- 2 hours ago
Anthony Bourdain heads to "The ATL" where he cruises around in a muscle car, shoots guns and experiences the famed 10 o'clock burger at Holeman and Finch, wrapping up his trip at the legendary adult Clermont Lounge.
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00:00Atlanta is, to me, one of the most exciting places to eat in the South right now.
00:11Greetings, Earthlings.
00:12Welcome to the South, y'all.
00:14Whatever you do, do not tease the Southerners about their accents.
00:19Atlanta's really the metropolis of the South, and so there's people from all walks of life here.
00:23Atlanta's a transplant city. I mean, it is the capital of the South.
00:27But it's Shanghai.
00:28It's a new Singapore.
00:30It's a new Singapore.
00:31It's home to a lot of things.
00:32Fun, football, and pretty women.
00:34Why don't you go put a dress on and go eat some filet mignon?
00:39All right, I guess I'll eat some penis.
00:41I've heard it called the A. I've heard it called the ATL. I've heard it called the Dirty Dirty. For me, it's a beautiful place, and I call it beautiful Atlanta.
00:56Atlanta.
00:57Atlanta.
00:58Been through a few times. Don't know it well, and it's been a long time since I did any serious eating there. The airport I'm more familiar with. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. A major hub. Big. Sprawling. Not fun at all. It's a sprawl of a city, too. And it's a beautiful place.
01:16And there's a couple of options getting there from the airport. Neither is so great.
01:31So Atlanta's super spread out. That's the nasty thing about Atlanta. Our public transportation doesn't get a great rap.
01:37There's MARTA, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Costs $2.50 and gets you with a town in around 20 minutes.
01:44MARTA is MARTA. You take MARTA, it'll get you almost basically anywhere in the city of Atlanta.
01:51For hotels in downtown and midtown, you've got a lot of options. There's the Georgian Terrace and the Ellis, to name just two.
01:58Depending on where you're staying in town, you can take MARTA. Most people probably rent a car because it can be kind of hard to get around without it.
02:10Day one in Atlanta, and I've got around 36 hours in town. That's it. Traffic in Atlanta, not so good. Everybody drives. Even so, you probably should, too.
02:22In the South, men love their cars. You know what I mean? And the thing here is to have the biggest, flashiest thing riding around to let everybody know you're the man.
02:33Georgia's the Bible Belt, isn't it? The South is supposed to be conservative, right? God-fearing, Baptist, evangelical. So why is this the script club capital of America?
02:46Atlanta is one of those cities that you can find anything here.
02:50That's true.
02:51And that is the truth.
02:53Atlanta has many wonderful things to see besides strip clubs, but they do, incongruously, one would think, for the relatively conservative South, have a lot of those.
03:03I don't like conventional strip clubs. One of the few exceptions to this rule, however, is in Atlanta.
03:08There it is on the left. So it's around the back and downstairs.
03:13The best, the finest, the most uniquely weird and wonderful beloved Atlanta institution, the Claremont Lounge.
03:20For the people that like to go out, we have many different bars here. We have a great night scene here, a great sport town. Basically, whatever you want to do, you can do it here in Atlanta.
03:29Fat Matt's Rib Shack. One of the places I remember fondly, if hazily, from a previous visit. It's out in Morningside, Lennox Park.
03:42Hey, how are you doing today?
03:43I'm doing good. Long Fat Matt's.
03:44Thank you. We did a half slab, mac and cheese, and some collards.
03:50Okay, barbecue snobs, food nerds. I know it's not real barbecue. I know there are better restaurants in Atlanta.
04:00But back the up, snobloid, because there's something to be said, I believe, for utility pork ribs, collards, and mac and cheese.
04:08They even serve it with a de rigueur white bread and good pints of beer. It makes me happy. It tastes good. You should eat here.
04:15These are wet, sticky, drowned in sauce, no pink ring, blah, blah, blah. This does not adhere to conventional barbecue rules. This is another experience entirely here.
04:27So I should be pointing out, it's not barbecue, but it's delicious.
04:32This is sort of like, you know, for me, it's like the southern version of the dirty water hot dog.
04:37It was like this. You're married to, like, a Harvard graduate supermodel, right?
04:44But every once in a while you want some just really nasty girl in cheap heels with, like, a really trashy Queen's accent who chews gum.
04:53I'm saying you like that, not me. But sometimes you just want some nice, wet, messy ribs.
05:00You know, when a girl has to pull the gum out of her mouth before she puts her in.
05:09What?
05:11There are other alternatives for what is referred to as traditional southern food.
05:15Fried chicken should be important to everybody.
05:17It's very important to people in Atlanta.
