I've been to Athens three or four times - but it's been almost four years since I was last there. I'm sure it's changed - and I'm looking at the popular spots on BA right now. I don't want to be a bother - sure it's been posted many times over what's out there, but I'm still looking for recommendations - especially for the time period I'll be there. Any must-do stuff, please - food, bev and sights would be very welcome. Also - what's the best place to get an Old Fashioned?!?! I saw that Trappeze is having a Founders event - I'll be all over that. Cheers!
The quick (usually where I take people who come to visit): 1) For Beer: Creature Comforts Brewery - You'll find their cans everywhere too (bars, grocery stores, gas stations) Trappeze - They're finally updating their draft menu online!!! Catch 22 - a little "out" of town but worth it, great beers available Terrapin - Same as usual but they did open a new tasting room The Globe - Still there and usually offers a good selection Copper Creek - gotta throw the brewpub as an option but it won't be high on my list to visit 1.5) Other Bars GA Theatre rooftop - Love this place, great view, different vibe to other Athens bars Highwire / Manhattan / World Famous / Little Kings - If you want to avoid the rowdy undergraduate crowd these are the places to go. 2) Food Catch 22 - See above Cali N' Titos - The classic recommended place to eat plus BYOB policy so you can swing by FivePoints Bottle Shop and get some stuff to drink there) The Pine - I hate that they shut down Aromas to open this but their food is good Transmetropolitan - Good pizza/italian Ted Most Best - Good pizza, across from 40 watt club Clocked - Best burgers downtown 3) Old Fashioned Highwire Lounge
Clocked for burgers. Period. Creature Comforts for brewery, skip Terrapin unless you're bored. It's a solid brewery but the tour nights are a fratboy fest with Rye Pale Ale on tap. Creature Comforts will blow you away. Trappeze has fallen off a bit but still a good choice for a bar.
It's not as well known, but Hi-Lo is the best bar in town. They always have a fantastic choice of bottles and draft.
-I gotta disagree. The "Vibe" or trapeze was not worth stopping by for unless you like terse eye-rolly service and fighting to get to the bathroom. However, the beer was worth stopping by for.
Thanks for all the heads-up on spots to check out - we had an absolute blast. My buddy, @JdoubleA, was there too. He's joking - a bit - about the vibe at Trappeze - but the bartenders there on the Founders day weren't very pleasant. One of them, the only female bartender I saw there over a three day period - was outright rude. I hate that - I've been to that bar a dozen times and always had good service. One of those things where you recommend a spot you love to friends and - of course - they end up having a bad experience. The beer event was great - and the service wasn't bad - but the bartenders ABSOLUTELY DID NOT WANT TO BE PART OF THE EXPERIENCE that day. We sat down at the end of the bar, the female bartender walks up and I ask, "What time..." - "3:30," she says - without allowing me to finish the question, and she turns and walks away. When our girls arrived, my buddy's wife orders a water (while we're both drinking beers and standing behind them - meaning - sharing seats with our ladies), the female bartender does a slow eye roll right in front of us - very much intentional. I guess she didn't care for someone sitting at the bar and asking for a water - and the place wasn't even crowded at the time. Of course - we both run up $70+ tabs, so they made their money off of the two seats the four of us occupied. Great beer - great vibe (meaning space and crowd), bad attitude from the bartenders. If the place had been hammered, I would expect a bit of that - but there wasn't much of a crowd and there's no reason to be a jerk (only the female bartender was), though the guy never once cracked a smile either. Odd. Still - how decadent did it get? One of the last glasses I had was a fifty fifty pour of 14 CBS & Blushing Monk. Yum! Here's *my* only beef. We stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown - great room for the price and incredible location. We'd all had enough food and beer that a nap was needed - we were catching a late concert at the GA Theatre. I called the front desk and asked for a wake-up call. They never called. When we woke up it was 11 and we booked it over to the venue... just in time to see the crowd exiting, with big smiles on their faces. We went to Highwire and drowned our sorrows with Old Fashioned booze. Good stuff - can't wait to get back. Thanks again - cheers!
Glad to hear you had a good time besides the rude bartender and the H-Inn front desk screwing your wake up call. Sounds about right for the Trappeze staff. I usually go there either really early when they open for lunch or a few hours before closing just when I want to try something they have available, usually not busy times to seat at the bar. Still, I'd say 1 out of every 5 bar staff that I had encounter would be friendly, happy to talk and won't hesitate to hook you with tasting pours, for the rest: 2 just normal, and 2 just straight careless/rude.
They also are running this "deal," but it's all poured from bottles that have been open for undetermined lengths of time:
Saw that at the menu today but didn't ask. I assumed it was the little fridge they have next to the liquor bottles with 8 iced tea looking "taps" maybe? Or do they just "re-seal" the bottles? Either way, not appealing at all.
I used to hit the Globe up in the early 90's during my college days! Good memories and good beer. Then across the street to the Georgia Theater!
