The Varsity

                The boxes of books in the closet are among the impediments to actually getting settled.  Thus, a trip to IKEA was in again in order.  Their bookcases range in price from truly cheap to those that cost quite a bit more, but look like real furniture.  One of each will have to do.  The books that don’t fit will simply disappear.  Should that happen, the day will be sad, as I like books. 

                Friday’s trip to IKEA was indeed successful, and it led to a little downtown Atlanta adventure.  The holy grail of fast food and the world’s largest drive-in is The Varsity, a “greasy spoon” diner serving the Georgia Tech campus, and apparently the rest of Atlanta, Georgia and the southeast US not to mention visitors from around the country and around the world.  When we decided the IKEA’s meatballs just aren’t as good as they used to be, I asked to go to The Varsity to see what all the hype was about.

                As we shuffled our way through downtown traffic, Beth said, “Before we go, I should tell you that they yell at you there.” I think she was a little nervous about my reaction to the rather chaotic scene that was coming.  After one wrong turn and a little more traffic dodging, Beth exclaimed, “There it is!”  All that I could see was a sizeable two level parking ramp, and said so.  With a chuckle, Beth responded, “Yeah, that’s it.”  The bottom level was full so we headed to the second level which lead us by the actual drive-in portion of the restaurant.  We had already opted for the air-conditioned dine-in option.  As we drove past the cars lined up and the car-hops delivering burgers or dogs to the cars, I noted that these were not sweet young gals or cute guys.  The car hops in their red uniforms with paper hats piled high on their heads were probably grandpas.  They stepped to their routine and really moved rapidly and efficiently.

                After parking, we entered the crowded building – full to capacity at 2:00 in the afternoon. In fact the 10-15 station ordering area was completely jam-packed.  Parties were five and six deep at every counter.  Customers must plan out their complete order before arriving at the register to order.  No changing your mind is allowed. In fact, it is indecision or slow ordering that brings on the yelling. Most of the lines move quickly, although as per usual, we picked a line where we waited and waited.  Finally, we divided and thus conquered as Beth moved to another line and actually got through before the lady ahead of us was served.  The menu was pretty basic. Most people either hot dogs or burgers, though a couple of chicken items were available.  But if you are going for an experience, why would you order chicken salad?

                The burgers were fairly small, but with really fresh ingredients; the cool limp fries wouldn’t bear comparison with your favorite fast food restaurant; but the thick, hot, crispy onion rings tasted wonderful.  Obviously, they came directly from a sufficiently hot fryer so the oil did not soak into the batter.  Delicious and worth another order to share.

                But the Varsity is less about the food and more about the experience.  The diners’ faces reflected the world.  The rainbow of color came in people’s skin, hair, and clothing.  Different languages  slipped by as patrons headed for their tables.  This variety accurately reflects the city itself.

                The Varsity is indeed a unique experience, one shared at some time by a host of the rich and famous including a number of past presidents and rulers of the world, actors, musicians, athletes, and even Elvis.  The brochure claims that on average “two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2,500 pounds of potatoes, 5,000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily.  They opened in 1928, and of course, Coca Cola has always been the beverage of choice.