What To Eat in Georgia
A state of tremendous culinary contrast, from the most gracious Old-South tea rooms and dress-up Sunday suppers to raffish barbecue parlors and cheap-eats diners with waitresses who call you Hon’. Georgia must-eats include chopped barbecued pork in Augusta or Atlanta (accompanied by either Brunswick stew or hash on rice), hand-pattied biscuits almost everywhere, and fried-chicken all-you-can-eat buffets.
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Pot likker is the spruce-green broth retrieved from the pot in which greens have been boiled. The greens – mustard, collard, turnip, dandelion – cook for hours, leeching vegetable goodness into the water and giving it a tonic punch like no other soup. Top it with cornbread crumbles, and you have a true Dixie delight.
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There is memorable smoke-cooked pork throughout the state, but in Augusta you will find an old-time way of serving it – topped with crunchy cracklins. Described by Roadfood correspondent Chickenplucker as "pork candy," these crackly bits of fatty skin add immeasurable pleasure to smoky meat that is luxurious even before it gets sauced and cracklin'd.
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There's something of a rivalry between Georgia and neighboring South Carolina regarding peaches. South Carolina produces more, but Georgians say theirs are better. We won't take sides in this debate, but we will tell you that peach ice cream in both states is a dish to detour for, especially in peach season from May through July.
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Charles Seafood
Local families & friends crowd into Charles Seafood for mullet, crab legs, grouper, shrimp & all that swims. It's casual quality, especially fun weekends.
Fresh Air Barbecue
A Georgia BBQ country classic, Fresh Air's menu is a no-frills hall of fame: smoke-cooked pork, meaty Brunswick stew, creamy/crisp cole slaw. Cheap, good, fun.
Southern Salad
Fresh, colorful veggies and grain bowls using locally-sourced ingredients make The Southern Salad a beacon of healthful eating in downtown Augusta, Georgia.
Maryland Fried Chicken
A surviving Augusta, Georgia, outlet of a once-bigger franchise, Maryland Fried Chicken offers good eats at reasonable prices in a colorful urban setting.
Sugar Magnolia Bakery & Cafe
Pastries, breads & coffee are great at Sugar Magnolia, a personable Statesboro, Georgia, bakery cafe that also serves hot breakfast, lunch & pizza.
Frog Hollow Tavern
Local, seasonal, organic: Augusta's Frog Hollow Tavern does it right. Shrimp & grits is kaleidoscopic; in-season peaches are spectacular; cocktails are clever.
Namaste Indian Street Food
Located in a common shopping center, Namaste offers uncommonly good Indian food, dine-in or take-out. Go in a group: There are so many good things to taste.
Charlie Joseph’s
A LaGrange, Georgia, landmark, Charlie Joseph's first started selling hot dogs in 1920. Chili topping is a best bet, as is spicy relish.
Knuckle Sandwiches
Knuckle Sandwiches is a hole-in-the-wall on Augusta, Georgia's Restaurant Row serving spectacular, creative sandwiches and the city's best French fries.
