I've seen a few threads with some ideas, but wanted to put together something separate for my board brethren who are making the trip and perhaps have never been to Atlanta. One of these years the stars will align and I will be able to make it when SU is in the Final Four (2003 was when I was moving up to Syracuse from DC and this year my wife and I have a funeral to be at this weekend), but hope all of you have a fantastic time, both at the Georgia Dome and out and about in ATL. These are tips I have collected from some of my contacts in the Atlanta area.
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- Best place for breakfast: http://www.rthomasdeluxegrill.net/
- Best bloody Mary’s in Georgia: http://www.thenookatlanta.com/
- Really suggest if the weather is nice they check out Piedmont Park and the botanical garden (for the outdoorsy types). Otherwise, the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola are must-see’s as well.
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A must is the aquarium. Best in the world in my opinion. If time permits, Stone Mountain park. Zoo is small but nice, especially the gorillas. Word of Coke is good. There are too many awesome restaurants to even start. Vortex is known for burgers, The Varsity is a legend for hot dogs and an Atlanta icon. The Bone Garden is good Mexican. A really good “soul food” place -- Gladis and Ron's. Hope this helps.
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After a rainy Friday, the weekend is supposed to be beautiful, so your friends will see the best of ATL weather. I hope they are staying downtown, where they can walk to everything, since most of the action will be around the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park. If they are NOT staying downtown, I highly recommend they do NOT drive downtown. Traffic will be apocalyptic! They should drive to the MARTA (subway) station nearest their hotel and take the train into town. If they don't, they will risk hours sitting in traffic.
There are a LOT of actiivities going on in conjunction with the tournament. We're all excited about the FREE concert series:
http://www.ncaa.com/final-four#!big_dance, especially on Sunday with Dave Matthews Band and Sting.
Your friends also need to schedule time to do the touristy things, including the World of Coke museum and ESPECIALLY the Georgia Aquarium. I volunteer at the Aquarium and it is spectacular. "The world' most engaging aquarium experience"...it will be PACKED this weekend, so I would suggest they buy tickets online in advance. They should make sure they select a time to attend the AT&T Dolphin Tales show - it is free with admission but requires a separate entry ticket, something that many guests miss.
www.georgiaaquarium.org.
If they want to do historical type touristy things, I'd suggest Auburn Avenue, where MLK's birthplace is, and the Ebenezer Baptist Church. They could do the CNN Tour while downtown, something I always recommend for first-time guests, but there's going to be so much media around this weekend, the CNN Tour might be anticlimatic. Oh, I think the Braves are in town this weekend too...
There will be celebrities EVERYWHERE, especially sports celebs, so your friends who are into that sort of thing should keep their eyes peeled for sightings!
There are so many places to eat...since I'm focused on downtown, I'd suggest the patio at Ruth's Chris steakhouse, a great people-watching, wine drinking spot. They may also be able to hear the Centennial Park concerts from there as well. The Westin hotel has a fabulous bar and restaurant on the top floor...and it rotates, giving a spectacular view of the entire Atlanta metro area. Always a popular stop! Nikolai's Roof, at the Hilton hotel (I think), is also great - but pricey.
Buckhead is another great destination, both for celeb sightings and for a ton of great bars and restaurants.
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- Aquarium is amazing (and I have been to some all over the world)
- Ecco on 8th street is great. Dine dining
- Tin Drum on Peachtree and Fresh To Order are great fast casual (and my clients)
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One suggestion is to get out of downtown when they can and get to places like Decatur, the West Side, and East Atlanta.
- Best Burger in the city: A tie between Bocado and Holeman and Finch (H & now has a stand within Turner Field as well.)
- Best Pizza: Antico Napoletana, or Ammazza - both proper Neopolitan pizza
- Best Drinks: Lots of choices here. Leon's Full Service in Decatur is great, as is H. Harper Station, Sound Table, really a long list.
- Best Deli: Easy, we only have one - opened recently near Emory - The General Muir. Todd Ginsberg formerly of Bocado is the chef there.
- Oddest thing to do after a game: Clermont Lounge - open all night - not really sure how to describe it best but it's where people go to drink PBR and watch strippers literally old enough to have an AARP card dance. When Alton Brown and Anthony Bourdain visited Atlanta, they spent some time here.
- Best Asian Food: Get up to Buford Highway. Stone Bowl House for Korean is unbelievable. Cafe 101 and Gu's Bistro are great for Szechuan. Quoc Huong for banh mi.
- Best New Restaurant: The Argosy in my neighborhood - East Atlanta Village.
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- Georgia Aquarium
- Atlanta Botanical Gardens (it's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend) - they have an orchid house that is awesome
- Little Five Points and Virginia Highlands are cool eclectic areas to walk around and have shops/restaurants/bars
- One of my favorite restaurants is downtown next to the Fox Theatre - it's call Baraonda - wood fire pizza, great pasta, great wine list, cool clientele
- For a true southern flair - Mary Mac's Tea Room on Ponce de Leon Ave is a southern classic
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Enjoy and if I get any more responses I will add them here.
