Hi!

Any reccomendations for restaurants in Atlanta? I particularly like locally sourced food.

thanks!

Hi Patti,
I used to live in Atlanta, but it wasn't for very long and it was a LONG time ago.
Have never been, but people rave about CANOE. http://www.canoeatl.com/
Also, if you want to lunch in an Old South institution with amazing fried chicken, biscuits, sweet potato pie, etc... go to Mary Mac's http://www.marymacs.com/Menu/tabid/54/Default.aspx
When I worked in Midtown we'd go there for lunch. Great for people watching too.
When are you going? I can ask some friends for their recommendations to.

[Jenise]

Carrie, one piece of bad news about Mary Mac's--I regret to say that the fried chicken is no longer worth going for. Bob and I stopped there the last time we were there and got some chicken to go as we were short on time and headed to the airport. It was awful, might as well have been Swanson's frozen. It had all the same characteristics--darker in color than fresh, stringy, and an off flavor all of which indicated it had been previously fried, and possibly even frozen then refried for service. We couldn't eat it.

Carrie, one piece of bad news about Mary Mac's--I regret to say that the fried chicken is no longer worth going for. Bob and I stopped there the last time we were there and got some chicken to go as we were short on time and headed to the airport. It was awful, might as well have been Swanson's frozen. It had all the same characteristics--darker in color than fresh, stringy, and an off flavor all of which indicated it had been previously fried, and possibly even frozen then refried for service. We couldn't eat it.

Say it aint soooooo! Shoot. Thanks for the update. That is REALLY sad.

[Jenise]

It IS sad. Guess it's how they decided to streamline service to cope with heavy demand. Beautiful room(s), though.

[Jenise]

We're going to be visiting Atlanta again ourselves here very soon, and I just spent an hour or so wandering around the internet looking for ideas of where to dine. I found a great blog called Creative Loafing (worth a look, Patti), and on that she mentioned some restaurants opening in 2012 she was excited about. One was an Indian restaurant devoted to the cuisine of Kerala (I think Shaji is from Kerala), a region so food-rich that Anthony Bourdain devoted an entire episode to it separate from the rest of his travels in India.

I've already made a reservation.

http://www.cardamomhill.net/dinner.html.

Jenise,
I would love to hear what you have to say about Cardamom Hill. I haven't been to Atlanta since 2004 but I love the food from my parent's part of the world. We were in Kerala last August and I had many a splendid meals. I will dig around and see if I have any pictures floating around!
-Shaji

[Jenise]

Shaji, the food was OMG good. One of the two best restaurant Indian food meals of my life. Revealing and inspiring. Will fill in more details when I'm in front os a proper keyboard.

[Jenise]

Got another recco for Patti. Best pizza I've had in YEARS by far, and best ever in the US: Antico. Somewhere in midtown Atlanta. Crusts come out bubbly and mildly blackened from the inferno heat of the wood fired ovens, and the toppings are outstanding in terms of freshness, quality and being just a bit different. We had spicy soppressata, bufala, and some tiny whole red pickled peppers of a type I've never seen before but might spend the rest of my life searching for. Its entirely possible that I will find my way back before I leave. Where you eat is on these big gang tables in front of the three huge ovens that look ready for just about anything including human sacrifice. Wonderfully primitive, and highly highly recommended.

[Jenise]

Patti, found a great Atlanta magazine you need to find when you get there. It was a freebie at the hotel we stayed in our first night, but it has better and more objective information than you normally expect from such things. Haven't unpacked it yet so I can't remember it's name. When are you going?