Daniela "Smitty" S.'s Profile

I wanted to try a new pizza joint, some where other than Decatur cause you know the BF lives there and has been to most of the Decatur pizza joints.  Anyway, we were on our way to Pizza Fusion and changed our minds for some reason or another and decided to go to Varasano's.  

We went around 5 on a Friday, and it was deserted - not another soul in the place.  It was weird, but I was just happy that the place was clean.

I was disappointed with the toppings selection, in my opinion there weren't enough, so we settled on the Nana pizza topped with Fennel Sausage and Pepperoni .  It's about a 10" pizza, enough for two.  Very thin crust and it comes "charred" (I can't think of the term that they used). I noticed that it was a bit soupy and the sauce and cheese was running off the pizza into puddles in the pan.  Even though we "upgraded" to the Nana that had the herbs added to it, it wasn't that flavorful.  It was good but nothing about it really stood out and made my taste buds tingle.  

So all in all, it's a cool place, the food is good - not great, service was excellent, but the prices were a little high.  But it's Buckhead so I wasn't expecting anything cheap.

Who wouldn't want to eat at the oldest house in Georgia?  

We decided to try out The Pirate's House after much deliberation (the BF thought it would be too "touristy").   And I have to admit, once I stepped inside I  had a vague feeling like I was at a restaurant in Disney's Treasure Island or something of the sort.  Don't get me wrong, I love the house - I appreciate architecture  especially anything built during that time period.  However, it was the display cases of "souvenirs" that gave it that whimsical, Disney-like feeling.  Otherwise I was in awe of the old building and spent time observing the details of the building and reading about it's history, which is very interesting and one of the reasons why I love Savannah.

Anyway, on to the food.  It took me forever to decide if I wanted to order off the menu or try the buffet.  A fellow  Yelp reviewer said the buffet was so-so but the food from the menu was amazing. With that I almost went off the menu but, after I did a drive-by the  buffet table -twice - I decided to gung-ho it buffet style.  

So I had a little bit, um a LOT of, BBQ Pork, mashed 'taters, corn, green beans, pot pie, and cat fish.  Oh the cat fish, and the BBQ Pork...oh they were sooooo good I think I was humming a tune as I shoved it all down.  I actually gorged myself to the point of being ill.  I had three plates, count them 1 - 2 - 3.  Yes, piled high.  The BF's eyes bulged out of his head when I came back to the table the third time - he actually said I was looney toons.  Normally I would snap back at him with some nasty response but I was too full to get all ballsy like that. These weren't normal circumstances. And hey, I wanted to get my money's worth and two plates just didn't seem like enough food for $13 bucks.   I think I ate enough food for about $30 but whatever.

So do I need to say much else?  Obviously I loved the food.   I'm glad I decided on the buffet instead of the shrimp basket or whatever I was thinking of ordering off the menu.  

Unfortunately we were short on time so we didn't get a chance to do the ghost tour, plus I wasn't fit to tour anything except maybe the hotel bed til my lungs could find room to expand so I could breathe.

I guess I'm in the minority but  I really like ol' Unca Hooolio's!  

It seems like it would be a cool place to go in the evening.  It's all festive looking and has a nice atmosphere.  I've only been there during lunch, so usually the place is more than half empty, but I've heard that it picks up at night especially on the weekend.  And it's CLEAN - that's very important to me!  

And no doubt I'm seriously  hooked on their chips and dip - simply delish!!!!  Usually I'm grossly stuffed from all the chips that I'm never hungry enough to eat a meal while I'm there.  But I order anyway of course!  :)  

My usual order is the three taco plate with beef which comes with beans and rice.  I love that they serve HARD tacos, I can't stand soft tacos and I'm sick and tired of "mexican" places that  don't serve hard tacos....but I digress.  The tacos are tasty, if not a bit greasy.  I rarely can eat more than one of them because, as I said I'm already 'bout to explode from all the chips I've consumed.  The rice is yummy, but I can't stand the beans.  The beans come in a bowl...with broth.  I thought they would be refried beans but I guess they are trying to go healthy and make them in a broth, like bean soup - meh, no thanks.  

All in all, I like the place.  It's pretty pricey for lunch depending on what you get.  They have a lunch menu but I never like anything that's on it, so I guess that's why my bill is a little higher than normal.

Hopefully the next time I try it will be at night so that I can try one of their margaritas.

Don't let the looks or location of this place fool ya (like it did me for about a year!) - cause it's a true "hole in the wall" local joint.  I finally gave in to the BF and tried this place out and I wasn't disappointed - the food is really good!  

