February 4-6 - Las Vegas, NV (DICE Summit)
February 7 - Hoover Dam / Grand Canyon / Flagstaff, AZ
February 8 - Petrified National Forest / Santa Fe, NM
February 9 - Roswell, NM / Carlsbad Caverns / Richland Hills, TX
February 10 - Dallas, TX
February 11 - Waco, TX
February 11-12 - Austin, TX
February 13-14 - Houston, TX
February 13-14 - Houston, TX
February 15 - Baton Rouge, LA
February 16 - New Orleans, LA
February 17 - Montgomery, AL
February 18-19 - Atlanta, GA
February 20 - Myrtle Beach, SC
February 21 - Raleigh, NC
February 22 - Arlington, VA
February 23 - New York, NY
I'm still planning details, but I plan on going through the Mojave National Preserve, seeing the Hoover Dam, gawking at the Grand Canyon, walking through the Petrified Forest National Park, and checking out the Carlsbad Caverns. I also want to get an alcoholic daiquiri from a drive-through. I may even see some game studios along the way, if I can.
These dates/cities are subject to change, of course--assuming the Internet provides me even better ideas and routes to take.
What! No Minnesota! Come on, make it a real adventure!!!
ReplyDeleteWe have beer here...
Great Choices
ReplyDeleteDon't pass up Odessa, Texas when you come thru Texas. Great Mexican food and the real home to Friday Night Lights.
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts on the Gulf Coast swing.
ReplyDeleteIn New Orleans I cannot recommend Port of Call enough. Simply one of the best hamburgers you will find. Also, if you are looking for some good 'ole fried seafood, it's hard to beat Mulate's or Deanie's.
I see you are staying next in Montgomery, which means you will be driving through Mobile most likely. For great seafood or steak: Felix's fish camp. Or, an excellent breakfast/lunch stop is Spot of Tea. The Eggs Cathedral, while it feels like you put on 5 pounds just looking at it, is simply delicious.
Hi Andrew! I'm a long time WC listener from Athens, Georgia, but I recently moved to the Atlanta area.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be what you came to the south for, but if you want Japanese-style ramen, I recommend Umaido. They have a good tonkotsu ramen (my favorite type). I lived in Japan for seven years, and while I was there I really got into ramen...maybe a little too much, actually. In Japan Umaido would be good, but not quite great. For Atlanta, however, it's phenomenal. It's one of the only authentic ramen places I've found in the south.
Umaido: http://www.umaidos.com/
Umaido is off in the northeastern suburbs. There are actually a lot of Korean restaurants around here, along with a few Vietnamese and Japanese places as well. Again, that may not be what you're in the south for, and you could probably find a better selection in New York, but this is where I like to eat.
If you don't mind the drive, you could also try heading to Athens, which is about an hour east of Atlanta. It's a relaxed, eclectic college town.
If you go there, I recommend Cali n Tito's for their great cubano sandwiches. I like to get the chicken cubano with a side of tostones (fried plantains). Bring cash, though, as they don't accept anything else. There may be a long line, but it's worth it.
Cali n Tito's: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cali-n-titos-athens?nb=1
I also recommend The Last Resort Grill for good, kind of non-traditional southern-style food. The Last Resort is a cool downtown restaurant that has been popular for a long time.
The Last Resort Grill: http://www.lastresortgrill.com/index.php
Finally, for good vegetarian food, try The Grit. They actually do have grits, and they're really good, but I wouldn't say that's what the restaurant is about. They have a wide variety of vegetarian entrees.
The Grit: http://www.thegrit.com/
I wish I could give you more Atlanta-specific recommendations, but I'm much more familiar with Athens. Actually, I'm more familiar with Nagoya, Japan than Atlanta, but I'm not totally useless! Let me know if you have any questions.
Wow, thank you for the suggestions! I think I'm going to be spending much more time in the Atlanta area, so this will be helpful!
DeleteIf you're in Georgia right now and want any more suggestions or advice, feel free to shoot me an email at mledvinka1@hotmail.com. Have fun!
DeleteOh, and don't fear the south! We're not all backwards. ...just some of us, you know? ;)
-Michael
Glad you're making such a wide swing through Texas! I can give you some good food recommendations for Waco and Houston.
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact that Waco is a college town, unfortunately there isn't that much worthwhile going on there food-wise. There's a pretty good Italian restaurant called Baris. The bread and dipping sauces are killer. If you want to have a drink there's a couple of options depending on what you want. Cricket's is casual and has lots of different options for beers - especially Texas beers. There's The Dancing Bear if you want more of a college bar. And then there's Wild West if you want some authentic Texas line dancing.
Houston has a lot more going on. For Mexican seafood there's Tampico. For cajun seafood there's Pappadeaux. If you want the best steakhouse in town there's Taste of Texas, although it is a bit pricier and you gotta get there early or there's a wait. If you want something casual that offers vegetarian options there's The Hobbit Cafe which is an awesome Lord of the Rings themed restaurant. For one of the best burgers in town I'd recommend Bubba's Texas Burger Shack - it's probably the only burger joint directly under a freeway overpass.
As far as bars go, there's Poison Girl if you want something cool and kind of hipster-y, there's Marquis 2 if you want something casual and friendly, and there's Hay Merchant if you want something a little different. Hay Merchant has a wide selection of interesting beers and they also have neat food like bone marrow and pig ears.
Also, if you're looking for a drive through daiquiri, there's a place in Houston called the Eskimo Hut that does lots of drive through mixed drinks.
DeleteWow, thank you for the suggestions!
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