Am I the right person to ask this question?

As a person who certainly enjoys to eat, but doesn’t participate in that much food experimentation and certainly doesn’t get out as much as he used to – thanks kiddo! – the short answer is “No”.  But try to stop me.  I’m going to ask it anyway.

After a long-winded set-up of course.

With the recent announcement that Eurasia would be closing and replaced by another big name in the Atlanta restaurant scene – Ford Fry – just a few weeks after it was announced that Fox Bros. BBQ was opening a “Big Tex Cantina” in downtown Decatur, I’ve been a bit shocked at the restaurant evolution in Decatur over the past year or so – and during a pretty nasty recession no less!

I recall seeing an online poll recently regarding Atlanta’s best restaurant/food neighborhood that ranked Buckhead #1 and Decatur #2.  Now I’m not that hip on the restaurant scene, but the number of best-in-class establishments opening their doors in this city recently would suggest to me that Decatur might finally be able to give Buckhead (or the Westside?) a run for its money.

While Decatur has long been well-established when it comes to pubs and casual dining options, only in the past year or two has it begun to round out its options with a number of new higher-end and yogurt options.  All that’s left to pine for is a daily phalanx of food carts up and down the MARTA plaza.  To quote Richard III, “My horse for a soup cart!”.  Or something like that.

So, what do you think?  Do you think Decatur is now the unofficial food mecca of a food-obsessed Atlanta?  Perhaps think of it this way:  if you had to bring a “foodie” friend to one Atlanta neighborhood/city, which would it be?

(Atlanta food critics: feel free to chime in!  Either below or with your own posts/articles elsewhere.  I would enjoy hearing your opinions too!)