05:20For fried chicken, there's Curly's in Home Park.
05:23Walk-up shack where you can get breasts, wings, or thighs.
05:26Single dip in flour and deep-fried to extra crispy.
05:31Fried okra, curly fries, mac and cheese, of course.
05:39Here you can get yourself an awesome Pig Ears sandwich, if you like, at the Big Apple Inn over in Westview.
05:46The Pig Ears are cooked till tender, then served on a soft, slider-style bun with cabbage slaw, mustard, and hot sauce.
05:54Take out only.
05:58I gotta have some of that.
06:00After Fat Mats.
06:03Ok, maybe after a nap too.
06:05This is best when you're drunk, covered with God knows what kind of nasty fluids.
06:12And flesh-eating bacteria.
06:14Come here for some ribs and some more beer after.
06:16Wake up in your room, you're all sticky with barbecue sauce.
06:19Barbecue sauce.
06:21That's successful eating.
06:27Georgia is the nation's number one producer of the three Ps, peanuts, pecans, and peaches.
06:32Also strippers, I believe.
06:34In September 2012, a man dressed as a clown began a series of armed robberies all over the Atlanta area.
06:39Residents who weren't to use extreme caution if they happened upon him, I guess he's still at large.
06:45I have a suggestion there, just shoot all the clowns.
06:50It's win-win.
06:52There's all sorts of non-food related activities in Atlanta.
06:55A must-see in Atlanta is definitely the Martin Luther King Historical Center.
07:04Go see the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King.
07:08And the aquarium.
07:10You want to go look at fish you can't even eat? Be my guest.
07:17Chef Ryan Smith came here via Pennsylvania, but has made the city his home for the past decade.
07:22He's worked at places like Bacchanalia, Canoe, and Empire State South.
07:28Also, he's never shot skeet before.
07:31I meet Ryan at the Skeet and Trap Range at the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds, 20 minutes southwest of the city.
07:38Yeah, I don't have a lot of experience shooting moving targets at all, so this will be interesting.
07:43I'm not anticipating an impressive showing.
07:47Our instructor, Luke Desartel, gives us a basic briefing.
07:50Then, it's lock and load, and try and shoot the fast-moving dinner plate out of the sky.
07:57Ready to give it a shot?
07:58I am indeed.
07:59Let's do it.
08:00You've shot other stuff a lot, I would imagine.
08:02Indeed.
08:04Call pull when you're ready.
08:06I'm ready.
08:07Say pull.
08:08Pull.
08:10Little bit to the left.
08:11Ooh, hard.
08:14Pull.
08:15Pull.
08:17That was close.
08:18I think you were just behind it.
08:20Right underneath it.
08:22Right over the top.
08:24Just like anything else, it just takes time.
08:26Pull.
08:28Right underneath it.
08:30That was close.
08:32All right, try again.
08:33You got out in front and slowed down.
08:37Tony, you're making me look bad.
08:39Yeah, we got a ways to go, man.
08:40We'll get there.
08:42So am I leading this at all, or I'm just shooting straight into it?
08:44No, about one and a half target diameter is in front.
08:46Okay.
08:47That's your lead.
08:48Pull.
08:50Underneath it.
08:52Right underneath it.
08:54Same exact spot every time.
08:55Pull.
08:57Behind it again.
09:01Go, man.
09:02Let's do it.
09:07Pull.
09:09Nice.
09:10Dead center.
09:12Perfect.
09:13Dead center.
09:16There you go.
09:17We need a rope.
09:19I think I'm getting the hang of it.
09:21Oh-ho.
09:23I like this.
09:25Pull.
09:27What I really love about Atlanta is that the whole city's built in a forest, so it's just green and lush all year round.
09:37Which is why they built this thing, the Beltline.
09:40The Beltline is this really cool project.
09:42It's like a train line that's going all around in a circle through the city, connecting all these different neighborhoods.
09:4822 miles of unused railroad converted into public parks and multi-use trails for rough, dinty-moor-like outdoorsmen like myself.
09:56There are some great places where you can see all of the Midtown buildings.
09:59You turn to the right, you can see downtown.
10:01And it's just beautiful.
10:02You're kind of in nature, but you're also in the center of the city.
10:06The Georgia Dome is one of the more famous stadiums in the south.
10:13Fans start setting up as early as 5 a.m. day of a game.
10:17Row after row of expensive grills that could each serve hundreds of pounds of meat.
10:21Tailgating in Atlanta is extreme.
10:23You got some pretty die-hard Falcon fans there every Sunday.
10:27Probably the most fun I've ever had in my life was at a tailgate in Atlanta.
