Bites Nearby: Strickland's Restaurant

has been in business for close to 50 years and has a devoted following. Long a fixture in downtown Athens, Strickland’s has served many a plate lunch to people serving jury duty and thereby gained a place in the history of Athens-Clarke County. The restaurant now calls Bogart home and is sharing its bounty with Oconee County.

Chief among Strickland’s bounty are its biscuits, which beg for customers to come up with new ways to describe them. Here are some of the tried and true ones: fluffy, buttery, melt in your mouth, just like my grandmother’s, flaky and "better than I’ve ever had." There are as many ways to order a Strickland’s biscuit as there are to describe it: with butter, with bacon, with eggs, with fatback, with sausage, with gravy or plain. But -- think about it-- do you really want to eat a plain biscuit when you don’t have to?

Strickland’s serves up a good stick-to-your-ribs breakfast, so have your eggs any way you like them and then greet the day. At lunchtime, Strickland’s serves up good Southern fare, including (on any given day) country fried steak, fried catfish, baked chicken, barbecue, meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, macaroni and cheese and other classic dishes in the Southern domain.

For those of you who need a reason to have a family reunion, Strickland’s also caters.  

4723 Atlanta Hwy., Bogart. 706-548-7003. Open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch. Prices: Low to moderate.