Eating Atlanta: The Varsity

Howdy, Dishers. I’m still in Hotlanta, although from what I hear about the weather in Dallas, I’m going to downgrade that to Atlanta. I’ve had a wacky trip — my original dining itinerary has been tossed aside due to an emergency in the family I am visiting, but I have wasted a few calories since I landed on Saturday. Our first stop was to the legendary Varsity, the mega two-story “lunching pad” for junk food junkies. Lucky me: Saturday was their 80^th birthday celebration and the downtown location, with parking for 600 cars and tables for 800 people, was overflowing. Short version: it’s a car-hop-joint-turned mall for burgers, fries, melted pimento “cheese,” rings, fried pies, and chili. Quick take: not worth the calories. The burgers at McDonald’s are better. The fries are limp but at least they taste like potato. The onion rings were the best item we tried: light, crunchy, and greasy. However, the melted pimento cheese may have killed my love for the Palm Beach at Highland Park Cafeteria. When I picked it up, the whole sandwich collapsed and red grease ran down my arm. Oh, well. I will never have to take “You have NEVER been to the Varsity?” again. One off my restaurants across America checklist. Jump for more photos.