Eat A Georgia Peach And More

Its peaches are legendary, but if you are looking for the soul of Georgia, you might start with its soul food -- think chicken gizzards, country-fried steak, black-eyed peas, greens, corn bread, chitlins, ham hocks and pigs feet.

To sample this uniquely American fare, try Louise's World Best Soul Food in Lawrenceville, where Louise Holmes closely guards her recipes for fried chicken, candied yams and collard greens. Time Magazine in September 2008 named one place in each state as offering the state's most authentic experience, and for Georgia it selected H & H Restaurant, a classic soul food restaurant in Macon, where diners feast on fried fish, macaroni and cheese and banana pudding.

Barbecue aficionados know that barbecue styles vary widely across the state, and there are countless places to find the good stuff. Arguments about where to find the best barbecue will never be settled. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named these joints as a few of the best: Fox Brothers Bar-B-Que and Rolling Bones Premium Pit, both in Atlanta; Hickory Pig Barbecue in Gainesville; Hometown Barbecue in Lawrenceville; Pig-N-Chik in Sandy Springs; and Sam and Dave's in Marietta.

The Georgia Peach Festival in Byron and Fort Valley in Peach County serves up an old-fashioned small-town parade and the world's largest peach cobbler. More than half the state's harvest of 1.7 million bushels of peaches comes from Peach County, according to the festival's website.

Many Georgians will tell you that the best place to get peanuts is at roadside stands that dot the countryside and roads to the beach. Southern Living magazine recommends the boiled peanut hummus at the Five and Ten restaurant in Athens.

Fried chicken? The magazine also says some of the best can be found at Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles in Atlanta. Other places to sample: The Colonnade in Atlanta, Watershed in Dacatur and Greenwood's in Roswell.

Some of the best places to get a taste Georgia are outdoors at food fests statewide.

Bring your dancing shoes for a street dance, and of course, an appetite for onion rings and all things onion to the annual Vidalia Onion Festival, held in April in Vidalia. Find out what made these sweet onions nationally known.

You don't need an excuse for visiting beautiful Jekyll Island, but if you are looking for one it's "Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival," held in September.

Billed as the "Greatest Barbecue Show On Earth," the National BBQ Festival held in November in Douglas draws big-time talent to the cook-off with more than $60,000 in cash and prizes at stake.