GA: Atlanta: The Varsity

World Famous Varsity Onion Rings

Since we were in Atlanta for Drupal Camp, we had to take Tommy to the world famous Varsity, across the highway from the GA Tech campus.

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It was, as usual, packed. And chaotic. You can see me down front ducking the paparazzi. Tommy, my bodyguard, setting a pick.

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Frank Gordy took his $2000 nest egg in 1928 and opened the Varsity, supposedly the world's largest drive-in. The Varsity can hold 800 people (see photo, they were all present) and on Yellowjackets home games, over 30,000 will pass through.

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Two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2500 pounds of potatoes, 5000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily. (and I think we waited while it was all cooked)

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The most famous item is the "Squirt One," a Varsity Orange. It's like a creamsicle in a cup.

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When he saw the crowd, Tommy said, "Is it that good?" I said, "No. It's just famous." And that's my opinion. The food is horrible. The Varsity orange is excellent, get one. Otherwise, drive on by.