Ordering & Dining Like a Local!
This entry is courtesy of our friends at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. To learn more about the CVB and all Atlanta has to offer, click here.
Order like a Local
Many of Atlanta’s historical restaurants—and some of the trendiest—have a language of their own. Locals have learned to navigate this through years of eating their way down the menu. Even if you don’t have a Southern drawl, you can speak the local lingo and know the secrets of Atlanta’s dining scene.
Know the Local Lingo
Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2012, Gladys Knight’s restaurant is famous for one dish, but don’t bother asking your server for chicken and waffles. Instead, use the title of one of Knight’s most popular songs “Midnight Train” to get this Southern delicacy.
At The Varsity, speed is essential for a restaurant that serves 2 miles of hot dogs and 300 lbs. of chili daily, so most menu items have an abbreviation or special name. For instance, a hot dog with mustard is a “Yankee Dog”, French fries are called “strings” and if you’re interested in one of the restaurant’s famous Frosted Orange shakes, just ask for “F.O.”
The newly opened OMG Taco showcases texting speak. If the menu is confusing, just ask the 14-year-old girl standing in line for some help. The food truck turned brick-and-mortar restaurant offers tacos topped LOL, OMG, OMFG or WTF—each offers a varied concoction of vegetables and sauce.
Know the Local Secrets
At the organic focused Yeah! Burger, there is a secret menu that features varied burger combinations like the Okie or the Dirty South. Don’t ask your server for the secret menu; instead, check it out here before you go.
A late night meal gives diners at Holeman and Finch a treat. At 10 p.m., a call resonates from the kitchen for “It’s Burger Time.” Each night only 24 burgers are prepared and they often sell out in under one minute.
For those needing a late night Asian food fix, Miso Izakaya provides ramen noodles after 10 p.m. The noodles are accompanied by a milky broth, a strip of crispy pork belly and a runny egg. This dish is just one part of a delectable late night menu that has people pushing dinner past bedtime.
