Nowhere does Southern food as well as Atlanta

I am the pickiest eater alive – no joke. When I moved to Atlanta I never would have imagined that not only would I fall in love with the city, but I would also fall madly in love with the food. Honestly, living in the Atlanta has made me appreciate food on a whole new level and made me develop more adventurous taste buds.

Some of these may be surprising to Northerners, but if you’re from ATL you know exactly what I’m talking about. Here’s a list of personal favorites:

Chicken and waffles

This is always the killer classic that wins over the hearts of all Northerners. I never in a million years would have grouped chicken and waffles together, but damn it is delicious. Shout out to Nana G’s!

Try their syrupy chicken and bacon infused waffles – you won’t be disappointed. 

Mexican anything

Never in my life I have experienced such an extraordinary cuisine. Back in my state the closest thing you could find to Mexican is Taco Bell. Truth time, I actually developed a minor addiction to enchiladas when I moved to Atlanta.

Atlanta people definitely take their Mexican food seriously. Honestly, you haven’t really experienced the south until you go to your first taco festival and chow on the variety of food.

Sweet tea

You know the south takes their sweet tea seriously when you have to go out of your way to specify you want “unsweetened tea” at a restaurant. But, after making this mistake I can never go back to unsweetened tea. If there is one thing Atlanta does best is make a nasty good sweet tea.

Converted this Northern girl to never drink water again!

Crawfish to shrimp and anything in between

I have never been a seafood type of person. Ever. Ask anyone who knew me prior to my move to ATL and they will tell you how much I despise seafood. But, Atlanta has converted me into a crustacean lover. And let me tell you, Atlanta takes their crustacean seriously.

There are a ton of festivals that revolve around all you can eat crab, shrimp, crawfish, and lobster. I love it so much I now prepare my own (although of course it never lives up to the Southern standards).

Southern fried chicken

Go anywhere in the country and you can’t find anything more genuine than a classic piece of Southern fried chicken.

These buttermilk battered chicken pieces are absolutely to die for. Eat them with a side of bacon braised collard greens, charred corn whipped potatoes, and pepper jelly to enhance the flavor.

Hush puppies

Where have you been all my life? I think every Northerner who goes to school in the south can single handily blame the freshman 15 on these savory deep-fried balls of deliciousness.

Korean BBQ

Wait, what? That’s right, ATL is home of some of the finest korean dishes and BBQ. Take a trip down to Honey Pig or Iron Age to get your fix of kimchi and meat, cooked right on your own grill.

Going to KBBQ on the weekend is the norm for college students here in Atlanta.

Fried pickles

If you ask any of my friends and family they can tell you how addicted I am to these. You can eat a whole plate of them and not even notice!

They are a fried-food experience all on their own.

Boba tea & pastries

Forget everything you know about desert. Atlanta is the home of asian inspired bakeries & cafes, where you can get a refreshing boba tea, savory pastry, or sweet dessert. Personally, I have taken a strong liking to egg tarts and boba green tea. 

Anyone who lives in Atlanta knows that Sweet Hut is the gold mine of deserts.

Pho

Drive down Buford highway and pick any one of the delicious pho shops. These vietnamese noodle soups have the perfect combination of rice noodle, herbs, and meat. They are a gem of ATL! Personal favorite restaurants would have to be Pho 24 or I Luv Pho.

Are there any other dishes you would recommend?

Nowhere does it quite like ATL.

@momoxmia