Restaurant GraveyardReviewed Places In Athens That Went Under!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OLDE SPAGETTI STORE |  |
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| 151 E. Broad Street | (706) 549-4656 |
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| Italian. Casual. Inexpensive. Parking difficult. I have visited this place twice since 1986 and it remains a complete mystery to me: presumably the rent is high right across the street from campus, but the foot traffic is light and the food is very plain. Yet the place hangs on. Must be something I'm missing. Lunch and Dinner from 11:00am. Reservations accepted. |
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| DAMON'S CLUBHOUSE RESTAURANT |  |
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| 3151 Atlanta Highway | (706) 355-9919 |
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| Sports bar: Steaks, Ribs, Burgers. Casual. Inexpensive to Moderate. Easy parking. The gimmick here is to combine "sports bar" and "rib place" and we are obliged to consider that in Athens, despite 30,000+ party animals, sports bars just don't make it. The food here is average, and the long lines which were present when the place opened have shortened considerably. Four very large tv screens which you can sit facing may make the difference for you. Lunch and Dinner from 11:00am. Reservations accepted. |
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| CHEF WOLFGANGS |  |
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| 1074 Baxter Street | (706) 369-8333 |
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| European. Sort of Hofbrau house. Easy parking. From a small open kitchen, Chef Wolfgang creates a variety of dishes with familiar names from Germany, Eastern Europe, and Russia. In fact, the place is like a time warp to the 60's with curious artifacts scattered about the crevices of the dining room (a hofbrau house theme predominates) and the menu revealing old favorites like sauerbraten and "Steak Diane". The waiters are attentive and efficient. The wine service is poor: with California cranking out the world's best chardonnay from a hundred vendors, Wolfgang settles for a poor Italian version. Go for the food, and drink beer. Dinner only from 4:00pm to 10:00am, 7 days a week. Reservations accepted. | |
| GUS GARCIA'S |  |
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| 364 E. Broad Street | (706) 543-3097 |
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| Southwest Tavern. Casual. Parking difficult. Texican-Mexican and Gulf Coast seafood. Also a nice tavern. Half a block from the campus. Po Boys, chowder and gumbo, crab claws, fajitas, oysters, shrimp and crab cakes, are some of the popular offerings. Many types of beers and ales. Lunch and Dinner from 11:00am to 10:00pm, 7 days a week. Reservations accepted. | |
| MELLOW MUSHROOM | |
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| 259 E. Broad Street | (706) 613-0892 |
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| Pizza, calzones, subs. Casual. Inexpensive. Parking difficult. Arguably the best pizza in town. The hoagies and calzones are not bad either. A favorite haunt for Athens' collection of tatooed females with black nail polish, or those of either gender with body piercings, when they go off-duty from The Grill or The Grit. Come here just to see the parade. Continuous from about 11:00am. | |
| CALIENTE CAB | |
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| Tallassee Rd at Mitchell Bridge | (706) 613-2744 |
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| Cuban-inspired sandwich shop. Casual. Inexpensive. Just another sandwich place except for the unique ambiance: visually, a step back in time to 1940's Honduras. A River Runs Through It. (Actually a creek.) The numerous outside tables fill up at lunch time. At night, the colored lights go on, and it's Festival! Athens most unusual dining spot. Lunch and dinner from late morning. | |
| RISTORANTE ROBERTO | |
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| Butler Crossing Shopping Center, Watkinsville | (706) 769-0446 |
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| Italian, with pizza and subs. If you like the style of the Macaroni Grill - choosing from 7 or 8 pasta styles and then 8 or 9 sauces (I like Carbonara) - you can do that here. Another tip-off that this place is serious Italian is how the pasta is cooked. At Roberto's the pasta is al dente, and if you know what that means then you will like this place, as the price is right. (Little secret: the owner is not Italian.) Bring your own wine. Lunch and Dinner, 7 days a week till 10:00 pm. Reservations accepted. | |
| MIA MADONNA |  |
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| Corner of Clayton and Hull | (706) 548-1804 |
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| European bistro; attractive decor; wide open spaces; pricing very reasonable. A mainly European menu featuring such items as slow-roasted lamb, gnocchi, bouillabaisse, and spit roasted chicken. The grilled veggies are terrific - try the radicchio. Our group of six shared several entries and agreed that Mia Madonna hit the ground running. Many of the menu items are priced lower than expected, which will delight the frugal UGA faculty. (However, I suspect the prices will creep upward as popularity rises.) A nice wine selection includes flights of 4 half-glass choices on a common theme. A good supply of service people keeps things moving. You will like this place. Lunch and dinner; 11:00am - 10:00pm. No reservations. |
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| JOHNNY CARINO'S | |
