October was my crazy travel month. I went somewhere every week during the month. Some for business, and some for personal, like my wonderful weekend in Atlanta to celebrate my college roommate, Vicki’s, wedding. We spent most of the wedding weekend in the beautiful Georgian Terrace, where the wedding was being held. We had the rehearsal dinner in their restaurant, the wedding dinner, and breakfast there, and all the food was fantastic.
But the day we arrived, we were on our own for lunch, so we walked a few blocks away to Mary Mac’s Tea Room to take advantage of our time in the South to get some real Southern food.
Our incredibly friendly waiter welcomed us warmly and asked if it was our first time visiting. When we confirmed that it was, he said we were entitled to a free taste of Pot Likker, which was a new experience for all of us. Pot Likker (which I also think is spelled Pot Licker and Pot Liquor) is made from the juices left behind after collard greens are cooked. There was definitely meat in it and it came with a crispy little biscuit.
We were told to put the biscuit in the soup and then break off bites to eat with the soup. It was really delicious. Like the southern version of matzah ball soup.
All three of us got entrees that came with 2 sides, which were ordered off a check list that you marked with pencils on the table.
My other college roommate, Kim, tried the salmon croquettes with a side of beets and fried green tomatoes. The croquettes were kind of like crab cakes and she loved the fried green tomatoes.
Mike got the fried shrimp with macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. He ate it all up.
I got the fried chicken drumsticks (which they fried special for me without paprika) with spiced apples and sweet potato souffle. This chicken was great. I don’t eat fried chicken very often, but this was worth it. The apples were okay (a little heavy on the syrup) but that sweet potato souffle was awesome. I don’t know why they call it a souffle, but I can tell you that they made it with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon and I loved it.
Our meal was very classically southern and we felt like we got every cent of our money’s worth and then some for this meal. It was a great first stop that made us feel right at home in Atlanta.
Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10
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