Fave Five: Atlanta’s best southern restaurants
Dubbed the “capital of the South,” you would expect Atlanta
to have excellent southern food. And you would be absolutely right. Atlanta’s
selection of southern restaurants is so impressive, in fact, that it was difficult
to pare it down to just the top five. But I tried my best, and my list of
favorites is below.
Keep these options in mind next time you’re craving fried
chicken or need to impress a first-time Atlanta visitor. Restaurants number 2
& 4 on the list will come especially handy if you want to have a themed
dinner before seeing a show – like “The Color Purple” – at the Fox Theatre,
since they’re located the closest to it.
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| (c) Matthew Murphy |
“The Color Purple” tells the story of a young African-American
woman living in the South at the turn of the 20th century. Grab a proper
southern dinner before the show and enjoy the Tony Award-winning musical
October 24-29 at the fabulous Fox Theatre.
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| (c) Matthew Murphy |
And if you’re going to a Sunday afternoon show, be sure to
check out restaurant #3 on the list below for a pre-show brunch option (tickets are still available).
The original Ford Fry restaurant has the best fried chicken
in Atlanta, at least in my humble opinion. Cooked just right and served with
collard greens and buttermilk biscuits, it would be the perfect start to an
evening of southern food and art.
Located just half a mile from the Fox Theatre, this
restaurant is as authentic as southern food gets in Atlanta. No matter what you
order as your entrée (think classic dishes like chicken and dumplings, roast
pork and rainbow trout), get the mac & cheese as your side. It’s some of
the best in Atlanta.
When you want down ‘n dirty southern breakfast food, you
come to this place and you order the comfy chicken biscuit: A giant plate of
fried chicken, sausage gravy, and an orange slice. There is most definitely a
wait on the weekends, so come early (like, 7 am) if you want to be seated right
away.
This is a classic Atlanta restaurant where you take someone
you want to impress. Chef Zeb Stevenson knows what he’s doing when it comes to
southern food. Everything on the menu is mouthwatering, so don’t feel bad if
you fill up on the starters, like deviled eggs, pimento cheese and heirloom
tomato pie.
If you’re up for some delicious soul food, come to this west
Midtown restaurant. Chef Deborah VanTrece puts her own spin on authentic creole
dishes with creations like chitterling sausage, low country boil loaded baked
potato, and stuffed turkey wings with Cajun cornbread.