We were just outside of Atlanta when my wife says, "Call your sister(AKA Directory Assistance), and find out where this place is. I don't feel like driving all over Atlanta to find it." For some reason I couldn't find the Varsity in the Points of Interest in the Tom Tom, even though the Varsity has been in Atlanta since 1928, and is the biggest drive inn restaurant in the world.
My sister got the exact address and we plugged that in, and continued our drive down I - 75. Atlanta isn't the easiest city to maneuver around. It seemed like the highway went from 6 lanes down to 2 at one point, creating a nice bottleneck. Highway exits jumped out just daring Rebbel to take them and be hopelessly lost. Then there is the construction. It seems there is always construction there. Don't they know you're supposed to put away your orange barrels in December???
In the past we have spent many hours in Atlanta on our way to Florida. Neither one of us can recall seeing the Varsity. Our trustless Tom Tom tells us to take the exit. We exit close to Georgia Tech. We start looking. Where could someone hide an 800 car drive inn that sits on 2 acres???
Rebbel looks around and sees a big red Varsity sign. "There it is!", she exclaims.
Some one had slapped it right next to the northbound lane of I-75. Can't imagine how we missed it all these years, but then again we are the people who couldn't find the cheese steak place in Philly, or a decent steak in Dallas.
We walk through the doors and step up to the counter. We get the famous phrase, "What'll you have?" We ordered some chili dogs and some rings. The rings were real good and the chili dog was o.k. But we didn't come here for just the food.
The Varsity is a unique experience that everyone that travels through Atlanta and calls themselves a foodie really needs to try. Just look for the big drive inn off of I-75 with the big red Varsity sign. You can't miss it. If you can't find that particular location, they have 5 others. You can find those and a menu at http://www.thevarsity.com/index.php That's where I got some of the particulars about them and you can find out more!
