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NEED MORE? Here are a few places that offer something especially Southern, whether it be a bourbon-laced cocktail or an egg biscuit.

Joey Ivansco/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)
Restaurant Eugene keeps boutique liquors from back in the day such as its Southern cola cocktail on standby.
Joey Ivansco/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)
The Harlem Bar Banana Pudding's blend of vodka, banana liqueur, vanilla schnapps and cream can get you feeling oh so right.
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BISCUITS

For biscuits, few joints offer up the fluffy fantasies of what happens when flour and fat mix it up like these spots:

PASTRIES A GO GO (not rated)
235 W. Ponce De Leon Ave., Suite E, Decatur.
404-373-3423.
www.pastriesagogo.com

Little has changed about the rag-tag atmosphere of Decatur's version of Alice's Restaurant since it moved to Commerce Square from across the street. Breakfast reigns supreme here, though owner Bob Light has a lovely pastry case with goodies like mini chocolate cakes and lemon bars. But it's his biscuits — fluffy, light and as big as a cat's head — that make this spot a morning destination. Local Batdorf and Bronson coffee is always brewing and you can get an egg biscuit to go, or sit and stay awhile. 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays (closed Tuesdays). Breakfast served all day, lunch starts at 11 a.m. Bakery is open until 4 p.m. Brunch/bakery: 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. $

THUMBS UP DINER
573 Edgewood Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-223-0690.
www.thumbsupdiner.com

The biscuits here are different, and no one minds saying so. They're made with whole wheat, but they stay light with a crunchy crust, once baked. Smeared with butter and house-made preserves, they'll take you back to a place most of us don't go often enough — home. Breakfast and lunch: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturdays-Sundays. Breakfast is all day, and for all biscuits all the time, there's a second location in East Point (1617 White Way, 404-768-3776. breakfast and lunch: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays) and a third in Avondale Estates (10 N. Clarendon Ave., 404-499-1800. Breakfast and lunch: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.) $

THE FLYING BISCUIT CAFE/CANDLER PARK (not rated)
1655 McLendon Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-687-8888.
(Also in Midtown: 1001 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta.)
www.flyingbiscuit.com

Here's one to keep: I don't care that Flying Biscuit founder Delia Champion sold her concept to Raving Brands and now there are plans for a bijillion of them to pop up everywhere. If someone offered you a deal you couldn't refuse, you wouldn't, well, refuse it. It doesn't change the fact that the Candler Park location, baking since 1993, is still just as tattooed and funky as it always was, and the biscuits, especially when spread with the house-made apple butter, are big, fat bee-you-tee-ful creations. 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 7 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays (same at both locations.) $$

COCKTAILS

Retro cocktails are the rage, and that means lots of spots are shaking it up with old-fashioned, Southern-style mixers:

HARLEM BAR (not rated)
262 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta. 404-588-0014.

Harlem Bar, in the heart of downtown's Sweet Auburn district, serves up soul right. Sip on the Superfly, a sweet, punchy concoction of Courvoisier, gran gala, and cranberry and pineapple juices. Or blow your calorie count for the week with Banana Pudding: vodka, banana liqueur, vanilla schnapps and a splash of cream ... Oooh child. Things just got easier. 6 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 6 p.m.-midnight Sundays. $

RESTAURANT EUGENE
2277 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-355-0321.
www.restauranteugene.com

Owner Linton Hopkins and mixologist Greg Best pride themselves on serving old-fashioned, distinguished cocktails. They emphasize boutique liquors, small batch bourbons and ryes as well as lots of gin. One drink that smacks of a Southern accent is a little ditty called the Sergio Leone — a mix of Michter's small batch rye, Amaretto Disaronno and Angostura bitters. Yowsa! Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Dinner: 5:30-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 5:30-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. $$$$

TROIS
1180 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-815-3337.
www.trois3.com.

The food may be for Francophiles, but co-owner Todd Rushing's beverage list is something Nick and Nora Charles could easily snuggle up with. The Sazerac is a New Orleans classic that many claim to be the first true cocktail, and Sherman's Revenge seems particularly apt for a ZIP code below the Mason-Dixon line. Its made traditionally with a lit match trailed across the rim of a glass filled with Old Overholt whiskey, pedro ximenez sherry and house-made bitters. The flames dance for a moment, then die in a billow of smoke. If that's too much show for you, settle back with a julip muddled with peach and lemon. Lunch: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Dinner: 5:30-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 5:30 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays; 5:30-10 p.m. Sundays. Bar open later. $$$-$$$$

CATFISH

Fried catfish is a rite of passage for most Southerners, along with jumping from a tire swing and baby Cokes. So when a joint just south of Atlanta serves up the kind of crisp, hot fish fresh from the water we all grew up on, it gets most folks attention.

CREEKSIDE CATFISH RESTAURANT AND CATERING (not rated)
12840 GA Highway 96 East, Fort Valley. 478-825-0176.

Off I-75, this place is little more than a freshly constructed warehouse. But inside are white tufts of fish, cornmeal-battered and fried so perfectly in fresh oil that the ends of the fillet curl up. Make the drive when you've got a hankerin' for somethin' good. 4-9 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays.$

KEY TO RATINGS
Outstanding: Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.
Excellent: One of the best in the Atlanta area.
Very good: Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.
Good: A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss.
Fair: The food is more miss than hit.
Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Poor.

Pricing code: $$$$$ means more than $75; $$$$ means $75 and less; $$$ means $50 and less; $$ means $25 and less; $ means $15 and less. (The price code represents a meal for one that includes appetizer, entree and dessert without including tax, tip and cocktails.)