Moving to historic College Park. What do you you guys do for fun there? (Atlanta: apartments, big house)

[matilda79]

So I've decided to "try" before I buy in College Park and rent. What do you guys do for fun? Any parks, local hangouts, good restaurants? Suggestions are welcome.

[tikigod311]

The Brake Pad is very popular and is a great place to be when the weather is nice. Spondivits is always happening, but that is much more of a tourist crowd. Serving til 3am though! There is a great park right off Rugby Ave with a bunch of tennis courts and a nice green area. Love that place.

There is a surprising amount of good food in the area. My faves are-

Taco Pete - this is the pinnacle of "greasy fast food". That not really 100% fair as it is high quality, but it generally is greasy. Just a little shack, outside seating only. AMAZING

Manchester Arms - a nicer, upscale pub with a great atmosphere and patio. Smoked pork chop is incredible.

Pitboss BBQ - this is highly subjective, but this is my favorite BBQ in Atlanta. You walk out of that place and you smell like smoke.

Grecian Gyro - Classic great gyros.

East Point Corner Tavern - pretty good burgers, not super special, open late

Pig and the Pint - only been here once but it was really good. Somewhat pricey at dinner.

Zab E Lee Thai - pretty good thai, but not a great location. Worth it though.

[Tryska]

Add one more if you like Jamaican - Tropical Taste in the same shopping center as Zab e lee.

My favorites are Taco Pete, Grecian Gyro, Pit Boss and the Pig and the Pint. (I am in East Point). Pig and the Pint is pricey, but a good hangout. Started by a guy that used to work at Thumbs Up (in East Point) and used to hang out at the Tavern, so he has made a good hangout spot on his own.

The Tavern has a new chef, and it looks like the owner is really trying to improve things (they were slacking for a bit) so expect some changes. Also they are re-vamping the pool tables so those should be good again in a bit.

There's also a new organic market right next door to Brake Pad - great place to get all sorts of organic frou frou items. They are expensive, but they have a great bread, cheese and pastry selection so I go there to pick up those items.

[Tryska]

Also - welcome to the Tri-Cities!

Oh forgot - Drip in Hapeville is a great coffee shop, and Volare is good finer dining.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by Tryska

Add one more if you like Jamaican - Tropical Taste in the same shopping center as Zab e lee.

There's also a new organic market right next door to Brake Pad - great place to get all sorts of organic frou frou items. They are expensive, but they have a great bread, cheese and pastry selection so I go there to pick up those items.

Are you referring to the Jamaica Luxe place at the front of the shopping center? I have been curious about it.

And Bond Organic Market... not very happy with the place. The bread wasn't too far out of line, but everything else there was absurd. $10+ for a lb of ground beef, $11 (!) for a box of PASTA!... I get the feeling they did no market research about the area. Sure, Woodward is right there, but it isn't a exceedingly wealthy area. Sure there are big houses but its not W. Paces Ferry by any stretch. What I hate about it is that it will likely fail due to its completely unreasonable prices and then people will think that tri-cities can't handle a grocery store nicer than Wayfield.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by Tryska

The Tavern has a new chef, and it looks like the owner is really trying to improve things (they were slacking for a bit) so expect some changes. Also they are re-vamping the pool tables so those should be good again in a bit.

Are you referring to Corner Tavern?

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Are you referring to the Jamaica Luxe place at the front of the shopping center? I have been curious about it.

No - if you are at Zab E lee and look all the way across the shopping center there is a standalone red and white building. Tropical Cuisine. It's probably the best Jamaican I've had in Atlanta. Run by a Jamaican Indian man so he has a lot of indian-ish offerings too. best jerk chicken I've had. Their patties are really good too.

And Bond Organic Market... not very happy with the place. The bread wasn't too far out of line, but everything else there was absurd. $10+ for a lb of ground beef, $11 (!) for a box of PASTA!... I get the feeling they did no market research about the area. Sure, Woodward is right there, but it isn't a exceedingly wealthy area. Sure there are big houses but its not W. Paces Ferry by any stretch. What I hate about it is that it will likely fail due to its completely unreasonable prices and then people will think that tri-cities can't handle a grocery store nicer than Wayfield.

it's possible. I'm hoping they do well though. I love the idea of the small urban frou frou market. The problem is, that a big chain won't justify locating along Main for numerous reasons (demographics, highway access, specifically, no place to plonk down 60K square feet and a ginormous parking lot. So that leaves the smaller locally owned type places. And their margins are a lot smaller, and their goods more expensive than the big guys. I think they may have hamstrung themselves by being totally organic, but they seem to have done a better job with supply then say..boxcar grocer has. I'm willing to pay for somethings. And there are others who are willing to pay for other things. it's a small enough footprint that they should hopefully be able to keep in the green. We will see. I am hoping that they are nimble enough to change things that might not seem profitable and focus on the things that do, and keep themselves above water.

I'm glad to see someone willing to take a chance, for sure and I applaud them and wish them luck on that.

And yes - I am referring to Corner Tavern. they visited with one of the larger NAs here just this past week, to discuss why people weren't happy and to introduce the new chef.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by Tryska

I'm glad to see someone willing to take a chance, for sure and I applaud them and wish them luck on that.

Will definitely check out Tropical Cuisine, thanks for the heads up!

That was a coffee induced rant about Bond, I wish them well too. I just don't see the market for their prices in the area.

There is potential for a large footprint grocery store right smack dab in the middle of tri cities... the underutilized Tri-Cities Plaza. Would love to see a Publix or Kroger come in there.

What/where is boxcar grocer?

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Will definitely check out Tropical Cuisine, thanks for the heads up!

That was a coffee induced rant about Bond, I wish them well too. I just don't see the market for their prices in the area.

There is potential for a large footprint grocery store right smack dab in the middle of tri cities... the underutilized Tri-Cities Plaza. Would love to see a Publix or Kroger come in there.

What/where is boxcar grocer?

Don't hold your breath on that - Tri-Cities got bought by Woodward. Also - even prior it was difficult to get a proper large grocer in there, because of it's location obstructed by train tracks, so not "Main Road" facing, and again - no straightforward interstate access for trucks to easily deliver and get out.

BoxCar grocer is a little independent in Castleberry - they keep an interesting blog - apparently they are currently closed for renovations. But here is an entry they made a couple of months back. it will link back to the site so you can poke around there too:

New Subsidy Models Necessary for Growth of Local Economies | Boxcar Grocer

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by Tryska

Don't hold your breath on that - Tri-Cities got bought by Woodward. Also - even prior it was difficult to get a proper large grocer in there, because of it's location obstructed by train tracks, so not "Main Road" facing, and again - no straightforward interstate access for trucks to easily deliver and get out.

Well, for me its right on my way to the interstate. But yes, I doesn't have great visibility. Interested to see what Woodward does with it.

At one of the neighborhood meetings, someone was bragging about how the new fields necessitated tearing down some not so nice apartments, which in turn lead to a 60% drop in 911 calls for the area. WTG Woodward!