Georgia: the oldest bars+
- chrissihuf
- Dec 20, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: May 8
Oldest bar in Georgia: The Pirates' House
The Pirates' House originally Savannah’s Trustee’s Garden, the first public agricultural experimental garden in America. Around 1753, one of the first buildings constructed on the former garden site was naturally an inn for visiting sailors. About a block from the Savannah River, the inn became a rendezvous for pirates and visiting sailors. Today, it’s a good restaurant and bar, usually a wait to get in, but worth it. Just a two hour drive from Florida’s oldest bar (The Palace Saloon).
It’s hard to tell what’s the oldest, but since 1928, the Gordy family has owned and operated The Varsity, an Atlanta institution. Yes, it’s a burger and hotdog joint, but you won’t get anything better than this, and you get to learn new words and phrases at the same time!
Term | Definition |
Hot Dog | Hot dog with chili and mustard |
Naked Dog | Plain hot dog on a bun |
MK Dog | Naked dog with mustard and ketchup |
Regular C Dog | Hot dog with chili, mustard and ketchup |
Red Dog | Naked dog with Ketchup |
Yellow Dog | Naked dog with mustard |
Walk a Dog | Hot dog to go |
Steak | Hamburger with ketchup, mustard and pickle |
Chili Steak | Hamburger with chili |
Glorified Steak | Hamburger with mayo, lettuce and tomato |
Mary Brown Steak | Hamburger with no bun |
Naked Steak | A plain hamburger |
Varsity Orange | The original formula Varsity Orange drink |
N.I. Orange | Varsity Orange with no ice |
F.O. | Varsity Frosted Orange shake |
Chocolate Milk | Plain chocolate milk always served with ice |
N.I.P.C. | Plain chocolate milk with no ice |
All the Way, Sideways | Onions on the side- Can be a hot dog, steak, etc. |
Bag of Rags | Potato Chips |
Ring One | Order of Onion Rings |
Strings | An order of french fries |
Another Atlanta institution that should be visited by all newcomers. Again, hard to tell which places are the oldest, but Mary Mac's Tea Room makes the cut in my eyes! Mary MacKenzie opened her tearoom, Mary Mac's Tea Room in 1945, Atlanta, Georgia near Peachtree Street on Ponce de Leon Avenue. Back in those days, a woman couldn’t just open up a restaurant, so many female proprietors used the more refined Southern name of “Tea Room.” Mary Mac’s Tea Room was one of 16 tearooms in Atlanta and seated 75 guests. Today, Mary Mac’s is the only original tearoom that remains.
OUR STORY
In 1955, two neighbors opened up a 24-hour, sit-down restaurant, and it became Waffle House! This place may not look like much, but it’s totally worth a stop. Your stop can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even after a night out! They’re always open, friendly, and waiting… and the food is consistently good.
*FUN FACTS: If you laid all of the Smithfield Bacon that Waffle House® serves in a year, end-to-end, it would wrap all the way around the equator! If you could stack all of the Sausage Patties that Waffle House® serves in one day on top of each other, it would be nearly twice the size of the World’s Tallest Building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai or four times the size of the Empire State Building! If you poured all of the cups of Coffee that Waffle House® serves in one year, it would be enough to fill nearly 8 Olympic swimming pools!
Waffle House Lingo
Hash Brown Lingo
Scattered: Spread out on the grill (the default).
Smothered: With sautéed onions.
Covered: With melted American cheese.
Chunked: With chunks of grilled ham.
Diced: With chopped tomatoes.
Peppered: With pickled jalapeños.
Capped: With sautéed mushrooms.
Topped: With chili.
Country: With sausage gravy.
All the Way: A combination of many toppings (onions, cheese, ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, chili, gravy).
Egg & Toast Lingo (Plate Marks)
Jelly packet at the bottom: Scrambled eggs.
Upside-down jelly packet: Soft scrambled eggs (runny yolk).
Face-up jelly packet: Well-done scrambled eggs.
Jelly packet on mustard packet: Extra egg.
Butter packet under jelly: Dry toast.
Upside-down jelly packet: Wheat toast.
Apple butter packet: Raisin toast.
Butter knife on plate: Hold the toast.
Other Lingo & Terms
Comments