It seems like every third restaurant highlighted on Food Network or Food TV is in the Atlanta, Georgia area. When you drive down the road in Atlanta and its suburbs, for every big chain restaurant you see, there are two local places. During my most recent trip to Atlanta, I was able to experience some of these fantastic local places.
It was Sunday afternoon after Church and my family suggested OK Café.
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To say the place was busy is an understatement. The crowds in the place reminded me of this scene from an old Star Trek.
My experience with OK Café began even in the parking lot. Statues decorate the outside giving you just a hint of the unique dining experience that awaits.
Surprisingly, it only took about 20 minutes to seat our party of eleven. The place was decorated with 3D artwork everywhere. Every place you looked was another something to gaze at.
The waitresses were extremely friendly and dressed like waitresses from long ago. The server was on top of even our large group's needs, there was never an empty glass.
When we got our food the table got quiet. The dishes around our table went from pancakes to chicken nuggets to country-fried steak and salads. You could order breakfast or lunch and everything looked amazing.
The portions size made sure that no one left hungry. Two of the people in our party ordered pancakes and threw in the towel leaving half or more of the pancakes on the plate. Each order came with three pancakes that were a quarter inch thick and bigger than your head.
Ok Café in Atlanta Georgia was a challenge to get into and the crowds would have honestly scared me off if I was alone, but I am glad I wasn’t alone because it was some of the best food that I have eaten.
My food adventure did not stop at OK Café this trip. A few days later, a section of our party met for lunch at Gabriel’s Bakery.
Gabriel’s is located in a strip mall in the middle of one of the most picturesque areas I have ever seen. The church on the corner dates back to the 1800’s.
Gabriel’s is owned by some relatives of Paula Deen and they have been featured many times on her television show. The restaurant is most famous for their amazing wedding cakes.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is not fancy but it is clean and friendly. When you walk in you feel like your eating at the place that only the locals know about. You order your meal at the register and then they bring it out to you. The wait time for food is short and the servers are courteous and accommodating. The food is simple southern favorites like country-fried steak with white gravy, homemade hamburgers and sandwiches served with homemade chips.
On the way out of the restaurant I happen to look at the case holding the dessert and could not resist the Cannoli. I ordered two, thinking one for dessert and one for the hotel later. I ate them both in the car they were so good. Even though the décor was dated, and not in a good way, it was a lovely place for lunch with family.
In the same strip mall is a favorite place of Food Network Star Alton Brown: Chicken and the Egg. The restaurant only serves organic all natural foods. We didn’t eat there but a person in my party had and said the food was good but the real excitement was Alton Brown coming in with his family while they were there.
The great thing about all the restaurants we visited on this trip was they didn’t feel like we ate out at a restaurant. They felt like you were eating at a friend’s house. Even the chicken nuggets and fries at OK Café were handmade from real chicken. The food was not plastic, frozen, processed-to-death food it was homemade goodness. I guess that is why Atlanta is featured so much on Food Network.
On the way home we stopped at McEntyre’s Bakery in Smyrna, Georgia for fresh homemade doughnuts. My favorite doughnut of theirs is cut with a gingerbread man cutter.
The doughnuts are light, airy and delicious. They don’t just have the little men doughnuts they have southern favorites like blueberry and red velvet cake.
McEntyre’s was a great way to cap of this leg of my Atlanta Foodcation. To read more about Atlanta and its restaurants you can visit my first Atlanta Foodcation article.
If you are in the area, take a chance and stay away from the chain restaurants that you can find anywhere. The food and service that you will receive from the mom and pop local favorites will make your time in Atlanta even more special.
