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Tucker: Matthews Cafeteria

Matthews Cafeteria is another TV star of the Atlanta restaurant set. It was recently on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." As you might guess, this isn't Buckhead high fashion. Its appeal is its timelessness. Matthews dates to 1955. The restaurant is very well kept up, but the style hasn't changed since then. The cinder block walls and linoleum tile floor take you back to an era when Tucker was a small town on the outskirts of Atlanta. The people aren't Buckhead, either. They might be rich---you can't always tell a person's wealth from their clothes in this sort of place---but they all dress like people who have things to do besides compete on wardrobe.

I've been there two or three times. On my latest trip, my plate ended up with fried chicken, rutabaga, and peas. The rutabaga was perhaps the most enjoyable part of the meal just because I enjoyed the texture so much. But don't get me wrong, the fried chicken here is outstanding. The crust is crusty and the meat is moist. Best of all, you can smell it from the parking lot.

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Comments

  1. Hiya! Glad for this post, as I'd otherwise never found your blog. Looks as if you started within a couple months of mine. I do a food blog centered around Snellville, of course. Good looking blog, best of luck to you!

    To note, I should be posting a review of Matthews in a couple days. I'll mention this review in that post.

    FnS

    ReplyDelete

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