I flew down to Atlanta for the May long weekend to meet up with my friend Danielle, and support her dream of seeing her favourite musician perform in his hometown. Obviously there was extensive research completed on where we would eat during our trip, so should you ever find yourself in ATL, here’s my on-the-scene report:

• We both arrived in Atlanta on Thursday in the late afternoon, and after checking into our hotel, made our way to our first stop: Roaster’s. This came highly recommended by my friend Jenny and it was totally worth the 20 minute walk (full of hills I would add…who knew there were so many hills in this city?). You know you’re at the right place when your waitress asks “fresh rolls and cornbread to start?” YES PLEASE! And they were warm, and they came with butter, and they were FREE! Danielle and I both had the BBQ Chicken Rotisserie Sandwich, mine with a side of ‘slaw, hers with a side of Mac & Cheese (when in the South!), and they each came with a pickle. This is a true neighbourhood hangout, kind of dimly lit, with only booths to sit in. Everyone was so friendly, and I was just smitten right away. Incredible.
• On Friday we started out the day at West Egg Café, where our Uber driver told us that the line stretches all the way down the block on the weekends. We had to wait about 40 minutes or so for a table, but it was amazingly worth it. We both ordered iced tea (unsweetened for me, sweetened for Dani – another Southern thing, they ask you how you want it, which I love), and we each did the “build your own biscuit”. As I said on Instagram, these biscuits are made of hopes and dreams! They were so light and fluffy, and a little bit sweet. I got mine with egg, cheddar and peppered bacon, and Dani had egg, cheddar and turkey sausage. As if I could pass up adding a side of fried green tomatoes! The thing about those is that green tomatoes are unripe so they’re a bit sour and hard. Not my fave, but with a crunchy cornmeal coating, you’re still going to finish them. Because this was the kind of trip where you have dessert after brunch, and because we passed them on the way in, we had to try two classic Southern desserts: Banana Pudding for Dani, and Caramel Cake for me. So good, and the best desserts we had on our trip.

• On Saturday we began the day at the Krog Street Market, which was a bit of a misstep on my part. I had NYC on my mind when I read about this place, and thought it would be big and bustling, similar to Chelsea Market, with a Farmer’s Market where I could have a real, fresh, true Georgia peach. Let’s just say there’s not much going on here besides a craft brewery and some small shops. I think it would be great to go here for lunch though. I just timed this one a bit wrong. There is also a Jeni’s here. More on that below.
• Onward we went to Highland Bakery, another Jenny recommendation, were we had mini sweet potato scones while waiting for our table. They even warmed them up for us, so they were toasty, cinnamony, and delicious. Must re-create these in the fall!
• We had a late lunch/early dinner at Fox Bros Bar-B-Q, and ZOMG, where do I even begin. First of all, there’s a smoker in the parking lot so you know you’re in for a good meal. We kicked things off with fried pickles with ranch dipping sauce and they were so freaking good. We saw these on the menu everywhere (as well as pimento cheese, but I just can’t). I had a pulled pork sandwich, Dani had a smoked chicken salad sandwich, and we had some ‘slaw and chips to round it out. I can’t even talk about how good this was. Totally amazing and I’m drooling just writing this.

• On Sunday, we had lunch at True Food Kitchen, which is a chain similar to Fresh in Toronto or The Coup in Calgary, which I had eaten at in Scottsdale, AZ when I was there for a conference a couple of years ago. I thought it might be a good idea to consume some vegetables, and we had a summer spinach salad, some hummus and a flatbread. I also had a green juice and Dani had a Strawberry Rhubarb Lime Soda which I will definitely re-create this summer.
• Of course when stopping in any American city, I will check my proximity to Trader Joe’s and we stopped there to pick up some treats, snacks and baking stuff to bring home.
• Our last meal of the weekend on Sunday night was at Flip Burger, Richard BLAIS’ burger joint (remember when he left me a comment!?!). We had some delicious burgers and a delicious trio of onion rings, fries, and sweet potato tots, which are served with toasted marshmallow foam. Of course they are!
• Unfortunately one of the places we were the most excited about was Jeni’s ice cream, but all the stores were shut down while we were there, which was pretty disappointing (I mean, not that we want listeria). Also, we were just a touch too early for peach season, so that was too bad. In terms of treats, the two places we visited were just okay (Sublime Doughnuts & Pie Shop), and I wouldn’t necessarily send you there unless you were close by. We did get a few Sprinkles cupcakes from the mall near our hotel so Dani could try them. They were incredible as always. No Cupcake ATM though!

 A few other observations on Atlanta:

• The city is super sprawled out and kind of challenging to get around. We didn’t rent a car and thought we would do okay taking the MARTA (subway) as far as we could and then walking, but that sometimes left us walking in random areas on the side of the road, so we switched to Uber. Super cheap, cashless, extra friendly drivers, this worked for us.
• I mean it goes without saying, but yes, it’s hot. Wet hot, swampy hot, and it was only May. Another reason why the above walking transportation strategy was not going to work.
• The concert we went to was at the Atlanta Symphony Hall, which was very nice. On Saturday afternoon we went to Criminal Records where Butch did a small set and signing, and Danielle actually got to meet him. Super fun.

This was my sixth trip in the last seven months, and now I’m staying put for the summer. More recaps here: Florida {March/April}, Vegas {February}, NYC {December}, Vancouver {October}, NYC again {October}.