Dine Like A Local

When in town, why not dine like a local? Metro area residents know some of the most charming restaurants in Atlanta often are the ones not touted by the traditional guidebooks.

If you're in Midtown to visit the High Museum of Art or to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, you'll also find an active restaurant scene within a few blocks. South City Kitchen is where Southern cuisine meets today's contemporary style. Dine on sautéed shrimp and scallops, buttermilk fried chicken, crispy whole catfish, and desserts of fruit cobbler and chocolate pecan pie.

Guests can almost hear the roar of the surf from Peachtree Road when they step into the Oceanaire Seafood Room, a sleek seafood and raw bar restaurant. The art deco dining room in shades of ice and watery blues will get you in the mood for an extensive selection of daily fresh fish. The portions and side dishes (don't miss the hash brown casserole) are big enough to share. Save room for Baked Alaska, flambéed at your table.

Before leaving the Midtown scene, drop by Sutra Lounge, adjacent to Fuego. This high-energy club features cocktails and music into the wee hours.

Take a stroll along Highland and Virginia avenues to window shop before having dinner in one of the neighborhood's several eateries. This hip community is home to La Tavola, an intimate trattoria where you can fill up on classic Italian dishes of pork saltimbocca, cauliflower risotto, spinach and smoked ricotta ravioli and veal scallopini.

A few blocks south along Highland, walkers will find Wisteria in an old brick storefront. Like La Tavola, the dining room is small and busy, but there usually is a seat available at the bar. The kitchen gives Southern dishes an update with entrees of pumpkin ravioli, shrimp and grits, rack of lamb and molasses-rubbed pork tenderloin.