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| Atlanta Highway at Timothy | (706) 613-1592 |
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| "Italian". Easy parking. Nice building. Inexpensive. This place will be a success. Not because of the food, but in spite of it. We deliberately waited a week to give the cooks and the wait staff a chance to get things in order, for this new chain representative in Athens opened with long lines, as is often the case. (The honeymoon generally lasts two months in this town.) Simply put, the food is dreadful. If you think this stuff is Italian, ask an Italian. So why do I say this restaurant is here to stay? Because Athens is a small city of 100,000 on top of which are 35,000 students who want things cheap, and the "food" is inexpensive at Carino's: a typical main course is under $10. We sat down and an elongated bread loaf was delivered uncut to our table in a white bag - a nice touch. Till you look at it and you see it is the same bread they use at Subway. We ordered the bruschetta, which in this case was a tall pile of chopped tomatoes on the same Subway bread. And then things descended from there. Opens at 11:00am and serves food continuously until 10:00pm. 7 days a week. No reservations. | |
| ZIM'S BAGEL BAKERY | |
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| Beechwood Shopping Center | (706) 353-2947 |
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| Bagel bakery and upscale Salad/Luncheon Bar. This is a bagelry in the Jewish tradition. The equipment, from Germany, is intended for bagels. The recipe is a family secret of the Zimmermans. What began as a bagelry is now much more than that - the salad and luncheon bar is famous in this town for its great size and variety, and for its gourmet quality. The morning bagel prep begins at about 4:30 so the bagels are ready by 6 to 6:30. Bagels are baked repeatedly throughout the day so that the bagels are always perfect. As regards the luncheon bar, you pay by weight: grab as much of whatever you want, and they weigh it. The background music is truely the most bizarre in Athens, ranging from the Red Army Chorus to Jazz to 40's Big Band to 60's Soft Rock. You might even hear light opera, depending on Zim's mood. Breakfast and Lunch from 7:00am to 3:00pm, 7 days a week. | |
| ZIM'S AT NIGHT | |
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| Beechwood Shopping Center | (706) 353-2947 |
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| Bagel bakery and upscale Salad/Luncheon Bar. (Its Dinner but they call it Supper because that is what Southerners - as opposed to the rest of the world - call dinner.) Anyway... In the evening, the paper goods are put away, the hard plates come out and the silverware, and wine and beer appear. It's still the same place - salads & sandwiches are still made, but the hot bar expands, and, as earlier in the day, you pay by weight. This is simply terrific food at a terrific price - the best dining deal in town, and right next to the multi-screen! Supper Hours: Mon-Sat 5:30 - 9:00pm. | |
| BISCHERO ITALIAN RESTAURANT | |
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| 237 Prince Ave (In the Bottleworks) | (706) 316-1006 |
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| Family Italian; also pizza. Casual. Moderate. Parking on-site. This is warm gathering spot in the dramatically improved Bottleworks. There is a nice outdoor patio. The Italian menu is extensive, and the long wine list is all from Italy; several choices by the glass. See website for evening specials. No Lunch. Dinner from 5-11pm. Friday, Saturday. 5-10pm Sunday-Thursday. Call for reservation. |
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The above place changed owner and name in October, 2008 as "237 Prince Woodfire Grill" and went under in that name.
| LE MAISON BLEU | |
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| Main Street, Watkinsville, just before Rt 15 begins | (706) 769-6480 |
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| European; casual; moderate pricing. Our group had pork tenderloin, filet mignon, and rack of lamb, and all of them were cooked to proper temperature, elegantly presented, and wonderfully appreciated. The kitchen appears to be adequately staffed, assisting the resident chef. A separate room for group functions. A new regulation allows wine and beer service in Oconee County. We found the wine list here to be the best in the Athens area, both by-the-glass and by bottle, in both breadth and uniqueness. Lunch Tuesday to Fri 11:00; Dinner Tuesday to Sat from 5:00pm. Sunday Brunch. Reservations accepted. | |
| BASIL PRESS | |
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| 104 E. Washington , at Lumpkin, Downtown | (706) 227-8926 |
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| We are obliged to downgrade this once-good restaurant. We arrived on a Monday night, the place was empty. Our group of four ordered 4 different main courses. Everything was mediocre, including the bread and salads. A wine list that was once terrific now has only 4 white wines by the glass. Better restaurants than this have closed downtown. Sad to witness. Lunch and dinner; 11:00am - 10:00pm. Reservations accepted. |
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So what do these disappearances mean?
There are multiple answers.
Sometimes it means that the food was good but price too high. Sometimes it means the food started out well but declined. Maybe it was just bad from the start. Maybe the cook/chef quit. Maybe the economy did it in. Perhaps a competitor in the same style came along and did it better. Sometimes the owners retire.
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