Category: Food & Fun

From your very own food connoisseurs

We love to try new food and restaurants all over the globe! (If you missed our post about how we started our restaurant adventures, check it out here). When we came back to Athens for our last semester post studying abroad, we made it a goal to hit as many Athens restaurants, cafes, and bars as possible before we graduate. And…we actually hit a lot of them… probably too many of them. Naturally, we have some pretty strong opinions about the food in Athens. Whether you’re just starting at UGA and looking for recommendation, are a rising senior dreading leaving the Athens foods scene, or a graduate planning your homecoming trip, you’ll enjoy this one. Here are some of our favorite finds in our college town based on specific categories. Also, we tried our best to choose things local to Athens.

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Best Tacos 

El Barrio

We (especially Dawson) have been to El Barrio way more times than we can even count. Sure, they may not have the most authentic tacos, but they have the best tasting ones. The meat is always so flavorful and tender. The chips are seasoned and the queso is a great consistency. We also went on Cinco de Mayo, and Dawson ended up winning a raffle and SO many goodies.

Favorites: Chicken Taco, Steak Taco, Fish Taco, Grilled Shrimp Taco, Chips & Queso

Best Traditional Mexican Food

Tacos Los Plebes

Even though we think El Barrio still has superior tacos, the food here was very tasty and also affordable. Unlike a lot of the other taco places in Athens, it wasn’t build your own taco (which we appreciated). The line is a little long, but I think that is a sign that the food is worth it, and the restaurant is clearly famous.

Favorites: Chicken Taco, Steak Taco, Horchata

Favorite Asian Food

Pretty Boy

This was the last restaurant we tried in Athens, and it was absolutely incredible! We were initially a little skeptical because everyone had hyped it up, and previously, we were disappointed with some famous restaurants. Nonetheless, this meal did not disappoint. Our only complaint is that we wish we tried more! Everything is so flavorful, and the staff is kind and was willing to give us recommendations. 

Favorites: Viet Street Corn, Chicken Hanoi, Peanut Cold Noodles

Best Cafe 

Buvez

Choosing a go-to coffee shop is difficult, mainly because each one has its individual perks (price, location, options, etc.). But, we ended up settling on Buvez because they have unique options in addition to the classics, reasonable prices, good seating, and yummy food. We’ve tried so much here from lattes, matchas, healthy bowls, and bagels (practically the whole menu). We also have so many memories here and lots of tea-spilling sessions, making it a clear hit. Buvez is also uniquely situated away from downtown and also connected to a fun children’s-play store! We have a few sentimental goodies that we share with friends from this store and will always help us remember Buvez!

Go-To for Live Music

Hendershot’s

Hendershot’s has good coffee and drinks, but we like it best for the live music. They have themed music nights, and the cafe transforms into a lively bar at night. Our favorite is hands-down jazz night on the third Thursday of each month. We think every UGA student should go at least once during their time in Athens. 

Nicest Upscale Restaurant

Five and Ten

Five and Ten was a very spontaneous dinner reservation for us. We had a snow day, and, honestly, probably shouldn’t have driven on the roads, but we were both craving a nice meal. The ambience and interior here was beautiful – we loved the upscale, rustic vibe. The food did not disappoint. We were able to try quite a few dishes and each one was delectable and intentionally crafted. The service was perfect and everyone was so attentive.

Favorites: Cornbread and Honey Butter, She-Crab Soup

Best for Aperitivo

Bar Bruno

One of our biggest regrets about this place is that we wish we discovered it sooner because we would’ve gone so many more times. The vibes were immaculate and the energy was perfect. We couldn’t recommend this more for a girl’s night out, a catch-up with friends, date night, or just for fancy drinks. We felt transported to Italy. 

Favorites: Grandma’s Bread, Arancini, Stuffed Dates, Brioche, Ziti

Favorite Italian (with an Honorable Mention)

ZZ and Simone’s

Such a wonderful meal and experience at ZZ’s. We tried both the brunch and the dinner, and both were great. If we had to choose, we would recommend going there for dinner over brunch because we loved the food. We tried so many dishes and were absolutely stuffed. It definitely is on the pricier side, so we recommend going for special occasions or splitting things with friends! The pastas and pizzas are fresh and so tasty.

Favorites: Bread, Arancini, Rigatoni Alla Vodka, Tiramisu 

Honorable Mention: The Expat

Although we thought ZZ and Simone’s was better overall, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention The Expat in this post. The Expat makes fresh pasta daily and also has gluten-free pasta options. The service is amazing. We sat at the bar, and the bartenders were easy to talk to and gave us amazing recommendations. Saanvikha also went here for her graduation meal with family and they were so accommodating on a busy day. 

Favorites: Pistachio Mushroom Pasta, Tiramisu

Best Steakhouse

Slater’s Steakhouse

This is absolutely a go-to nice steakhouse spot! Highly recommend coming with your parents, but if you find the time before a fun date night or for an outing with a friend, this is an extremely convenient spot in five points! Dawson’s mom has even commented that it is one of her favorite steaks that she has had. 