10:31Go tailgate!
10:35Back at the range, time to get serious.
10:41Sit up out there to get relaxed, then I'm following it out.
10:44Yeah.
10:45Clearly you're going to be over there a little bit.
10:53Pull.
10:55Ooh, there it is.
10:56Good follow through.
10:58Good.
11:00Dead center.
11:02Good.
11:03Three in a row.
11:05Oh, perfect.
11:06Want a double?
11:08There you go.
11:10That's it.
11:12I think I'll land on a high note.
11:16Who wouldn't like this?
11:17I know, right?
11:18It's my new favorite hobby.
11:20Right?
11:21That's fast.
11:32Down here in the south, we have a certain style.
11:34People seem to dress up more in Atlanta because Atlanta is full of dress codes.
11:37No t-shirts.
11:38Heels.
11:39Dresses.
11:40Suits.
11:41Everything.
11:42And they really do enforce it.
11:44You need to make sure that you come out with your stuff together and don't come out too sloppy.
11:51Day one. Half a day gone.
11:55Holman and Finch Public House in Buckhead opened six years ago.
11:59The creation of Chef Linton Hopkins.
12:01It's been opening minds and filling bellies since.
12:05Designed expressly for the chefly sensibilities of other cooks and chefs and restaurant people,
12:11it's now a hit with everybody.
12:13Atlanta is, to me, one of the most exciting places to eat in the south right now.
12:18All of a sudden, all these amazing, talented chefs are embracing where they are and their traditions and their ingredients.
12:25And the diners taste that, you know, and for so long we ran away from that because it wasn't fancy enough.
12:33Chef Sean Brock.
12:35He ain't from here, he's from Charleston, but is probably the most prominent of the chefs of the New South.
12:39He's well acquainted with Atlanta, and a big fan of this place.
12:44He's also an old friend and admirer of Linton's.
12:47These sons of the South stick together.
12:50Exchange ideas, go to conferences, support each other.
12:53The future of American dining, the next thing, probably happening south of the Mason-Dixon.
12:57It's been happening for a while and is only going to get bigger and better.
13:03Black oak collar or country ham, treated with the same respect as a fine Iberico jamón or a prosciutto.
13:10Deviled eggs three ways.
13:13Jalapeno, copa, bread and butter pickle.
13:17And sauce, something any chef would be proud to have on their menu, especially this good.
13:23You know what I love about Linton is like, anything that hits the table, he made it.
13:28He made the mustard, he made the pickles, he makes everything.
13:31Oh man, I could eat my weight in deviled eggs.
13:34I have a total slug for deviled eggs.
13:36This ham is fantastic.
13:38Oh, that's the South right there.
13:40There's this notion of Southern food.
13:43It's not just a misunderstanding by people who live outside of the South.
13:46It is a notion propagated by people within the South that this is classic Southern country cooking.
13:56Look, if you've got somebody with a cookbook saying y'all on the cover a lot, chances are everything's cooked in lard, everything's breaded, everything's heavy.
14:06It wasn't always so.
14:07That stuff drives me nuts, you know, like, all of the wonderful things that the South has that's ours.
14:13Our vegetables are amazing.
14:16I mean, bourbon, Jesus Christ.
14:18Yeah, best whiskey in the world.
14:20You know, you go to Paris and you go into a store and there's Pappy Van Winkle everywhere.
14:24It's like, that makes me so happy.
14:25That's the South, that's ours, you know, and then there's ham.
14:29This ham, you could serve that anywhere for sure.
14:31Oh, now that's exciting.
14:33What is it?
14:35Johnny cake, poached egg, bacon, duck liver, and it's a sorghum syrup.
14:46This thing's lethal.
14:48It's like completely over the top there.
14:51Lamb fries, a.k.a. sheep nuts with spiced pecans, onion, mint, and a mustard bourbon.
14:58This is something that a lot of people don't know how to cook.
14:59Testicles, I mean, like, and Lennon figured it out. Lennon's like, treat it like veal scallopini.
15:05You know, slice it thin, bread it up, put it on the griddle.
15:09Dude, these are insanely delicious.
15:12Save room, big boy.
15:14I can't stop eating these balls.
15:16Okay, don't fill up on balls.
15:21So to speak.
15:22I'm not moving. I'm perfectly happy here.
15:28But if there's no room at Holman and Finch when you're here, you can be very happy over at HD1 or Empire State South.
15:36HD1 is Chef Richard Blaze's Church of the Hot Dog over in Ponce Highlands.
15:41You got beef, pork, turkey, lamb to choose from, with some very luxurious and very unusual toppings.
