Atlanta Food (The Varsity, Talkin' Tacos, Gino's NY Pizza Bar, and Country Inn & Suites Hotel)

 The Varsity:

Went to The Varsity years ago and didn't get a hot dog. The food was bad then, and everyone told me it's because I didn't get the hot dogs. I returned recently and decided to give them another chance by getting hot dogs. I ordered the Slaw Dog Combo with onion rings. The dogs didn't redeem the restaurant. They were edible, but by no means anything great that would make me want to return to The Varsity. I don't understand why people hype up The Varsity so much in a city like Atlanta that has so much to offer when it comes to food.

Talkin Tacos:

I didn't realize this was a chain based out of Florida. Never noticed them around Orlando until I tried this location in Atlanta. Had their Crispy Stack Wrap filled with birria. Basically a better version of a Taco Bell Crunch Wrap. Also had Street Corn in a Cup. Food was pretty good. They did do a decor pet peeve of mine where they had UV black lights shining directly at the tables. Those aren't meat to be actual lighting.

Gino's NY Pizza Bar:

Most pizza I've had in Atlanta has been pretty bad. Gino's NY Pizza Bar broke that trend. They had good NY style pizza sold by the slice. 

I had a slice of their white pizza and their lasagna pizza.

Country Inn & Suites Hotel Breakfast:

Above average free breakfast that was included in the price of a relatively cheap hotel.

The Varsity in Atlanta, GA

I recently went on a weekend roadtrip up to Atlanta. When I put up a request on Twitter for restaurant recommendations in the city, the consensus seemed to be that I needed to try The Varsity.

The Varsity was opened in 1928 and is currently the world's largest drive-in restaurant. Instead of eating in our car, we went inside to get our Varsity food. Once inside of the huge restaurant, we made our way to the very long counter to place our orders. A constant chorus of "What'll ya have?" echoed over this part of the restaurant as the employees called for their next customer.

 

I saw posters advertising The Varsity's Orange Drink hanging on the wall as I entered the restaurant. I guess the posters worked since I ordered the orange drink. It tasted like orange soda without the carbonation.

I had one of the combos on the menu consisting of a grilled chicken sandwich and onion rings. The sandwich was actually a little surprising. It was pretty simple and tasted okay, with a piece of chicken with lettuce and tomato. What surprised me was the size. It was almost the size of a slider, similar in size to what White Castle or Krystal serves. For some reason I was expecting a larger sandwich.

The onion rings were definitely the star of the food I tried here. Each of the rings were huge with a really good batter around the onions. They were horribly greasy, but they also put the onion rings at most other restaurants to shame.

Now that I've been, I guess I can cross The Varsity off my list of the top places to eat in Atlanta. The food here was alright, but I think the retro atmosphere is the real reason to go to The Varsity. It is the world's largest drive-in after all. The view of downtown Atlanta is pretty nice too...