Favorites: Filet mignon, Asparagus, Mashed Potatoes

Best Pizza

Emmy’s Squared

This is a spot we hit several times in our last semester, which is why it is the one exception to our no chains rule for this post. This pizza here is incredible and loaded. There are so many curated options and the shareable appetizers and salads are also great. If you ever are hosting an exec dinner for a club or going with a group of friends for dinner, this is a great spot. It’s also fairly convenient even if you walk in. 

Favorites: MVP!

Best Bang for Your Buck

Ahi Hibachi and Poke

There must have been speculation about Ahi closing just about every other week, but we’re happy to report that they’re only moving locations (still downtown!). Even though it isn’t the cheapest meal you can find in Athens, we think they offer the best deal. You get so much food that tastes absolutely delicious for a fairly reasonable price. It could definitely last you at least two meals if you want it to. It is very customizable and a student favorite.

Favorites: Chicken Hibachi, Poke Bowl

Best Bar

Magnolia’s 

This definitely became THE spot to go to senior year. You will always run into friends, foes, and acquaintances. It’s nice and big with the outside, downstairs, and upstairs areas (all distinct vibes). Lots of good conversations here and some very special memories. 

Hidden Gem

Savannah Room & Bulldog Bistro

These are both located inside the Georgia Center, which is right across the Science Learning Center, but, unfortunately, most students never visit. Dawson is Georgia Center’s biggest fan (!!) and introduced many of his friends and mentees to the coffee here. It is very affordable and so conveniently located. The Georgia Center is also a beautiful place to study, so you should definitely grab a drink, take a seat, and study here instead of the Science Library. If you have ever had the pleasure of trying a Georgia Center catered meal at events, then you’ll be happy to know that the Savannah Room features a lot of the same dishes. They are home to President Morehead’s favorite strawberry ice cream pie!

Favorites: Specialty lattes and drinks, Ciabatta, Truffle Fries, Cajun Pasta

Sweet Treat Spot

Cecilia’s Cake Shop

Our go-to sweet treat spot was probably Jeni’s because it was convenient, but you can find Jeni’s almost anywhere (including the grocery store) nowadays. A less-known sweet treat spot is Cecilia’s Cake Shop! It’s located right next to the Dunkin on Milledge. They do specialty, made-to-order cakes for occasions, but they also have cupcakes and cake slices if you walk in. Fun fact: this is also the cake they sell at The Last Resort!

Favorites: Espresso Martini Cake, Lemon Cake, Cupcake Assortment

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Writing this post made us crave these restaurants again. Athens has so much to offer between sports, nature, music, and food – you should take advantage of it all. Here is a great place to start. Of course, we didn’t cover all of the good food in this post because unfortunately that would make this way too long. So, if you want to check out more Athens finds, follow us on Beli (@ssaravanan + @dawsontemplin)! It might actually be our favorite app and form of social media.

The Book Club Blueprint

In our previous posts, we’ve mentioned the famous “Wine and Spine Society” a few times, but we never fully explained what it is or how we started it. Essentially, Wine and Spine is the name for the book club we started in January with our friend Alex Womack. Starting a book club was honestly one of the best side quests we undertook senior year. In this post, we dive into how we put this book club together, the benefits of a book club, and the structure we follow. We also have recently gotten questions from friends about how they could start a book club, so we’ll finish off with some tips for success! Keep reading for a glimpse into an important part of our world.

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The Beginning

In our 2025 bingo cards blog post, we briefly mentioned that one of our main goals for the year was to read consistently and explore new genres. In late December, we were chatting about our New Year’s resolutions in a group chat with Alex and realized that all three of us had a goal relating to reading in some form. Naturally, we all agreed that a book club would be a perfect way to hold ourselves accountable in our reading journey while making goal-setting more fun. You will quickly notice that some of our best ideas are born from random, late-night group chat conversations. Throughout college we participated in some Honors book discussions and had friends that led Medicine in Literature book clubs. The idea for our book club was to invite some of our best friends to join as a way to discuss, catch up, and read together weekly. Since it was our last semester of college, the book club was also a very convenient way to make sure we hung out with our friends at least once a week. We also had just finished our study abroad at Oxford and thought this would be a great way to form a community from different parts of our life. 

You might be wondering where our name came from. Another one of Dawson’s 2025 goals was taking the WSET sommelier courses to expand his knowledge on wine. So, Saanvikha thought of the idea of potentially calling it Wine and Spine Society and tasting a new wine each week during our discussions. Then, courtesy of ChatGPT and Dall-E, we came up with this beautiful logo. Then, all we had to do was invite our friends to join! Almost everyone was so on board with Wine and Spine, and that’s how our book club came to life.

