[Trip Report] Midtown Atlanta for Work, November 2022
Hi everyone!
Well, once again, I'm devastatingly behind on trip writing. This was an interesting report to write, because my trip to Atlanta revolved largely around work and spending time with my coworkers. When we weren’t working in the office together, we were eating and drinking together, or in our hotel rooms sleeping. A lot of the photos I took have my coworkers in them, because I always forget to take pictures of my coworkers at offsites, which means I can’t show Ryan what anyone looks like. Except for a very early breakfast at the Chili’s at O’Hare (where I wrote most of my Melbourne trip report) and my last dinner at the Ponce City Market, I ate every single meal with my team. And all of the sightseeing I did, I did with my team. As such, this report will be lighter on narrative and photos. I’ll have more sections and do some quick restaurant reviews.
As an aside, if you want to read my career writing (and maybe find out about the open role I'm hiring for), you can find it at medium.com/@nif.ward.
You can see all the photos from this trip here. At long last, here it is - my trip to Atlanta from October 31 - November 5, 2022.
Getting there
Just 3 days after I got home from Melbourne, I left Seattle again for Atlanta. I tried to maximize my time spent at home as well as my time spent in the Atlanta office, which meant flying out late Monday night after our 2 trick-or-treaters had come by with a morning layover in Chicago O’Hare. After getting stuck in O’Hare a few times over the holidays, it’s no longer my favorite airport. I used to be totally charmed by its size (and the champagne bar with a piano) and variety of things to do and eat. I’ve since wised up - it’s not actually fun, and every time I go I think if I ever end up there again, it’ll be too soon. I caught a couple zzz’s on the flight out of Seattle, and made my way through O’Hare with my small carry-on in tow in search of breakfast. I ended up at the Chili’s, where the server successfully upsold me into a double bloody mary, which ended up being a mistake that made me feel a little off-kilter for the rest of the day. I tapped out my Melbourne trip report on my phone while I ate. I made my connecting flight without incident and trammed my way out of ATL, where it was 70 degrees and sunny.
We were booked at the Georgian Terrace, which had a bright atrium and a fancy vibe, and my room had a lovely city view (albeit a strange layout, and maybe a desire to be refurbished).
Negril ATL
Popping open my laptop to check the itinerary, I realized it was almost lunchtime. Negril was a couple blocks away, so I figured I’d walk over and see if anyone else was there. I didn’t see my team (whom I had also never met in person), so I almost headed back - until a huge SUV rolled up and everyone climbed out of it. After having worked with the team virtually for a month (and some folks longer than that), it was great to see everyone in person!
Negril, which also has locations in NYC, is an upscale Caribbean restaurant in a big old firehouse. It’s a beautiful, bright space, with lots of glistening white tile and contrasting dark wood trim. I realized at this point my coworkers were foodies: everything sounded great, so we ordered family-style. I remember the collard green spring rolls (a specialty! cronchy), jerk chicken, oxtail, fritters, and bread pudding? And a rum punch pitcher to share (bless the person who asked, “we’re drinking, right?”)
World of Coca Cola
We continually tested the limits of midtown Atlanta’s walkability, starting by walking from the Georgian Terrace to the World of Coca Cola. (Our whole team needed at least 3 Lyft vehicles to get from place to place, and booking rides became pretty tedious.)
For a very large advertisement about Coke, the World of Coca Cola was pretty entertaining. They funnel you through a sort of preliminary exhibit with snazzily-dressed docents, and into a big theater where they show you a 5-minute ad for Coke. We wandered around the museum in small clumps, and decided we could justify the sightseeing as work-related due to the exhibit about the secrecy around Coke’s intellectual property (we analyzed their “security through obscurity” approach and found it unsound). We spent an inordinate amount of time tasting the sodas of the world, including the infamous Beverly aperitif. As soon as I thought “I’ve had enough sugar. I cannot possibly drink more soda,” someone would say “omg did you try this one though” and I’d grab another paper cup. I almost bought some Coca Cola merchandise at the gift shop - the bucket hats and spirit jerseys were kind of stylish. Isn’t it uncool to wear a huge corporation’s merchandise, though?
The Painted Duck
I think we barely had 20 minutes to rest between the World of Coca Cola and the Painted Duck, where we would enjoy dinner and duckpin bowling. Duckpin bowling is a little like candlepin bowling, in that it uses alternative pins and balls to normal tenpin bowling. Duckpins are short and squatty, and the balls are much lighter and have no holes. I found out that one of my coworkers was on their high school bowling team, so I’m glad we could level the playing field a bit. We ordered a slew of appetizers and the Peking duck roast all to share, as well as beer, wine, and cocktails (mine was glittery). If we lived in Atlanta, I’m sure Ryan and I would enjoy date nights at the Painted Duck. I’m less likely to break a nail duckpin bowling, and the food was excellent.
Little Trouble
One of my coworkers is a cocktail aficionado, so at their recommendation, we made a final stop for the night at Little Trouble, a Blade Runner-themed bar. I realized quickly, after snapping an obligatory selfie in front of the neon lights, that I was not in the mood for a whiskey highball, and I made my escape back to the hotel to recover from the day’s excitement. We had real work to do the next day.
Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee
We started our work days at the coffee shop a block away, which exclusively sources coffee from Rwanda. After grabbing a drip coffee, a cappuccino, a pastry, we’d pile into some cars and head to the office.
The Vortex
We enjoyed our lunch at The Vortex, which was a somewhat questionable choice that was pretty delightful anyway. We heard that at least one location had some not-safe-for-work artifacts that we hoped to avoid seeing. We also didn’t realize that it was a 21+ venue, which meant our server was very strict about checking IDs. Several people had left their IDs at the office in exchange for temporary work badges, so we had to coordinate a trip back so everyone could have their IDs on hand. The fare was pleasantly greasy - I enjoyed a grilled cheese, with chili instead of tomato soup at the server’s recommendation. I’d love to go back sometime for a night out - ideally with $3 shots, some appetizers, and a big ol’ burger.
Ruby Chow’s
After a long day of presentations, a group social game, and some time to just hang out and talk within our team, we went to Ruby Chow’s for dinner. I found it similar in spirit to Best Quality Daughter, which we recently enjoyed in San Antonio - trendy decor and pan-Asian fusion. We split into 2 tables and each ordered family-style. One highlight was the little bowl of house pickles that the other table ordered, that got sent to my table by accident. We ate them without even thinking about it (surely someone from our table ordered them? We ordered so many things??), and the story of our pickle thievery became a running joke for the rest of the trip. We found the cacio e pepe, served in a baseball mitt of pork katsu, irresistible as well. I also remember bone marrow, shrimp, bao buns, spring rolls, and cocktails…
Trader Vic’s
Several of us were in the mood for more entertainment and an outlet for our hot takes, so we walked from Ruby Chow’s to Trader Vic’s at the Hilton. We may have caught them at a weird time, and we ordered some unconventional choices (the Banana Dreams was fruity and light! Vic’s Itch was very boozy). However, many people enjoyed a signature Mai Tai, and the flaming Ku Anuanu really delivered. We would come back the next night after Atalian for more drinks and gossip.
Ton Ton Ramen at Ponce City Market
Our office was conveniently located near the Ponce City Market, so we went there for a free-form lunch adventure the next day. I joined a small group for ramen at Ton Ton (confusingly very close to an unrelated sushi bar, which made coordination difficult). I got the Hakata-style tonkotsu, which is pretty similar to what I might get from Kizuki at home - I’d go back to try the Invincible Dan Dan Mazemen!
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Insomnia Cookies
We left the office in the middle of the afternoon for treats. It was a short walk to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Insomnia Cookies, conveniently located side-by-side for variety and synergy. I remember when you could only find Jeni’s in Columbus, or just in Ohio! They’ve come a long way. I remember having a couple half-scoops of something buttery and seasonal. We walked past a stunning, poppy mural on the way. I think we were so excited to walk everywhere because we wanted to walk off our great meals and snacks.
Atalian
At Atalian, we were lucky to have a coworker with a comprehensive knowledge of Italian wine, who made some strong recommendations for all of us to enjoy with our appetizers and entrees. We were all charmed by his sommelier skills. We did apps family-style with personal entrees, if I remember correctly. The experience was good overall, but the waitstaff and management gave one of my colleagues the runaround on whether their dishes were allergy-safe (we were told “everything has
Pancake Social
Just outside of the Ponce City Market is Pancake Social, which was a decent place for breakfast. We rolled up in a couple of batches, and I arrived late, with just enough time to have a plate of beignets and some coffee and cold-pressed juice while we talked about the latest organizational news. After a week of mostly-not-checking Slack and email, everyone wanted a couple hours to catch up and get some “real work” done. We went back to the Market a few hours later for another free-form lunch, and I got pho at Vietvana.
Last beers at The Tap on Ponce
After declaring mental bankruptcy on work, deciding we were all too tuckered out for happy hour games and activities, and punting on one last dinner together, we went and had a last round of beers at The Tap on Ponce. I’d love to bring some selections home next time! They had a bunch of different beers on tap - I went for a kolsch. We sat around, chatted, compared departure times, and shared our favorite memes, until we all decided it was time to break for the week.
Shopping at Ponce City Market and Dinner at Fish Camp
I spent the rest of the afternoon snooping around the market and shopping for gifts and souvenirs. I came across Modern Mystic, where I bought myself a candle to celebrate Scorpio season, as well as a deck of oracle cards that I’ve been using for readings to set an intention for my work week. I poked around in a toy shop to see if I could find anything for our friends’ young child, and I spent more money than I expected at Spicewalla on gifts for my family (and myself).
Hungry again, I had a light, solitary dinner at W. H. Stiles Fish Camp consisting of a selection of Atlantic oysters, some lobster bisque, and an avocado wedge salad. I spent the rest of the evening packing and watching wrestling on TV in anticipation of my early flight out. In the morning, I checked out, grabbed a taxi, and breezed through TSA pre-check (I think the spices may have set off an alarm on my luggage, which was quickly dismissed). I caught the tram all the way to the other side of the airport, and made my flight so I could enjoy the rest of the weekend at home with Ryan and the cats.