I wish I was telling you about car rentals because you need them to see all the fabulous toursity sites in Atlanta. Yes, you’ll want a car for some of those too. But we only rented one for a little while during our trip to Atlanta last week and I wanted to make sure we made really good use of our time. We popped right off a red eye from Seattle too early on a Sunday all bleary-eyed and starving and realized we might just beat the brunch rush.
Our first adventure in Atlanta was definitely the most perfect: Buttermilk Kitchen in the Buckhead area, an adorable cafe full of waiters with sweet bow ties, chairs adorned with burlap and beverages served in mason jars.
I had some French toast sticks that you could dip into a fiery chocolate sauce and my caramelized yogurt-capped grapefruit was to die for.
The hubby liked their french-pressed coffee too. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal and I noticed quite a few kids in the restaurant while we were there. (There was a stack of high chairs to boot!) The owner even heard we had come from far away and stopped by our table to say hello. (This place really was the sweetest!) By the time we left the Buttermilk Kitchen was packed. I’m so glad we had a chance to drop in.
We also made a very purposeful lunch stop at a place the hubby’s barber told him about. Apparently you can’t go to Atlanta without dining at the Varsity. And when I heard it’s a drive-in, I decided we must eat in our car.
“What’ll ya have, what’ll ya have?” sang our waiter through our car window as we pulled in. “Time please” was all we could reply. We totally were overwhelmed with the menu, because although it’s simple, it’s one of those you know there’s secrets to like In n Out Burger. Eventually we made up our minds on some yummy greasy delights (including a pimento grilled cheese-I saw pimento cheese on SO many menus here. What a neat combo!) and although it’s not the healthiest, it’s diner food and it’s totally fun and we’ve never eaten in a car like this before. The guys thought the hats were pretty cool too.
After all that food you think we’d be finished with this tour, but I had one more stop I wanted to see: Sublime donuts.
I read that they had amazing donuts and I was really intrigued by the cute shaped donuts I saw on their website. I’ve only ever seen one’s like these in Japan and I love how cute they are.
Apparently Sublime Donuts can even personalize donuts if you give them some time.
We were so full that we just bought a couple to take back to our hotel and they were really tasty but while I waited in line the place filled up and people in front and behind me were ordering them by the double dozen. I saw someone buying a neat bottled drink so I bought one too. It turns out it was a house-made sweet tea and it was very refreshing and oh so cool.
Atlanta definitely has some fun places to get food and I’m so glad we rented a car so that we could see some that we never would have got to if we didn’t have our own wheels.
(Ps: we did end up getting to a few more spots and not all food but I still have Sunshine in My Belly on my list as a place I want to go back and eat at and the Swan House and the Goat Farm Arts Center are both places I wanted to see because I heard they were in the Hunger Games Catching fire trailer. I’m so excited about that movie!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
You definitely hit up some good restaurants while you were here! We love Buttermilk Kitchen, and it is definitely kid friendly. The Varsity is an Atlanta institution, not one we visit often, only when friends are in town 🙂 I would say Swan Coach House is fun if you are going with a group of girls, and the food is good, but not great. Can’t wait to hear more about your trip! And we are headed to Seattle in two weeks!