Southern Buffet in the Old South - Blue Willow Inn, Social Circle, Georgia

Deep in the heart of Dixie, about 45 minutes east of Atlanta, life gets slower and you seem to travel back in time. You see old towns with single owner party stores, old towns, gas stations with only two pumps with no credit card slots, and lots of older homes. In this area dwells a historic southern cooking icon called the Blue Willow Inn.                            

   Located in the town of Social Circle, The BLue Willow has been around since 1991. The building was renovated and a kitchen area added. It opened for business in late 1991. A gift shop came soon after along with expansions to get to where they are today.

  We arrived for the lunch buffet.  The buffet had ham, fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, field peas, squash, and pies and cakes. 

   We found the menu to be a very good example of down home southern cooking. The chicken in my opinion was a bit bland and a little bit of a letdown.  The rest of the meal was good.  While we didn’t indulge in the deserts, some looked like they were made outside the restaurant but I withhold judgement, because we were too full to try them. The price was a little moderate, but for a true taste of the south, this would be a good place to try. This was our second visit and probably our last as we are ready to move on. I was happy though, to try them out.   If you would like to try them out , they are located at 294 N Cherokee Rd Social Circle Georgia. Find them on the web at www.bluewillowinn.com

The Marietta Diner, Marietta, Georgia - Decisions, Decisions

As we turned into the drive of the Marietta Diner, we were greeted by an almost full parking lot. This was a good sign. The restaurant has been featured on Food Network's Diner's, Drive - Ins and Dives, but , that was a while back. It was good to see that the food was bringing them back. We walked through the door and we were immediately greeted by a showcase loaded with pies, many layered cakes, and other baked yummies. `
The menu was chock full of delicious choices. It looked like a small town phone book. Greek food along with other choices. We asked the waitress what was good and of course, the answer was everything! We decided to get the Seafood Platter and a Gyro Platter. The gyro was real tasty, but the seafood platter was out of this world!! It had salmon, shrimp and scallops over noodles in a creamy white sauce. The seafood tasted like someone cared about every single morsel as they prepared it. Then there was that showcase in the front.
We decided to take a couple of slices of cake to go! How could we resist? We had a slice of red velvet cake and coconut cake. My wife who makes her own tasty red velvet cake, thought it was the best red velvet cake she ever bought! Would I go there again??? Yes I would. In fact, we tried on our way home, but there was a wait, and we didn't have the time. I am looking forward to eating there the next time we are in the Atlanta area. The Marietta Diner is located on 306 Cobb Pkwy. Southeast, Marietta, Ga. They are open 24 hours. Click on the title to go to their site.

What'll You Have, What'll You Have !?? The Varsity, Atlanta Georgia

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!