Visit Georgia’s best college-town restaurants before summer farm season ends
Some of Georgia’s best farm-to-table restaurants are found in college towns, where they have proximity to independent farms and enough population to support an ambitious, locally owned eatery.
For most people, summer is the perfect season to visit these dining destinations, when chefs flex their skills to highlight the best of summer produce while students and crowds are away.
Why summer is the best time
When tomatoes are featured on the menu at Five & Ten, an Athens contemporary Southern restaurant, their commute was likely shorter than the one you take from home to the office. Restaurateur Peter Dale said his staff source ingredients from local farms such as Diamond Hill Farm, in Athens, to ensure their dishes are hyper-seasonal.
“Right now, everything is hitting — the peaches, the tomatoes, corn — I mean, everything is coming in, and it’s when we’re at our slowest time of year,” Dale said.
That means most customers don’t get to taste summer’s bounty as the best local produce rolls in.
Five & Ten, like many college town restaurants, experiences a large customer boost when school is in session. The restaurant sits on sorority row on South Milledge Avenue, where fraternity and sorority houses line the street and are usually full of students — except in summer, when thousands of them leave for break.
There is a stark contrast in summertime crowds compared with the restaurant’s busy seasons in the fall and spring, when students are back in school and parents visit for football games, graduation and parent weekends.
“If you’re looking for a table for four on Friday night at 7 p.m., for most of the school year, you would have needed to book that a couple weeks in advance, or even longer if it’s a football weekend,” Dale said.
In the summer, though, diners have no trouble just dropping in.
Atlanta restaurants near colleges see lighter summer crowds, too
Even Atlanta restaurant Miller Union, in the English Avenue neighborhood adjacent to Georgia Tech’s campus, notices lighter crowds when colleges break for summer.
“The city, being so crowded and so hot and uncomfortable in the summertime, a lot of our customers who maybe have a little more disposable income or a second home — they leave,” chef and co-owner Steven Satterfield said. “It is disappointing to see that it is our slower time and over the years that has become more and more the case.”
He said the restaurant’s slowest months are July through September, even though that’s when the menu “makes itself.” Dishes such as okra fried in a cornmeal dredge don’t get the audience they deserve when peak season is May to October; even Miller Union’s most loyal customers tend to be on summer vacation.
The seasonal bounty and light crowds make summertime the best season to take a road trip to visit some of Georgia’s top farm-to-table restaurants, taking advantage of the freshest dishes of the year.
Farm-to-table restaurants to try in Georgia’s college towns
Agnes Scott and Emory University
Leon’s Full Service: A New American restaurant in the heart of downtown Decatur, Leon’s Full Service loves shouting out its Georgia purveyors, including Love is Love Farm for summer squash, Tucker Farms for lettuce and Ula Farms for pea shoots.
131 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-687-0500, leonsfullservice.com
Augusta University and Paine College
Finch & 5th: Near Augusta National Golf Club, Finch & 5th touches on deep Georgia traditions, with boiled peanuts and Vidalia onion dip on its appetizer menu.
379 Highland Ave., Augusta. 706-364-5300, finchandfifth.com
Columbus State University
Morten’s at Old Town: Inspired by his time in Copenhagen, chef Morten Wulff’s menu combines Southern favorites with European flair. The menu rotates monthly, with the summer selection featuring watermelon salad with raspberry vinaigrette, as well as a hearty halibut filet with tomato compote.
3580 Massee Lane, Columbus. 762-524-7079, mortensoldtown.com
Georgia Tech and Georgia State University
Miller Union: Satterfield said the field pea and peanut salad is beloved when in season. It’s tossed with roasted tomato and bell peppers and drizzled with a sherry vinaigrette, available only in summer and early fall.
999 Brady Ave. NW, Atlanta. (678) 733-8550. millerunion.com
Kennesaw State University
Spring Marietta: About a 15-minute drive from campus (and even closer if you’re near the Marietta campus), the Michelin-starred restaurant features seasonal, New American dining. Recent dishes included Pearson Farm peaches and fresh produce from Straight from the Backyard Farm in Good Hope.
36 Mill St., Marietta. 678-540-2777, springmarietta.com
Mercer University
Dovetail: This Southern-inspired menu takes its seasonal approach to heart. A chalkboard in the dining room asks “Who grew dinner?” with dots highlighting farms across the state. The market vegetable plate is the best way to taste what’s in season, with a side of cornbread.
543 Cherry St., Macon. 478-238-4693, dovetailmacon.com
Middle Georgia State University
Pond: This neighborhood restaurant off a small lake not only sources local ingredients whenever possible, it also highlights coastal favorites such as shrimp and grits, crab cakes and calamari.
2407 Moody Road, Warner Robins. 478-551-4182, pond.cafe
Savannah State University
Fleeting: Named to pay homage to its ever-rotating list of ripe produce, the restaurant on the main floor of the Thompson Savannah hotel specializes in coastal Georgia cuisine. Indulge your sweet tooth with the figs and geranium with fresh blackberries for dessert.
201 Port St., Savannah. 912-521-6150, fleetingrestaurant.com
University of Georgia
Five & Ten: Five & Ten pioneered seasonal dining in Athens in the early 2000s. The grilled peach salad uses lettuce grown at Woodland Gardens Organics farm in Athens, burrata, sungold tomato, plus peaches grown in Georgia.
1073 S. Milledge Ave., Athens. 706-546-7300, fiveandten.com