Atlanta Classic Comes to Hartsfield
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Dined in December 2016
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
"What'll Ya Have?!”
The Yellow Jackets just killed the Irish!! So, i’ll have a yankee dog, a heavy weight, both walkin’ the dog with a Joe-ree and a Varsity orange. Now in English, what the hell did I just say? I am talking about the Varsity restaurant, located across the freeway from Georgia Tech, and their football team is the Yellow Jackets. When I used to live in Atlanta, I would frequent the Varsity on a regular basis, and most recently, the restaurant which is now a chain of eight, opened a location at the Atlanta Airport International Terminal, where I got to enjoy another heavy weight - that being a hot dog with extra chili.
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Main review:
The Varsity was established in Atlanta in 1928, and as of 2017 there are eight locations in Atlanta or the metro area. Those locations are in Gwinnett, Kennesaw, Alpharetta, Athens, Dawsonville, and two inside the Atlanta airport, plus six food trucks. Did you know that the Varsity is the world's largest drive-in restaurant? In the middle of downtown Atlanta, it sits on more than two acres and can accommodate 600 cars and over eight hundred people inside. On days of Georgia Tech football games up to 30,000 people visit to have a hot dog or burger. From there website, they indicate that they sell more than two miles of hotdogs daily, a ton of onion rings, 2500 pounds of fresh cut potatoes, 5000 homemade fried pies, and 300 gallons of chili, all of which are made from scratch daily. The downtown Varsity is also the world's largest single outlet for Coca-Cola.
The Varsity is a classic style diner, and if your ever in Atlanta, you have to add it to your list of places to go. Even if you dislike greasy food that will give you heartburn from hell, there is still nothing better than having a piece of classic American comfort food. Though chili is a classic american dish dating back to the old cattle drives and from San Antonio, the frankfurter was of course German, but then America is a melting pot of cultures and food that we now claim as our heritage in comfort.
The chili from the dog I ate while passing through the airport from what I could remember years before tasted the same. The chili was mild versus spicy, but had lots of flavor to it. The onion rings however were very greasy and soggy, to which I only ate one, bought some fries, and discarded the remaining rings. They do have french fries, so if I remember, then I’ll have those instead. So, go to the Varsity, have a hot dog, don’t be a plain jane, and get the chili with some fries, not rings, and honestly, bypass the burger, as there are many places to get a better patty. The Varsity is known for its dogs, so get what they specialize in.
Other Noteworthy Fast food, Burger Joints, & Sammie Favorites:
Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Final notes and observations:
What is a restaurant review? Is one better than the other? These and several other questions are what I hear from foodies, and readers alike. Restaurants ask how the rating system is broken down. Remember that reviews you read online are subjective, but they should also be responsibly, and respectfully written, upholding the truth and accurately conveying the experience. My job is to put you at the table next to me, and to always be objective and not subjective. Hopefully I succeeded with that. Being impeccable with my word, never taking anything that happens at the restaurant personally, being honest in the review, never make assumptions, and to always write to the best of my knowledge.
My ratings are notated by the level of stars awarded from 0 to 5. The star rating is based on the calculation and point accumulation of six separate factors with nearly seventy questions broken down by individual experiences such as wine and other beverage selection, plate presentation, customer service, restaurant or café ambiance, food quality, plus a bonus section called the wow factor. To see more details on how I do my ratings read this article:
Over all from this experience, and using my rating system linked above, I give The Varsity a 1 out of 5 stars, meaning that they were an average dining experience similar to most chain or fast food style restaurants. They actually scored higher than a typical fast food location based alone on their history, community involvement, and just because they are an American classic. The six factors used to get this rating are scored below.
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6 Factors That Determine the Star Rating:
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Max Points Possible:
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Score awarded to the restaurant:
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Ambiance:
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10
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7
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Quality of the Food:
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10
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7
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Plate Presentation:
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10
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5
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Customer Service:
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10
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8
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Alcohol and Other Beverage Selections:
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10
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7
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BONUS: Wow Factor:
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5
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1
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A full break down and explanation of the observations and point disbursement is available in the linked article above. To receive a detailed copy of your score, feel free to contact me at any time and I will provide it to you.
Review basics:
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5 stars
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An Extraordinary Journey
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94 - 100 %
(105% w/full bonuses)
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4 Stars
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An Outstanding Dining Experience
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87 - 93%
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3 Stars
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Exceeded All Of My Expectations
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80 - 86%
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2 Stars
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Above the Average Dining Experience
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72 - 79%
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1 Star
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An Average Dining Experience
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66 - 71%
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No Star Rating
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This Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling
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65% or below
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Overall Star Rating:
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1 of 5 Stars:
An Average Dining Experience
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Restaurant style:
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Casual
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Reservations:
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Not Required
Walk-Ins:
Accepted
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
Hire a Babysitter!
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Dress code:
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Casual attire
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Cuisine style:
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American, Fast Food, Southern
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Experiences:
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Trendy, Hot spot, Good for special occasions, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood gem.
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Payments:
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Public lot
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium, to Loud
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant
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Patio:
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No
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Other Atlanta, Georgia reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Ecco Restaurant at the Atlanta Airport
Grace 17.20 in Atlanta
The Lobby Bar and Bistro in Atlanta
Food Prices
(excluding, alcohol, taxes & gratuity)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
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My food bill:
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Currency:
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Price chart:
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$8.00
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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$11.00
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$
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£7.00
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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£
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$10.00
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$
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¥55.00
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥
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€7.00
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European Union (EUR)
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€
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Currency rates as of January 2017
The Varsity:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
International Terminal
2600 Maynard H. Jackson Jr. Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30337
Contact Information:
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Maître d or host:
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+1 404-838-1001 |
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Restaurant website: |
The Varsity |
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Serving hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00) |
Mon-Sun 6:00 am - 11:00 pm |
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Email or webpage contact: |
Contact The Varsity |
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Social Media
&
Accolades:
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Facebook link |
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Twitter @TheVarsity1928 |
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****
The worlds best, based on my list of restaurants reviewed and rated at 4 or more stars. From the 300 published reviews as of March 2017, less than 15% hold that prestigious ranking of 4 or 5 stars, meaning that the visit was an outstanding or extraordinary experience. I have dined at restaurants on five continents from cafes, chains, and fine dining best of the world Michelin rated locations. Not all of the worlds best ratings are the same as mine.
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Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Picture below was taken with my
Father-in-Law in Sarasota, florida,
2016
About Sean:
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for over twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta, Georgia prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few restaurants, wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 300 articles have been written, including fifteen restaurants from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide. There are articles on exotic world locations such as Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; ethnic country cuisines such as Afghan, and Peruvian; tasting tours of world cities like Charleston, Cape Town, and Dubai; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, with much more to see and write about.
Who is John Galt?
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
Other articles of interest on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai, South Africa
The Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, UAE
(Articles coming soon)
Petra, Jordan
A Taste of Dubai
A Taste of South Africa vol 1 & 2
Wine, Dine, And Play’s “best of” List
FOB Shank - Cooking with Incoming
My Favorite Restaurants and Wine
TTFN
