Five & Ten was among the first to change the culinary landscape here when it opened almost 25 years ago, in the Five Points neighbourhood. “Modern Southern” dishes like Frogmore stew (shrimp, andouille sausage and grilled pork tenderloin served with a grit cake and Georgia peach butter) have become Athens standards. “Over the years, people left, came back and opened places that added new flavours,” says Peter Dale, the restaurant’s owner and chef and an Athens native. “Somewhere along the way, Athens grew up.”
Five & Ten has since inspired a growing and eclectic smattering of new and nationally touted restaurants. Puma Yu’s, which opened in 2022, serves Asian-inspired plates in a one-time denim factory in the repurposed Mill District. Seabear Oyster Bar, in the old Coca-Cola bottling plant on Prince Avenue, is where to go for just-shucked oysters, shrimp, crab and Tiki-inspired cocktails like the Snowbird: dark rum, amaretto, coconut, lime, pineapple and turbinado sugar. A few blocks away, Birdies sandwich shop and market (which opened in 2023) offers delectable high-end cheeses, olive oils and jams. And just this month, Top Chef contestant Kenny Nguyen opened Pretty Boy, where he serves the Vietnamese flavours of his childhood.
“Athens has a history of attracting really talented people,” says Erin Wilson, an owner at The National restaurant, a downtown cornerstone featuring seasonal dishes like cucumber gazpacho, pan-roasted swordfish and Portuguese-style custard tarts. “And people here support local businesses.”
Though Athens has topped college-party-town lists for decades with around 80 spots to imbibe stuffed into the compact downtown area, the question was always: where does one carouse after college? Not to be outdone by the city’s culinary success, the lounge-and-bar circuit has now found its adult stride.
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Publish date : 2024-09-16 01:00:00
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