Georgia's Best Food and Drink For 2018, Popular Website Says

ATLANTA, GA — Whether you favor Savannah's coastal seafood cuisine, barbecue across the state or the blend of cultures and new takes on classic dishes served in Atlanta, you may want to make a day trip to get the best of every kind of food and drink in the state. The popular food site, The Daily Meal, has provided that for you.

The Daily Meal has provided what it considers the "complete" guide of the best food and drink in Georgia for 2018. With 2017 coming to a close, The Daily Meal says it rounded up venues in Georgia that show "Southern food has come into its own over the last decade. Fried chicken and barbecue has spread far beyond their roots to across the country," the website says. "Trying to pick a single restaurant from the state to represent these crowded categories was quite a challenge. Hopefully you’ll see your favorite here or at least the start of a very good debate.

Nearly all of them are food-and-drink places that have become local places of legend, each of them having managed to avoid being drowned out by the chains.

Here they are, in each category, and The Daily Meal's justification for distinguishing them:

• Best Burger: Atlanta’s Holeman & Finch is absolutely legendary, and a must-order.
• Best Chinese Restaurant: Oriental Pearl in Chamblee has been serving Authentic Chinese fare for more than 25 years.
• Best Doughnuts: Atlanta’s Sublime Doughnuts dominates the city’s doughnut scene.
• Best Irish Pub: Kevin Barry’s in Savannah is ground zero for the country’s largest St. Paddy’s Day celebration.
• Best Steakhouse: Kevin Rathbun Steak is making Atlanta’s Inman Park a dining destination.

Best Bar: Holeman & Finch Public House, Atlanta

"Holeman and Finch Public House was at the forefront of the burgeoning craft cocktail movement in Atlanta back when it opened in 2008, and it remains a leader in the industry. ... There are six beers on tap, plus a rotating bottle and can list of a dozen or so brews; a carefully curated 50-bottle wine list; and the cocktail list, which has 10 original creations and six specially highlighted classic cocktails."

Best Burger: Double Cheeseburger, Holeman & Finch Public House, Atlanta

"Only 24 burgers used to be served nightly at Holeman & Finch Public House, but thankfully for us they’ve been made a permanent menu item. Each double-patty burger of fresh-ground grass-fed chuck and brisket comes topped with American cheese, pickles, onions, and homemade ketchup, and is served on a toasted house-baked bun alongside fresh-cut fries."

Best Craft Brewery: SweetWater Brewing Company, Atlanta

"SweetWater was founded in 1997. Because its beers are all unpasteurized, distribution is limited to a few nearby states. This didn't stop the brewery from taking home the gold medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup for The Creeper, from their Dank Tank series."

Best Cupcake: The Atlanta Cupcake Factory, Atlanta

"An artisan bakery dedicated to small-batch baking, The Atlanta Cupcake Factory operates on a philosophy centered around interesting and unique flavor profiles. Sweet potato bourbon, red velvet, and coconut almond cupcakes are just some of the seasonal sweets you can enjoy at different times of year."

Best Doughnut: Sublime Doughnuts, Atlanta

"From dulce de leche to red velvet cake to Reese’s peanut butter cup, you’ll have a hard time choosing just one from the stunning selection. But if you’re there early enough, make sure you try the most popular creation: A powdered doughnut cut open and stuffed full of fresh strawberries and whipped cream."

Best Fried Chicken: Mary Mac's Tea Room, Atlanta

"Mary Mac’s Tea Room is an Atlanta institution that has been making diners happy since 1945. The fried chicken is one of the best dishes there, and it’s easy to see why."

Best Italian Restaurant: Varasano’s, Atlanta

"Bronx-born software engineer Jeff Varasano found a passion for pizza that led him down a saucy, bubbly road to pizza stardom. Atlanta has been the lucky beneficiary. Varasano's serves two traditional pies: Margherita di Bufala and "Nana's," which is the house special: mozzarella and San Marzano tomato sauce with a “secret blend of herbs” (sweet roasted red peppers are suggested, too)."

Best Mexican Restaurant: El Rey Del Taco, Atlanta

The handmade tortillas are a selling point of El Rey Del Taco on the Buford Highway, "site of many of America’s most underrated culinary gems. Prepare to load up on (what else?) tacos, most notably the beef cheeks (cabeza) and goat (chivo), washed down by a cool glass of horchata."

Most Expensive Restaurant: Bacchanalia, Atlanta

"Star Provisions’ upscale flagship only offers a four-course tasting menu, with six options per course, for a set price of $95. If you’d like to supplement with caviar, that’ll cost you between $68 and $120."

Best Steakhouse: Kevin Rathbun Steak, Atlanta

"At his spacious, whimsically appointed steakhouse, Kevin Rathbun serves steakhouse classics like escargots, seafood towers, dry-aged porterhouse for two and three, a 22-ounce cowboy ribeye, and 16-ounce New York strips. ... But if you go once, get the steak; we’d recommend that cowboy ribeye."

Read the whole report here.

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