15:50Entry level is the whiz. Cheese sauce and shoestring fries.
15:55South of Chi-town has chow chow and fried green tomatoes.
15:59Sweet pickles, barbecue, and farm peppers.
16:01Merguez, a spicy lamb sausage, comes with currants, cucumber, and yogurt.
16:08I need that.
16:10We could have, and next time I definitely will go, to Empire State South.
16:15Where chefs like Hugh Acheson and Ryan Smith are doing neo-retro southern cooking.
16:21Dishes like trout mousse and boiled peanut hummus.
16:24Scallops with murcia sauce.
16:27And boudin noir.
16:28That's two blood sausage references on one menu.
16:32Nice.
16:34I definitely got to go there.
16:38Back at Holman and Finch, an exciting, and strange, yet wonderful development.
16:43Men have your attention, please.
16:46Please may I interrupt your wonderful evening.
16:49The bell sounds, and what Sean calls the best burger in America, is ready.
16:55In limited supply.
16:56There's exciting news.
16:59It's burger time!
17:06Time!
17:08Time!
17:10I told you this.
17:12They lose their minds.
17:13I feel like I didn't know it, but I was waiting in line at the methadone point, you know?
17:23Basically, they only have enough griddle space for 24 double cheeseburgers.
17:27So they are not on the menu.
17:29They are not available until 10 o'clock, when only two dozen lucky customers get them on a first-come, first-served basis.
17:38Fortunately, I've made prior arrangements involving money, power tools, and duct tape.
17:43Better not get into it.
17:44Yada, yada, yada.
17:45At the end of the day, I get a burger.
17:48Oh, my God.
17:50What a beautiful sight.
17:52Yes, indeed it is.
17:54So, toasted.
17:56It has to be toasted.
17:58All right.
17:59It's the crunch against the squish.
18:00Okay.
18:01So, Linton has his own bakery.
18:02Oh, he makes his buns.
18:03Oh, yeah.
18:04Wow.
18:05That's commitment.
18:07I'm going in.
18:09This is a very carefully built hamburger.
18:12First, the bun.
18:14The appropriate squishiness that comes with a white-red bun.
18:18The burger patties themselves are a blend of chuck and brisket.
18:22Notice the thin patties.
18:24It's all about maximizing surface area and char.
18:26Raw, previously soaked red onion slice, gently heated under melted American cheese.
18:32And, oh, yeah, pickles.
18:34Gotta have pickles.
18:36That's a cheeseburger.
18:38It's just pure, honest, and simple.
18:41Good engineering.
18:42It is great.
18:43It's really important.
18:45You know, you got to think about these things.
18:46Where does the pickle go?
18:47Does it go on the bottom?
18:48Does it go on the top?
18:49Where does the onion go?
18:50These are not simple matters.
18:51They're not.
18:53The chef makes his own buns, his own ketchup, and makes his own pickles.
18:58Any questions?
19:00I think the key to Atlanta is finding the neighborhood that fits your personality.
19:04I live up in Buckhead.
19:05That's a really cool neighborhood.
19:07Lots of bars, easy to walk to.
19:09Midtown, Cabbage Town, Reynolds Town.
19:13Don't worry about downtown.
19:14You think you want to go downtown, but you don't want to go downtown.
19:17If you're into the hipster scene, if you really like PBR, definitely hang out in East Atlanta.
19:22Nightcap at a chef-friendly establishment known as Octopus Bar in East Atlanta.
19:28The food is terrific, but I'm jammed full.
19:31Sean and Ryan join me for some libations.
19:36What is this place, Octopus Bar?
19:37How long have they been open, and what is it?
19:39Is it within an existing restaurant?
19:42What's going on here?
19:43Basically, right next door is Soba.
19:46Once that shuts down, this opens up.
19:48Awesome, awesome food.
19:49Get out of the workplace.
19:50All these people are in the industry.
19:52Yeah.
19:53Everybody's bitching and complaining about their chefs.
19:55And this is one of the few places that stays open late and serves great food.
19:59It's really the only thing I really miss about the business.
20:04Yeah.
20:05Going out after work and, you know, bitching.
20:06Yeah, I love it.
20:07I love it.
20:08I do it every night.
20:09I'm not moving from here.
20:13I wish I could, really.
20:15I wish I could eat the delicious food here.
20:18I wish I could check out the Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points.
20:21Then they got like 36 beers on tap and about 700 in the bottle.
20:26Beer nerds and beer geeks alike will love their craft beers, their local brews like Sweetwater, Terrapin, and Monday Night Brewing.
20:34Atlanta drinks a lot of cocktails, but truly, I mean, when it's hot outside, there's nothing better than a cold beer.
