Restaurants
In the past 5 years, the area where Georgia 400 meets Highway 53 has grown quite a bit. They even implemented a continuous flow traffic plan that, despite our skepticism, actually seems to work well. Many restaurants have moved into the area so there is no shortage of places to dine.
We’ve got the essential to-go (Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Wendy’s), sit down (Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Chili’s), middle of the road (Panera, Waffle House), and even a few fine dining (Blue Bicycle) places. Plus multiple Chinese, Japanese Hibachi, Thai, and Mexican restaurants to satisfy almost any craving.
If you’re looking for more local establishments, one of our favorite places is the Dawsonville Pool Room in downtown Dawsonville. Here you will find greasy but delicious “bully burgers”, fries, and more. The Pool Room has been around for as long as we can remember and is considered a staple of our county. Inside, along with pool tables, you will find NASCAR memorabilia, largely from Bill’s racing days. They have a siren out front that they sound whenever an Elliott wins a race.
For a delicious breakfast, we love Billie’s Country Kitchen (Mal- I used to get their chicken biscuits all the time before early morning activities in high school; Court-My dad and I used to go here every Saturday morning before we would go pick up golf balls at a now defunct golf course) and Papa’s Place. For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Big D’s BBQ is where it’s at. They have great biscuits, some of the best pulled pork sandwiches we’ve ever had, and their corn nuggets are crispy and wonderful (Court-Seriously, we have had BBQ at some of the biggest names in BBQ’s restaurants and Big D’s is the best). For a great cup of joe or a great bag of coffee to take home with you, Because Coffee is a fantastic local coffee shop. They focus on roasting and creating their own coffee blends, so we can guarantee you have never had a cup of coffee like this one.
Other
Some other random/weird/interesting things about our county, we are home to a nudist resort called Paradise Valley and we used to have a kangaroo conservation center that held the most kangaroos in one place outside of Australia. We’ve never actually visited either of these places (the kangaroo center was pricey and is now closed and the nudist resort is a nudist resort), but we thought they were worth mentioning.
Since Georgia has become the new Hollywood, we’ve also had several movies and TV shows filmed in the county including some of The Hunger Games franchise, Trouble With the Curve, and the upcoming series The Underground Railroad.
So if you have a free day (or several), check out what all your hometown has to offer. Sure, you might not necessarily be traveling, but you’d probably be surprised at the things there are to see and do right where you live. With the limits on travel right now, there’s never been a better time to explore close to home.
Our McTravels 