Coming to Atlanta anytime soon? I got you!

Hey friends--I've become a bit of a tour-guide operator in my pushiness to get people to visit Atlanta. I also tend to travel a lot in the Southeast (and in the world) so I have tried to keep good notes about what's what and what to do in different places. I'll start with my rough travel guide to Atlanta. Mind you it's pretty Decatur heavy, but hey, I do live in that part of town! Feel free to comment with any suggestions or thoughts...I am surely missing lots of things.

Dear friend,

I am so happy to hear you are coming to Atlanta. It really is a special city--but just don't get sucked into spending all your time downtown, midtown, lil' 5 points...there's so much more!

I start below with my favorite parts. If you have any kinds of food you're looking for, I'm happy to recommend!

Best places to eat: Atlanta has some of the best food at the best prices in the country. But don't just try any old place...pick something special! I urge you to avoid the "southern food home cooking places" unless it's just for kicks, because the food just aint that good.

I recommend Watershed, in my neck of the woods in Decatur. Time and time again it's rated best southern food, chef was mentored by most famous birth giver to southern cooking, edna lewis. won james beared award. for the quality of food, price is totally reasonable. beautiful restaurant, amazing food. http://www.watershedrestaurant.com/ A favorite and a real classic. Make reservations.

5 Seasons just opened a Midtown location--I love their beer and their crawfish/asparagus/creole grilled ravioli. They also have places in the 'burbs.

I like Noni's Deli http://www.nonisdeli.com/ and Dynamic Dish http://www.dynamicdish.net/ in King Memorial area. Noni's is beautifully decorated, going for the old school grandmother's Italian feel. Food is good, decent beer list, but generally a beautiful place. Dynamic Dish is BYOB and some of the most amazing fresh local food ever. The spirit of this place is right on with communal big tables and almost all locally sourced food, even if the price always feels a bit high. Near downtown, and neighborhood is interesting, in a bit of a gentrifying stage and you may get pointed towards the MLK memorial (has happened!).

I really love Buford Highway for "ethnic" food--me and everyone else in Atlanta! THEY say there is great Korean and Vietnamese and Mexican, but the best I've had is Com http://www.comgrill.com/, an amazing Vietnamese grill! With the freshest green papaya salad and divinely minty spring rolls, what this place lacks in ambiance (located in a stripmall) it more than makes up for with its delish food & cheap prices. Further out in the burbs is Pandahar, a great Bangladeshi place. But why go out there if here are so many places close by?!

Varasanos Pizzeria http://www.varasanos.com/ is new and delicious pizza place. In a lame part of town called Buckhead, but this place has been so raved about by so many people that Ben and I ventured there recently. Really good stuff.

Felini's Pizza http://www.fellinisatlanta.com/ in Candler Park (and other locations, like Decatur) has a nice sweet vibe to it, and is good pizza (by the slice or by the pie).

And the fancier places and extremely delicious: Another favorite of mine is Cakes and Ale http://www.cakesandalerestaurant.com/...yeah yeah with the local/seasonal and delicious food, a beautiful place and not stuffy or fancy. Good prices, entres in the 12-18 range I think. Shauns http://www.shaunsrestaurant.com/, and Woodfire Grill http://www.woodfiregrill.com/ are both top quality and nice restaurants. Canoe http://www.canoe-atl.com/canoe_default_content.htm too is supposed to be delectable as is Repast and Restaurant Eugene http://www.restauranteugene.com/. Haven't been to Canoe, but Shauns and WG are really good. Rest Eugene is one of the most famous in the city, and quite expensive, fancy, and lovely--if you're up for that kind of thing. Currently Shauns has a "recessions special" on Sunday night that is excellent with salad, delicious fresh pasta and gelato for $12. I really liked "One Midtown Kitchen" http://www.onemidtownkitchen.com/index-home.htm because the restaurant is really fun, fancy and totally delicious food at pretty reasonable prices.The over the top restaurant is Bachanalia, which is out of this world fancy delicious and super good, prix fixe at $75 (which is pretty good price wise considering it's the best there is in Atlanta, and it's insane!) . You know most of these restaurants are the "seasonal, local, fresh" kinds of places, and all have a regional/Southern focus. But don't think that means fried chicken/okra/grits! All above are "nice" and for a nice meal.

There are tons of dives for great southern cookin, like EATS http://www.eatsonponce.net/ and OUR WAY CAFE http://ourwaycafe.com/ but as mentioned above, I'd not prioritize them.