I had BBQ Pork, mashed 'taters, and broccoli casserole, with a chunk of cornbread.  The BF had fried chicken, black eyed peas, and mashed 'taters with jalepeno cornbread.  It was so much food neither of  us could finish all of it (very unlike me to leave anything on my plate) - the BF had enough left over to have for dinner.  And the sweet tea is heavenly - it's truly sweet not pseudo-wanna be healthy -sweet like a lot of the tea I'm used to drinking.  And if the BF and I agree on how good the tea was (we NEVER agree on tea quality - usually he likes his to taste like brown water with lemon - LOL!), then it must be good!

Prices are excellent for lunch - I think we walked out about 20 bucks poorer, but that ain't bad for the amount - and quality - of food that we ate.

The BF drug me here, as I kicked and protested the whole entire way cause I had seen the outside of this joint (pretty yuck outside) and there was NO WAY I was going to be able to eat there!  I'm just squeamish if the area right outside of the place I'm about to eat at is dirty and yucky.  And when we drove up there were cigarette butts on the window seal and all over the ground - I know who cares right?  Well cig butts disgust me to no end, I can't explain it so don't ask - but the BF put his foot down and drug me inside anyway.  It took me a while to try and block out what I saw before I walked in but I finally did.  

So with all the great things on the menu, what did I order - a burger of course!!!  I had to play it safe, since this was my first time eating at this joint.  But the burgers were really good! (I'ma hamburger freak by the way) Nice and juicy, and big enough that after you eat one you won't eat the rest of the day - that's what I'm talkin' about!  :)

We also had these cheese puff things that the BF is in love with.  They were really good too.  And their homemade waffle fries were so delicious, but then again I love fries almost anyway they come, so maybe they aren't as good as I thought they were, but who cares it's my opinion anyway right?  :)

So all in all the food was good.  I wish they would keep the smokers from tossing their butts all over the front of their place, but otherwise I may eat here again if I can talk myself up to it!

Pretty darn good burgers, I must admit.  At first I was skeptical cause of it's location (I'm extremely picky about cleanliness!) but once inside I was pleasantly surprised at how clean it was.  My bacon cheeseburger hit the spot!  The BF didn't care for the sweet tea, and ended up switching out for a Coke.  The fries were good too, especially the crunchy ones...I LOVE the crunchy ones and I was ferocious in protecting them from the BF! LOL!

All in all, a pretty good burger joint - FlipBurger should take some pointers - and I plan on going back soon especially since it's right down the street from where I work.

I love this place - it's one of the few local joints that me and the BF actually agree on.  I'm a true carb-ivore, and I absolutely LOVE their biscuits!  The Flying Biscuit ain't got nothin' on PAGG's biscuits!  They are huge (this is important), warm & soft on the inside and very  flavorful.   Too many biscuits taste like cooked dough - no flavor at all, might as well eat flour straight from the bag.  But that is not the case at this joint.  I also love their hashbrowns and sausage patties - it's so much food that when I eat there that is the ONLY meal I have all day!  I go for brunch and I'm good til morning - no joke!

What can I say?  This place is awesome!  Everything was pretty much on point.  My hamburger and fries were cooked to perfection.  Not the best food - didn't knock my socks off - but it was just good and the portion sizes were perfect (which translates into enough to take home for lunch the next day if you will).  Service was great.  And the Red Velvet and Carrot cake were to DIE for!!!  Huge slices, moist, sweet, creamy frosting.....ooooh heaven in a styrofoam container!!!  :)

The only drawback is that the wait is atrocious!  We went around lunch time and waited for about 30 minutes.   Otherwise, don't pass this place up - even if you only go to get the cake which is the best part about this joint.

We went to Callaway for the Fantasy in Lights display- it was pretty awesome!  I didn't expect it to be so beautiful.  They really did the animation and illuminations to a T.  Very breathtaking.  The ones on the water were amazing.  It took longer than I thought to get thru the entire thing, maybe an hour or so.  And at the end there's a Xmas village where you can buy souvenirs and food.  We spent another 30 to 45 mins in there, so it was well worth the time it took to drive there and the entrance fee.

This is most definitely a "no frills" aquarium, but you know what?  It's awesome!  We went here for Christmas a few years ago, and I was blown away by the variety of fish they have.  And the place is HUGE!  We spent at least 3 hours going thru the entire place.

I also love the setup, very easy to get thru it and the foot traffic flowed well - not a lot of folks bumping into each other like at other aquariums.  

Enjoyed the IMAX theater show too, that was a cool addition that the GA Aquarium should think about adding.  

Wish it was closer would most def go here before going the GA Aquarium again.