20:42The bars usually close at, I think, 2, yeah, 2, 3 o'clock in the morning.
20:47Bar etiquette in Atlanta is very important.
20:49The southern thing is you take your time in doing things, so a lot of things gets hand muddled and stuff like that.
20:54So you definitely have to wait for your drink sometimes, but it'll be worth it.
20:57So just have patience and be as nice as possible.
20:59And tip well.
21:00Tip well.
21:01Just a few blocks away over in Inman Park is Victory Sandwich Bar, another late-night favorite for the service industry.
21:09The slushie is very popular, I hear, a frozen concoction of Jack and Coke.
21:15They got a bunch of $4 sandwiches, too, like the Hambo, the Beater, Porkamon, and...
21:22Castro, mildly offensive if you're Cuban.
21:25Like Octopus Bar, a good place to hang out with the people who keep Atlanta fed and liquored.
21:32Yeah, what's the best thing about Atlanta?
21:36The Claremont.
21:37The Claremont High.
21:38The Claremont High.
21:39There we go.
21:40I think we have an answer.
21:41I was going to say that, but I didn't think that was an accepted answer.
21:44No, we're shooting there.
21:45Buford Highway's pretty bad.
21:46Yeah, Buford Highway's amazing.
21:48What's the best thing about Atlanta?
21:51The Claremont Lounge.
21:53Atlanta is known for a lot of its breakfast foods.
22:06Rolling out of bed in the morning on Saturday, getting some hash browns and a T-bone, a side of bacon.
22:12Bacon is a staple down here, or pork, the pig.
22:15Fried green tomatoes, fried pies, fried chicken.
22:20You notice that I keep mentioning fried.
22:22Brunch, not me, especially after last night.
22:29A good cup of coffee is about all I can take most mornings, in fact.
22:33Free wireless.
22:34Awesome.
22:35Good to be back at the People's Republic of Laptopistan.
22:38Octane and the Little Tart in the Grand Park neighborhood, offering hot caffeinated beverages of excellent quality and free Wi-Fi to while away the morning and afternoon.
22:49It's a good croissant.
22:50I'm enjoying the coffee.
22:51Lovely place.
22:52Free wireless.
22:53New York Times.
22:54Looking for Delta Bert jokes.
22:55Write them yourself.
22:56Hey, this is a fascinating article about the life after Top Chef.
23:06Need a little alone time with it.
23:08It is a good croissant.
23:13If you need a whole breakfast though, old school, full on, then home grown in Reynolds town might be what you need.
23:20Chicken and biscuits, the Grants stacked with pimento cheese.
23:24Light?
23:25Not.
23:26Delicious?
23:27Yes.
23:28So the way Atlanta is laid out, you have one big circle.
23:34285 is basically the perimeter.
23:37And you're either OTP, outside the perimeter, or you're ITP.
23:40A lot of the fun is on the inside.
23:43And then all the suburbs or more rural areas are considered more outside.
23:47The OTP folks tend to stay out there, and ITP 10, we tend not to like to leave.
23:52I don't know what goes on because you don't go outside the perimeter.
23:55Yeah, sorry outside the perimeter.
23:58We still love you.
23:59We still love you.
24:01Atlanta is every year more of a city of transplants from somewhere else.
24:06All you gotta do is go out to Beaufort Highway and find yourself in the delicious International Zone.
24:12A long stretch of strip malls featuring every variety of good from foreign lands.
24:18Vietnamese pho joints, noodle shops, banh mi, Mexican, Venezuelan, and the mammoth Beaufort Highway
24:26Farmer's Market, which makes no sense at all in the best possible way.
24:31The whole world of food, it seems, under one big roof.
24:35So this is the Beaufort Highway Farmer's Market.
24:37He may be a bit slow to get off the Top Chef teat, but I love Richard Blaze.
24:42Easily one of the most talented contestants to come out of the franchise.
24:46He runs a number of forward-thinking gastro ventures around here.
24:51As a native New Yorker, when I came down to Atlanta for the first time, I was a stubborn Yankee.
24:56I hated grits, loved polenta.
24:58Couldn't stand catfish, loved monkfish.
25:00So I found this place, and it sort of has this global influence thing going on.
25:04The world is under this roof.
25:06All here?
25:07It's all here.
25:08Asian from all over Asia, Eastern European, African, and elsewhere, all in one improbable place.
25:17And again, this is like, you know, a few minutes right outside of the city.
25:20You might not never know this place is here.
25:22My produce aisle does not look like this.
25:23This is what we're talking about.
