CandP-Travelling
Feb 2017
I participated in a daytime walk led by the inimitable Joy, who was an engaging and passionate guide. We had 12 in our group which was a good size, a mix of couples and singles mostly in their thirties and forties.
We visited 7 places, 4 of which provided "main course" samples, 2 were beverages (non alcoholic) and the final was sweets. There was certainly enough food to collectively comprise "lunch", although personally I would have preferred one less beverage stop replaced by another southern staple food sample, with the portion sizes adjusted accordingly.
The food was all very tasty, although presentation quality varied. At one place my food tray was pretty sloppily put together. This is a fairly minor point, but as a group of 12 at a quiet time it would be expected that presentation and temperature would be perfect, especially if the restaurant is hoping for return visits.
They cater very well for different dietry needs, although I would suggest that the stricter these are the less you will benefit from enjoying these southern staples. I'd all suggest consideration for the kitchen staff who may then have to prepare multiple individual samples of each dish.
Three of the places we visited were in the Sweet Auburn food markets, which was a great place to end the tour and I would recommend leaving time to wander around if you enjoy produce markets. Its also a short walk to the Martin Luther King Jr memorials.
Many of us were happily surprised by the amount of historical context Joy provided as we walked around. This really made the tour much more interesting and informative. The focus of course was history in Atlanta and the south, particularly the Civil Rights movement, as well as culinary influences through trade and migration.
If you are looking for a sampling of Atlanta's hippest, must be seen at restaurants this is not the tour for you. However if you want to sample a range of traditional southern dishes and learn more about their historical context with a highly-knowledgeable guide, then I would thoroughly recommend this walking tour.