Now there's lots more, like Depaux (New Orleans food near my house) and tons of great Mexican (Tesoro and Nuevo Laredo are best and meet all different kinds of needs!). Plus more pubs around Decatur, like The Grange http://thegrangepublichouse.com/

Las Brasas is a great lil' Peruvian rotisserie chicken just a block from me, with delicious sweet potato fries and SUPER cheap. Also very cheap is Udipi Cafe http://www.yelp.com/biz/udipi-cafe-decatur ($6 dosas..) on Church St, any ethnic food on Buford, Taqueria del Sol (lots of cheap tacos) with a few outposts. Also Nuevo Laredo, I have no clue where it is, but a nice Mexican place with some bomb-a$$ Oaxacan tacos and pretty decent Margaritas (not that I have a discerning margarita pallette though).

Also in Decatur is Bhojanic http://www.bhojanic.com/ that has some of the most creative Indian food, especially their nan wraps with a fried egg in them...yum! They have great live music on nights and special deals during the week.

Best brunch? Perhaps: Sun in My Belly http://www.suninmybelly.com/ and a great casual lunch is Flying Biscuit http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/ (with the best biscuits in ATL and amazing salads/sandwiches/casual entrees--a real ATL institution). Java Jive is great special pancakes & brunch stuff too. Ria's Bluebird http://riasbluebird.com/ is kitschy cute and has good pancakes. Sweet Melissa's http://sweetmelissas.home.comcast.net/~sweetmelissas/ in Decatur and Pastries a Go Go http://www.pastriesagogo.com/ in Decatur are great too, with the fluffiest yogurt pancakes and biscuits, respectively. Cheap, too. But the best in the whole world, I kid you not, is the Highland Bakery http://www.highlandbakery.com/--near Freedom Park (in Inman Park)--do not miss it. It has great outdoors seating, amazing peanut-butter stuffed french toast with caramelized bananas and cilantro/corn/tomato pancakes and grits...along with everything else. From our house, you can do a nice (long) urban hike home, through the various neighborhoods back to Decatur.

Snacking is best done at Parish http://www.parishatl.com/home.php in Inman Park where they have New Orleans level good of almond croissants. Also highly touted is their green tomato BLT... raved about! Their space downstairs is awesomely decorated too--just a great open space with lots of fresh air.

ICE CREAM!!! Eat at Jake's if you can...they are delicious. But best yet is Morelli's http://www.morellisicecream.com/ which is on Moreland and you'd need a car to get to. Worth the drive or bike ride, though. Not MARTA accessible. Chocolate Bar in Decatur has some fun desserts and is just a nice chocolate focused place.

Coffee shops: This is a thing of its own. In downtown Decatur, we have 3 great ones--Indie Books (now Cliche Cafe, small and cute), Dancing Goats (the best coffee--big trendy spot), and Java Monkey (your divey, go-to coffee shop...beloved!). Octane Coffee is supposed to be so good, but I've never tried. I also love Inman Perk--beautiful space with long communal tables and good lighting (I am a sucker for lighting) and d$# good coffee. They also sell Jake's ice cream, a real plus in my book!

Best place to drink beer? Tons exist..Brick Store http://www.brickstorepub.com is a better version of DC's Brickskeller and with a great vibe and great beers on tap. It is in Decatur, on Metro. It is consistently voted one of the top bars in the country. If you like beer or whiskey, that is the place to go. Also, Leon's http://www.leonsfullservice.com/ is its cuzzzin and pretty dope--also with fresh/ local food and a thang for good beer, with bocce ball outside. Thinking Man's Tavern, Manuals, & Twains (brewery) also neat, but not as unique. Other bars for beer are Bookhouse and Porter (in little five points). I don't know much about clubs or other drinking holes.

To do? MLK memorial is really nice and a real highlight. His church & his hood (Sweet Aubrun) both historic and intersting. I think Coca Cola museum & Olympics stuff are stupid, but people like to go. Piedmont Park http://www.piedmontpark.org/ is ATL's Central Park/Rock Creek but with less space. Lots and lots of great outdoor music and festivals in the spring and summer and even fall, actually. In fact you should check to see what's gong on while you are here. The Aquarium is supposed to be awesome and one of the best. Same with Botanical Garden.

A Korean Spa might sound weird, but JeJu Sauna http://www.jejusauna.net/ IS GREAT. You have never gone to a more relaxing spa in your life. It's $25 with all sorts of saunas with different properties and temperatures to try. Very cool!