25:24Sesame leaf, Korean watercress, dongchimimu leaf.
25:27I don't even know what that is.
25:28As a sort of restless mind, like, this is a great place for me to come.
25:32I mean, there's Dorian.
25:33Actually, over here, there's whole jackfruit.
25:35They're pretty...
25:36That's not a fruit.
25:37That's a weapon.
25:38That is a weapon.
25:39I mean, it's barbs.
25:40It's crazy.
25:41It just goes on and on, doesn't it?
25:43Philippines, Thai, Chinese, Indian, the ramen section.
25:49It's crazy.
25:50My newest aisle here is the Eastern European aisle, which is pretty neat.
25:53You can buy, like, a kilo of caviar here.
25:55And they're making the same thing.
25:56They're making pierogies and piroshkies and...
25:58Whoa!
25:59And they're shaving head cheese and...
26:01I mean, what's amazing is that they...
26:02This is all pre-cut stuff, meaning they're pretty damn sure they're going to sell this.
26:06All these little boutique cuts.
26:07That's what I was saying over there.
26:08There's two dozen Dorian that they're going to sell.
26:11That they're going to move.
26:12And you wouldn't think just on the surface that Atlanta would be able to support something like that.
26:16But, you know, to me, I'm proud of this because it's sort of...
26:19You know, it shows Atlanta as a metropolitan city.
26:24You could also source ingredients inside the perimeter at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market.
26:30They established in 1923 downtown under the place to go for meat, fish, seafood, southern staples, and ingredients from many lands.
26:39These right here are pork titlis.
26:41They hog guts, intestines.
26:43You cook and boil them.
26:45You boil them, they taste good.
26:48Or check out Star Provisions over in Westside.
26:51Owners Ann Quattrano and Clifford Harrison have selected over 200 varieties of cheese, cured meats, and fresh baked breads.
26:58Open till midnight.
27:01Back at Beaufort Market, though, it's look at some fish and then maybe a snack.
27:05Wow, that's a lot of different types of shrimp here.
27:08This seafood counter is ridiculous.
27:10I mean, you know, who's selling peri...
27:12Who's selling peri...
27:13You gotta love that.
27:14Yeah.
27:15Cherry stones, oysters...
27:16Live conch.
27:17Live conch.
27:18Catfish heads.
27:19Nice.
27:20Wow.
27:21Just heads.
27:22Exactly.
27:23You know you're in a globally sort of influenced area when you're selling just fish hats.
27:29Over here, this is one of the food stalls that I'll admit that I kind of hit.
27:33So, Korean dumplings.
27:34Yeah, let's...
27:35You want to do a couple of those?
27:36Yeah, let's do that.
27:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:38Can we do an order of the beef dumplings and the kimchi?
27:41Wow.
27:42Not a bad little lunch, right?
27:44Yeah.
27:45That'll work.
27:46The spice is good.
27:49Delicious.
27:50Yeah, that's my guy right there.
27:53Southern Cuisine, like you said, is using these influences and the ingredients that are
27:58around.
27:59Like, I've seen a lot of collard green kimchi on menus around here.
28:02So, like, here's some local ingredients.
28:04Right.
28:05Global influence.
28:06That is part of Atlanta.
28:07And, you know, being here for 10 years, seeing the progress of the city, it's pretty amazing.
28:11I'm not into competitive eating, but I feel like dumpling would be...
28:15Yeah, you could do that.
28:16I think that'd be the one, because they're slippery.
28:18You can slide them down.
28:19You could eat a lot of them.
28:28So, sweet tea is about 50% sugar.
28:3150% tea.
28:33I guess it's like mother's milk.
28:34I mean, that's probably the first thing I ever drank.
28:36It's not for everyone, though.
28:37It's got an interesting taste.
28:38I don't like it personally.
28:40I drink it every day.
28:41I like to add spiced rum to it, personally.
28:44But, um, or bourbon.
28:45That would be the true Southern way.
28:47My variation of it, honestly, is an Arnold Palmer.
28:49Yes, that's what I'm saying.
28:50Half lemonade, half sweet tea, ladies and gentlemen.
28:54It's either an Arnold Palmer or sweet tea.
28:56No other way to do it in Atlanta.
28:57The strip malls of Buford Highway stretch six magnificent miles.
29:03Along the way, there are some really good Mexican and South American joints.
29:10But they're like, I'm going to take a look at the spot.
29:11I'm going to take a look at the spot.
29:12I'm going to take a look at the spot.
29:13Can I have a...
29:15Tacos del lengua?
29:17El taco veloz.
29:18Drive right the up and get yourself some authentic deliciousness, Vato.
