Going to be in Atlanta this weekend...

[Peregrine]

More specifically in Tucker, GA. Other than the hotel where I'll be staying I'm not sure what kind of good restaurants and bars are in the area, anything in particular I should check out? The hotel is called something: Northlake, so I guess it's near Northlake Mall!

[Craptacular]

There's usually a good show on SkyDog's front porch.

[Buzzbee]

SkyDog lives in Tucker, so I'm sure he'll let you know where to eat. My guess is Sonny's.

[Dutch]

SkyDog lives in Tucker, so I'm sure he'll let you know where to eat. My guess is Shoney's.

I thought they went out of business???

[JeeberD]

Worst. Fritzing. Ever.

[Dutch]

:)

[Ben E Lou]

More specifically in Tucker, GA. Other than the hotel where I'll be staying I'm not sure what kind of good restaurants and bars are in the area, anything in particular I should check out? The hotel is called something: Northlake, so I guess it's near Northlake Mall!Will you have a rental car?

[WSUCougar]

There's a Tucker/Frederick IHOF exhibition game on the schedule, so the town will be packed with Red Menace fans.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Will you have a rental car?

Trying to find Darius Swain a ride?
:D

[Buzzbee]

Trying to find Darius Swain a ride?
:D
:D



Very nice!

[Peregrine]

No rental car, but I will have my own car, I'm driving down.

[Ben E Lou]

Trying to find Darius Swain a ride?
:DGold!

[Ben E Lou]

No rental car, but I will have my own car, I'm driving down.Good. Tucker's a good place to live, but probably a lousy place to visit. It is a cross between sleepy suburb and small town. All of the reasons I like being here have to do with friendships/people/comraderie/etc.--things that a visitor wouldn't experience. However, Tucker is close enough to town that it is an easy drive to pretty much anywhere you want to get.

Two questions: What kind of free time will you have, and what sort of things do you like to do?

[Peregrine]

Well I'm not sure about free time, I'll probably be tied up most of the weekend except for meals and maybe a trip or two at night with gaming stuff (I'm going down for a boardgaming convention.) So really I'm looking for some good places to eat and maybe a place or two I could hit for a small amount of time (1-2 hours) rather than big, all day activities. I enjoy all kinds of stuff, good food, good beer, cultural/historical stuff, sports of course (though I doubt I'll have time)

[Ben E Lou]

Is the convention in Tucker?

[Peregrine]

Yep, sure is.

www.atlantagamefest.com

[JonInMiddleGA]

If you don't mind me asking (although it doesn't help fill in your recreational blanks), I couldn't help but wonder:
1) Is this like a big event,larger than it sort of seems from the limited info on the website? I guess I'm asking is this really a regional thing or a more local thing that you happened to pick up on somehow? And if the latter, how come a trip from NC to GA for a gaming weekend? I'm not knocking it at all, I just figure there are similiar event closer to you.
2) Is this group limited to the Euro-style card games like Settlers or does it also branch into wargames, sportsgames, etc?

In any event, enjoy your trip and may all your draws/rolls be good ones. Ya gotta represent for FOFC, y'know? ;)

[Peregrine]

Well as far as I know it's mostly an Atlanta area event, but a friend and I had a spare weekend so we figured we'd make a trip down, plus I have some relatives in the area that I can visit. Hey, I'm a gaming addict! The flights were looking particularly pricey when I checked so driving works.

Mostly German type games, though that covers a lot of ground, and often branches into various types of wargames as well. I'm not sure you'll see big Advanced Squad Leader games, but I'm sure there will be Columbia block wargames around, as well as some of the heavier strategic games like Wallenstein, Game of Thrones, Euphrat and Tigris, etc, if you're familiar with any of those.

I wish there were more sports games, actually. The best ones are racing games, there are good ones for horse, auto, and several other kinds of racing.

[Ben E Lou]

Looking at the site, the best nearby meal is probably the one that y'all are already going to: Fuji Ya, the Japanese restaurant. The atmosphere isn't impressive (strip mall in Best Buy shopping center), but the hibachi and sushi meals are just as good as more-expensive, better-atmosphere Japanese places. It is pretty much the only non-chain restaurant in the immediate area. If you're a country-cookin' fan, you can't go wrong with Matthews Restaurant, in "downtown" Tucker. They're not open on weekends, though. You'd have to catch 'em Thursday or Friday night. You'd just head east on Lavista Road for about 2 miles. Turn right at Tucker High School, and Matthews is right across the railroad tracks on the left. There are plenty of chain places within a mile or so of your hotel: Olive Garden, Chili's, O'Charley's, Red Lobster, Jason's Deli, Starbuck's, Fuddrucker's, Old Hickory House, IHOP, Folks, Steak and Ale. All but Olive Garden/Chili's/O'Charley's/Steak and Ale/Old Hickory House are in plain view of Lavista Road; the five of them are on Northlake Parkway, which is right next to I-285. Old Hickory House has the best breakfast around.

