Willy Wonka

All excellent choices, but heres how I see it. One Midtown is super trendy with mediocre food. But it is inexpensive, very inexpensive. Floataway rocks, but might not be ones definition of trendy. Aria is a trendy design and vibe with expensive but soulful food. The food is not trendy, and is more of a meat and potatoes place. Mid City Cuisine is trendy and great for the nipple and nosh sort of thing. Halo is a good call, but more of a bar that serves food. As well BAzzaaR. A newly opened tapas place near the Fox theater is trendy and a great area of town to hang out and drink. Good Luck. WW2

I guess my point, although I know my flaw is rambling. Is that Atlanta is a modern city and is on the rise culinarily speaking. New restaurants go up all the time. Things are moving forward, and it is a great City. True, it's not New York, but how many transplants live here. Unfortunately this doesn't get brought up enough on similar boards. It seems people would rather talk about the Varsity ( poor hamburgers and such ) or old places serving steam table cuisine. Or restaurants NOT in Atlanta. I'm sorry, Alpharetta is not in the City... Sure, some of the places you mention are great. But for good grub. Nuevo Laredo is a cool hangout for standard Tex mex. And yes those Indian joints are good also. But there is a "cheap eats" stigma to most of the Atlanta Reccomendations on this board and else where. Nothing wrong with that, but where is some indepth conversation on in town City restaurants. Ones with greats chefs, rising talent, creative approaches. Or is it an old sleepy city, where people give you the same reccomendations they have been given for years. In that regard, there isn't too much here outside the occasional reference to Bacchanalia. And my guess would be because they are probably 9 or ten years young. But it's good to hear anything on this board concerning Atlanta. So lets hear it from the Atlanta contingent... WW2

I agree that NYC is on a grander scale than the Atlanta dining scene. But Philly ? I think you could go restaurant for restaurant and find that Philly is comparable to Atlanta. Maybe your reference is to the second tier restaurants. Maybe I can see your point than. This thread however does illustrate your opinion that it is the patron that is on a different level in Atlanta. The sheer fact that on a board like this, and amongst contributors no less, that the Varsity, and places like the Busy Bee ( where is that even ? ) are considered culinary, or even what this city is about, is mind boggling. I as well, welcome the discussion of the Atlanta dining scene here. It is not fair, or accurate to think of Atlanta as an old sleepy southern city as it has been at times, erroneously reported here. The traditions are here, as they should be, but seeing only meat and 3's, BBQ, and the like, in a City this large is narrow minded. So, yes, lets discuss Atlanta as a City and not group it as regional culinary wasteland. WW2