29:19Tacos, burritos.
29:20Wash it all down with an horchata, perhaps.
29:21Yes sir.
29:22Have a nice day.
29:23Thanks so much.
29:24right the up and get yourself some authentic deliciousness foto tacos
29:29burritos wash it all down with an horchata perhaps
29:36language that means tongue in spanish
29:47delicious just like the old country let's ride other highlights on the beaufort highway this
30:03veritable stairway to heaven there's northern china eatery or crawfish shack seafood northern
30:10china or dongbei is wheat not rice country that means dumplings good dumplings buns noodles with
30:18like meat lamb kebab seasoned with cumin and chili or mandarin lion's head with brown sauce which is
30:25not lion by the way they're giant pork meatballs the thing to get my opinion is fish in hot and
30:32spicy pot deep-fried fish with lots and lots of chili no frills dirt cheap and really really good put
30:40that right at the top of your list down the yellow brick road the cajun style asian mutation crawfish
30:48shack seafood run by mr. Hugh Pham a native of Vietnamese Cambodian descent deep-fried fish low
30:56country boils not your typical cajun but oh so good
31:01night falls like a fat man tripping over his shoelaces
31:07here downtown you have the varsity restaurant and i hear everyone say what do you have what do you
31:25have what do you have bacchanalia is amazing iberian pig is good like if you want italian or spanish food
31:31thompson brothers barbecue great i believe is the best barbecue in the city i also love the brick
31:36store over in decatur basically whatever you want we have it here layovers can be mental struggles
31:44especially when gorging yourself silly and constantly at odds with a hangover not to mention that crazy
31:50ticking clock rattling around in your skull reminding you at every moment of a flight that leaves and what's
31:56supposed to be six hours you hear that too right on the up-and-coming west side in the home park
32:03neighborhood my last meal in town miller union is housed in what was previously the miller union
32:08stockyards the history of blood and gore is normally a good place to start and it has a respected
32:13reputation among the atlanta locavore elite they are head-to-toe organic local season so well we'll talk
32:22about atlanta a little bit but tell me about this place why are we here we're here for a couple
32:26reasons one it's three minutes from my studio so i come here i'm not gonna lie to you i know it's
32:31not the only uh farm table restaurant in atlanta but it's the best farm table restaurant in atlanta
32:36and it is consistently the most interesting menu i've never had a bad dish here ever it's not often i
32:43sit down with a respectable and respected food network host but alton brown i guess he fits that
32:49description the kitchen is held down by chef steven satterfield he grew up in savannah he's been a
32:58georgia boy pretty much all of his life trained as an architect he spent many years as a musician
33:04while working kitchens on the side and then as often happens fell into the chef trade by default
33:10a simple thing an egg but here baked with a fresh cream and celery concoction that sits up like a runny
33:17savory pudding to be spooned onto or mopped up with bread then again he pretty much had me at egg
33:24well i actually was born in california but my all my family's from north georgia and i have been here
33:33for the last 15 years 15 years ago man it was a different world here well i mean just completely
33:40different and now it's like hooves and stouts nose nose to tail everywhere now people have actually started
33:45look around and say well what is it to be southern again i could sit here and say oh atlanta's the
33:50varsity and the blah blah blah atlanta doesn't know what it is yet
33:52for mains house-made pork sausage whipped potatoes cabbage peppers celery mustard and quail with a red
34:07eye gravy an old school southern sauce preparation made by deglazing with coffee a side of whiskey apples
34:14well that's that's exciting there's the quail how does it smell it smells good i love these little
34:24birds oh that's nice here's the the problem with southern food what most people don't want to talk
34:32about is they just don't want to talk about race right and for so long the iconic southern dishes were
34:40cooked by blacks for rich whites so basically slavery ends nobody knows how to cook no the passing of
34:48knowledge happened only in black families not in money whites or you were poor but we're really just
34:55reckoning with it just starting to reckon with it you can't visit atlanta without covering an institution
35:04like the colonnade in morningside lennox park this atlanta institution serves authentic southern
35:10specialties like roast turkey liver and chicken fried steak it's been around for over 80 years
35:17the colonnade's super old school if people were to come visit me in town i would definitely take them
35:22there best thing about atlanta i mean i really like the food down here it's the music's really good
35:31and the people people are pretty much overly friendly if there is such a thing georgia's known
35:36for good food great southern hospitality hot weather southern hospitality is just when everybody walks
35:44down the street and says hello everybody gives you a hug and everybody tells you to have a wonderful day
35:51i'm not even from the south really but southern hospitality is definitely like a real thing
35:55a lot of people don't know how to take southerners we are almost basically too friendly
