent proposals to build an outer loop. No word if a moat was part of the plan....

The buffalo blue cheese burger at The Vortex haunts my dreams. If I was in Atlanta, I'd get one of those.

oldsaw wrote: In reply to AngryCorvair: I live only a few miles outside the perimeter and I have to say that the rednecks have failed. There were recent proposals to build an outer loop. No word if a moat was part of the plan....

How long have people around here been talking about the proposed "outer loop" now? Seems to me that it's been ten or fifteen years. IMO, it's like talking about making MARTA a real mass-transit system, instead of an employment program for impoverished "urban" folks. The suburbs say "NO!", and nothing gets done. "Blue" island in a "Red" country. I wonder if the folks in West Berlin felt like this during the Cold War..

I was going to make some serious insults about Cobb County Transit being a racist reaction to MARTA's old expansion plans here, but I'll restrain m'self.

Osterkraut wrote: The buffalo blue cheese burger at The Vortex haunts my dreams. If I was in Atlanta, I'd get one of those.

Ost, I'll get m'self my next one in your honor.

Do you want it with, or without onion?

Varsity = good.

The world of Coke was cool, until you realize you just paid money to stare at advertisements. Checking out the CNN building was cool as well. They had a CNN news hummer from IRAQ in the lobby. It was pretty well beat up, but cool. Talk about patina.

DILYSI Dave wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: The Varsity may have the worst food I've ever eaten.

Why do you hate America?

Seriously!

Where is the vote down button!?! Nipsey Russell worked there. HOW DARE YOU!!!

On the subject of good food that is bad for you, there is also The Vortex in Midtown and in Little 5 Points. The midtown location has an old Ducati hanging from the ceiling.

Little 5 Pts used to be really cool, but then the word got out it was cool and now it is a lot of designer boutiques. But They still have Junkman's Daughter and Psycho Sisters. There is a really cool vinyl record store, Wax n Fax. So even though it is pretty played, I still make a trip back there to remind myself of my wasted youth.

Road Atlanta is worth the trip if the track is open for a driving school or something. My folks live stumbling distance from Meehan's Irish Pub, so when I say I love it there, I may be a bit biased.

Finally for a really expensive but good steak, The Highlands Tap

^^^ everything he just said. come by and visit us at the office!

Osterkraut wrote: The buffalo blue cheese burger at The Vortex haunts my dreams. If I was in Atlanta, I'd get one of those.

+1, you owe it to yourself to visit the Vortex.

One odd car related thing that's a little over half an hour drive east of Atlanta - the Microcar Museum:

http://microcarmuseum.com/

There used to be a pretty decent little car museum at Stone Mountain, but it closed down. The mountain itself is still very much worth seeing if you haven't been there. If you happen to be into kites, bring one when you hike to the top - there's usually a good breeze for flying one up there.