If you only have 1-2 hour chunks of free time, it probably isn't worth driving to Buckhead to take in the bar scene, unless you want to do the late-night thing. If you include finding a place to park and actually getting in anywhere you're looking at having at least 25-30 minutes of travel time to any of the clubs. You're fairly near Stone Mountain Park. The laser show there is pretty popular. You'd just jump on I-285 South at Lavista, go east at your first exit, which is US78. Take US78 around 5 miles until you see the park entrance signs. The laser show starts a little after dark on Friday and Saturday nights. Eddie's Attic (http://www.eddiesattic.com/), in Decatur, always has some pretty good acoustic music.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh. On Saturday morning, they're having the yearly "Tucker Celebration." I can't imagine a visitor enjoying it, but there's a parade featuring the football team, cheerleaders, and band at 10am. (Well, some would enjoy the inevitable bump & grind routine that the drill team will do as they march in the parade. {sigh}) There's also a road race at 7am. Point being: don't try to go too far past Northlake Parkway heading east on Lavista on Saturday morning, as it will be closed down at the high school and traffic backed up and re-routed pretty much all morning.

[Radii]

I'd also recommend the laser show at Stone Mountain, we gotta do that this summer at least once too.

The drive from Raleigh to Atlanta isn't bad at all. In fact, I'm making the drive from Atlanta to Raleigh next weekend to visit my parents.

[Ben E Lou]

Dola:

My in-laws are in town this weekend, plus I have responsibilities related to the Tucker Celebration. Otherwise, I'd definitely stop in and at least say hello. You're only going to be 3 miles from my house. Unless you're an early riser and want to come meet me at 7am for the pancake breakfast on Saturday morn, I'll catch ya next time.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Stn Mtn was the first thing that popped into my mind too, FWIW.
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/newsite/default.asp

As for the aforementioned Eddie's Attic ...
http://www.eddiesattic.com/

Friday night is Jim Lauderdale (bluegrassy) and Saturday is local icon Michelle Malone.

[digamma]

Oh. On Saturday morning, they're having the yearly "Tucker Celebration." I can't imagine a visitor enjoying it, but there's a parade featuring the football team, cheerleaders, and band at 10am. (Well, some would enjoy the inevitable bump & grind routine that the drill team will do as they march in the parade. {sigh}) There's also a road race at 7am. Point being: don't try to go too far past Northlake Parkway heading east on Lavista on Saturday morning, as it will be closed down at the high school and traffic backed up and re-routed pretty much all morning.
Is this replacing Tucker Days? When did they move it to the spring from August?

[Ben E Lou]

Is this replacing Tucker Days? When did they move it to the spring from August?Yes, it is. They moved it two or three years ago. My understanding is that it was because of the August heat.

[Celeval]

We were always fans of Bambinelli's Italian Restaurant, on the corner of Henderson Mill Rd and Northlake Parkway; just on the far corner of Northlake Mall.

[RPI-Fan]

The laser show starts a little after dark on Friday and Saturday nights.

I guess a UGA grad must set up the schedule for the show.:D

[MJ4H]

(Well, some would enjoy the inevitable bump & grind routine that the drill team will do as they march in the parade. {sigh})

Hey man high-quality-browser-imbedded-streaming-video plz k thx

[Ben E Lou]

We were always fans of Bambinelli's Italian Restaurant, on the corner of Henderson Mill Rd and Northlake Parkway; just on the far corner of Northlake Mall.I've never eaten there, but it is just a hop, skip and a jump from my office. I've had a busy afternoon, and haven't eaten lunch yet. Gonna try it out right now. :p

[Peregrine]

Thanks for the info Skydog. I've done Stone Mountain a few times in the past so I don't feel pressed to see it again at this point. I'm just glad I got down here through the crushing Atlanta traffic, the drive was easy until I was close to 285.

[Celeval]

I've never eaten there, but it is just a hop, skip and a jump from my office. I've had a busy afternoon, and haven't eaten lunch yet. Gonna try it out right now. :p
wotcha think?

[Ben E Lou]

wotcha think?I think, as a person with a non-traditional job schedule, that I HATE restaurants that close at 2:30pm and re-open at 5:30pm. :mad:

[JeeberD]

Word. I hate it that I can't get Indian buffet on my break cause they close at 2pm...

[Celeval]

I think, as a person with a non-traditional job schedule, that I HATE restaurants that close at 2:30pm and re-open at 5:30pm. :mad:
Doh. Yeah, that sucks.

[st.cronin]

I think, as a person with a non-traditional job schedule, that I HATE restaurants that close at 2:30pm and re-open at 5:30pm. :mad:

I have never understood that from a business point of view. The marginal cost of staying open (which I imagine would be primarily labor costs) for those three hours has got to be overwhelmed by the long term benefits, primarily building customer loyalty.

[Ben E Lou]

I have never understood that from a business point of view. The marginal cost of staying open (which I imagine would be primarily labor costs) for those three hours has got to be overwhelmed by the long term benefits, primarily building customer loyalty.From what I've observed, it is usually the smaller, non-chain restaurants that do this. The only thing I can think of is that they don't have a large number of employees, and closing from 2:30-5:30 lets employees off the clock for a while, allowing them not to have to pay overtime. Still, I'm not sure that even *that* is worth it, particularly in a metro area as large as Atlanta. There's *always* someone wanting to eat here. :p

[Celeval]

Hm... I've always taken it another way - especially for the smaller, family-owned places, if there's a significant enough change in menu; it's possible that the kitchen needs to basically stop making lunch and start making dinner.