My culinary adventures in Hotlanta this week weren’t exactly the farmgirl fare I tend to aim for. But when in Rome…
Seriously, I was not leaving the South without some good BBQ (the sports bar KC pulled pork I had was horrid).
Thanks to a hot tip from The Newcomer columnist for the AJC, I was led to a prime spot at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, 1811 Piedmont. I know the address because it cost me a $14 cab ride to get there from my SPJ convention hotel downtown.
My half slab of ribs was well worth every extra penny. Plus, we ran into a couple other convention goers while in line, so we were able to hitch a ride back.
The ribs were succulent, perfectly slow cooked, juicy, fall-off-the-bone, finger-licking excellence. All were served, just as I recall is the custom, topped with a couple slices of white bread. I ordered slaw, the others had “rum” baked beans and chips. No one tried the Brunswick stew, which is supposedly a local tradition.
The night before I got sucked into a tourist spot that, I dare say, was the epitome of the Southern stereotype. Walk in and front-and-center is a portrait of Scarlet O’Hara.
The place: Pitty Pat’s Porch, is set to look like what an old plantation might look like (at least one in Hollywood).
The food, was so-so from what I could tell from the rest of our 7-member party. But I can honestly say the Savannah lump crab cakes and cheese grits were some of the best I’ve ever had. Well worth the evening. Oh, and we all got to taste some adequate black-eyed peas and some pretty fantastic collard greens. Plus, most of us dared to try the pickled watermelon. Yes, now I know for sure that you can pickle just about everything.
My only other notable out-of-hotel gastro experience was on Broad Street. Atlanta has an awesome afternoon series with live music during the lunch hour called Lunch on Broad.
We ate at Alibaba’s, which I’m told and can now attest to, has the best falafel in Atlanta. I’m not generally a big fan of stuffed grape leaves, but I ate every bit of my Mediterranean platter.
The band was the icing on the cake, which was good because I had no room for dessert.
(#SPJ08 is the handle we used during the convention to aggregate Twitter feeds for various sessions and events. It was a lot of fun and I hope we do that again in ’09)
Virtual Farmgirl 
I was at the convention and hit up Fat Matt’s too! Not an Atlantan, but a Southerner, and had to take some Maryland and Cali folks to get a taste of the South. They were amazed. I think one said she now understands why Southerners are so fat. Our food is just too good!
LikeLike
I was at the convention and hit up Fat Matt’s too! Not an Atlantan, but a Southerner, and had to take some Maryland and Cali folks to get a taste of the South. They were amazed. I think one said she now understands why Southerners are so fat. Our food is just too good!
LikeLike