Benefits of Wine and Spine

Like we said, Wine and Spine has been such a definitive part of senior spring. So much so that we decided to continue it virtually this summer! Here are some of the most important benefits for us from starting a book club:

1. We read so much more consistently! Something about having weekly meetings and discussing books with friends makes it SO much more motivating to read a book. Despite busy weeks or school, we noticed that we made an intentional effort to read before bed, in the morning, or in between classes. Having friends to call or text about plot twists in the book we’re reading makes the process exciting.
2. Reflection, analysis, and vocabulary: It’s easy to start skimming a book or not pay attention to details while reading. When we read with the intention of discussing the book later, we have noticed that we make more of an effort to take notes or jot down important quotes or plot points. To engage in meaningful discussions, we also have to reflect on how the book made us feel or how it influenced our thoughts. The process of analyzing and reflecting is important in various other parts of life and improves our ability to critically think. Reading is also the best way to improve the breadth of personal vocabulary. We have actually seen a huge improvement in our grasp of more complex vocabulary since we started Wine and Spine (shoutout to anyone who tried to find GRE words in books we read!)
3. Genre exploration: Through Wine and Spine, we explored several genres of literature that we otherwise might not have chosen to read. From self help to personal finance to literary thriller, we did it all. Also, we learned so many life skills (including everything about a 529 – thank you, Dawson)!
4. Community: Arguably, the most important benefit of Wine and Spine was the creation of a community. Like we mentioned, a book club was a perfect excuse for all of our friends to hang out while doing something intellectually stimulating. We would spend well over the hour allotted for book club just chatting and catching up on life. Monday nights were easily some of the best nights of the week.

Structure

We tried to lay out a predictable structure at the beginning of the semester so that everyone knew what to expect. When forming a book club with some of the busiest people we know, it was super important that we planned ahead. This is what worked for us!

1. Meetings weekly on Monday at 7:30 PM: We decided on this time based on what worked best for the three of us and then polling our friends on a time that was best for their schedule. Honestly, everyone was super flexible and accommodating which made choosing a meeting time seamless. 
2. Four books throughout the semester: We tried to be reasonable about giving everyone plenty of time to get through a book. Every time we chose a book, we looked at the page length and strategically divided it up based on how many weeks it would take to finish. In general, we aimed to read 100-150 pages a week, which is around 20 pages a night.
3. Discussion questions: We didn’t always use discussion questions during meetings, but we started off sending some out the day before to give everyone a general idea of concepts we could talk about. As we got more comfortable and the semester progressed, we abandoned discussion questions because conversations generally drove themselves. 
4. Social aspects: At the beginning of almost every meeting we started with a rose, bud, thorn. Wine and Spine was partially created with the intention of community-building, so, of course, we wanted to hear updates from our friends. Sometimes rose, bud, thorn would generate additional side conversations, but this is what made book club meetings fun and conversational. We even had an ice cream social at the end to celebrate the end of the semester!
5. Surveys: We used a TON of surveys and google forms. One of our main goals was making sure everyone had a voice and genuinely enjoyed Wine and Spine. So, we would ask for recommendations on wine we should provide at meetings, books to read, and how we can improve on our end. Obviously, including 17 voices and opinions can be overwhelming, but we did our best to have a relatively democratic process.

Tips

Finally, we wanted to give you some tips on how you could start your own book club!

1. Find a group of friends that you think would all be interested in reading and would foster good discussions. It could be as small as 5 people or as big as 20 (we recommend shooting for somewhere in-between). 
2. Try to add a fun aspect to meetings. Our “fun” twist was tasting wine, but yours could be something different. Perhaps you meet in a different location each week. Maybe there is an activity that accompanies each meeting. In a past book club she led, Saanvikha made fun, themed treats for each meeting. Make it your own!
3. Add bonding moments in meetings. Our bonding was usually rose, bud, thorn or the conversations before/after the meeting. Having an icebreaker is a very easy way to get the conversation rolling.
4. Try to ask for book recommendations. People will be more inclined to read a book if they actually enjoy it. So, rather than picking the book for everyone each week, you can all take turns or have some kind of polling/voting system.
5. Be consistent and flexible. Create a predictable schedule whether you meet weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Choose based on what works for everyone that way they can build it into their schedules. Even if not everyone can show up for each meeting, still host them because discussions are still valuable. If something isn’t working, be willing to adapt and change. We tried to listen to feedback after every book to see what was working and what could be improved. 

Our plan this summer

As mentioned, we are continuing Wine and Spine this summer with a modified routine. We are now doing meetings over zoom and meeting biweekly! We are also picking books that are ~250 pages or less that are fairly digestible so that our members can opt into specific reads. We recommend formatting your own book club in a way that is right for you.

As you can tell, we LOVE Wine and Spine society and everything it has given us. If you have any book recommendations for us, as always, reach out. Otherwise, we hope we’ve encouraged or convinced you all to start your own version of Wine and Spine!