The High Museum of Art http://www.high.org/ is also a must if you can (some really neat regional art mixed in with Picassos and the like) and lots of other neat musuems. Carter Center is a bit boring and underoing rennovations. Zoo http://www.zooatlanta.org/ --well, I wouldn't want to go, but it's in Grant Park which is a huge big park with "the world's largest cyclorama" (I'll let you check it out. Pretty interesting if not slightly wacky!) How about check out the Sweetwater (atl brewery) tour? Supposedly a great time. And what about the Center for Puppetry Arts?? http://www.puppet.org/

For something really odd yet classic, check out the "Your Dekalb Farmers Market" http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/--an industrial huge warehouse with the most amazing variety of produce and products from around the world.

For a movie, definitely get to the drive-in movie theater if you have a car! Starlight I think it is called. http://www.starlightdrivein.com/

Hiking, you say? Definitely great hiking in the area if youre down (let me know and I can provide more! but Sweetwater State Park nearby and the Chattahooche reserves are neat and 30 min drive. Stone Mtn is a bit stupid but can be fun, lots of great biking on the PATHs--http://www.pathfoundation.org/), especially Arabia Mountain http://www.arabiaalliance.org/ and Panola Mountain. Obviously Northern Georgia, nearby Western North Carolina, and even TN have gorgeous hiking.

The 'hoods of Atlanta...I would encourage you to explore Atlanta! And not by car....The neighborhoods in ATL are distinct and cool. Really the best way to see Atlanta. AVOID DOWNTOWN--it is full of decaying hotels and conference centers. Literally nothing there. Little five points is the "funky" neighborhood (and I use "funky" in an ironic way...think Urban Outfitters and people selling inscence and ugly bracelets outside) but with some good places to eat and fun shops, Virginia Highlands and Candler Park are a bit more upscale yet still neat, as is Decatur and its sister, Oakhurst. Kirkwood and East Atlanta are more 'hip' and up and coming, same with Reynoldstown (though I find that slightly less interesting). Buckhead is up north and extremely wealthy and stupid, well also where the malls and CLUBS are. And people like this: http://gawker.com/309684/nightmare-online-dater-john-fitzgerald-page-is-the-worst-person-in-the-world Maybe fun to check out Emory, esp with the lovely park there (but I forget what it is called--anyone else who goes there will know). However, I don't think the university has a beautiful must-see campus. If you want to see a beautiful campus, Agnes Scott (a girls school in Decatur/Oakhurst) has one of the most beautiful campuses I've ever seen and a beautiful Harry Potter style library. Midtown is a sort of interesting neighborhood, but it feels generic to me like a more boring (less food), more compact/urban Dupont Circle. I love getting lost in East Lake area and exploring Oakhurst too...both neighborhoods near Decatur and so interesting and typically Atlanta! Don't miss a stop to Agnes Scott college, the beautiful school near by. Castleberry Hill is a new area that's opening a lot of nice restaurants and art galleries, and has a good place called "No Mas Cantina" -- it's like Loriol Plaza in DC, kinda a higher end Mexican food factory, with a fancy vibe to it that makes you feel the silliness of the posh, but the food is good enough and the place is fun. This area is around Garnett metro stop.

IF YOU CAN check out Atlanta on bike, that's best. Urban hiking is another alternative and you can do some really cool walks around town. If not, make use of MARTA while it's still around...(that's a whole other story!).

Lots of great music in Atlanta. Eddie's Attic in Decatur is famous for launching the Indigo Grls (I believe) and lots of folk. East Atlanta has some great venues, and Red Light Cafe in Midtown have some interesting bluegrass and other things. If you have a chance to go to the Fabulous Fox Theater, http://www.foxtheatre.org/, definitely do it. That place is amazingly well kept and gets good shows. Even Decatur CD, an indie music shop in Decatur, puts on great shows at odd times. I saw some great bluegrass there and I hear the Meat Puppets come soon. And I can't not mention the hip hop scene here...home to Ludacris, Outkast, Goodie Mob, so much more. But I can't claim to know jack about the hip hop community here and now.

And nearby trips: Finally...if you have some time to kill and a car, Athens is a 1 hour drive with great food and the UofGA, Chattanooga is a really interesting city 2 hours away, and of course Asheville is amazing in the mountains but 3.5 hours. Or Summerville/Pennville GA for some crazy folk art: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/arts/design/25gard.html?fta=y

Lookey here for more: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60898-Activities-Atlanta_Georgia.html And...Don't forget to check out the NYTimes' 36 Hours in Atlanta which features many of the suggestions I've laid out above. http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/travel/07hours.html

And welcome to the A!