36:06hey guys wow hey how are you i wanted to try our vegetable plate it's kind of a dish that we've been
36:12known for because we really work a lot with local growers fried okra something that's as african and
36:20southern as it gets farro verde with local peppers apple cider braised cabbage snap beans with georgia
36:28pecans roasted butternut squash with sage and thyme the local food supply and southern traditions are
36:35what's driving chefs in atlanta and in turn chefs are driving what the farmers grow it's a whole new world
36:42down here the clock keeps ticking reminding me of a phony deadline soon approaching just enough time
36:51to cover one last and most important stop in town
37:03don't spend all your money in a strip club that's real oh yeah strip club this is like strip heaven
37:09you got magic cities you have pinups you have foxy lady you have a lot of different
37:13strip clubs that are very very very very hot one of my favorite bars here in atlanta and i guess
37:19it's kind of embarrassing this place called the claremont lounge um go ahead kevin describe that for us
37:26boobs in your face some powerful ones that could crush beer cans and give you black eyes
37:33a lot of people like to say claremont lounge is where strippers go to die
37:36but i think that's i think that's where strippers go to live
37:41you may not remember your first visit but you will never forget it
37:48one last stop in atlanta where else would i be ponce highland neighborhood and the claremont lounge
37:56this place should be a national landmark
37:58the most beloved institution in the entire city a place of renaissance era beauty an erotic and
38:07sophisticated nightlife where the shots flow out in tiny plastic cups it's not like other strip clubs
38:16it's operating on a whole other level as a new yorker coming to atlanta for the first time a decade ago
38:23everyone said there was one person you have to meet if there's one single person in all of atlanta
38:30you have to know it's blondie and of course they were right
38:34oh well you guys have been officially introduced i don't think so hi how are you doing sir i know
38:43blondie yeah everybody knows me or is that me one but she doesn't recognize you no no this is
38:49this is where your status is in atlanta my friend around like here yeah look i'll just do this having
38:56plied alton with round after round of straight bourbons over dinner he's easily convinced to tag along
39:02he's perhaps the least likely person you'd expect to see here but the fact is in atlanta one way or
39:09the other everyone eventually winds up at the claremont whether people admit it or not everybody
39:15knows who you are everybody loves you everybody's been here you are a hard-working woman you've built
39:20this institution i built this city you built this city why is this place so awesome i mean why do you
39:30think people love this place they're just really down to earth and the girls are really sweet i mean
39:34we got the youngest girl 29 the oldest girl 66 hey this club is for the girls that are not built so
39:41great but we all have got great personality and we have a lot of straight women coming in that really
39:46appreciate it if you come from out of town you come here you're laughing for about three minutes
39:51and after that you think you know this is a beautiful thing these women are extraordinary
39:57even though we are a little bit older but hey i've still got young guys after me young women and gay
40:04boys after me come on gay boys i need some suits you're gonna make it rain you got your you got your ones
40:17here for her i'm going 20.
40:19here for her i'm here for her i'm here for her i'm here for her as well
40:23love you baby love you baby love you baby
40:28America is a great country.
40:48Reminds me of my grandmother, actually.
40:52Anthony, you can't leave for the next talk.
40:55I'm going to be doing dropkicks and splits, so you can't leave.
41:01For the Pants On variety of live entertainment, head over to The Earl in East Atlanta.
41:07The Earl, great place for rock music, great acoustics.
41:13That's what they were really known for.
41:15Opened in 1999, this rock and roll club slash neighborhood dive is famous for cheap beer, strong drinks, and loud music.
41:23It is the place to catch local acts, as well as up and coming bands like Balmure.
41:29We're Balmure, happy to be back at The Earl.
41:31Really decent, really nice vibe, good music.
41:34It was a really intimate place.
41:36Can't get a good feeling.
41:37You can actually hear what you're saying.
41:38Yeah, and the crowd's literally like right in your face.
41:40What makes shows really good.
41:42Back at the Claremont, wondering why you ever left.
41:54Yeah, America's a great country.
41:57Take us to The Bridge Blondie.
42:00Yeah, we're here at an important moment in history.
42:04Absolutely.
42:05The funnest place on earth.
42:08Blondie and I, it turns out, are not nearly as different as you might think.
42:12Pretty close to the same age, performing for others who we don't know, and from the look of things, some days she might actually appreciate and like her job more than I do.
42:22If you live in Atlanta, or travel here often, and have yet to pay your respects to this woman's greatness, please do so.
42:30It is well worth the acknowledgement, and there is no better single evening's worth of entertainment in town.
42:37We have seen greatness tonight, my friend.
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