Interesting Parts of Town, Atlanta

Nothing like the market days in European cities, but a start can be seen on Saturdays in Morningside. It has just started this year and offers organically grown fruits and vegetables, flowers as well as some meats. They are open only on Saturday mornings 8:00-11:30 and you need to go early before they sell out of things. Apart from the merchandise, one of the neat things about the place is that it is individual farmers selling what they have grown. It is also heartening to see a least some steps toward organic farming.

It is at 1393 North Highland, just about a mile north of Ponce de Leon Ave. Just across the street from Alon's.

According to the Congress for the New Urbanism, Atlanta's Broad Street is an instance of urban planning that worked to create a sense of neighborhood. It is well worthy of a few hours of your time, if you have any to spare while visiting Atlanta.

One of my favorite things to do on a Friday or Saturday night is to walk to the Inman Park Marta station and catch the Marta train to Decatur, a few stops to the east. Decatur is loaded with great restaurants and the friday/saturday night scene is not saturated with party people like midtown or buckhead. Many of the areas best restaurants are in Decatur... I can personally recommend Cafe Lily (sort of a funky Italian restaurant) , the Watershed (Tuesday night's Fried Chicken special is legendary), Eurasia (Asian Fusion... try the squab), Tacqueria del Sol (great cheap-eats), Raging Burrito, Crescent Moon (terrific diner food) and many more that I haven't even tried. After dinner, head down to Twains Billiards for friendly games of pool and great beer, head down to Eddie's Attic for great live music in a cozy setting, or take in a play at the hip and experimental Push Push Theatre (the actors/directors will engage the audience in discussion for input on their performance and interpretation of plays). After a few games of pool or a show, do not leave Decatur without checking out the beer at the Brickstore Pub. This place is loaded with great beer. Don't go expecting to load up on Coors Light... I don't even think they have the major Domestic Macros on the menu here. Take in a Scottish Ale or an Imperial Stout downstairs, or head upstairs to the belgian bar for a Trappist Ale or Lambic. After you've tanked up on fine beers, you can walk back to the Marta Station and not worry about having to drive home.

Check out the bar/restaurant scene at East Atlanta (Flat Shoals Ave/Glenwood Ave). Lots of great bars to congregate and have a pint of decent beer. East Side Lounge, Gravity Pub, the Flat Iron and the EARL, make excellent watering holes. The EARL usually has great musical acts as well.

If you are looking for authentic ethnic cuisine, from Nicaraguan to Laotian, check out a stretch of Buford Highway, north of Clairmont Rd. Many of the restaurants on this stretch don't even have english menus, but be brave and try something new.

Atlanta is a city of diversity. The home to Martin Luther King Junior and the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Near Five Points Park in the heart of Atlanta I found this statue commerating Diversity. It is appropriate finding it here in this city.

This section of Atlanta is a newly-forming arts district/community that has several cutting-edge galleries and a few shops and restaurants.

Located southwest of downtown on a few blocks along Walker and Peters Street.

The book nook@Buford highway and Clairmont for used books. And check out local radio 91.1 WREK.

But wait! The Book Nook has moved, they are now in the tocohills area and there's a store in Marrietta.

Little Five Points is as close to bohemia as Atlanta gets. The neighborhood has come a long way since the turn of the century, when it was the commercial district of an elite bedroom community called Inman Park. After a post-WWI decline, Inman Park found itself in the hands of ambitious fixer-uppers and on the National Register of Historic Places. Five Points, having gone through a similar slide, revived under the patronage of the youthful new clientele that bought up Inman Park's crumbling houses. Somewhere along the line, Little Five Points took a slightly beatnik/hippy turn and has been on that road ever since. The center of the neighborhood is at the intersection of Moreland and Euclid Aves, locale of small shops, live theaters, cinemas, bookstores, cafes and restaurants. The nearby Museum of the Jimmy Carter Library features exhibits on Carter's four years (1977-1981) as President of the US.

Did you ever see Fried Green Tomatos with the Whistle Stop Café? The place exists. Along I-75 south of Atlanta, you'll find road signs to Juliette. It's just like the movie, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, since this is exactly where the movie was made. And yes, they have awesome fried green tomatos and the best Iced Tea in the South, served Southern Style. Aaaaaaaaahhhh...