A couple of Fridays ago, our daughter bailed on her babysitting duties – a trip to Six Flags suddenly came up – and so Marie stayed home with the three year-old while I went out to Zinburger’s opening night soiree. They invited the best and the brightest of Buckhead society, and also a bunch of us scruffy bloggers, for their red-carpet premiere event to benefit Camp Twin Lakes, and I’d really appreciate it if you clicked that link and checked out what they do. Continue reading “Opening Night at Zinburger, Atlanta GA”
Category: burgers
Just Around the Corner, Atlanta GA (take two)
This is Marie, contributing a take-two of a place we used to visit often. (Here is the original story, from March 2010.) Grant and I have a slightly odd schedule, in that he has a half day on Fridays and I have every other Friday off. So we wind up going to lunch in Atlanta every once in a while. Back when I used to work three and a half blocks away from my husband, however, I worked a standard weekday shift with an hour for lunch, and once a week or so we’d get together and eat something I’d picked up. Just Around the Corner was easily the most convenient and delicious option. Continue reading “Just Around the Corner, Atlanta GA (take two)”
Poplar South Deli & Grille, Florence AL (CLOSED)
Okay, so everybody’s toddler says hilarious things. But ours really impressed us as we drove into downtown Florence. We crossed the Tennessee River via the completely terrific and beautiful O’Neal Bridge and went looking for the offices of Florence Main Street. This organization had invited us to spend the weekend in their good city to kick off Florence Restaurant Week, as I’m sure all y’all who follow us on Facebook and Twitter already know, and treated us to four meals in the city. Continue reading “Poplar South Deli & Grille, Florence AL (CLOSED)”
Two Tennessee Drive-Ins
I decided that after we collected the girlchild, we’d take a long way home. We were in no particular hurry. US-411 runs parallel to I-75 for most of the way home, so we drove a little south to the town of Maryville, one of Knoxville’s suburbs, and stopped at a classic drive-in for a snack. Continue reading “Two Tennessee Drive-Ins”
Litton’s and Denton’s, Knoxville TN
Our son fell asleep, finally, on the road back from Johnson City as we returned to I-40. He snoozed and Marie and I braced ourselves for Knoxville’s Friday 5:00 traffic, which never came. We lucked out, I suppose, and our route, which brought us into town from the east and around the top of the I-640 half-a-loop to I-75, is outside whatever the local rush hour crushes. So we checked into our hotel without trouble, and carried him, sleeping, up to our room, where we kicked back for about an hour while he finished his nap. Continue reading “Litton’s and Denton’s, Knoxville TN”
South 21 Drive-In, Charlotte NC
With six stops plus a photo-only post in Charlotte and its surrounding suburbs on this trip, this city is just killing me with all the great restaurants and things to do. I am miles – miles! – from visiting all of the places here that I want to see, and hope that we’ll be back before long. But one thing was certain before anything else, I had to visit the South 21 Drive-In on Independence Boulevard. This location has been around since 1959 and seen off all kinds of competition over the years, including, reportedly, one of those What-a-Burger Drive-Ins as seen in yesterday’s post, which was apparently just down the street. Still family-owned (Maria Housiadas’s father and uncles, named Copsis, opened the place) and loyal to a small company of awesome carhops who’ve been with them for years, they’re said to make some pretty good burgers and the best onion rings money can buy. Continue reading “South 21 Drive-In, Charlotte NC”
What-a-Burger, Mooresville NC
As the road takes us back into the Greater Charlotte area for the final leg of this trip, a couple of thoughts strike me. A couple of points need clarifying, to my mind.
First up, there are three entirely different and separate chains of restaurants with almost the same darn name in the south. The best known, of course, is Whataburger – note the spelling, as one word – the Texas-based chain with the orange and white buildings that stretch into Alabama and Florida, and, briefly, into Georgia. (Two of the three in this state failed; I believe there’s still one in Thomasville.)
There are also, however, two completely unrelated groups of restaurants that call themselves “What-a-Burger” with hyphens. One of these groups of restaurants is based in Virginia, and one in the Carolinas. The original Carolina version started in the city of Concord, just outside the Charlotte perimeter on I-85, and expanded to fifteen stores. Most of them have closed, but the six that remain still have their original numbering proudly posted at each location. Store number 10, in Kannapolis, and number 11, in Mooresville, which I visited, look very, very similar, and very, very beautiful if you love old drive-ins with gorgeous canopies or awnings and Servus-Fone call-boxes. Continue reading “What-a-Burger, Mooresville NC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 