Atlanta: Six Feet Under
As is no surprise to anyone that actually knows me, I’m a foodie. I enjoy trying new restaurants (though I do get into ruts with what I order–just ask my wife), and there are very few things I won’t try–though it took a long while for me to try sushi.
That being said, I’m a big fan of seafood. While my variety of seafood options is limited by both my wife’s allergies and the fact I now live about 4+ hours from the ocean, I still look for it when I can. A few months ago, my Dad convinced me to come have lunch with him and some of his coworkers, which introduced me to a new place that I swear by now.
Driving the 40 or so minutes (with traffic) to meet my Dad for lunch, I ended up downtown across from Oakland Cemetery at a converted supermarket turned into Six Feet Under.
I grew up in North Carolina, going to the coast on a regular basis. I learned the joy of Calabash style seafood and have had a love affair with it since. Six Feet Under has a combination of solid fried seafood combined with other items that don’t fall into that category, one of their signature dishes being shrimp and scallops baked in papyrus.
Over a few months, I’ve tried a number of their dishes, including the shrimp and scallops. My first visit saw me enjoying their BBQ Salmon (complete with cedar plank). I’ve yet to be disappointed with the quality of the food, the service, or price. There are two of their side dishes, however, that I feel deserve special mention.
First and foremost are the hush puppies. Like any Southerner, I’m a fan of hush puppies, whether it’s with my seafood or my BBQ. To quote a good friend of mine, the hush puppies at Six Feet Under taste as if Jesus himself came down and blessed them. They are fried to perfection without being overdone and contain chopped jalapenos in the corn meal. You can get these with many of the different entrees, as an appetizer, or as a specific side dish.
The other item that is a ‘must have’ for me when I go is their fried okra. I understand that for many people, okra is a divisive vegetable. As a general rule, you either love it or hate it (obviously I fall into the former category). For those who enjoy it, the okra at Six Feet Under is especially a treat. Instead of the normal round cuts of okra that are deep fried, the kitchen at Six Feet Under cuts their okra length-wise, leaving you with planks that are fried in a light batter that crumbles off of the okra as much as it sticks to it. It’s served with a spicy ranch dressing for dipping that compliments the vegetable delightfully.
This is one of the restaurants that I make a point of recommending to people. For those who aren’t into seafood, they do have other options, and there have been no cross-contamination allergy issues when I went with my wife (who gets a free trip to the ER with every taste of a crustacean).
If you want good seafood in Atlanta, go to Six Feet Under. It’s well worth it. I need to pay a visit to the original one since they’ve moved, although the one in Midtown is closer for me.