The Varsity - Atlanta, Georgia

Posted by BurgerBeast (on 3/05/09): What'll Ya Have?What''ll ya have? What''ll ya have? Is what you hear upon entering The Varsity located across from Georgia Tech. We chose to eat inside as opposed to eating at their drive-in. It turns out there is "Varsity Lingo" one must know before placing your order. Lucky for us, it was not packed, so we didn't have to be on our game. John cuts me in line and orders first. He gets some fries, onion rings and a burger. Isaac chooses a chili dog and a cheese burger.I get a cheeseburger, a chili cheese dog and 2 apple pies (one is for John, let's not jump to conclusions yet, we will hit gluttony level after the first order). I may need a cash advance by the time we're done eating.We all felt the onion rings were really good, John claims his fries are partially raw, I'm not buying the story since he continued to eat the fries. I tried them and they tasted fine. The burger was nothing to write home about but the chili dog, now that's another story. Man, was that thing good! I try the apple pie and realize, wow, what an odd flavor this has. I'm trying to figure out what it is and then John points out to me that I'm eating a peach pie (apparently I can't read wrappers). By this time, Isaac has decided to get another burger and a plain hot dog. To counter him, I order another chili dog for John and I, some hot wings and finish the order off with an apple pie(correct wrapper this time). The wings were good and Isaac felt these were the best things he had here. John and I agree that the Apple Pie was amazing.So as I'm washing down my overindulgence with a tasty and refreshing Coke, I only have one thing left to say to the guys. When can we come back so I can get another chili cheese dog?



Posted by Ghenghisjuan (on 1/10/09): The Varsity is legendary. The website claims it's been around for all of about 80 years. That funny feeling you're about to do something very special begins to peak as you see a monstrous red "V" emerge in the Atlanta skyline. Situated on prime real estate, The Varsity floats above the hustle and bustle of highway traffic very near to Georgia Tech. As you turn into the parking lot, you realize that this not a restaurant - its an establishment. The oddly shaped mass of metal, glass and concrete has been pieced together over decades and its difficult to understand how big it is until you are on-site. The place is huge. The parking lot is full and active (always a good sign). A row of cars leads you to its unique and highly touted Drive-In service. Expectations are high friends. There is a buzz in the air.
My wife and I are presented with our first decision almost immediately, a car is vacating its spot in the Drive-In and we have the right of first refusal. Uh-oh, this is crucial - Dine-In or Drive-In? My 3-year-old son Kubulah Juan sits in the back of the mini-van watching a cartoon. We ask a few probing questions and find he is relaxed, ready to eat, and most importantly contained. Drive-In is the obvious choice and we take quick advantage of it.
The drive-in is simple enough, its a series of parking spaces beneath a porch-like roof with a team of men hovering about ready to take your order. It seems like you need to know what you're doing around here because our man, Bubba, came up to our car demanding an order almost immediately. I had decided what I was going to eat a few months ago while browsing the menu online so I was ready, but my wife was still undecided. By the time I was done rifling out the first three items my wife had decided and we placed...

Our order:

1 Bowl of Chili
1 Order of Onion Rings
1 Glorified Bacon Burger Combo
1 Two Naked Dog Combo


Lets start with the Chili. When you see the styrofoam cup its delivered in, you know its got to be good. Its that same bowl they use for chicken soup at any self respecting Cuban cafeteria. The chili is on the mild side but delicious. SUPER meaty, if there was a bean I didn't detect it. The texture was similar to Taco Bell's taco beef but the grain is a little smaller and its a little soupier. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Next up, the business of his honorable Burger Beast's website, the Glorified Bacon Burger. I have to say I was very disappointed. It tasted like lettuce on a bun. There was a tomato in there but it was mealy and flavorless. The bacon was sub-par, BK's bacon is more satisfying. And the beef patty...miserable. It was an odd shade of gray in color, it was tiny, and worst of all it was devoid of all flavor. NOT RECOMMENDED (under any circumstance).
On to the French Fries. These were pretty good. Hand cut, freshly made. What more could you want. Its pretty average for a hand-cut french fry, but I'll eat average hand-cut fries all day. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Onion rings are a favorite of my wife. These do not disappoint. They are thinly sliced and given the southern fried chicken treatment, which is to say they are not heavily battered but rather lightly coated with flour. They are superb and hence, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (P.S., A place called the "OK Cafe" a few exits north of "The Varsity" on I-75 serves similar onion rings at breakfast time and its worth a try. Onion rings at breakfast...need I say more? I suspect this place may have a tasty burger as they serve deep fry pickles here. Research on this site is merited) In my opinion the "Naked Dog" is the star item on this menu. Its grilled, not boiled and houses a very nice beef flavor in its casing. It tastes a lot like a Nathan's Dog, but the beef flavor is a little more prominent and its quite a bit tastier. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I didn't make it for dessert. I hear the fried pies are more than SATISFACTORY, but sadly I was not aware of them at the time. I suppose its for the best as now I've left something on the menu for the Beast to review.

Overall: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS.


The Varsity
61 North Avenue, Atlanta, GA
404-881-1706